On Friday, April 24, 2026, the California Energy Commission issued its proposed new tire regulations for tires sold in California. The new regulations would require passenger car and light truck tires to meet a maximum rolling resistance level which varies by tire category in 2 phases. The first phase is slated for January 1, 2028, and the second phase on January 1, 2031. The new regulations include a minimum wet grip level.
In addition to the tire requirements, tire manufacturers (or brand name owners) would be required to submit data to the CEC on all tires that meet the regulations. Data would include rolling resistance, wet grip level, and enough information to uniquely identify the tire. A database is planned to be available to the public.
I foresee many Californians buying tires in Nevada or Arizona on weekend trips that can no longer be purchased in California. And replacement OEM tires installed on performance cars, like my Mach 1, that can no longer meet the regs. Plus autocross, time trial, club racing and track day enthusiasts like myself that desire tires that cannot meet these regs.
I foresee a resurgence of retreaded tires on the market in California because we all know most people buy replacement tires by price. And every one of these regs will increase the price because of the cost of compliance in administrative, logistics, engineering and manufacturing labor. I suspect the cheap Chinese tires will still be sold since they will just fabricate the data unless verification (at added cost) by a 3rd party is required.
There’s a 3 way technological triangle involving rolling resistance, traction, especially wet traction, and treadwear. Improve one area, and one or both of the others have to be sacrificed.
EXCEPT
Improvements in technology can change that relationship - and while it is still true (in my opinion), the exact balance can be readjusted so that it there is an improvement in one area, without a sacrifice in the other.
I think the latest version addresses all of your concerns.
The regs divide tires into different categories, and the regs are different for each category -/ such that each category is only slightly affected. In other words, only the worst offenders would be banned.
Plus, tires with less than 15,000 units per year are exempt. I think that covers all time-trial, etc tires.
As far as costs go, all the tire manufacturers already do all that testing. The administrative costs are fairly small by comparison to the total cost of the tire itself - much like the cost of advertising. There is likely to be a small increase in cost, but not enough to justify a trip to another state to get a better price.
Doesn’t that start down the slippery slope of telling other people what to do with their money?
I’ve had people counting out crumpled $5 bills to see if they could afford a new tire, I’ve had people decide between groceries and a tire, I’ve had people take off to the used tire shop because they didn’t have money for a new one. Would you prefer that minivan drives away on that temporary spare for another 2 weeks or drives away on a new tire?
Sometimes the right tire for the car and the customer is one that’s round and holds air.