LRR and "fuel efficient" tires the same thing??

discount tire only sells ones listed as fuel efficient...

I doubt they are the same - there is a big difference between LRR claims as it is. One very rough indicator is the sidewall maximum PSI - 51PSI generally means it is a better tire than those with 44PSI sidewall max.

What brands / models do they have available?

I think these are the factory 17" LRR tire

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-NEW-215-50-17-MICHELIN-ENERGY-SAVER-A-S-50R-R17-TIRES-19595-/191423549364?hash=item2c91bb8fb4&vxp=mtr" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I soooooooooooooooooo wish that LRR had a number associated with it. kind of like a drag CD for a car but for the tire and then just rate them all. I can dream can't I?

I did a lot of research trying to cross reference Euro tyres that are rated A-G for rolling resistance with similar north American tires. I compared things like country of origin and max psi to see if they were the same.

Unfortunately there are very few tires that make the trip and most are summer only with low wear numbers and are heavy (many run flats). All season seams to be something they don't do much in the EU. Most of those tires were original Audi, BMW or Mercedes and ones that got LRR here were often rated a C-E (I think they skip D.

The interesting thing this taught me is that the rating can change a lot with the same tire in different sizes and load ratings. A higher load rating doesn't always mean better rolling resistance and higher PSI doesn't always mean it did better on the test.

What high PSI does do is let you pump it up to make the tire more LRR.

I just put on some Conti truecontacts in 215 55 17 and I love them! So far they give great numbers and they are suppose to get better as the tire breaks in. They are also a wear rating of 800, disclaimer the Canadian spec tires I have are made in FR, 51 PSI max. The US spec 215 55 17 are made in MX and 44 psi max. They were tested either the highest or second highest in the tirerack tests, but again so many variables that you cant compare each test they do to the other ones and to the size your car will take. If you go with a large diameter tire you should have less rolling resistance if all other things are equal. From my research into EU tires they aren't always equal when you change size so it's some guess work and luck. Some of the LRR tires in the US get an E on EU tests and have the same size/load rating, country of origin and max psi so I doubt they are different tires. I would recommend 215 55 17 and 205 60 16 (My cousin ran them for winters) as both fit well and are more accurate for the speedo and ODO.

BrockWI said:

I soooooooooooooooooo wish that LRR had a number associated with it. kind of like a drag CD for a car but for the tire and then just rate them all. I can dream can't I?

Click to expand...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_rolling_resistance_tire" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yes I remember those numbers from way back when I was just hoping it would become standard so you had a 215-15-70-RR# Then you could easily compare them. I also looked a lot in to it and it amazed me how much it can matter by where the tire is made, between the same make but different sizes all change these numbers, sometimes significantly.

Nubo said:

BrockWI said:

I soooooooooooooooooo wish that LRR had a number associated with it. kind of like a drag CD for a car but for the tire and then just rate them all. I can dream can't I?

Click to expand...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_rolling_resistance_tire" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Click to expand...

BrockWI said:

Yes I remember those numbers from way back when I was just hoping it would become standard so you had a 215-15-70-RR# Then you could easily compare them. I also looked a lot in to it and it amazed me how much it can matter by where the tire is made, between the same make but different sizes all change these numbers, sometimes significantly.

Click to expand...

The EU system works well because it won't confuse people as to why certain size tires can get great numbers and others can't. So much of a tire design is about balance that you also don't want to be chasing numbers that are possibly at the expense of others.

Sometimes too much information to consumers is a bad thing