Michelin's X Multi Energy D2 drive tire cuts rolling resistance 9% over its predecessor

For the person who buys or specs drive tires, the practical question is how much of Michelin's published performance carries over to the size actually on their trucks. The answer is in the footnotes.

What the 9% and 18% compare

Michelin's release, distributed through GlobeNewswire, footnotes each of those numbers. The 9% generation-over-generation gain comes from ISO 28580 rolling resistance testing of the D2 against the D. The 18% competitive figure comes from Michelin's internal ISO 28580 testing against two named tires, the Bridgestone M760 Ecopia and the Goodyear Fuel Max RTD. The "leading competitors" in the headline wording turn out to be a specific, checkable pair.

That specificity is useful. A fleet that already runs either of those tires in 11R22.5 LRG has a direct reference point for Michelin's claim, and can set it against its own fuel and wear records. Keep in mind that both percentages describe rolling resistance, a property of the tire. How much fuel a fleet actually saves depends on its routes, loads and speeds, and the release doesn't put a fuel economy percentage on it.

The bigger qualifier is size. Michelin's footnotes cite 11R22.5 LRG size tires for the rolling resistance, wet handling and snow starting traction tests. For fleets running 295/75R22.5, or the 11R22.5 LRH, that suggests the footnotes are the most useful part of the spec sheet. Those tires could perform the same way, but the footnotes do not cover them.

Traction measured on worn tread

The physical changes are a new tread pattern and a new tread compound. According to Michelin, both are meant to help the tread hold up better against damage from high-torque vehicles and from the stop-and-go driving found in regional applications.

Look closely at how the traction claims were tested. Michelin compared D2 and D tires that were both worn down to 10/32 inch of remaining tread, so the 10% wet handling and 16% snow starting gains describe the tire partway through its life. That's the version a driver is actually on for much of a tire's service, and it's a more demanding comparison than new tread against new tread.

The fleets most likely to care are the ones whose regional lanes see wet or snowy seasons, where starting traction from a stop is an everyday operating issue. For a fleet running mostly dry Sun Belt routes, the rolling resistance figure will probably matter more.

A casing rated for four retreads

Under the tread, the D2 uses Michelin's Duracore casing, which combines the company's Infinicoil and Powercoil technologies with a reinforced bead design called Duracoil.

Here's where the D2's headline numbers run into a limit. The rolling resistance and worn-traction figures describe the original D2 tread and compound. When a fleet retreads that casing, the tread performance belongs to whatever retread goes on. So the 9% gain and the four-retread rating describe two different stretches of the same tire's life.

That split matters most to fleets that run retread programs on drive positions, where the casing is the asset they keep. If a fleet replaces drive tires without retreading, first-life tread performance is most of the story. If it retreads aggressively, a casing built for four retreads could end up mattering more over the tire's full life than any first-life percentage.

Who meets the D2 first

Michelin also positions the tire for truck makers: the release says the D2 meets greenhouse gas standards and supports applicable vehicle carbon-reduction requirements. For OEMs choosing factory-fit drive tires for regional tractors, that puts the D2 in contention for new-truck builds as well as replacement orders.

The change will matter first to fleets already running the X Multi Energy D in 295/75R22.5 LRG, 11R22.5 LRG or 11R22.5 LRH sizes.