Everything You Need To Know About Electric Car Tires

4 Ways Tires Are Changing To Meet The Challenges Of Electric Vehicles
Thank you to Hankook for sponsoring this video! www.hankooktire.com/global/en...
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A tire is a tire, right? What does it matter if it goes on a combustion vehicle, versus an EV? Well, electric cars place unique challenges on tires, as a result of four key characteristics: weight, efficiency, noise, and torque. Thanks to asking Hankook's engineers an abundance of questions, I've got all the answers on how electric car tires can help EVs overcome these challenges. Hankook is now offering a full line up of EV tires, with summer, all-season, and winter tires as part of the ION product line, a series of tires designed exclusively to meet the needs of electric vehicles.
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[@mkbhd]

This whole time I’ve been thinking that contact patch area was the biggest factor to rolling resistance on these new ev tires. Learned something new, thank you!

[@adidaman1234]

Humble and amazing. Keep on being awesome MKBHD

[@paulblair898]

The rolling resistance is most affected by how much the tire deforms as is spins, which explains why an under-filled tire has a super high rolling resistance, as the underfilled tire spins along its flexing the sidewalls like crazy turning all the energy into heat. While the sidewalls deforming is the majority of the tire's rolling resistance, the actual tread does deform as the tire rolls too, and a wider tire is going to have more tread to squirm around under the load of the car.

[@ramratansinghi8661]

I just discovered how much Engineering know-how is required to understand Anti-Rolling Resistance and importance in Case of EV. Recent Owner of Volvo XC40 Recharge, this will definitely help in deciding my next set of tyres.

[@tyrereviews]

@@paulblair898 correct. Most tire manufacturers round the profile to help lower rolling resistance, obviously hankook have found something a little different that works well for them!

[@xilnes7166]

Tire material science is actually some spy level guarded secrets. We just think some Chinese comapny can reverse engineer it like an electronic item but you realise this is way harder to replicate once to get into the process like curing time ratios temperatures pressures. even the pattern everything has to be so precise to get the optimum results.

[@JT_771]

So much more engineering involved in our daily products than people generally realize. Good stuff.

[@daviderhahon]

True. And watching these videos helps one to value stuff a lot more.

[@monhi64]

Specifically tires, if I were ever able to nominate a single product that has the most time and money spent engineering it, which the public is mostly unaware of, I’d pick tires.

[@Robert-cu9bm]

They're all black and round.

[@lewisrainwater9527]

Most things were aspects you'd see in the mold so it's no real cost added when you consider volume production. And that foam is dirt cheap.

[@MrHaggyy]

😅 and he can only talk about "general knowledge" the companies themself have a massive arsenal of know-how. Especially how different treatments will significantly change the properties of the resulting. Only view changes in the bare rubber, steel, and nylon(plastic) parts are actually made. If possible they try to meet the design criteria with identical material but tweak it to its needs.

[@audistik1199]

The pitch sequence has been a part of tire noise reduction for more than 80 years from my experience, maybe much longer. In the 70’s I wrote a heuristic Fourier analysis computer program that sought to optimize the spread of frequencies and obtain white tire noise. It may still be in use today.

[@f-xdemers2825]

The cards should be part of a car museum display.

[@Srilankanenglishteacher]

Could I have access for that for free?

[@pinkace]

I hope Hancock wrote you a big fat check, this was the best marketing I’ve seen for these tires anywhere.

[@McPebbster]

Interesting idea to randomise the Tread Pattern. I remember when Apple started doing that in their Macbooks to lower the perceived noise of the cooling fans. Varying blade lengths in the fan had the same effect as with this tyre.

[@lennart637]

Neither Apple nor Hankook invented the randomize patterns though. Theses tricks are quite old. Edit: First patent for "randomized" tire pattern was as early as 1935. In 1994 the "randomization" was greatly improved. Puting it in quote marks, because actually the pattern is specifically tuned to create a non-peaking sound profile.

[@EngineeringExplained]

Wow neat, thanks for sharing! (And yeah, it's not a new trick but it's interesting nonetheless!)

[@briank10101]

Sometimes it's old tricks on new applications is the innovation

[@AdriandeMorcerf]

@@lennart637 cool, which pcs do it?

[@lennart637]

@@AdriandeMorcerf pcs? I am not a native English speaker, what does the abbreviation mean? I watched Andrew Lam's video on tires, I think all tire companies do it nowadays

[@ThaBootyBandit]

@6:27 Engineers are always fun at parties

[@tyrereviews]

Especially tire engineers. We're the funnest

[@mv80401]

@@tyrereviews Nah, they're tiring.

[@Mallchad]

@@tyrereviews They always roll up with a bunch of interesting facts.

[@onemoremisfit]

People who don't repeat unoriginal unfunny drivel are the absolute worst at parties.

[@wiseoldfool]

I'm an engineer. You'll always find me in the kitchen at parties. (It was a song!)

[@johngee9018]

It is fascinating to learn that EVs have added new dimensions to tire design requirements. I tend to buy used cars. With my first car, I learned the importance of good and "healthy" tires for comfort, reliability and safety. Ever since, the first thing I replace on my new used care is old, worn or cheap no-name brand tires. And I always replace them with brand new high quality tires from a reputable brand... usually Michelin. FWIW: I think this is the best tire "infomercial" I have ever watched. This definitely raised my awareness of Hankook tires without making it *feel* like an infomercial. Thanks for that.

[@ofdrumsandchords]

I used Michelin. I prefer Bridgestone, but I drive a 206 (975 kg). I guess it's different with an EV, but no way I buy a two tons car. These things have to go on a diet.

[@karlwezmar]

"I'm fun at parties" - I love this stuff. Thanks for making sense of things I'd otherwise not understand!

[@MBergyman]

As an engineer, I appreciate your emphasis on using the right component design characteristics for the specific system requirements. A designed system is so much more than the sum of its component specs.

[@MrJdsenior]

Or less, depending on the quality of the design. As an engineer I am sometimes embarrassed by some of the exceptionally crappy crap I am forced to deal with. Especially when you can look at the stuff and about half the time and see where three cents spent at one point in the design could have made the device actually function for more than five minutes. This design requirement of maximizing the rate of landfill accumulation really needs to stop. And NO, it wasn't always this way, which you will know if you are older.

[@jenkinseric2]

I would rather talk to you about sound at a party than most other conversations. thanks for another great video.

[@walter6574]

wanna talk about the sound quality of this video?

[@likeZOMGlmfao]

As you can see, when we position ourselves 5ft from party guest Becky, the noise level increases by 10dB, impressive... For every foot we move away from Becky, the dB level decreases by 1. What can we conclude from this observation? Becky talks too loudly. Thanks for watching.

[@LightsLamps]

Funny.

[@moustick2025]

What an amazing break down of tire. You put light on a subject that nobody went as deep as you. Great work

[@johnweeks3138]

Great video, thanks for all the info. I got the all season version and did a 8,916 mile (286 Wh/mi) cross county road trip in moonbeam (2021 Model Y LR). I have to say the tires are great. On a good pavement very smooth and quiet. Good performance in rain and snow (less than one inch was the only storm I faced). Looking forward to seeing how they hold up with more miles.

[@MLHunt]

I never really thought about all the engineering that goes into tires, and how multidisciplinary it is. Great video 👍👍

[@JackMott]

Tire is the most important and most complex part on the car. On a tight track a Prius on the best race tires is gonna beat a Ferrari on summer street tires.

[@xXYannuschXx]

Tires are INCREDIBLY important to a cars handling and performance. One of the big reasons modern cars are handling so well is due to the advancements in tire technology. To put it into perspective: A 2020 Civic Type R has a better lap time than a 2010 Gallardo, where the tires contributed about 50%.

[@MLHunt]

@@xXYannuschXx yeah i know there have been huge advancements in design but this video kinda brought home to me the way all the various engineering disciplines involved -- materials science of the compounds used, mechanical design of tread and sipe patterns and for loading and acoustic characteristics, aerodynamics just to name a few -- all work together. Of course it has to be like that but he is just so good at making complicated stuff easy to understand that it helped me think about it all more holistically. See the big picture in a way I'd not even thought about before. That's what I meant.

[@larrybe2900]

Then along comes the group that lobbies for the need for a car to make noise so the sight impaired can sense en electric vehicle sending engineers to the rubber room.

[@JackMott]

@@larrybe2900 cars already got speakers for that since 2022

[@robertheymann5906]

Tires in my lifetime have come a very long way. My first set.... bias ply road tires! Awesome to see the levels of performance and safety go hand in hand.

[@DaBinChe]

Bias ply still used today on motorcycles, cruisers and scooters tires are mostly bias ply.

[@john-or9cf]

Remember the GTR BigFoot Radials from the ‘60s??

[@tobygathergood4990]

Tires very similar to this already exist for one ton pickups and larger vehicles and have done so for decades.

[@DaBinChe]

@@tobygathergood4990 yeah but not in car sizes

[@tobygathergood4990]

@@DaBinChe That depends on the wheels you have.

[@zombie10190]

I lost it when you pulled the sound meter out of your glove box; the dry humor on this channel is fantastic. 10/10 - IGN

[@J-YouTube324]

Really? You "lost it"? You have an extremely low threshold for humor.

[@zombie10190]

@@J-KZbin324 depends on the joke, m8.

[@petermadden6629]

Thank you so much for helping me find my long lost SPL meter! I knew I had placed it somewhere and this video was instrumental in helping me find it again. Now I have the data to prove to my wife that our Tesla isn’t actually noisier 😊

[@visiondemedici6347]

So much more engineering in tires than I ever imagined!

[@thebrowns5337]

This is why cheap tyres are more dangerous - they don't do the r&d.

[@gottliebdee263]

@@thebrowns5337 So if you had two companies that did the same amount of R&D would you say the cheaper tyre is dangerous?

[@bendino9016]

are you trolling?

[@ancient1946]

@@gottliebdee263 Depends on how much info each coy. extracts, and utilise it, from the 'same' R&D.

[@gottliebdee263]

@@ancient1946 Yes, it does but how would you tell? Tyres are actually very subjective. Until you test one on a drum with a consistent measured temperature, speed and coefficient of friction it's hard to tell who has done better.

[@Dakiraun]

The tech in tires is one of the most under-appreciated things ever. This really highlights how much thought goes into the design of a tire and _why_. Very cool ideas from Hankook on the Ion.

[@AustinJohnPlays]

I also learned from my Y that that foam inside the tire makes the ride not feel very even when the wheels are cold until they’ve had a time to warm up. You rarely feel it in the summer but winter it can take 20-30 minutes to warm up and feel smooth.

[@RussRehm]

This is an old comment but I have to say it’s weird to see you here talking about car tires and not Pokémon or Zelda. What tires would Hankook engineer for the Master Cycle Zero?

[@daveromanyshyn1170]

I noticed this too on my model 3. Assumed it was due to the lower profile tires since this has also occurred on my ICE cars with low profile tires.

[@paulsd9255]

That does sound like a pain, but is it worth the trade off for the volume dampening? Also sounds like a relative nonissue for areas that don’t have winter

[@rkmbnt]

Hankook has come a long way. In my opinion they are one of the most bang for a buck tyres. I have bought 3 sets of studded winter tyres (iPike RS2) and 2 sets of summer tyres (ventus s1 evo3) and I'm very pleased with what I get for my money. Tyre tests show that, too.

[@jpe1]

I race electric race cars, 3 weeks ago I drove the NASA “25 Hours of Thunderhill” and I wish tire manufacturers made tires optimized for EV race cars, a 10% reduction in rolling resistance could easily have allowed us to go one more lap between battery swaps. Great video, excellent summary of the design tradeoff challenges! In an EV race car wind noise predominates, my car is an open cockpit, so a small change in windscreen angle and and different helmet made a big difference, and then I could really hear the tires, which is great for the driver to be able to hear what the tires are “saying” at the limits of grip. Oh, also, you are right about summer tires vs all-season, make the switch to summer tires when the weather allows, you won’t regret it.

[@paulyang7067]

John, since you are a pro racer, can you elaborate more on summer tires on how they perform and efficiency based on your experience?

[@jpe1]

@@paulyang7067 typical summer tires have softer rubber compound that gives more grip and dissipates heat better than an all-season tire (which also means it will wear faster) and the tread pattern will have shallower grooves, usually with a center section that is continuous around the entire tire so there is a bigger contact patch. As far as efficiency, rolling resistance comes from deformation of the tire. A tire that has zero rolling resistance would be totally stiff, not compressing at all, and the contact patch would be a single straight line across the tread, not the rectangle of the real world. A solid metal train wheel with its metal tire comes close to this ideal. The more a tire “squishes” flat (giving a bigger contact patch) the higher the rolling resistance. It’s a geometry thing, not a rubber thing; rolling resistance comes from the energy required to move the rubber from the front of the contact patch to the back of the contact patch. All else being equal (which it never is) more grip means more rolling resistance; lower tire pressure means more rolling resistance; wheel/tire combos with smaller overall diameter means more rolling resistance. Also, the more mass, especially in the tread, of the tire, the more rolling resistance, all else being equal (but a tire that is more stiff may have more mass, but the reduction in rolling resistance from more stiffness may overcome the higher rolling resistance from the increased mass). I’m not the clearest at explaining things, hopefully this helps but if you have more questions please feel free.

[@shootinbruin3614]

@@jpe1 Thank you for putting in the time to elaborate. Could you please expand on why lower diameter tires have more rolling resistance? Even with rotational inertia taken into account, it seems counterintuitive to me that a larger diameter would reduce rolling resistance

[@jpe1]

@@shootinbruin3614 I think I muddied the waters there! The problem is that I said “all else being equal” but that is very confusing when talking about overall diameter, because there are two elements that go into the overall diameter of the wheel/tire combination: the diameter of the wheel and the height of the tire sidewall… which is being kept “equal”? the *ratio* of wheel diameter to tire sidewall height, or the *absolute* tire sidewall height (or weirdly, wheel diameter could be kept the same…)? When I wrote my original comment I was imagining the ratio of wheel diameter to sidewall height would be kept the same, thus the wheel with the smaller diameter will have a tire that is proportionally distorting more (assuming equal pressure) but sidewall height usually remains the same when going to larger or smaller diameter overall diameter. (This is further confused because when upsizing or downsizing wheel/tire combos _for a particular car_ then the overall diameter is usually kept the same, to keep handling consistent and speedometers correct). When talking about a performance wheel/tire package, a 13” wheel might be mounted with a 185/60R13 tire, which has a sidewall height of 111mm; 15” wheel gets a 225/50R15 sidewall 112mm, a 17” wheel might have 275/40R17, sidewall 110mm; and a 19” wheel, 315/35R19, sidewall height 110mm. Of course one can select different section widths and aspect ratios that would still be “performance” tires yet would give very different tire sidewall heights, which is kinda my point, that I oversimplified and swept some messy details under the rug when I said “all else being equal.” Really, to consider rolling resistance for a given size wheel, the tire to be mounted is critical to determining if rolling resistance would go up or down, and the more I think about it, no generalization can be made, I shouldn’t have implied that it’s a simple relationship. In the 8 years I have been driving the EVSR electric race car, we have tried wheels as small as 13” and as large as 15”, and used different section width and different aspect ratio tires, and of course different rubber compounds, and with all that, we have never tried to optimize rolling resistance because other considerations of grip and tire wear end up taking precedence. We have settled on a 15”x7” custom-forged wheel from Braid, with 205/50R15 tires. Usually when racing on a dry track we use either Toyo RAs or Hoosier SM7s. Toyos have slightly less absolute grip but less rolling resistance and higher top speed, although the tradoff between grip and top speed means that lap times are similar, depending on the track one tire might have a slight edge over the other. Personally I don’t like the Hoosiers because they tend to accumulate rubber “balls” in slower-speed corners and those don’t always scrub off on the high-speed sweepers. You can go to evsr. Net for more info.

[@SocialDownclimber]

@@jpe1 Great run down on the physics, thanks!

[@djbis]

I have seen your in depth engineering videos on normal tires and was fairly familiar with the technology and engineering principles, but never imagined how much more needed to be invested in development of EV tires. Another amazing video. Thank you!

[@nvrndingsmmr]

Incredible to see how advanced these things are getting. Thanks for all the info as always!!

[@tomlademann2521]

1. They're stiffer overall to account for the bigger weight (Rubber Compound, Sidewalls) . The contact patch is bigger to make up for harder rubber (which has less grip). 2. Rolling Efficiency - Rubber Compound makes largest difference. (up to 10% difference). 3. Noise - Tires have sound absorbing foam inside. Pattern in grooves break up sound. Varying block patterns to distribute noise over several frequencies, instead of one loud one.

[@Knackebrot]

Awesome video! I'm currently working on my "pre-scientific" paper for my highschool finals. It's about optimizing for rolling resistance for passenger vehicles up to 3.5 tons by variation of compounds and tread. This videos has summed up lots of useful knowledge I've aquired so far!

[@tropico56]

Jason, you are truly a great teacher. If you are a professor at a university, I would enjoy your lectures very much. Keep up the good work!

[@EngineeringExplained]

Very kind, and thanks for being a student of KZbin University! 😂

[@JU2_]

Id say I already got a pretty good understanding of physics so I can think of a lot of things concerning cars and acceleration and stuff but this dude is just it, he kills it. I always learn something new from him

[@rogerpearson9081]

Good in depth on the differences between EV and ICE tyres. The rolling resistance was surprising. Kudos to Hankook for sharing some info on this subject. In my experience with their truck tyres they are as good as Michelin's for grip and wear. Lots more to EV tyres than I considered.I don't mind an infomercial type presentation especially when it is not a blatant plug and you actually learn some good stuff like this.

[@kirkbolas4985]

You’re absolutely correct about Hankook’s truck tires. Until recent times, I was the owner of a 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 pickup truck with the 5.9 L Turbodeisel engine with the 4-door extra cab. I bought it new and for the 20 years I owned the truck, I ran Hankook’s 10 ply M&S tire on the truck for the last 12 of those years. The truck came with set of Michelins (and I replaced them with the same Michelins when I wore out the OEM supplied set) to which the Hankooks were spec equivalents or better. Compared to the Michelins, the Hankooks lasted a bit longer and cost about 65% to 70% of what the Michelins cost; yet I got the same kind of performance, reliability and a 25% increase in longevity per set of Hankooks as compared to Michelins. The Michelins are good tires. The Hankooks are great tires.

[@CDSCourchevelUF-UB]

Semi-drivers who know well about tyres say hankooks are very good tyres. But since they done years they've been increasing prices up to being considered premium now as well, not as much as the Michelins but not far

[@AnthonyVaz-io2jv]

Your video is an interesting tutorial on tire technology. You had one small error about noise ratios. The decibel scale is a logarithmic power ratio: 10 x log10 (power 2 / power 1) . That means a noise power ratio of 2 is equivalent to 3 dB, since 10 x log10( 2) = 3.01 . Similarly, a noise power ratio of 8 is equivalent to 9 dB, since 10 x log10( 8 ) = 9.03 .

[@trishazhang]

Ya. I was about to see if my Engineering degree was wrongly awarded to me. Great! At least there is some engineers here. I agree with you. Every 3 DB is double the noise "strength.

[@PeterEVcharade]

Yes, but our ears respond logarithmically too. When people subjectively judge one sound to be 'about twice as loud' as another, the measured difference is generally about 10db.

[@JoshuaC923]

Very cool Jason, hope you can cover formula e tyres and how they help in development of ev tyres, thanks!

[@SugarRushTimes2030-gs3qp]

Glad I came across this, I have a Bolt and I didn’t know about tire differences, this will help me get the correct tires in the future. Thanks man!

[@JosephYaroch]

Overall, this is very helpful. One minor, inconsequential quibble: if the variation in block width is random, then it can't be optimized. If it's optimized, it can't be random. It would be more precise to say that the variation in tread block width is optimized to reduce sound.

[@HHCronikO]

I don't think that's entirely correct. He measured the thread block separation, and after two measures concluded it was randomized. I'm sure, it was not an empirical statement, he probably was informed by the company. The thing is, the thread block measurement doesn't go from minus to plus infinite, it has boundaries set. You can set a boundary measurement that goes from 18mm to 22mm, randomly and infinitely. We don't even know the degree of precision in the manufacturing process (18.2, 22.1, 19.5,...). The set up of a boundary measurment is in fact a form of optimization, that I would guess is tied to the rotatory frquency of the wheel, concerning the circumference of the wheel and the speed at which the rotation generates a degree of vibration that significantly translates into noise (audible, that is) thru the whole chain of contact between the car and the road surface. The whole point of it is to turn the surface of the tire into a mechanical diffuser, so the constructive interference of the vibratory frequencies gets nullified, ideally for all frequencies. So in the end, the pattern needs to be randomized, but the boundary limits of it needs to be optimized (the former parameter acting on the dynamics of the tire, the later being applied to the static boundaries of human auditory system). I'm guessing this is the point of him saying they can be "optimized for SOUND reduction", because there are plenty of inaudible vibrations for which they could be optimized in order to reduce the mechanical wearing of the car, but maybe that form of optimization is not as significant as the one which reduces the psychological wearing of the driver exposed to excesive noise. Or maybe it's simply the more effective way of marketing the perks of a superiorly design, more expensive product: thru perceived confort.

[@joshuagibson2520]

All rubber is not created equal and that's a fact.

[@TheAdventureAuto]

TWSS

[@Japplesnap]

@@TheAdventureAuto DBSA

[@k20nutz]

@@TheAdventureAuto TSWISS

[@fullmetalcorgi1350]

My parents agree

[@austinlane5533]

*DUREX*

[@haqitman]

Back in 1981 a guy from BG Goodrich came to our high school auto shop class and showed us one of the first Comp T/A tires ever made. He did a real deep dive on tires for us and I specifically remember him talking about the randomized tread blocks to reduce noise. Not a new idea. I really like the foam insert to reduce noise and wish all tires had that.

[@Resist4]

And some tire shop still won't repair tires with the foam, when it's been proven not to be a big deal. Misinformation still lingers on.

[@scottwills4698]

Great video! I do enjoy a tyre review. I put Pirelli SF2 “Elect” on my EV. They are much quieter than the OE tyre and range seems to be good. I think it’s great that there is now a lot of investment into EV’s and the peripherals. As you said in your video as the overall car become more efficient the batteries can get smaller which lowers the cost and improves the dynamics of the car at the same time.

[@TreyCamp]

Well put together presentation! Learned some great information. To compare that particular tire to the one that Tesla selected for that vehicle wheel size specifically, the OEM suggested wheel. And tire. When I used to work at Tesla I know that an absolutely insane amount of work went into developing tires that were purpose-built for their cars to get the best of range and comfort and all the other things like you just covered.

[@ronaldlenz5745]

We have a June 2020 Model S LR+. The original tires were the 19" Good Year. I got great efficiency, 237 Wh/mi. I thought they were a bit noisy, with laggy handling. They only lasted 26,902 miles. Discount tire almost wouldn't let me leave the store with two tires at 2/32" and two at 3/32" (no snow here). I replaced them with Michelin Primacy MXM4 All Season, a Tesla approved tire. So far in only a few hundred miles I am wowed by the quiet and improved handling and ride. Too early to tell on the efficiency. Comments?

[@rednammoc]

6:30 I'm pretty sure this will never get remixed into a meme/video and Jason will never regret this.

[@BeaudoinEric]

I’m a service advisor at a Honda dealer and tires fascinate me. I am typically among the top three tire sales leaders on my service drive. I love learning about tires so I can give the best advice. We don’t service any EVs yet because Honda hasn’t released one mass market, but I know the day is coming. Thanks for the deep dive on EV tires!

[@Resist4]

If Honda was smart they'd start servicing Tesla's like GM dealerships are doing, to capitalize on the shortage of Tesla service centers.

[@milesarcher.]

We got the Honda e in Europe. Not very successful. Quirky looks, poor range, high price.

[@jhawk6014]

I appreciate how in depth you go into a subject. I relate tires to shoes. Don't go to Mt Rainier with flip flops on. Thanks for the info

[@jamesevans225]

I could not have asked for a better explanation. Thank You.

[@weighit]

I am about due for new tires on my Tesla Model X, this video has changed my mind about what tire I was going to buy. Thanks for explaining what and why EV tires should be used on a EV.

[@jongoode3296]

Hopefully you're not in the US because I still can't find any EV specific tires sold here. There's the old Ecopias and a couple models that are marketed as "more" efficient, but little else. Nokians are a notable exception for winter tires, but a lot of dealers still don't carry them.

[@miltont5173]

Me too, I have a model X in Australia and find the noise from the tyres creates a high and low pitch noise which is very annoying. I don’t know if anyone else experiences this phenomenon. How many kilometres have you managed with the original tyres? I am coming up to 60,000km.

[@weighit]

@@miltont5173 I'm at 22,000 miles and will be replacing in another 5 or 6,000

[@michaelpatrick6950]

I often ride my bike on a path that parallels E470 on Denver's east side. The average speed of vehicles on this road is probably 80-85 mph (the 75 mph limit is just a suggestion in CO, as are red lights). So, to me the noise you hear external to the car is first tire noise followed by closely by wind noise. On most stock cars in reasonably good condition, you barely hear the engine noise. And with all the SUVs and 4wd pickups sporting aggressive tires, tire noise is really bad along our roads.

[@hugegamer5988]

Especially MT tires used on road, they are several times louder on the freeway.

[@mattpopovich]

Denver gang 💪

[@hwirtwirt4500]

The drivetrain noise is conducted into the car but much less notable in a drive past sound level.

[@martin_eneqvist]

Thanks for a great vid! It would be super interesting if you could make a video about how different wheels affect range and sound and what features have the bigest impact, diameter, width, cap design (aero) etc.

[@vangvon2215]

That's a great presentation, thanks! It cleared so many of my doubts and offer even more aspects that I have never thought about! That's the first video I saw from the channel, a subsribed right aways!

[@SpottedSharks]

This was super helpful. All I knew about tires beforehand was that they need tread and to be rotated.

[@airmotivewelding8012]

What a great video, tons of information. This all adds to the hidden cost of EVs. Proper safety issues as well, hope the tire shops are ready for this. Thanks so much for presenting these detailed engineering explanations, you would be a blast to party with!!! Was cool to meet you a few weeks ago in Vancouver, take care!

[@paulsengupta971]

It would be my sort of party. Much better than talking about football or Eastenders.

[@rlu1956]

A lifelong engineer I love every aspect of "automobiles". Two things pop up: EV tires. #1 is NOISE. EV power trains are obviously much quieter at specific frequencies-bands. Thus, tire noise becomes a complaint as tire to road interaction becomes a dominate source. Also, at low speeds EVs are too quiet, so "making" some noise to caution others is a new item to the tire specification list. WEIGHT is not so critical anymore so...a new button can be pushed by designers. #2 is TORQUE transfer. EV power trains can put power down over a much broader speed range. So, keeping things "connected" become important also. So, "tires" are not just tires...especially on EV's. BTW, the most under-appreciated item on the vehicle...TIRES. So much science here!

[@kiwijonowilson]

Thanks - an interesting topic! I have Michelin PS4 tires that came with my Model 3 and am pretty impressed with them. Road holding is much better than I expected give the weight of the care and yet they seem pretty efficient too. No idea how the likes of Hankook compare but its great to see the engineering going into them!

[@tyrereviews]

Great video, I've tested something very similar a little more in depth with an etron and found exactly the same. But not all tire companies thing the seperate product range is correct, some are just making all their new tired "ev ready". I'm not yet sure which is the correct approach.

[@780brando]

more tire/tire tech videos! I am a believer in using the best tires you can get/afford.

[@Sanjayadon]

Very informative ! Thanks for the all research and effort you put in to making this video!

[@XclusiveAaron]

Your videos are so good man, been watching for years! Thanks for the great info 👍

[@johnfrancis4401]

Very informative. Tyres are probably the most important factor in car safety especially in snow or rainy conditions. Ta very much

[@raven4k998]

I have to call bs on the weight thing cause my BMW i3s weigh's about the same as a gas car like a ford focus before they were discontinued or a Honda civic for the same car but the range extender removed from the car the weight thing is why Tesla's are so good at getting their drivers into more car accidents more often due to weighing a whole lot more and this is important if you are considering an ev other then what tesla offers as they tend to be lighter then Tesla's offerings and thus in an emergency will stop faster in a short distance due to having weight and therefor less mass and momentum to stop

[@TechDeath28]

@Raven4K Tires have varying load carrying capacity based on application, so you can't compare the weight of your vehicle to a Ford focus because the wheel base is different between those cars, therefore the load carrying capacity on your wheels, I can garuntee,, is different when compared to a civic or focus. Although the weight is similar, the BMW i3 is both higher, and shorter lengthwise, than a civic or a focus, so the weight distribution on all 4 tires is different . It looks like the i3s uses an XL tire which is meant to carry more weight than a common passenger tire.

[@mitotakjde9763]

@@raven4k998 yeah, i kinda want an electric car, but I don't want a tesla. In my family we switch cars for a brand new ones each 3 years and ive gotten new one bit over a year ago so i still have 2 more years with this one, but 1 will be switched this year and 2 more next year. Maybe we will pick one ev to try out, but we borrowed skoda eniaq to test out and it was bad, looks terrible, has worse acceleration than my daily car and is limited to 160kmh. Maybe when its time to switch mine, there will be some nice options already. My requirements for an ev are: max speed over 250kmh, 0-100 around 3 seconds, range of at least 700km and it cant be a tesla cuz Musk xd, it has to also have good stability in corners as i like to drive fast on small roads, and heavy cars usually struggle with that. I also don't want a daily car thats over 50k$ as people here are morons and cant park properly so its extremely likely that someone will wreck your car so i would be scared to park an expensive car here, even tho its insured. I wouldn't ever take the jaguar or the sportscar my family has to the capital city to have it parked near my flat. My sister has had her car crashed into 4 times while parked near her flat and also intentionally scratched by a key in just 1 week lol. Also its usually quite cold here, sometimes -30Celsius which ev dont seem to enjoy so i might have to stick to gasoline. Also the charging is really bad as I don't want to spend over an hour charging it during my drive. In the capital city where i live with my gf, its close to impossible to charge it outside of a gas station and charging it in my garage where i sometimes park would take ages. Its also 20 minutes away from my flat so i park there only when i dont need the car. So i might buy an ev in the future, but i will never buy a tesla, even if it was the only car maker in the world. I would rather travel around on bike than to give Musk my money honestly

[@Machailey1]

Best job of explaining reasons why EV tire are needed for an EV. Good job.

[@aaronjames5078]

I just got the Audi e-tron, the quietest cabin on the market with dual pane acoustic glass and lots of acoustic treatment or sound deadening material everywhere because it is so quiet I love it, the quietness calms my Aspergers. And the rest of the car is just as awesome, I hope you can test drive one and put it on your show.

[@shawn576]

Great presentation. I had no idea this much stuff was different when the car is electric, especially the perceived volume of tire noise.

[@singular9]

Actually hankook is wrong. According to the EU ACEA tires are now like 80% of a vehicles noise. They actually noticed that rolling in Neutral with the engine off the tires made up almost all the exterior noise in -db

[@EngineeringExplained]

Depends what speed you're traveling, and the road surface. Difficult to say there's an exact percentage, I'd agree with you there.

[@JoMamasHouse]

This past summer I changed my tires on my truck for a road trip to western Colorado from eastern Missouri. The Michelin defenders were much quieter, and gave me a 3 mpg boost with ac on at 75 mph. Mid 20 mpg until we started the climb.

[@clayz1]

What r u driving?

[@780brando]

They may be expensive, but worth every penny. I love my Michelin ltx tires on my f150

[@Russianmafia10]

The defenders are an awesome tire

[@JustinAZ]

I’ve watched a lot of your videos, but wow, that was a lot. Bravo on making it all understandable.

[@johnashleyhalls]

Thank you for informing me about what an EV tire is designed to achieve, great new info for me and your other viewers. You did mention stiffness repeatedly in regards to cornering and speed. Also the importance of overall noise being reduced by contact patch size and how that effects efficiecy. Now for the BUT! What about the flexibility needed for grip in cold temperatures? I live in a place where -18F is not uncommon and the flexibility of winter tires dramatically improves handling and stopping distances. The part that makes me most uncomfortable is the internal noise reducing poly foam. We all need to have confidence in the skill of the installers, if any of that foam breaks of, due to non-nitrogen inflation moisture, then wheel balance will be way out of spec. I would love to see what Michelin and Continental are doing to address these concerns.

[@NoMoYOUsernames]

Unless you're driving on snow or ice, put about 10-15% more air pressure in the tires than the tire manufacturer says you should, voila you got stiffer tires that wears slower, reduces your consumption and improves handling. The only real down side is slightly more noise, but it's well worth it in my opinion. Make sure to check and adjust the pressure if the temperature changes a lot through the season. Never go for the cheapest option tires, read reviews and buy known brands. Tires are, next to your brakes, the most important parts of your car. Old, worn tires or bad quality hard rubber tires may save you a little money right now, but the cost could be huge later. For my car and tires the adviced pressure is about 44 psi, I use 50, and I've been doing that for years. I have 30 years of experience driving, and I am a professional driver licensed to drive anything on the road.

[@egorboroda1099]

Я так делаю много лет. У меня на табличке написано давление 2.0 , я качаю 2,2 и всём так рекомендую!!!

[@fradland2784]

You should never do this

[@NoMoYOUsernames]

@@fradland2784 Who should never do what?

[@e-curb]

The real downside is that you have a smaller contact patch, meaning you have significantly less traction. Worse braking results. Purposely making your car's braking worse is the stupidest thing anyone can do.

[@NoMoYOUsernames]

@@e-curb I'd like to see proof of the practical effect of that. In my experience, what you lose in braking (if anything at all), you gain from increased control in case of an evasive maneuver.

[@SuperFredAZ]

I have bought a lot of tires in my life, but I have never seen rolling resistance specified, but I'd sure like to see it based on your analysis, thanks.

[@jongoode3296]

Almost no tire manufacturers release RR specs. The only reason I can conceive of why is because it'd make comparing models too easy for the consumer. The only real RR numbers I've found were in consumer reports tests from about a decade ago and the only tire they tested that's still produced is the Ecopia, but it's been revised a couple times since then, so it's not accurate either. The closest thing you're likely to find is the EU fuel efficiency rating, which will be at least proportional to RR. I think there's even a scale out there somewhere that equates an A rating with .006 or less RR or something, but I'm not sure how accurate that is. The next problem is trying to buy a US tire with an EU efficiency rating of A since most manufacturers sell different models in the US or the US version doesn't have the same specs as the EU version.

[@EngineeringExplained]

Yeah, I don't think we have a label for it in the US, but the EU has a label for it if you can find a similar tire. Their ranking is from A-E, which has a corresponding coefficient of rolling resistance. This site provides the ranges for the 5 different letter grades: www.tire-reviews.com/Article/EU-Tire-Label-Current-status-and-challenges.htm

[@lindapratt8097]

That’s crazy! I had no idea how much when into these. Thanks for this!

[@Miata822]

Good video. I have heard varying stories about using tMy Lucid's Summer/Performance 21" tires on those occasional cold days here in Texas. Some say that doing so simply reduces traction. Others say it can do damage to the tire. A Summer vs. All Season video would be great.

[@mattk04]

At temps below 45F, the rubber in summer tires hardens so traction is diminished. I've always heard the comparison made to the rubber becoming like a hockey puck - rock hard.

[@andreykolakov8813]

Very useful video, EV tires are subjected to higher loads due to weight and acceleration. It is difficult to determine which tires are better because they are for different categories of cars.

[@victorkonon]

Can you make an EV tires comparison video? Stack against each other Michelin EV specific, Conti Econcontact, GoodyearElectricDrive, etc. And then one non-EV i.e. ContiExtremeContact or some regular Michelin Pilor Sport. p.s. my guess is hat Michelin and continental will blow Hankook's out of the water. I'd also guess regular ContiExtreme Contacts are as good or better than the Hankook EV tires. I did search for one of these videos, but couldn't find any. Probably nobody made one yet.

[@petemiller519]

You remind me of a Ph D student teacher's assistant back in engineering school about 40 years ago. I hear you about being fun at a party, believe me, I can appreciate your warped sense of humor. Cheers from Canada :}

[@flyboyflash3184]

Great video, great job explaining. Keep them coming!

[@randomvideosn0where]

The difference tires make is amazing. With the Chinese tires my car came with I was stuck in 1" of snow on a very shallow slope, but after throwing on some Michelin X Ice I was able to plow through 5" of snow. Not to mention the gas mileage went up by 5% despite snow tire.

[@celeron55]

Winter tires like snow, summer tires like water. You will find out the winter tires don't have much traction on wet roads even though they are not Chinese, and the Chinese tires will have good traction on wet roads, even though they are Chinese.

[@ghoulbuster1]

Like every chinese product, you get what you pay for! And that's the bare minimum.

[@PhaseSkater]

@@celeron55 blizzak winter tires have amazing grip on wet roads. I run them during the rainy season here in Portland.

[@oceanbytez847]

@@celeron55 actually chinese tires generally have the worst traction all around compared to higher quality competitors because chinese tires generally use the cheapest stiffest rubbers. They glassify earlier, and tend to slide sooner due to the severity of their stiffness. The upside is they last forever, but one wrong move and you'll visit the inside of someones trunk. hardly a trade worth making in my opinion. Also, summer tires generally perform best in dry conditions and all year tires usually do best in wet and slightly cold conditions, but as soon as it gets really cold or ice/snow enters the fray winter tires take the lead. I source my info from the Rubber Manufacturers Association.

[@oceanbytez847]

@modest mouse colored person There are a few all year tires can receive the triple mountain snowflake mark. It's rare, but there are a couple of all years that will do ok in the snow. not better than a dedicated winter most likely, but well enough that it should be serviceable. Tires that good only come expensively from the top brands though.

[@ag100pct]

Great video. I have a Camry hybrid and it comes with 235/45R18 tires. I would like to go to 215/55R17 (allowed according to manual). My goal is slightly better ride and lower cost. I also worry about vulnerability of the lower profile tires to damage from minor road hazards. I'd appreciate any thoughts or suggestions you can offer.👍

[@GraeHall]

A deep dive into a subject I thought I knew a tiny bit about thanks to growing up in a motorsports family, but it turns out I knew far less, I got lost in this it was straight up *fascinating*

[@richardalexander5758]

A lot more to these tires than I'd imagined. I'm about to replace mine, and had planned on going with the same Michelin EV tires, but I'll have to give these a closer look. Thanks.

[@dongyi6034]

what happens when you get a puncture? Do you remove and reinstall the form to fix it, plug it, or does it become dead weight and needs to be replaced?

[@EngineeringExplained]

I asked them about this - you can still plug it like you would normally with a nail or something (from the outside). Specifically they said no problem with seal-type repairs, but liquid-type repair kit is not suitable, and that it's an issue they're working on.

[@alejandrovieira6451]

Hmm, since many (most?) EVs don't come with a spare tire and only a sealant/inflator for limping back for repairs, that sort of makes the foam inserts a non-starter for many (most?) EV owners. Between this issue and unavailability, I guess I'll stick with Ecopia or equivalents in 6 months when I have to replace our Niro's tires.

[@EngineeringExplained]

@@alejandrovieira6451 You know, that's a very interesting point. For my car, it comes from the factory with tires that have the foam, and yet they also sell the liquid sealing kits, so it makes you wonder if that works at all...

[@alejandrovieira6451]

@@EngineeringExplained I sure hope you don't have to find out personally!

[@janverschuren3446]

As far as I know a tire repair shop can cut away part of the foam, make space for the mushroom plug, and glue in the temporarily removed foam. The tire and wheel always gets rebalanced after the repair. But spray in foam will always ruin any tire, again, as far as I know... A spare tire remains golden to carry at all times!

[@LeeBreece]

Great video! I can see you've added sound dampening to your garage on the wall in the background. Have you tried adding anything to the ceiling? Maybe that might help dampen the echo in the garage? Something only a channel with 3 million subs would have to think about of course.

[@EngineeringExplained]

Haha, realistically yes, I should add more sound deadening to the ceiling. The wall helps a lot, but it's still a garage.

[@masterquake7]

I'm glad you are doing some recent EV stuff as now I've discovered your other EV videos just in time for me getting an EV. Throwing down for one in less than a year.

[@tarkheros8225]

A good thing that sound levels get more focus on electric car tires. Living in Norway, where we have a very high ratio of electric cars, I have observed that electric cars driving at 50-80km/h have a consistently higher overall noise level than diesel/petrol cars when heard from the side of the road. Seeing as many people live next to roads and are already bothered by road noise, the growth of electric car sales and their noisy stock tires have actually been a real setback since car noise level regulations are usually based on exhaust/engine sound alone. Looking forward to your summer tire review and hope to see a non-EV tire comparison on the same car, focusing on grip and brake distance since most stock EV-tires have comparatively low scores towards non-EV tires.

[@csimandl]

I am similarly "fun at parties" 🙂 , but seriously found your presentation most informative. Explaining very technical things in a simple manner is an art. Well done, and thanks.

[@CarkeekW]

I have found only people who understand the topic can make it simple , those who are learning it can only parrot

[@jamesplotkin4674]

Hi Jason. I noticed you've blurred the wheel center caps. Are these the same wheels you installed a few years ago, so you could take advantage of the smaller diameter (not available on your performance model) and thus, the taller sidewall and its comfort? Back then, you showed the brand, but not today. Why?

[@smileyguyz]

All the logos were blurred, I bet Hankook didn't want them in the video.

[@Hybris51129]

If you look closely you can see the blurring on the hood as well. Basically Jason is trying to avoid copyright/legal trouble with Tesla or even more likely KZbins random algorithms that could see the logo and maybe do some kind of automated demonetization. The platform isn't what it used to be and its little things like this that show it.

[@EngineeringExplained]

Technically speaking you're not allowed to show copyright logos in sponsored content (there's some variance, but you'll notice this with my previous videos as well). The wheels are T-Sportline, the caps have Tesla logos (not the T-Sportline logo).

[@HEVTech1]

@Engineering Explained was wondering the same thing. Learned more than a couple things here love the content🙂

[@duncanharper4466]

Very informative, I had no idea so much thought went into a tyre, thank you.

[@davidmay268]

Thanks for the detail on sound, this is super interesting

[@vlenhoff]

I noticed the tread pattern differences a few years ago. I always wondered why would tire companies intentionally did that. I knew it could not be a production mistake. Thanks for all the info!

[@DracoOmnia]

For me the biggest concern regarding tires (for most vehicles) is performance in inclement conditions, rain, snow, ice and any combination there of. I must have confidence in my tires during these conditions, or I can't control the vehicle when I need to most. The other factors you bring up are all gravy (granted the economy one is a big deal for my ev and probably my truck too), the only thing that matters is do I have traction when everyone else doesn't (because they are the biggest hazard in inclement conditions)... I don't understand why more people do not seem to prioritize this like I do, we don't all live in Florida and even if we did, the drivers suck and wet pavement is pretty common... Regardless, all this talk sounds great, but without independent real world testing, it's all marketing wankateering. It's definitely got my interest but I need to see how they stack up on a Consumer reports type testing before I'll pull the trigger

[@LightWeightHercules]

Your right not everyone think like you and me especially the manufacturers

[@DracoOmnia]

@@LightWeightHercules is there a reason for you and the manufacturers? Do I have a blind spot or am I that far from the norm?

[@danburstein7009]

Hi Jason, To smooth out the ride of my 2022 Tesla model Y I installed 4 Tein EnduraPro Plus dampers 2 weeks ago.....Huge Improvement! Driving home from the install shop in Fremont, Ca. I had the OEM dampers(guessing 25lbs) in a box in the rear cargo area. Once home I removed the box and noticed the ride was slightly more rough. I then put 2 gallon water bottles (16lbs) in the under floor rear cargo area and Voila!....the ride was once again improved. You are really scientific so I am curious if the ride is better because 1) the weight is behind the rear axle requiring more upward force when hitting a bump to move the car body, and 2) the further behind the rear axle the added weight is the more effect on smoothing out the ride? The heavier box with the old shocks was right behind the rear seats (between the axles).

[@ngoc-thanhvo1077]

Thank you for so much engineering knowledge in the video. I have a question, I heard you mention about tire noise will be transmitted through suspension into car frame and into the cabin. In my country now, they are doing noise reduction by adding acoustic liner in the wheel house/well. Do you think this really works?

[@ouch1011]

Many EV/efficiency focused tires tend to give up a lot of grip, especially in the rain. Hopefully Hancook has found a way to overcome this.

[@davidkinsella]

Some of them have less thread depth too so they don't last as long as are more expensive. I'm putting Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S on my EV once my current, awful grip, Continental EcoContact 6 wear out.

[@averysexton5966]

I agree...went with performance tire with XL rating for this reason after 15K miles on factory tires. They absolutely suck in the rain. I really didn't mind giving up range for what is basically safety.

[@GF-mf7ml]

2000kg for a hatchback, nice.

[@tyrereviews]

Sadly yep 😭

[@BigEightiesNewWave]

Extra weight , cannot defeat physics.

[@jamesbuckingham8073]

Cost comparison with similar sizing and seasonal type?

[@noahway7690]

Driving 4 Answers has a GREAT general knowledge video on tires.

[@Will_C_188]

Excellent review. Very informative, thank you!

[@bendejo9971]

Out of sheer curiosity, would EE mind doing a video with the overall effects of tire siping?

[@itgoesfast2722]

Great video, but as a owner of a Kona EV I can tell you the original tires were pretty much dangerous in the cold and wet up here in the Pacific Northwest.. I put a set of Michelin cross climate 2 on the car and the difference in wet and light snow was exponentially better. However I do get about 20 - 30 miles less on a full charge but we’ll worth it. I would like to see how these tires compare to a tire like the cross climate 2 in the wet and light snow.

[@billybeemus3929]

Exact same thing with the original tires on our Chevy Bolt here in Colorado. The original tires are almost worthless and certainly dangerous on snow and ice.

[@mjc0961]

Summer tires are bad in cold and snow? Huh. They really ought to give these different kinds of tires names that make it super obvious to everyone what conditions they are expected to be used in. 😐

[@itgoesfast2722]

@@mjc0961 Not sure if you are trying to be funny, but they were not summer tires.

[@itgoesfast2722]

@@billybeemus3929 They want to get those extra few miles of range for marketing and don't care about safety.

[@ringding1000]

@@mjc0961Factory tires tend to be the cheapest tires the car manufacturer can buy as long as they meet minimum, (and I mean minimum), requirements. ICE cars suffer the same issues when new. The factory tires very often tend to not be very capable in any season in less than dry conditions no matter the season.

[@manuronkko1996]

I'd love to know how much of the tire noise is structure-borne like you explained in the video, and how much is contributed to airborne noise. This would be useful for knowing where to start if one wanted to mitigate noise in a vehicle. I work with environmental noise which often includes vehicle noise, but we focus on the noise affecting buildings or their yards, not that inside of a vehicle. At speeds above 30km/h, tire noise tends to become the dominant source, even for ICE vehicles, so traffic may not be getting any quieter.

[@gooldii1]

WOW! in ONE Video, i understood it all! Very good! Thanks!

[@ShreksEsel]

Please don't get me wrong, it's a fascinating and well explained subject as always. But I tend to distrust things that sound too perfect. What are the drawbacks if you change the compound or overall construction of the tire?

[@CJ-M43]

Usually price.

[@SummitCoyote]

price. EV specific tires are VERY expensive. like semi truck tire expensive.

[@Danandrea737]

Great analysis, tks! What about hybrids? HEV? PHEV?

[@JasonWW2000]

Those would fall under the category of a regular car.

[@davidshotwell342]

I have the Hancook EV tires on my ID.4. I have to say, they have been great, 40k on them and they still look and ride great. By far the longest I’ve had a tire last on an EV.

[@Joe-ud2hb]

Hi David, do your tyres have a foam insert?

[@th3m3du54]

I’ll never get tired of hearing you talk about tires.

[@RobWalsh]

Absolutely fascinating! I love learning just how much engineering and science is hidden in everyday mundane things like tires. Thanks!!

[@EngineeringExplained]

Thanks Rob, for sure fascinating!

[@griffithd05]

My e-golf is about 400 lbs heavier than the ICE golf (depending on trim). I've found EV tires are ROUGH for the e-golf because of the stiffness and the noise is noticeable. It would be interesting to see the difference between ICE cars that have EV trims and purpose-built EVs. I think there is a gray area there.

[@billybobjones4317]

I have noticed something about rolling efficiency over my more than 50 years of driving and that is my car rolls far better going down hill then going up a hill, also fuel economy changes drastically going up compared to going down, it's why I plan my trips in a way that I only go down hill to my destination and never go North as North is all up hill on my Globe of the world. This is why we should always listen to our older members of society as we pick up these tid bits from just being around for so long :)

[@horsepowerandtalk1033]

It is easy tell what noise is being made by your tire when driving from the RI line to Boston. The road surface changes many times, the sound and volume changes accordingly. It ranges from real loud to pleasantly quiet, not much of the latter. BTW that helps determine how much wind noise you have.