Here’s Why The Tires On Electric Vehicles Run Down Much Quicker

According to Consumer Reports, a new set of tires on a typical family car can easily last around 70,000 miles or more. Ultra-high-performance tires will wear down quicker, with 30,000 miles being considered a good run for a set of UHPs. EV tires are a whole other story. Kelley Blue Book reports that a set of EV tires can be expected to last around 30,000 to 40,000 miles with regular use. That is, a standard set of tires on an EV like the Tesla Model Y might only last about as long as a set of UHP tires on a gas-powered performance model like a Porsche 911.

So, what the heck is going on? It’s just rubber and asphalt, right? Why are the tires on electric cars burning out at around twice the pace of those on ICE-powered vehicles? Well, the answer is simpler than you might suspect.

Electric Cars Are Just Plain Heavier

According to Kelley Blue Book, the average weight of an EV battery is around a thousand pounds, which skews the average weight upwards. Let’s take a look at some popular EVs and compare them to their ICE counterparts in terms of curb weight.

You’ll notice that the disparity gets bigger with the overall size of the vehicle. The Mini Cooper EV only adds a few hundred pounds over the lightest ICE model, while the F-150 Lightning can be a full ton heavier than a combustion-powered F-150. The Hyundai Kona’s average weight gain comes in somewhere in between those two, from trim to trim. You can blame all of this on the simple fact that bigger vehicles require bigger batteries.

More weight essentially means more rolling resistance, that is, it takes more effort to get the weight on top of those tires into motion, which means your axle is pulling on the rubber that much harder, generating heat and twisting the sidewalls, and wearing your tire down more quickly.

To put it one way, if you had to climb fifty flights of stairs, your knees would rather you did it without wearing a backpack, right? More weight will always mean more stress on whatever it is that’s supporting that weight.

Instant Torque Will Grind The Rubber Down Pretty Quickly

The excess weight of an electric vehicle is further compounded by the instant torque that EVs provide. Instant torque is one of the coolest features of EVs, sure. The whole point of a muscle car, for instance, is to get those wheels in motion as fast as possible so you can scream across the quarter mile at lightning speed. Well, EVs can do that without having to pack on a supercharger. But, that’s obviously going to take a toll on the tires.

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While EVs don’t brake instantaneously, they can brake quicker thanks to regenerative braking, wherein the motor goes into reverse to help bring the wheels to a stop, and to feed some of that energy back into the battery. On the plus side, brake pads tend to last longer in EVs, because they don’t have to do all the work themselves. In the minus column, this serves to create more friction on the surface of the tires and more stress on the sidewalls, as the wheels will go into motion, and come to a stop, more quickly than in a typical ICE-powered vehicle.

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Here’s How To Get Your Money’s Worth Out Of A Set Of EV Tires

The bottom line is that you’re going to run through a set of EV tires more quickly than a set of ICE tires. If it’s possible to go 70,000 miles in a Tesla Model X without a new set of tires, it’s definitely not practical. But, there’s plenty you can do to squeeze a few thousand extra miles out of your new set.

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Wheel Alignment And Tire Rotation Are Everything

Wheel alignments are pretty much always done by computer these days, especially if you’re driving an EV. This will keep your wheels running straight, and not wobbling left and right on the road. You might only need a tire alignment every few years, but check your service schedule, and err on the side of “too soon” rather than “too late.”

Don’t Put Off Your Tire Rotation

Tire rotation ensures even wear across all four tires so that you won’t wind up having to replace one or two of them a year before the others. Recommended intervals will vary based on make and model, with the Tesla Model Y, for instance, requiring servicing every 6,250 miles.

Keep An Eye On Your Tire Pressure

Every production EV that we can name makes it easy to check the tire pressure from inside the cabin, via the infotainment system or display screen. Some EVs have an always-on display showing you your tire pressure, and they’ll let you know when you need to hit the air pump. This is especially important in extremely hot and cold months, as cold winters will condense the air inside your tires while hot summers will cause the air to expand. Make sure you’re always within the recommended psi range.

Pick The Right Tires

EVs can run on standard tires intended for ICE use, but they shouldn’t. Based on a quick check on the Goodyear website, a set of Wrangler Territory all-season tires intended for an F-150 Lightning XLT might cost you around $251 apiece, while a similar tire for the ICE F-150 might only cost you around $187. For a full set, that’s a difference of more than $250. But, how much money are you really saving if those tires are completely shredded after 10,000 miles? If you try to cheap out on your tires, you’re going to be spending more money in the long run, as well as risking dangerous blowouts.

Ease Into Your Pedals

As mentioned, EV wheels spin in and out of motion more quickly than in a typical ICE model. This can invite drivers to really put their foot down on those pedals, snapping into the accelerator like it’s a light switch. Don’t do that. Ease into your accelerator, and ease into your brake pedal. You don’t drive a Toyota Camry by dropping your foot to the floor, so don’t drive a BZ4x like that.

You may have noticed that these tips aren’t that different from what we’d be telling you about driving and maintaining a set of tires in a combustion-powered vehicle. Well, the basic principles really are the same, just more important, because EV tires are really put through the wringer.

Sources:
Kelley Blue Book
,
Consumer Reports,
Goodyear