EVs are heavier than their gas-powered cousins. Designing tires for them is a unique challenge.
The electric vehicle spotlight is typically trained on range and charging speed, along with battery makeup and sustainable materials. However, EV news rarely gives enough credit to one unsung-but-critical factor: tires. EVs are heavier than their gas-powered cousins, and as a result, the electric motors generate more on-demand torque, which puts additional pressure on the vehicles’ rubber shoes.
“Rolling resistance coefficient is always the issue when designing for EVs,” Pirelli Chief Technology Officer Ian Coke told PopSci. “You have to understand the compromise between lowering the rolling resistance to match range and maximize performance. It’s a big challenge.”Two years ago, a two-woman team driving a pre-production Rivian R1T pickup truck competed in the Rebelle Rally, a grueling 1,500-mile off-road competition.
“It’s very important to us that the tires we provide are tailored to the vehicle itself,” Coke said. “[A manufacturer] program starts at least three years before it’s launched. We’re designing the tires as the vehicle is being designed.”And those tires are built with a prescribed air pressure in mind for that particular vehicle. Altering that formula could cause skids, slides, and worse.
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