Get Sharp About Electric Car Tires or Throw Your Money Away

Heavier, faster, stingier: No car is harder on tires than an electric one.

[CED.Dweller]

Always glad to see Cooley on CNET. He was my introduction to the CNET brand.

[ArmageddonIsHere]

Tesla Model Y owner here.
My original set of tires - Continental ProContact RX rated for 40, 000 miles is now at 40, 300 miles and still about 2 mm tread left above the on-tire tread depth indicator tab.

I'll probably change to a set of Kumho Solus Majesty 9 TA 91 next.

So, to all those hearing that "EVs chew through tires" I say: It totally depends on HOW YOU DRIVE!

[nathangibson]

just got those handkook Evo on my model Y performance, yesterday.

Huge reduction in road noise and feels way better on the road. I’m a fan so far.

[lkeil]

I put Pirelli P6 tires on my Ford Focus Electric when the original Michelin wore out near 35k miles. I rotated them every 6k miles and they wore perfectly. The Pirelli are a much quieter tire and range did not really change any noticeable amount. Now with over 30k on the Pirellies, they still look like they have a lot of life left in them with rotations every 10k miles. I am aware of the increased wear as when put down the peddle, the only noise I hear is the front tires ripping. So, I just drive very aggressively and the tires last far longer. I am hoping to get at least another 30k out of this $600 set of tires. My car only weighs about 400 lbs more than the gas version, so pretty close and load range is fine. I have zero complaints about this rather inexpensive set of tires.

[scottbreseke]

I have a Tesla Model 3. I have Pirelli P-Zero All Season Electric tires. The word "electric" is part of the description. They are doing really well after 6 months of use and evaluation. So I recommend these.

[enhoj]

Cooley is witty, succinct, reasonable, honest and of course, cool. 😎 I'd watch him review just about anything.

[voxmobius]

Still on my 2015 e-Golf’s original tires so with 7+ years & at 65K+ miles on ‘em, tried looking for EV tires. Couldn’t find dealers listing LRR or load (HL) as filter. Tire dealers need to get in the game and add such filters to their websites.

[hazembata]

Brian, you have a great knack for explaining things.

[VeniVidiVid]

The thing that would stop tire manufacturers from charging more for electric vehicle tires is other tire manufacturers. Higher prices tend to be a signal for other manufacturers to enter that segment.

[andromedach]

So apparently Hankook paid more than a few large youttube channels for what is not much more than a giant ad.

[toyotaprius]

Nikki Gordon Bloomfield of Transport Evolved covered the same topic, and revisits snow/winter preparation every year. A Finnish brand of snow tires are said to be the best out there for EVs.

[TOracle]

If you don't floor it at every stop, your tires will last longer.

[trevorberridge]

"EVs can weigh a thousands pounds more". More than what? All the heaviest cars are ICE cars with big V8 or V12 engines. The reason you never heard of noise reduction material inside a tire before is because ICE cars are so noisy that you wouldn't notice the difference. Also EV range has improved so much that you don't have to worry about rolling resistance so much these days. If you want to eek out the most range then low rolling resistance works for EVs and ICE cars just the same. It's not an EV only issue.

[flyingjeff]

Also, added air pressure raises the hydroplaning speed.

[barryw]

Driving gently will make any tire last. I have 50, 000 miles on the original set of Ecopia 422 Plus tires on my e-Golf and I expect to get another 10, 000 miles out them.I do rotate every 10, 000 miles.

[SN-hnzi]

Weird Hankook is in the background and was also the Engineering Explained video posted on same day….

Even the 4 points they make are the same…

[arikbord]

As to the last point, even if prices don't go up, tyre life may deliberately go down. If tyres are the only maintenance expense you have, tyre manufacturers may lower longevity so they have to be replaced more often.... It's happened before with so many other products designed for "planned obsolescence"

[kevinhaskins]

My 2018 Chevy Bolt is only 3500 lbs, so about what a premium version of the Honda Accord tags in at. It does have healthy torque relative to eco-cars but not compared to some of the vehicles in that weight class. I drive it mostly like a grandma so the torque is only there if you have your foot in it. I just put on some all-season touring tires and they are quieter than the LRR OEM Michelin tires. If there is a fuel economy difference, it is small enough for me not to notice and I pay attention. The Hummer or some of those other examples, is a point well taken.

[chrisbeale]

All automotive tyres wear most under braking. Relatively little wear happens under acceleration, when at constant speed or even in bends unless the car is powerful and being driven aggressively. In general EV wear tyres more slowly than ICE vehicles because regenerative braking is very progressive and of course many EV’s are driven relatively gently to extend range. I have an Ioniq 5 with 55, 000 miles on the clock. There is still maybe 10, 000 miles left on the original tyres and this is a 300ps four wheel drive car weighing 2.2 tonnes. It is driven ‘briskly’, but more or less within speed limits and I rarely need to touch the brake pedal other than for full stops. I fondly remember my 993 Turbo 4 that destroyed a pair of P Zero rears in 3, 000 miles and fronts every 6, 000, but that had roughly the same 0-60 performance as the Ioniq 5.

[TheTruePrudentOne]

Great video, I always enjoy watch Mr. Cooley