As I already anticipated in the other post, because in the presentation of the Energy Saver there were a lot of cars to choose from of all types and different sizes, I agreed with other bloggers to exchange cars in the middle of the tour to experience to the fullest.
There I was thrown in my Chevrolet Aveo...
I did the first part of the tour riding in the 2008 Chevrolet Aveo, shod with a 185/55/R15 tire..
As soon as I hit the first foot on the accelerator, the impression was that the motor didn't push too much. Could it be that I am getting used to turbo engines? That impression of lack of drive became even more evident when climbing Navacerrada.
Still, the car is quite successful as long as you don't want to give it a "sports" use like the one I intended going up the pass. On the highway I was able to verify the benefits of the car: smooth engine, finishes superior to what I knew of previous models of the brand and a comfortable suspension. Too bad this suspension was not a bit firmer and the car rocked excessively while the Energy Saver screeched at every turn. Under hard braking the car would sink nose down and the rear reminded me that it lacked ESP. Even so the stopping power is good, I just had to press down on the pedal as hard as I could if I wanted it to ABS will kick in. I did not have the opportunity to check the resistance to heating of the brakes, since the brakings were spaced.
Since we are talking about heating, Michelin ensures that one of the most important achievements of the Energy Saver is to get the tread to heat up enough to ensure good adherence and that this heat is not transmitted to the rest of the tire, avoiding dissipating energy and thus consuming less fuel (After all, all the energy that is dissipated in the operation of the car comes from the fuel tank).
During the test I was able to see how the tread acquired a good temperature (it was also a splendid sun, which warmed the asphalt), and as the tire warmed up it screeched more intensely (much sharper), Nobly warning that the limits of adherence were reached, which by the way seemed quite high to me, especially when braking, given the character of the car.
The second part of the test was the best; almost at the top of Navacerrada I exchanged the car with Hunaudieres. He drove a Volvo C30 D5, so the change I made was very good 🙂 . Its 2.5-liter turbo five-cylinder engine and 180 hp allowed me to fully squeeze the Energy Saver in 205/55/R15 size
To be continue…