1. Additional Items for Consideration Bill VandeWater Consumer Products Manager Sales Engineering Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire

2. Agenda Tire Parameters and Trade-Offs Associated with Tire Construction/Materials Other Options Available to Improve Fuel Economy

3. “ STOP - GO – TURN – CARRY THE LOAD” BASIC TIRE FUNCTIONS PROVIDES THE VEHICLE-TO-ROAD INTERFACE SUPPORTS VEHICLE LOAD - AIR PRESSURE PROVIDES ROAD SURFACE FRICTION ABSORBS ROAD SURFACE IRREGULARITIES PROVIDES SPECIFIC DRIVER ‘FEEL’ BRAKINGDRY ACCELERATING WET CORNERINGSNOW

4. Consumers’ Perceptions Not all the functions of a tire are perceived as being of equal importance. 1.Consistent Wet/Dry Performance 2.Wet Stopping Distance 3.Treadwear And we cannot improve some tire parameters without subsequent losses in others.

5. Improved compound and construction technologies can minimize performance trade offs. Expect potential trade-offs in dry traction and wear. ROLLING RESISTANCE TRADE-OFFS GENERALIZED TRENDS

6. ELASTIC vs. VISCOUS MATERIAL PROPERTIES energy loss LOW HYSTERESIS MATERIAL Reduce Rolling Resistance energy loss HIGH HYSTERESIS MATERIAL Increase Traction No energy loss PERFECTLY ELASTIC MATERIAL

7. Results of Designing Primarily for Rolling Resistance Moving counter to consumers’ identified “most important” parameters in tire performance 1.Consistent wet/dry performance  reduction 2. Wet stopping distance  longer 3.Treadwear  less Reduced treadwear will result in 1.Increased energy costs to produce additional tires 2.More tires in landfills or ‘tire mountains’ 3.Consumer dissatisfaction

8. Option – Improved Maintenance Institute an aggressive education program for –California vehicle fleet –Consumers providing information on the advantages of proper tire inflation and scheduled tire rotation maintenance.

9. NHTSA Air Pressure Study Independent study commissioned by NHTSA in February, 2001 –Tire pressure measured on 11,530 vehicles. 6,442 Passenger Cars 1,874 SUVs 1,376 Vans 1,838 Pickup Trucks –Tire pressures measured ‘hot’. –Survey of drivers

10. NHTSA Air Pressure Study 1.3% of passenger cars and 6% of light truck vehicles have all 4 tires significantly underinflated. 2.27% of passenger cars and 33% of light trucks have at least 1 tire significantly underinflated. 3.And these tires were measured ‘hot’!

11. Rolling Resistance vs. Inflation 0 50 100 150 200 250 1020304050607080 Inflation (psi) Rolling Resistance (normalized) P225/60R16 195/55R15 LT225/75R16 20%

12. Advantages of Air Pressure Maintenance Improved fuel economy Improved tire durability Longer mileage Crisper handling Trade-offs of Air Pressure Maintenance NONE

13. The tire industry (jointly and individually) has instituted consumer awareness programs to educate vehicle owners of the importance of proper tire maintenance –RMA – ‘Be Tire Smart – Play Your PART’ –BFS – ‘Inflate. Rotate. Evaluate.’ – Distributed over 2.25 million tire pressure gauges – www.tiresafety.com RMA and Bridgestone/Firestone will work with the California Energy Commission to create and implement an effective tire maintenance program

14. Lane Change Stopping Distance Dry Handling Pattern Noise Road Noise Damping Harshness Braking Wet Handling Groove Wander Snow Handling Wear Durability TIRE PERFORMANCE BALANCE

15. Thank you for your time and interest.