How To Identify An EV Tyre From A Regular One
Electric vehicles are usually fitted with tyres that are designed, developed, and made just for them. This is because, despite resembling traditional vehicles on the outside, they are worlds apart. We’ve covered some of these differences in a previous article where we explained the dissimilar driving characteristics, which you can read here.
However, for this article, we are going to dive into the physical details that separate an EV tyre from a regular one. Despite this, tyre manufacturers say that you can fit regular tyres to your EV, but it should be able to support its weight and driving behavior.
EVs receive power from their battery packs, which are made of hundreds if not thousands of small lithium-ion cells. Collectively, the entire structure, which is usually positioned under the floorboard can weigh anywhere between 400kg and 900kg.
This makes an EV significantly heavier than their equivalent sized ICE counterpart. As such, EV tyres need to be able to bear the entire weight of the car, which hovers around 2 tons. This is why you will see the load index of an EV tyre being significantly higher than traditional ones.
Let’s start by looking at all the markings of a tyre (located on the side wall) to understand what each of them mean. For example, a tyre could have the following:
205/55 R16 95V
The 205 section specifies that this particular tyre is 205mm wide. then, 55 is the percentage of the tyre’s wide wall height in relation to the tyre width, which in this instance is 55%.
R stands for radial, which is the type of construction of the tyre. It consists of a combination of rubber, metal and textile reinforcing materials. This gives the tyre the strength and flexibility to do its job.
Right next to it, the number 16, is the inner diameter of the tyre measured in inches. It’s also the size of the wheel that can fit on said tyre.
For 95V, the 95 section denotes a code for a specific load rating. This specifies the maximum load that said tyre can endure. V is a code that specifies a speed rating, which means the maximum speed that said tyre can travel with its maximum rated load.
In addition to this, EV tyres may also have the initials HL, which stands for heavy load. And this indicates that it can handle significantly higher loads than regular tyres. There may also be other markings to indicate that a tyre is designed for a specific manufacturer.
For example, tyres that have the MO mark are designed for Mercedes-Benz, K1 is for Ferrari, HN is Hyundai and T0 is for Tesla. There are several other code markings as well to indicate which manufacturer a specific tyre is compatible with.
EV tyres are made to withstand higher torque demands but still offer lower rolling resistance to maximize range. They also are made from compounds that limit tyre noise because unlike ICE vehicles, they don’t have noisy engines to drown out said noises.
All these characteristics need to be taken into consideration to make an EV tyre effective at its job. If you’re unsure which one suits your car, refer to the vehicle instruction manual for more details.
