Resources · Tool
Price per tire is the wrong number.
A tire that costs 40 percent less can cost more per kilometre. Here is the arithmetic every fleet should be running, and the one nobody in this market publishes.
The formula
cost per km = (purchase price + fitting − casing value) ÷ expected life in km
Three costs sit outside it and are usually bigger than the difference in price:
- 01
Fuel penalty
Rolling resistance turns into litres per 100 km, every day, for the life of the tire.
- 02
Downtime
A roadside failure costs the call-out, the wait, the missed delivery and the driver's hours.
- 03
Early casing write-off
A casing that cannot be retreaded is a tire you buy twice.
Run your own numbers
It computes only from what you type. There are no pre-filled figures and nothing is stored.
Scenario A
Fill in the fields to see the result.
Scenario B
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Difference, B against A
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Assumes two tires per axle. Fuel spend is shown so a rolling resistance difference can be read against tire spend; enter the litres per 100 km you measure on each tire.
What moves the number most
Axle position matching
A drive pattern on a steer axle wears fast and steers badly. The right pattern in the right position is the cheapest change a fleet can make.
Inflation pressure
Under-inflation shortens tire life, raises fuel use and kills casings. Pressure is the variable most fleets control least.
Retreadability of the casing
A casing that comes off sound is worth money. One that does not is a write-off. The premium tire's second life is where the price gap closes.
Duty cycle honesty
A regional tire on a long-haul route, or a highway tire on a site track, finishes early. Specify for the route you actually run.