Bridgestone, Brazil agency establish tire labeling program

SÃO PAULO, Brazil — With the purpose of providing tire performance information to consumers during their purchase experience, Brazil's Inmetro (National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology) and Bridgestone Corp. have established criteria that they said should be mandatory in all tires produced and imported in Brazil starting from Oct. 29, 2016.

According to Inmetro Ordinance No. 544/12, the Brazilian Labeling Program (PBE) information that will be on the national energy conservation label (ENCE) will be rolling resistance, wet track grip and external noise. The label will be located on the tread of radial tires for cars, pick-up trucks, SUVs and vans, as well as radial tires for trucks and buses.

“These criteria were chosen because they are related to environmental impacts (bearing resistance, which interferes with fuel consumption and noise emission) and vehicular safety (grip on a wet track),” said Concheta Feliciano, marketing director for Bridgestone Brazil.

The new label will feature factors that affect tire performance, including:

Rolling resistance — It is directly related to energy efficiency, since it measures the energy absorbed when the tire is rolling, according to Bridgestone. “Thus, the lower the rolling resistance, the lower the fuel consumption and, consequently, the lower the impact on the environment (CO2emission).”

On the label, the tires will be classified in up to six levels, with “A” being the most efficient and “F” being the least efficient.

Grip on wet track — This performance indicator provides consumer information about tire grip on wet tracks. Performance scales will range from “A” (best performance) to “E” for heavy touring vehicles.

This classification affects the distance traveled by the vehicle on a wet track after braking, Inmetro said.

External noise — This criterion indicates the level of noise produced by tires in decibels (dB) and, consequently, the impact on the environment (less noise pollution). The criterion should have a maximum limit of up to 75 decibles (dB) for touring vehicles tires, 77 dB for light commercial vehicle tires and 78 dB for truck and bus tires, the company and agency said.

Inmetro Ordinance No. 544 is not applicable to retreaded tires; bicycle tires; tires for use in agricultural vehicles only; tires for racing vehicles; military vehicles; industrial vehicles and forklifts, Inmetro noted. In addition, tires for motorcycles, scooters, mopeds, collection vehicles, diagonal tires, off-road tires, tires for temporary use only and commercial vehicle tires and radial-type towing tires designed for several uses only on the drive axle are supported by Ordinance 544. These models have been excluded from performance testing and therefore will not have labels, the agency said.

In Brazil, the production of Bridgestone- and Firestone-brands tires are distributed through units the company has in Santo André and Camaçari. The tire maker also operates two factories in Campinas and Mafra that manufacture treads and rubber parts for retreading.

In addition to tires for use in a wide variety of applications, Tokyo-based Bridgestone www.bridgestone.com.br also manufactures products including air springs, chemicals for applications in construction and waterproofing materials, industrial rubber and sporting goods that are sold in more than 150 countries worldwide.