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Many electric vehicle owners, including Tesla owners, are struggling with rapid tire wear, while others seem to have tires last over 40,000 miles. Interestingly, the critical reasons for the rapid wear are not always linked to aggressive driving habits, and many of the owners who report the rapid tire wear do not own Performance trims. Let’s examine the issue of rapid EV tire wear in detail and learn from some owners who have seemingly overcome this challenge.
Related Story: The Best Place To Take Your Tesla For Tires
Our top-of-page statement is a paraphrasing of a post seeking help written by N.G. Here is what N.G. wrote in full:
Does anyone have suggestions for really long-lasting tires? I live off a very windy road and have a long daily commute, and I’m burning through tires at a rate of 1 set per year. The last ones I bought had a 75,000-mile warranty, and they (only) made 20,000. The shop is refusing to honor the tire warranty because it’s a Tesla. Not sure how that can work, but I know I’m burning up tires very quickly. Can anyone recommend some fantastic, long-lasting tires?
Many EV Owners Report the Same Tire Problem – Rapid Tire Wear
If N.G. were alone in having rapid tire wear, we’d say that the car may be out of alignment and that perhaps the driving style of the owner contributed to the rapid wear. However, Tesla and other electric vehicle clubs and groups on social media are packed with these same types of posts. Let’s list a few out and see if we find a common theme.
- K.K. Tesla Model Y owner reports: “Is there a tire that can handle the weight of my MYLR?
- This set has 12,000 miles on them…down to 3/32nds! Help?”
- E.I. A Rivian R1S owner reports: “I’m living it with a Rivian R1S. Tires last between 10-15K miles.”
- A.C. Tesla Model Y LR owner reports: “2022 MYLR. The stock Goodyears only lasted me 16K miles.”
- C.E. Reports on a Ford Mustang Mach-E: “Mach-E has 12k miles. This is the second set of tires in that amount of time. All four tires look the same. What is going on?”
- M.A., a VW ID.4 owner, posted: “022 ID.4 Pro S, rear-wheel drive, and I’m currently on my fifth set of rear tires. Most of my driving is on the freeway, commuting to and from work, and I don’t drive aggressively. I’m only getting around 8,000 miles on the rear tires. My current mileage is about 35,000, and while the front tires still look good, the rear ones consistently wear out every 7,000 to 8,000 miles.”
- M.D. says, “My Nissan Ariya’s tires only got about 8k before they needed to be replaced.”
As you can see, a wide selection of electric vehicle owners report that they suffer from unacceptably rapid tire wear. Many preface or add to their posts or comments with a disclaimer that they do not drive aggressively. Clearly, this is not just a small selection of owners. It is a very popular topic on nearly every battery-electric vehicle social media site one visits.
What Factors Contribute to Rapid Tire Wear?
There are many factors that impact tire wear. Let’s first say that, obviously, the tires need to be properly sized, have the proper load rating (often XL for EVs), and be used appropriately. None of the posters we are reporting on are talking about winter tires used in summer or ultra-high-performance tires used in any sort of performance driving. So, if the tires are appropriate for the vehicle, what other factors impact the rate at which they wear down?
#1 Torque Wears Out Tires – And It Is Not the Max Rating That Is the Issue
First up is torque. Torque is the twisting force applied to a tire. One thing we love about EVs is that they can provide their full torque rating from a start. Unlike with internal combustion engine-powered cars with a wide range of gear (or CVT) ratios, EVs are direct-driven through one set gear ratio. In normal driving, ICE cars use very little of their maximum rated torque. Their transmissions keep the car well below the maximum available torque for virtually the whole time they are in use unless the driver acts aggressively with the power pedal.
We often hear counterpoints to the argument that torque can cause rapid tire wear. For example, a person may say, “My BMW M5 has more torque than my EV, but it does not wear the tires faster.” While the BMW may offer more peak torque, it does not mean the driver is using it. ICE vehicles start at very low torque, and only enter the maximum torque rating area at around 2,000 to 4,000 RPMs. Below that RPM point is a lot of covered miles. EVs have all their torque available as soon as the tires start to rotate.
And EVs have abundant torque. This is why they put up such great 0-60 MPH times. An electric Mustang Mach-E GT has 700 lb-ft of torque. An ICE Mustang GT has about 400 ft-lb.
#2 Weight Wears Out Tires
It’s almost shocking that people debate whether EVs are actually heavy. We recently tested the Dodge Charger Daytona R/T Stage 1. It weighs 6,500 pounds. The Dodge Charger ICE vehicle with its heaviest engine weighs 4,595 pounds. Nearly a ton of added weight for the EV. A Mustang Mach-E GT weighs about 5,000 pounds, and an ICE Mustang GT weighs about 4,000 pounds. Cherry pick the comparisons all you like, but EV batteries add about 700 pounds to 1,400 pounds to the weight of a comparable ICE vehicle. More weight means that when fitted with the same tire, the heavier car will have shorter tire life.
#3 Tire Size Can Impact Tire Tread Life
This section may seem a bit more nebulous and harder to define exactly, but the size of a tire matters when it comes to treadlife. In fact, some tire manufacturers base their treadwear warranty on the size. EV manufacturers want low rolling resistance, so they don’t put as meaty a tire on some of their vehicles. This is not always true, but it is often true.
#4 – High-performance Tires Wear Faster Than Standard A/S Touring Tires Do
If you want to prolong tire life as a tire designer, the formula is simple. More rubber. Taller treadblocks that have less interstitial space and as hard a compound as can be tolerated for the application. High-performance tires are softer and have tread blocks with less height. Don’t buy that type of tire if you want longer life.
#5 Suspension Matters in Tire Tread Life
If you have any problem with the suspension, or if the car’s alignment is not right, you can pretty much count on fast tire degradation.
#6 Tire Pressure Is Important If You Want Maximum Tire Life
If you underinflate your tires, your tires will have more wear on the outside edges. You will have a lot of other issues as well. If you overinflate, the center section will wear more rapidly. For the best tire life, properly inflate your tires.
#7 – Rotate, Rotate, Rotate For the Best Tire Life
You are going to hate reading this, but EVs have shorter service intervals than many mainstream ICE vehicles. Let’s take the Tesla Model Y and Model 3 twins. If you read the manual, it will tell you to rotate the tires every 6,250 miles OR FEWER. If you are not rotating your EV’s tires at least as often as the manual suggests, you’re just throwing tire life out the window. When you shop for tires, avoid models with directional tread. Buy ones that can be swapped from side to side as well as front to back (unless you have a car with different size tires front to back, like some ID.4 trims do). This allows the best possible combination of tire rotation options.
What Solutions Have EV Owners Found To Solve Rapid Tire Wear?
Some of the solutions that EV owners have posted reflect our above overview. Here’s what we found helpful, as posted by EV owners:
- G.R. “Michelin ones lasted me a good (long) time. Not the high-performance soft ones. Just the regular ones.”
- K.D. “Slow down, don’t corner so hard, don’t play games.”
- G.L. “Pielli Scorpion A/S3 Rotate every 5k. Lasted me 50k miles.”
- J.M. “Try a top-of-the-line tire like the Michelin. You get what you pay for when buying a cheaper tire.”
- R.C “Go with an all-season tire. My Tesla has 20k, and the tires look new. Continental ProContacts. I rotate front to back every 6000 miles.”
- R.E. “Check the alignment.”
We’ve done a deep dive on this subject, but there’s always more to learn. We’d love for those who own an EV and have made a change to get more tire life to comment.
- Have you experienced short tire life with an EV?
- Did you make a change that helped to prolong tire life that you can share to help others overcome this issue?
Please share your story or best practices to enhance tire life in the comments section below.
Image of Tesla shop area with piles of tires everywhere by John Goreham. Image of Tesla getting new tires courtesy of Jay Condrick of Boston Mobile Tire. Screenshot of Tesla manual listing tire rotation interval courtesy of Tesla, Inc.
John Goreham is a credentialed New England Motor Press Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE int). In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can connect with John on Linkedin and follow his work on his personal X channel or on our X channel. Please note that stories carrying John’s by-line are never AI-generated, but he does employ grammar and punctuation software when proofreading and he also uses image generation tools.
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Source: torquenews.com
