"Last year, research by technology firm Epyx found that, on average, tyres fitted to EVs lasted 6,350 fewer miles than those on petrol or diesel cars. The first tyre change for electric cars takes place after an average of 17,985 miles, compared to 24,335 miles for petrol and diesel cars.
“Tyre makers are continuing to develop bespoke EV rubber suited to the heavier vehicles, but they can come at a greater cost for drivers. Epyx found that the average tyre cost £207 for larger electric vehicles – £77 higher than the cost for larger petrol cars.”
Of course, the huge SUVs and pickups that automakers assure us “everyone wants” weigh over two tons too. As automakers continue to discontinue smaller, lighter, vehicles, the average weight if ICE powered vehicles will go up as well.
What kind of cheap tires are they using? I have a large/heavy SUV and still on my original set at over 60,000 miles. Last oil change the mechanic was estimating another 15-20k usage left.
This is the kind of study that first determines what the result they want is, and then they go out in search of data to support that result. That’s why they specifically found some old guy that did too many burnouts and had to replace his tyres at 7,500 miles … and, of course, highlighted him as typical in the article.
In journalism school they teach how to “personalize” a story at the beginning to draw the reader in. Hence the story of ‘some old guy’. As a reader, look for data rather than anecdote.
My Ionic is about 500 to 1000 pounds heavier than my Infiniti J30 was. That keeps me well grounded when cornering but also increases tire wear as I do so.
For whatever reason the time I’m most aware of it is when I’m parking or otherwise executing a slow, close in maneuver. I am sure that twisting and turning the wheel while stopped (frightfully easy with power steering) is just mashing the tire against the asphalt and causing significant abrasion. I’ve been trying to learn to let the car roll even just a little to lessen the damage, but it’s a new skill so it takes time.
But this isn’t the only problem with these articles. Over the last 15-20 years, people replaced 39.45 million vehicles weighing under 3500 lbs with heavier vehicles weighing over 4000 lbs. Symbolized by the great switch of regular family haulers from sedans/hatchbacks/minivans to SUVs and trucks. Rarely did anyone see an article about additional tire wear, or about garage weight bearing or any of this BS stuff. But a few million EVs are sold that weigh 200 or 500 pounds more than a comparable ICE vehicle, AND weigh less than the typical SUV/truck that might be purchased instead, and suddenly every few days there’s an article about such things. Know what that’s called? That’s called anti-EV sentiment. It’s because politics has become so pervasive that EVERYTHING is viewed through a prism of politics, and the weight given to politics when deciding issues is way too high. I’m pretty sure that that is the very thing that caused the decline of the Roman Empire - instead of using logic and the science of their times to make decisions, they mostly used politics to decide things.
Nowadays, what team you are on appears to have become a major factor in how you decide things, even the purchase of a car, or a phone, what restaurants you choose, what you publish, etc.
I don’t think it’s only the weight of the EV that is causing tires to wear a bit faster. My F250 weighs 7300 empty. The tires have over 40,000 miles on them and still have good tread depth.
Maybe it’s the performance abilities of the EV’s that is causing the tire issues.
Yes, it is both the extra weight and the much higher, much quicker, torque that causes it. If you drive more sedately, and some cars even have a mode for that, then you will experience less tire wear. But the whole thing is a red herring for people to express their anti-EV sentiment (which itself is due to their political leaning). Some vehicles wear tires more quickly (performance cars, minivans*, etc), and some vehicles wear tires less quickly (small sedans, harder rubber tires, low performance, etc), and that applies to ICE vehicles and to EVs.
* When we first started using minivans in the early 2000s, we were shocked at how quickly they went through tires compared to the Nissan Sentra and Volvo 940 that they replaced. Now we are down to our last minivan and it will surely be replaced with an EV. Despite having to change tires a little more often on an EV, the overall advantages far outweigh any ICE alternative.
Drive cars without power steering, like I did, for 20 years. The girls at work used to laff at the shoulder English I used when negotiating the sharp turns into the parking lot at work, a technique I had developed from years of driving manual steering.
Nothing new under the sun department. In the 70s, I read “Motor Trend” magazine. I noticed this one page article about the “HORRIBLE!!!” rate of valve seat wear from using unleaded gas. This was a couple years after automakers had been induction hardening valve seats on new cars, so this wear would not be an issue. The pages was not marked “advertisement”, but I noticed the type face was different than that used in the editorial content of the mag. The page was clearly propaganda from someone who had an interest in people continuing to use leaded gas.
Do people really care about running costs in the first place? If people cared about running costs, they would be buying the most efficient, low priced vehicle that could meet their needs, not the biggest, most expensive, circus wagon that they can possibly make the payments on, with 8 year financing.
I have commented before about the idiocy of my coworkers that drive a huge SUV, then use their remote start to run it, unoccupied and stationary, in the parking lot, for ten minutes or more, so it is suitably warmed or cooled when they get in, yet cry a river about how much they spend on gas.
A set of Michelin Defender tires for a Ford Explorer, the sort of thing the automakers and oil companies assure us “everyone wants” cost $1120. A set of Michelin Defenders for my VW station wagon costs. $640.
People are hypocrites, or idiots, that talk a big game about what a “burden” paying for everything is, yet do nothing to reduce that “burden”.
/rant
“Bridgestone” doesn’t say anything, it’s people at Bridgestone that say things. And because people are human, they are also influenced by what they see and feel.
They sell tires, that’s their business. They want to sell more tires, and more expensive tires with higher margins.
Therefore, they would rather sell a gussied up “EV tire” for $318.99 each, with a 50% gross margin, than a “standard tire” for $250 each with a 40% gross margin. That’s business.
When advertising stuff, it’s important to always have at least a grain of truth at the heart of your claims. It’s probably not quite 30%, or they selected data to make it come out to 30%. However, it is clear that heavier vehicles and those with higher torque will wear tires quicker, nobody is arguing against that point.
Bridgestone also enjoyed the 15+ year big switchover to SUVs and trucks because those tires also produce higher margins. Especially when they are selling to individual consumers (who rarely negotiate) rather than business fleets (who negotiate hard).
In general, EVERYTHING a company says publicly and loudly is meant to improve their business.