What are the key criteria for choosing a tire?

As the colder weather approaches, with snow and the appearance of snow on the road, drivers have to 'put on' their vehicles with winter tires.

Legislation, ie. The Law on Traffic Safety of Serbia prescribes that you must have winter tires if there is snow and ice on the road.

In order to align the characteristics of their products with the requirements of vehicle manufacturers, component manufacturers strive to meet market requirements and end-user satisfaction. The fact is that tires are a consumable element and are therefore very important criteria for their selection. Also, after choosing the right tire, it is important to know that proper monitoring of tire condition enables better driving performance, longer tire life and, of course, increases safety and reduces fleet maintenance costs.

At the conference "Towards Sustainable Transport 2017", held on Zlatibor, are presented the parameters for the selection of tires, the tire labeling system that came into force on 11/1/2012. year, the use of tires in winter conditions and the meaning of 3PMSF markings on the sidewall of the tire.

Economic parameters for tire selection include:

• costs of purchasing tires, ie costs of tires per kilometer traveled or duration of tire life (din / km);

• the impact of tires on fuel consumption - through the degree of fuel efficiency expressed in the EU label.

In addition to all this, we must not forget the standards and regulations that recommend us, and some even oblige, what kind of tires we should put on. The mentioned parameters include ISO standards (world valid standards), ETRTO standard (regional European standard) and local standards and regulations.

In order to increase the efficiency of road transport in terms of safety, costs and environmental protection and so that the buyer of tires has detailed information about the product that would facilitate his purchase, from 01.11.2012. ECE Regulation 1222/2009 entered into force on.

The regulation defines that tires are marked with special EU stickers on which assessments are given on the level of fuel efficiency, wet grip and noise emission. In order for a tire to be rated according to the markings on the label, it must pass appropriate rigorous tests. Tire ratings go from A, as the best, to F, as the worst.

Depending on the type of transport, key criteria for tire selection are determined. All premium manufacturers, in order to meet the strict requirements of vehicle manufacturers, have two lines of "on road" tires: tires to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions (only long-haul transport - Long Haul) and tires for universal use (regional transport - Regional Haul) .

The meaning of the 3PMSF label, which was also introduced on November 1, 2012, was explained. It was pointed out that the label can be put on the tire only if the tire has passed strict tests of compliance with the requirements of minimum performance on a snow surface (snow grip index).

UNECE Regulation No. 117-2, the 3PMSF designation officially came into force, which is marked as a mountain with three peaks and a snowflake in the middle. It is important to note that the M + S label is still in use, it is valid, but it is not the same as the 3PMSF label because the new label is subject to testing. In order for a tire to receive the mark 3PMSF, it is necessary to pass rigorous tests on the snow track, which are based on the test of average acceleration on that surface, which is compared with the results of the reference tire. In order for a candidate to obtain the 3PMSF mark, he must achieve 25% higher acceleration than that reference tire.

It should be noted that an increasing number of countries are introducing the obligation to use winter truck tires at certain times of the year or in certain weather conditions. Germany is one of the first countries to make a decision in July 2017 that in winter driving conditions, the 3PMSF mark is mandatory for all drive truck tires that will be produced from January 1, 2018. years.

In Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria, Albania, Portugal, Great Britain, winter tires are not mandatory, while in our country, Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, tires are mandatory during the entire defined period.

When all the factors that influence the choice of the right tire to meet the needs of the end user, fleets, are considered and taken into account, it can be said that not everything is in the starting price of tires during the procurement itself. All other parameters should be well considered, because the final, real price of tires is obtained when the service life of the tires is taken into account.