California close to issuing new tire efficiency proposal

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—The California Energy Commission could be just a few months away from issuing a revised proposal for rules intended to ensure the energy efficiency of replacement passenger vehicle tires sold throughout state, rules that take aim at rolling resistance.

In his presentation during the Smithers Traction Conference Aug. 13, CEC representative Ken Rider, who serves as adviser to Chair David Hochschild, said the agency is "very close to having the new version" of the proposal it first issued in February 2023.

The original proposal was the agency's first attempt to follow through on directives outlined in Assembly Bill 844. The CEC suggested a rolling resistance-based rating system between one and five stars, with one representing the highest RRCs. This proposed system accounted for tires with RRCs between 10.6 and 6.5 N/kN, and would phase out the sale of tires falling in the one-, two- and three-star ratings as well as some tires in the four-star tier.

Critics of the February 2023 proposal said it was unrealistic, saying that only a handful of tires sold today would meet the stringent requirements for four or five stars.

Rider did not offer any indication of what the latest iteration of the proposed rulemaking could entail, but he emphasized that the CEC has done a lot of work to understand the industry and gain a big picture understanding of rolling resistance's relationship to safety and tire wear.

"It has been a long time since February 2023," Rider said, "and we have spent that time gathering additional information, talking with all the stakeholders from retailers to manufacturers to our fellow state agencies, trying to make sure that we ultimately reform the February proposal into something that considers all aspects and has a holistic view of what is feasible in the tire market."

Rider also emphasized that the agency won't put forth a proposal that it feels compromises safety or drastically impacts on scrap tire generation.

"The Energy Commission recognizes that there are ways you can improve the rolling resistance that can be to the detriment of safety and of wear," Rider said, noting later that the data the commission is working with does not indicate there would be an increase in scrap tire generation based on the RRCs it is considering.

"If folks want to provide information and have a different point of view or has information to show (scrap tire generation or safety issues), that is something we will treat very seriously," Rider said.

The rolling resistance-based proposals are rooted in AB 844, which directed the CEC to establish energy efficiency rules for replacement tires and create a data base that gives California residents a source for gathering information about the fuel efficiency of their tires. It also called on the implementation of a rating system to help consumers better understand the impact their tires have on fuel/energy usage.

"We are thinking of putting out a proposal that would rate tires on (a) leaf rating system," Rider said. "The most efficient tires would get four leaves and the least efficient, maybe no leaves."

The ratings chart, he said, would be posted online and at points of sale.

"The poster," Rider said "would tell you this exists and if you were interested, you could ask your sales associate. And if you wanted to factor it into your buying or request a three-leaf tire, you could do it."

Rider offered no further insights into what RRCs the leaves would represent, noting instead that the proposal is still being worked on.

When the proposal is introduced, he said, a public comment period will follow, allowing for revisions as needed.