Rolling Resistance Calculator — Force, Power & Energy
Calculate the rolling resistance force acting on any wheeled vehicle or object, the mechanical power needed to overcome it at a given speed, and the energy consumed per 100 km. Choose a surface preset for a typical coefficient Crr, or enter your own. The power-vs-speed chart shows how resistance scales linearly with velocity.
kg
km/h
Surface preset (Crr)
Frr = Crr × m × g
- 1
Normal force N = m × g
1,500 × 9.80665 = 14,710 - 2
Rolling resistance Frr = Crr × N
0.012 × 14,710 = 176.5
How does this calculator work?
Rolling resistance force Frr = Crr × m × g, where Crr is the surface coefficient (≈ 0.001 train rail to ≈ 0.15 soft sand), m is mass and g = 9.807 m/s². Power to overcome it equals Frr × speed (W). Energy per 100 km = Frr × 100 kJ. Unlike aero drag, the force is constant with speed, so power rises linearly not cubically.
Formula
How this is calculated
Rolling resistance is the force opposing motion that arises when a wheel or tyre rolls over a surface. The dominant mechanism in pneumatic tyres is hysteretic energy loss: the tyre rubber deforms as it enters the contact patch and recovers as it exits, but the recovery is incomplete, so some energy is lost as heat each revolution. Additional minor contributions come from micro-slip at the contact patch, aerodynamic drag of the rotating wheel, and bearing friction.
The force is well-approximated by Frr = Crr × N, where N = m × g is the normal (weight) force and Crr is a dimensionless rolling resistance coefficient that depends mainly on the tyre/wheel type and the surface. Unlike sliding friction, Crr is largely independent of vehicle speed below roughly 100 km/h; above that, speed effects become measurable as aerodynamic heating of the tyre increases. The power to overcome rolling resistance at speed v (m/s) is simply P = Frr × v, so it rises linearly with speed — in contrast to aerodynamic drag which rises with v³.
Typical Crr values: steel wheel on rail 0.001–0.002; narrow road-bicycle tyre 0.004–0.008; energy-saving car tyres (low rolling resistance) 0.007–0.010; standard car tyres on asphalt 0.010–0.015; SUV all-terrain tyres 0.015–0.025; gravel 0.020; soft sand 0.10–0.30.
Frequently asked questions
At everyday road speeds (below ~100 km/h) Crr is nearly constant, so rolling resistance force is constant and power increases linearly with speed. Above 100 km/h, tyre heating causes Crr to increase slightly (roughly 1–2% per 10 km/h for passenger car tyres), but this effect is small compared with aerodynamic drag, which dominates above ~70–80 km/h for most vehicles.
Higher tyre inflation pressure reduces the size of the contact patch and lowers hysteretic deformation, reducing Crr. Underinflated tyres can have Crr values 20–40% higher than a correctly inflated tyre. This is why tyre manufacturers specify a target pressure for minimum rolling resistance, and why vehicles can show noticeably better fuel economy at higher tyre pressures.
Rolling resistance force (Frr = Crr × mg) is roughly constant with speed; aerodynamic drag force (Faero = ½ρCdAv²) grows with the square of speed. At low speeds rolling resistance dominates; at highway speeds aerodynamic drag dominates. For a typical passenger car the crossover is around 70–80 km/h. Both forces contribute to the total power demand, which rises steeply at high speed.
Also known as
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. (2026). Rolling Resistance Calculator — Force, Power & Energy [Online calculator]. TG we-Calculate. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/rolling-resistance-calculator
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. "Rolling Resistance Calculator — Force, Power & Energy." TG we-Calculate. 2026. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/rolling-resistance-calculator.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team, "Rolling Resistance Calculator — Force, Power & Energy," TG we-Calculate, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://we-calculate.com/calculator/rolling-resistance-calculator
@misc{wecalculate_rolling_resistance_calculator, title = {Rolling Resistance Calculator — Force, Power & Energy}, author = {{TG we-Calculate Editorial Team}}, howpublished = {\url{https://we-calculate.com/calculator/rolling-resistance-calculator}}, year = {2026}, note = {TG we-Calculate} }
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