Super Single Tires

It seems to be 50-50 with folks on this, whether they like them or not. I haven't lost one yet, pay a lot of attention to tire maintenance, and I like what they do for my fuel economy. The bottom line is what it's about, so I'm happy with mine.

 

How much better has your MPG's got?

 

I have wide singles on the tractor, and its a lot easier to get good mpg's than with the duals on my last Century. But... we swap between trailers with duals and wide singles - I see a good 0.5 mpg increase on the trailers with the wide singles.

 

I don't understand how you guys are getting better mpg's with the singles? With the singles the air has to be pushed around a bigger space versus the duals where the air can travel between with less resistance?

Have you figured up how many miles or how good you mpg has to be to offset the cost of the singles?

 

I like the singles. I have noticed they'll spin out easier going uphill pulling some weight when it's wet out.

I've had one blow out on the tractor at 65 mph & I noticed the tire breaking apart before I felt it. No problem getting slowed & out of the way of traffic. I personally like them and the 8+ mpg I average.

 

Wide singles have less sidewall flexing (same concept of going to a low profile tire to get better MPG)....only 2 sidewalls, not 4 to flex...
Also the space between conventional doubles is not really wide enough to let much air through....so they are WIDER overall, so pushing them through the air is harder.

 

I haven't noticed any fuel savings in my Cascadia. I also know I have already had to shut down 5 times this winter because I couldn't get traction. As a lease operator, it's killing me. I HATE HATE HATE super singles.

 

i loved em when i had em. had a brand new one come apart on me once but that happens with everything from time to time. I never noticed a loss in traction in bad weather. I always hauled heavy though too

 

I haven't had any problem with traction - I did chain my widesingle drives last week going over the ridge from Yakima to Ellensburg WA - but the chainlaw was in effect at the time.

I think they are more sensitive to to underpressure than singles are - you need to keep a closer eye on that. I've had very good mileage in my Cascadia - loaded heavy and usually better than 7.3 mpg.