[Mako]

Originally Posted by unfoundnemo

Good question, I expect these to be competitive with the non-FSC alternatives, but the categories may be limited.

They're not saying they made any ground breaking developments in tire compound chemistry here. We know that natural rubber and rayon were already being used in tires. The FSC certification around the natural rubber and rayon used in the process is the news. In general, that means they are ensuring the trees were harvested using responsible methods (this may have been the case half the time already), but more importantly that the supply chain for the material was documented meticulously to make sure that these were indeed the material used for the item bearing the FSC logo.

FSC will have certain percentages the manufacturer has to meet, so it's not like they could just source the FSC materials, apply the procedures needed for FSC certification, use the same formula, and say they're covered across the board. If they have to use 30% FSC certified natural rubber to have an FSC logo on the tire, they may simply not be able to make a summer performance tire (at least not without substantial amounts of R&D which they would have been touting).

Except fsc credits also can be bought...

Fsc doesn't mean too much anymore. For sure doesn't mean the exact product you are using is actually from those sources. I know as I deal with fsc items.

If they really care they should start with interior materials that are eco friendly.

Problem is both corporation and end user care about one thing

$$$

Not going to change the world

[ADEe92]

Originally Posted by ///M TOWN

Agreed... ///M is completely whoring it out

Meh - BMW have always whored it out since the 80s. You could buy either a 320 or 323i in 1982 as a Motorsport Edition complete with ///M badging but no additional power. The package included a few nice M-technic bits, your choice of a BMW Motorsport or BBS front valance + Recaros... much the same as now.

Thanks to Jeroen's e21 Network (bmwe21.net) I present the smoking gun - a Dutch BMW add from 1982, but these were available across Western Europe, in Australia etc:



As for their recycled / recyclable materials - would be good to see more take up of some of the tech they developed for the i3. The interior there used recycled / recyclable materials but the processes don't seem to have translated to newer models very much.

[///M TOWN]

Originally Posted by ADEe92

Meh - BMW have always whored it out since the 80s. You could buy either a 320 or 323i in 1982 as a Motorsport Edition complete with ///M badging but no additional power. The package included a few nice M-technic bits, your choice of a BMW Motorsport or BBS front valance + Recaros... much the same as now.

Thanks to Jeroen's e21 Network (bmwe21.net) I present the smoking gun - a Dutch BMW add from 1982, but these were available across Western Europe, in Australia etc:

[IMG]https://www.bmwe21.net/E21_editionM.jpg[/IMG]

As for their recycled / recyclable materials - would be good to see more take up of some of the tech they developed for the i3. The interior there used recycled / recyclable materials but the processes don't seem to have translated to newer models very much.

‼️

[CHE///MIST3]

Originally Posted by KaptainKloss

Does anyone walk into a dealership asking for a car with sustainable tires?.......

Give it time....i've also been reading of "vegan interiors" lately.


GM

[Efthreeoh]

May I ask...

What is unsustainable about regular tires?

[Efthreeoh]

And BTW, tires used to be mostly made of natural rubber for cost reasons. WWI helped further advance of synthetic rubber due to cost increases based on supply, but WWII more drove the industrialization of synthetic rubber tires when there were significant rubber shortages caused by supply chain disruptions by the Japanese.

Maybe BMW should change it's marketing slogan to the first modern manufacturer to...

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by CHE///MIST3

Give it time....i've also been reading of "vegan interiors" lately.


GM

i3 anyone?

[TAZ007]

Originally Posted by unfoundnemo

Not yet, but if more become available, they most certainly will, or at least make decisions based on that specific fact. Many walk in now asking about vegan alternatives to leather for seating options and will choose certain brands or options therein accordingly.

How many comments does it take to mention a p-car in a thread?

Same as asking how licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. Start licking to find out.

[unfoundnemo]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

May I ask...

What is unsustainable about regular tires?

Well, aside from synthetic rubber (which would use petroleum instead of natural rubber), it's more about how that specific natural rubber was harvested, meaning FSC will try to make sure they didn't clear-cut a forest without a plan to re-seed and such.

[Wild Blue]

I see absolutely no information in this grandstanding press release about how these empirically compare to other tires functionally. There's only a single small sentence that "the new tire meets the BMW Group’s strict performance requirements".

How does the wear life compare to normal tires? How does the ride comfort compare? Is the compound softer, or firmer? Do they provide more traction, or less, than a similarly designed normal tire?

Don't just tell me they "meet standards". Run-flat tires "meet standards", and their performance is noticeably different from non-RFT.

You better believe I care about what tires I put on my car. ***IF*** you can make these green tires perform just as well as conventional tires, then sure, go for all the sustainability you want.

[Simonbq]

everything comes with a cost