The tyre is the first point of contact with the road and has a major impact on the performance or handling of the car. But durability also plays an important role for electric cars - and not forgetting a low rolling resistance to achieve a longer range. After all, the rolling resistance of the tyres can constitute up to 30 (!) percent of the total energy consumption of an electric car.
This is why tyre manufacturers develop special tyres with a low rolling resistance for electric cars. This is not a major problem. However, some concessions must be made here, as safety aspects such as specific (short) braking distances must be complied with. Tyre manufacturers need to overcome this traditional conflict. In the case of tyres specially manufactured for electric vehicles, they must ensure that the tyres guarantee flawless safety, offer significantly optimised rolling resistance and are designed for the increased weights and the, in some cases, enormous performance.
Do electric cars need special tyres?
In order to achieve longer ranges, it makes sense to use rolling resistance-optimised car tyres on electric cars. Some manufacturers use a different tread compound for tyres specially designed for electric vehicles. But the edges of the tyres also have to carry significant loads. A battery with corresponding capacity can increase a vehicle weight by 500 kilograms in direct comparison with a conventionally powered model. Even compact electric vehicles easily weigh over two tons. These heavy weights require tyres with a higher load capacity.
Electric cars: High torque and lots of power
One of the biggest benefits of electric motors is the fact that the torque is available right away. Despite the increased weights, electric vehicles achieve impressive acceleration and performance values found in sports cars. This requires tyres that are not only designed for a higher weight, but are also reinforced. Wide tyres have had their day, for the most part at least. The tyres for electric vehicles must be narrow and large. The larger dimension enables the rolling resistance to be reduced and optimised treads improve the drag. Even the markings on the side wall are aerodynamically designed so they make a positive contribution to consumption.
Noise is perceived differently in the electric car!
In addition to wind noise at higher speeds and the music from the infotainment system, another noise can also be heard in electric cars: The tyre rolling noise! During a normal journey, this is likely to be the loudest noise in an electric car. In the past, this noise was drowned out by the combustion engine. Now, tyre manufacturers have to make the tyres less noisy. To achieve this, the rubber compounds of the tyres, the design of the profiles and the structure of the tyres are modified. Tyres with foam inserts are just as conceivable as tyres that generate even lower drag.
Durability is important, even when it comes to tyres!
Manufacturers must always keep an eye on the weight, handling characteristics and durability. The latter also plays a major role because vehicles with an electric motor can accelerate very quickly in the low speed range. Of course, that's fun behind the steering wheel. And due to the low centre of gravity, many electric vehicles have a surprisingly sporty tuning. The downside to this fun driving experience is higher energy consumption and faster wear on the tyres.
Here too, all well-known tyre manufacturers are working on a suitable solution, but as always in life, compromise is required. A tyre that combines optimised rolling resistance, sporty characteristics, quiet running noise with a high load capacity and also achieves best results in all tyre tests has yet to be developed. For the most common sizes, however, optimised summer, winter and all-series tyres are now available - with the latter being a compromise in most cases.