Tires for a EV

[Brovane]

Looking to replace the tires on my 2019 Nissan Leaf soon and I was doing research on tires that rated especially for EV's. The last set of tires I got, where not specifically rated for a EV. I went to Just tires and asked for a new tires and they gave me new tires.
I watched the video below from Engineering Explained on EV tires and why they are different from normal vehicle tires. Of course different means they can sell the tires for more money. I live in Southern CA so I just need the basic All-Season tire.

Everything You Need To Know About Electric Car Tires

The crazy thing to me is when I go to the Goodyear website and put in my vehicle to look for tires they show me a bunch of tires and they recommend the Goodyear Assurance All-Season which isn't their EV rated tire. They only have one tire they sell that is rated for EV's and it is the Electric Drive and of course it is the most expensive tire at $210/each.
For people that own EV's do go with a EV rated tire of just use a standard tire?

 

[RLGL]

What was the tire from the OEM, maybe go back to the Nissan dealership.

 

[Brovane]

What was the tire from the OEM, maybe go back to the Nissan dealership.

I don't know what the tire was from the OEM since all the tires have been replaced at least once and I never made a note of(Bad on me) it because at the time I didn't realize that there is EV specific tires. I got a quote several months ago at my local Nissan dealership and they wanted to put Michelin Energy Saver tires on my car which isn't a EV specific tire. The dealer wanted $600 to just replace two tires. I can get Goodyear Electric Drive tires for closer to $210 a tire.

 

[repoman0]

LOL at EV specific tires. Sounds like a great way to charge a premium price for a regular low rolling resistance high load rating tire. A good tire is a good tire regardless of the drivetrain. Just get Michelin AS4s or Continental DWS06 and be done with it.

 

[NutBucket]

Usually they are just low-rolling resistance. I've had Bridgestone Ecopias on a couple cars and they are a decent performer.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

The 16" wheel Leaf has Bridgestone Ecopia EP422's. 17" wheel Leaf has Michelin Energy Saver A/S. Most EV Tuning on tires are focused on Low Rolling Resistance, stiff sidewall to deal with increased vehicle weight, and sometimes Foam filling in the tire to reduce road noise. My opinion is not to sweat it too much. I'm swapping out the Michelin Primacy MXM4 tires on my Tesla today with Pilot Sport A/S 4's because these Primacy's just suck. They come with a lower starting tread height to reduce rolling resistance, and as such have a short life-span.

But Ecopia's are perfectly decent tires and if you have a 16" wheel, then I'd just replace them with that tire.

 

[Brovane]

The 16" wheel Leaf has Bridgestone Ecopia EP422's. 17" wheel Leaf has Michelin Energy Saver A/S. Most EV Tuning on tires are focused on Low Rolling Resistance, stiff sidewall to deal with increased vehicle weight, and sometimes Foam filling in the tire to reduce road noise. My opinion is not to sweat it too much. I'm swapping out the Michelin Primacy MXM4 tires on my Tesla today with Pilot Sport A/S 4's because these Primacy's just suck. They come with a lower starting tread height to reduce rolling resistance, and as such have a short life-span.

But Ecopia's are perfectly decent tires and if you have a 16" wheel, then I'd just replace them with that tire.

It has 17" wheels I was looking at the Michelin Energy Saver A/S and they are even more expensive than the Goodyear ElectricDrive. I might as well go with the Goodyear ElectricDrive tires.

 

[Torn Mind]

The Leaf will expire long before you get your value back in tires, especially if you're driving in rain-free, high traffic SoCal.

I have liked used BFGoodrich Advantage(It's probably an older Michelin since Michelin owns the brand) and Pirellis on my mom's Matrix.

 

[NutBucket]

Also a valid point. Just stick with name brands. No Chinesium!

 

[bbhaag]

I've got Pirelli P Zero tires on my Mach-E and so far I can't complain. Great grip, low noise, and decent in wetter conditions. I've only put a little over 1800 miles on them since I purchased it in December of last year but so far I really like them.

Here's a link to TireRack if you're interested but you might be able to find them cheaper. The first ones in the link are 2018 production hence the cheaper price.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?message=singleSize&tireMake=Pirelli&tireModel=P+Zero&autoMake=Ford&autoYear=2023&autoModel=Mustang+Mach-E+GT&autoModClar=Performance+Edition%2C+eAWD&minLoadRating=XL&minSpeedRating=H&width=245%2F&ratio=45&diameter=20&cameFrom=selectOE

 

[crashtech]

I think tire selection is to a degree user-dependent, in that variations in performance within a suitable subset of tires exist depending on what one expects out of the vehicle. If I had a Leaf, I would probably like to maximize range, in which case it would make sense to research the lowest rolling resistance tire, and to keep those tires on the high end of inflation recommendations. But others might live on a windy road and require a more well-rounded performer.

I may have missed it, but in this thread I never saw anything about your expectations, only wondering about what might be best for the car. Ultimately the car serves you, not the other way around. What do you want?

 

[sdifox]

I've got Pirelli P Zero tires on my Mach-E and so far I can't complain. Great grip, low noise, and decent in wetter conditions. I've only put a little over 1800 miles on them since I purchased it in December of last year but so far I really like them.

Here's a link to TireRack if you're interested but you might be able to find them cheaper. The first ones in the link are 2018 production hence the cheaper price.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?message=singleSize&tireMake=Pirelli&tireModel=P+Zero&autoMake=Ford&autoYear=2023&autoModel=Mustang+Mach-E+GT&autoModClar=Performance+Edition%2C+eAWD&minLoadRating=XL&minSpeedRating=H&width=245%2F&ratio=45&diameter=20&cameFrom=selectOE

Wait what? Are they even legally allowed to sell five year old tires?

 

[Brovane]

I think tire selection is to a degree user-dependent, in that variations in performance within a suitable subset of tires exist depending on what one expects out of the vehicle. If I had a Leaf, I would probably like to maximize range, in which case it would make sense to research the lowest rolling resistance tire, and to keep those tires on the high end of inflation recommendations. But others might live on a windy road and require a more well-rounded performer.

I may have missed it, but in this thread I never saw anything about your expectations, only wondering about what might be best for the car. Ultimately the car serves you, not the other way around. What do you want?

In about 60k miles I have gone through almost two sets of tires. The Leaf is our basic errand car that is used every day. I just want a tire that will last longer. I have also discovered on the Leaf Forums that the factory recommended recommended tire pressure of 36 psi could be to low and a lot of people are saying they get better handling and better tread wear by inflating the tires to between 40 to 42. The Leaf SV Plus is a heavy car for it's size at around 3,900lbs. I think at this point I am going to go with the Goodyear Electric at around $210 a tire and see how they work. I am also going to try inflating the tires to 40 psi and see how the vehicle handles and how the tread wears.

 

[NutBucket]

Michelin's are generally the most expensive tire anyway so no surprise there.

And yes, definitely try playing with inflation to get it to handle to your liking.

 

[Zor Prime]

Bit late, but I put Hankook Kinergy PT's on my Civic Hybrid way back. Girlfriend's regular Civic came with the GT version which is one step down from PT. Tire made in Tennessee, at least was. I got the tires on eBay of all places, Hankook was offering a rebate at the time which was honored. All said and done I got a set of 4 tires, mounted and slapped onto my Civic for under $400. I don't know precisely how many miles I've put on these tires, but it's somewhere between 60-80k miles. Best damn tires I've ever owned for longevity, handling, price all averaged out. To about the mid-way point of tread depth you could hit a lake in the middle of the road and not hydroplane, too. Survived 100 mile round trips in the snow.

edit: Oh, about that rebate. I sent the rebate in AFTER the expiration date. Hankook honored it, anyway.