Bridgestone Ecopia EP150 vs Bridgestone B290: Every time you come across a scratching sound while applying a break or taking some swift turns or you notice cracks in your tires, it’s the sign to get those changed and install new ones.
As the tires get old, small cracks start appearing on the outer as well as the interior surface. This results in the separation of steel belts in the treads from the rest of the rim.
Examine the treads on these tires closely. They hold the key to knowing which to choose. In fact if you visit my "tread design" page, picking the right tire would never bother you.
The Japanese giants and world’s largest tire producing company, Bridgestone have introduced a large variety of tires for the passenger class ranging from sedans to crossovers and SUVs to trucks.
For your ease, today we will be comparing the company’s two popular tires, which are Bridgestone Ecopia and B290.
Bridgestone Ecopia was launched by the company in two variants the Ecopia EP 150 and the Ecopia EP 850.it was launched on following the eco-friendly guidelines which results in 7-10% more fuel saving. Bridgestone B290 was launched as a successor of b250, to overcome the challenging road conditions.
Let’s dive in, but first make sure you also check out the differences between Bridgestone Ecopia and Turanza tires.
Table of Contents
BRIDGESTONE B290 – A Brief Overview:
The B290 was launched by Bridgestone as a successor of B250 to overcome the road challenges. It came up with some new and modern features adding to the increased safety standards.
Some of these features included flat contact patch design for better handling, 3D tread grooves for better handling, 5 different sized tread blocks for reducing noise, 10 percent better performance in the dry and wet conditions, 2 ply sidewall and many others.
It is an all season passenger tire ranging in different sizes from 12 inches to 16 inches and coming in 25 popular sizes, which makes it an ideal for sedans and hatchbacks.
The Bridgestone B290 comes in MY-02 styling and has a flexible rubber compound that adds to its high performance on the dry and wet conditions. This tire provides the best combo of flexibility and hardness on the outer surface. The base on the outer surface is flexible, whereas the tread blocks are hard enough to provide maximum handling.
In short this tire never disappoints I performance and performance extremely well especially in the dry and wet condition with high gripping and braking features. Another important aspect of B290 is the low noise level during driving. To achieve this Bridgestone b290 has 5 different sized tread blocks.
BRIDGESTONE ECOPIA – A Brief Overview:
The Bridgestone Ecopia was launched keeping in view the environmental hazards faced by the world, as it results in 7% fuel saving as compared to ordinary due to its low rolling resistance which results in less force and hence less consumption of fuel and less release of carbon dioxide.
Ecopia was launched in two variants EP-150 and EP-850. EP-150 was launched for the sedans and hatchbacks whereas EP-850 for SUVs and crossovers.
Since both variants have exactly the same features so we would be comparing Ecopia EP-150 with Bridgestone B290.
The Bridgestone Ecopia is made by the use of Bridgestone’s latest Nano pro technology, which manages the interaction among the compounds and hence conserves energy. It utilizes a special compound by combining silica with coupling agent to improve heat distribution and reduce energy loss as heat. Apart from being fuel efficient they are also designed to provide durability and good road handling.
The cutting edge tread design also balances fuel efficiency with safety and durability. The Bridgestone Ecopia EP-150 provides you with a quiet and comfortable ride. The high angled lateral grooves on the central tread, splash off the excess water producing a high grip in the wet conditions.
The Ecopia tires are available in 26 sizes from 13” to 18” rim diameter which caters a large variety of compact vehicles.
Which of these Bridgestone tires offer better Dry Traction?
The Bridgestone being the largest tire manufacturers of the world never compromise the quality. Both the Bridgestone Ecopia EP 150 and B290 provide best dry traction with B290 on slightly higher side.
As per the traction grading the Bridgestone ecopia is given a B while the B290 an A.
Both the tires when tested on the same car, which was accelerated to the same speed and break was applied from the same distance, the Ecopia EP 150 stopped a little ahead of B290 which led us to conclude that B290 has a good dry traction.
Which offers better wet traction?
We then compared both the tires test their wet traction and find out that the Ecopia EP 150 outclassed the B290 in this test.
The high angled lateral grooves which are present on the central tread, get rid of excess of water and result in exceptionally well wet traction and better braking response for Ecopia EP 150.
The new tread design of Ecopia EP 150 consists of rib linked blocks which assists in uniform ground contact and exceptional breaking in any weather condition.
The silica tread compound also improves the wet traction.
On the other hand the B290 which provides 10% greater wet grip than its predecessor the B250 due to the new and ultra-efficient tread design.
Rolling Resistance and Fuel Efficiency:
Again in order to provide a better view point to the audience in selecting the tires, we performed the rolling resistance test which tells us about the fuel efficiency of the tire.
The Bridgestone Ecopia EP 150 being the revolutionary tire due to its ecofriendly nature had the lower rolling resistance than the B290.
The Ecopia EP 150 contains a special compound that holds up silica to the coupling agent and other molecules and results in excellent heat distribution and less energy usage and hence greater fuel efficiency.
The Nano pro technology reduced rolling resistance by 15% and increased fuel efficiency by 7%.
Float Speed of the Tire:
The skidding of cars especially on the wet and muddy surfaces is called hydroplaning, also referred as aquaplaning. This happens due to the water between the radial surface of tires and the road.
Both the Bridgestone Ecopia EP 150 and B290 showed the same aqua planning and tied the test.
The Ecopia EP 150 utilizes tread design having four circumferential grooves that disperse the water away to enhance the wet traction.
On the other hand the B290 utilizes the laterally carved key hole sipes for dispersing water and enhancing traction on wet surfaces.
The B290 also has rows of high and low angle winding grooves that disperse more water through the channels
Noise Level Differences:
Both the Bridgestone Ecopia EP 150 and B290 performed well in reducing the noise levels during the ride.
The Bridgestone Ecopia EP 150 comes with innovative adaptive contact surface (ACS). The convex block profile adapts the contact surface to reduce air movement between the blocks for a smooth and quite ride
On the other hand the Bridgestone B290 also has the feature of providing smooth and quiet ride. This is achieved by using the five different sized tread blocks on the surface of the tires.
So either tire you choose the quality level on noise reduction will not be compromised.
Overall Ride Comfort:
The comfort level of the ride that the tire provides is another great area of interest for the buyers.so, in order to ease their decision making process we have compared the comfortability level of both the tires, the Ecopia Ep 150 and B290 and came on a conclusion that the Ecopia EP 150 has a slight edge on the Bridgestone B290.
In EP 150 the steel belts and polyester in the tire tread acts as an excellent shock absorber that minimizes the shocks that are generated during the ride. This damping of shocks results in comfortable ride.
The Bridgestone B290 has MY-02 tire styling and has flexible rubber compound.
There is a combination of flexibility and hardness on the outer surface.
The B290 tire has a continuous nylon wrap under its skin.
These features ensure a comfortable ride but less than Bridgestone Ecopia EP 150.
Steering Responsiveness:
The steering response of both the Bridgestone Ecopia EP 150 and Bridgestone B290 were almost the same.
The tests for steering responsiveness for both the tire were performed on dry roads.
The Bridgestone Ecopia EP 150 tread design had large rectangular blocks that enhanced the handling characteristics on dry roads.
The tread is further strengthened by twin seat belts and polyester piles.
This contributes towards greater steering responsiveness.
On the other hand the Bridgestone B290 also provides superb level of control.
The tread comprises of large tread blocks which respond instantaneously to the steering commands, boosting the confidence of the driver and enhancing the control.
Which tire offers more tread life?
Tread life is generally the mileage; the tires are going to complete before they wear off.
The Bridgestone Ecopia EP 150 has 3D cut connecting ribs, which raise the stiffness of shoulder blocks resulting in better wear resistance and increased tread life.
The Bridgestone B290 has a tread compound which is used in large tread blocks and results in more resistance to the tread wear.
As a result tires last long and the driver has no need to worry about changing them again and again.
So the Bridgestone B290 has lead in the tread life over the Bridgestone Ecopia Ep 150.
In the End:
After a detailed discussion on both the tires with some positives and some negatives it can be clearly seen that both of them are value to money.
Now it’s entirely up to the consumer keeping in mind his budget.
The Bridgestone Ecopia EP 150 is an ecofriendly tire with greater handling and the Bridgestone B290 is a balanced tire with longer wear life and good braking.
