Impact assessment of an intelligent central tire inflation system for passenger cars

Tire inflation pressure affects vehicle energetic balance, as well as road safety. These issues are particularly critical due to the low attention paid by the drivers to tire maintenance. Tire pressure monitoring systems are used to alert the drivers in case of low pressure, but higher benefits could be obtained through a completely autonomous on-board system capable of setting the optimal tire pressure according to current working conditions and of automatically inflate or deflate tires. Basing on computer simulations on fuel economy of a reference mid-size diesel passenger car, and referring to statistical data on vehicle use, the potentialities of such a device is evaluated on an annual mission. The results are then extended to the whole European fleet to provide an estimation of the potential benefits that could be obtained through massive adoption of this solution. The impact is evaluated through an economical evaluation of: fuel savings, reduction of social cost of carbon emissions, increase of tire life and reduction of costs related to crashes produced by improper tire pressure.