Electric Cars: How Are Tyres Affected?
The UK government recently announced plans to ban all fuel car sales by 2035, meaning electric vehicles are and will continue to be a popular choice for UK drivers.
Whether you’re a fan of electric vehicles or not, this is something you simply can’t avoid! Although electric vehicles are a great choice for environmentally conscious drivers, most aren’t aware the wrong tyre choice can reduce the lifespan of your eco-friendly ride!
Quite naturally, due to the weighty batteries these vehicles carry, electric vehicles can be around 20-30% heavier than their non-electrical counterparts. The increased weight, combined with the instant torque electric power can generate, results in tyres being put under increased pressure than on a petrol or diesel vehicle.
In fact, tyre manufacturer Goodyear has stated that traditional tyres can wear out up to 30% faster on electric vehicles.
How To Protect Your Electric Car Tyres From Damage
Control Acceleration
Electric cars accelerate quicker than petrol or diesel cars - so to protect your tyres it’s advised to accelerate softly and to avoid hard cornering in order to limit wear and tear damage.
Due to this increased stress, tyres are more prone to rotate and move on their axis. It is recommended that tyres are rotated every 5,000-8,000km on an electric vehicle in order to maximise their lifespan.
Rolling Resistance and Correct Inflation
When choosing the perfect tyre for your electric vehicle it’s important to take note of the rolling resistance as this can have an effect on how long a charge will last. A tyre with less rolling resistance requires less energy to rotate, therefore allowing you to drive further with a single charge.
You can find the rolling resistance on the fuel efficiency section of the EU tyre label. A class A tyre has the lowest rolling resistance resulting in tyres being more efficient per charge.
Ensuring you have the correct inflation pressure is also key in optimising the lifespan of your tyres. As electric vehicles are heavier the pressure on your tyres are increased, therefore an underinflated tyre will increase the rolling resistance, resulting in the tyre becoming less efficient.
Tread Depth
With increased weight from an electric vehicle, tread depth can also decrease at a faster rate than on diesel and petrol vehicles.
Goodyear have designed a tyre that has been created with an innovative tread design to avoid this. The tyre has smaller tread channels so there is increased rubber coming in contact with the road. This means the tyre can cope better with high levels of torque whilst still maintaining high performance in wet conditions.
