Probably one the hardest thing in the world is to make a truck tyre look interesting...I mean how do you make what's basically a black rubber ring look attractive in a photograph? Well what you might do is hire ace snapper Tom Cunningham Now there's a bloke that always comes back with a decent shot (and if I had a fiver for every time Biglorryblog has 'bigged him up' I'd have bought my own Hasselblad!"
Anyway Tom tells me: "I took this shot about three months ago, the weather wasn't particularly good. There was some water in the yard but we splashed a bit more down with a hose to get a decent reflection then I just put a bit of flash on the back tyre..." Bish, bash, bosh...and don't forget the tilt Tom! (What am I always telling BLB readers about adding a bit of tilt to a truck photograph?) And the net result...? Well you can see it above.
But why did Tom take the picture of a back tyre on a Thomas Harwood truck in the first place? Well click through here to find out---and how the Bolton-based contractor is saving over £1,000 per vehicle per year following trials with Michelin’s low rolling resistance Energy tyres....
The in-house tyre tests saw Thomas Harwood staff carefully recording fuel data on a 44-tonne Volvo FH12 6x2 tractor unit over a period of more than two years – with the vehicle first fitted with Michelin ‘E’ segment regional tyres (XZE2+ / XDE2+), and then switched to operate on Michelin Energy tyres (XZA2 / XDA2+).
The length of the trial ensured small inconsistencies were ironed out, with the non-Energy tyres returning an average of 8.68mpg, against 8.99mpg with the vehicle fitted with the low-rolling resistance Energy tyres. And here's the intersting bit (so pay attention at the back). The difference in fuel economy equates to a saving of 3.45% – which in real terms is worth £1,025, based on an average annual fuel bill for a tractor unit of £30,000 a year.
Commenting on the trial, Mark Harwood, a director of the company, tells BLB: “The biggest expense for owner operators is diesel, and we’ve taken the view that even a small improvement in fuel economy will see us make noticeable capital savings. With Energy tyres fitted across our trailer fleet as well, Michelin has advised us that the potential for savings could be nearly doubled. Throughout the trial we recorded every mile driven and every litre of fuel used, enabling us to demonstrate the savings with a relatively simple calculation. We are now in the process of rolling out Energy tyres across other vehicles in the fleet,” he adds. And with those potential savings you'd be daft not to....
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