While the luxury of near-silent motorway cruising, instant torque and cheaper running costs are all welcome aspects of EV ownership, did you know that they put far more wear on your tyres than a normal combustion-engined vehicle?
With microslips occurring under instant, torquey acceleration, regenerative braking affecting wear patterns, and the increased weight of a battery, the tyres on an electric car can wear between 20-30% quicker than a conventional ICE vehicle, meaning EV owners should keep a much closer eye on their tyres than they may have initially expected.
Electric car owners should also be aware that EV-optimised tyres are different from those used on petrol and diesel cars, and that when it comes time to replace your tyres, you should select EV-specific tyres to maximise your driving range, better handle torque, support increased weight and reduce road noise.
EV tyres are constructed to deal with the much higher load while remaining quiet and efficient on long journeys – they do this with reinforced sidewalls, as well as noise-dampening foam, durable tread designs and low-rolling-resistance compounds.
When driving your EV daily, it’s always a good habit to walk around and give it a quick visual check before setting off, but for peace of mind and guaranteed safety and efficiency, properly checking over your tyres every few weeks is essential.
Regular tyre pressure checks are one of the most important things you can do to keep your EV running both efficiently and safely – an underinflated tyre can increase rolling resistance by up to 10%, decreasing your range and causing irregular wear to your tyres. It is recommended to check every couple of weeks, especially when the weather is getting cooler and pressure within the tyre falls.
Wheel alignment and balancing are also something to pay extra attention to in your EV, as even small misalignments can cause premature wear on EV tyres – some signs to watch out for are steering pull, uneven shoulder wear or vibration at higher speeds.
The legal minimum tread depth in the UK is 1.6mm, but the recommended minimum is at least 3mm. Double-check your tread depth with a tread gauge, a 20p coin, or simply look for the wear indicators. These are the evenly spaced bars between the tyre’s grooves that become more visible as the tyre wears down; often, their location is marked by small triangles, or "TWI," on the sidewall.
You should be performing a proper inspection of all four tyres once a month, checking for cuts, bulges, punctures and uneven wear. For complete confidence, particularly as the winter creeps in, book a free tyre health check at your local Vertu dealership.
This Tyre Safety Month, Vertu is offering a free tyre health check at your local Vertu dealership so you can be in the know and drive with total confidence this winter.
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- Electric