MTD recently asked tire manufacturers, "Do electric vehicles (EVs) require tires that are specifically designed and built for EV applications or can already-existing tires with the correct attributes perform just as well on EVs?"
Pirelli Tire North America Inc.'s position on the topic is clear.
The company "advocates putting EV tires on EVs because those tires have been designed for the attributes of an EV," says Ian Coke, chief technical officer, Pirelli North America.
He points to characteristics of EVs - including range requirements, increased weight and higher torque - as reasons why.
"If you put a higher rolling resistance tire on that vehicle, you will lose range. We know that. And you would never put a tire that has an incorrect load rating on a heavier vehicle. If you put the wrong tire on an EV, you will see the difference.
"One of the biggest things we are seeing in the EV world is that because of the load and higher amount of torque, the wear rate increases quite dramatically," Coke adds. "EVs tend to eat tires. As EVs become normal and the majority of the market, it is necessary to write 'EV' on the sidewall because these tires are developed to cope with rolling resistance requirements and heavier loads. By definition, we design tires to cope with all of those attributes. But an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle doesn't necessarily have all the requirements of an EV.
"The market is going EV. It's inevitable now. And it's not just the front end that's been pushed along, but also the back end. The EV world moves much faster than the ICE world. It's the biggest revolution in the tire industry since (the invention of) the radial."
Stay tuned to www.moderntiredealer.com in the coming weeks as more tire manufacturers weigh in on the subject.
