Pollution is an issue. How big the issue is… well we’ll leave that for another post. Although when you hear about pollution most people think about car exhausts. The idea of modifying your exhaust with the side effect of creating a little more pollution triggers some of the non-car enthusiasts.
A recent study done by the Emissions Analytics states that there may be other factors that create even more pollution, the tires, brakes and the road. The tires wear over time. As this happens particles of the tires fall off and can create pollution. According to the study it can be near 1,000 times worse than the exhaust.
Most newer cars have such high regulation on emissions now that the pollution amount is minuscule. The study was performed on
a popular family hatchback running on brand new, correctly inflated tires
The study showed that the car produced 5.8 grams of NEE particulates per kilometer driven. These None Emission Exhaust particles come from the tires, brakes and the road. Compared to the amount of exhaust particles it’s 1,289 times more. The exhaust particles based on today’s EU standards is roughly 0.0045 grams-per-kilometer.