In 1845, between the invention of a system of detonating explosives by electricity and the refillable fountain pen, Robert Thomson, a Scottish engineer and entrepreneur, patented the first pneumatic tire – then a miraculous, now everyday item. Is gradually developing since.
Now, in the age of electric vehicles, they are in focus more than ever. On the one hand, while passenger safety remains a priority, the right tires can have a significant impact on efficiency – and thus on your range. E.V-But on the other hand they are also a source of noise and pollution.
Since the traditional global tire market price is good over $200 billionAnd with 2.5 billion tires sold per year worldwide, manufacturers are rubbing their hands over the coming death of pure combustion cars, and getting ready for a battle to craft the ideal balance of eco credentials, performance and efficiency that The right EV will make you tired. Whoever wins will get a lot of prizes.
Rolling resistance or longevity?
Range optimization has been the primary concern so far. According to Michelin, the efficiency difference between good and bad tires can be as much as 7 percent. Better tires reduce rolling resistance, which means the car will go farther before stopping. Therefore it will require less energy to cover the same distance. A 7 percent increase in efficiency would give an EV that much more range – so, if it can travel 300 miles with bad tires, it will travel 321 miles with good tires.
“There are many tire components that can affect rolling resistance,” says Thomas Wanka, principal technology development engineer at Continental, a company that explored EV tire design through its collaboration with electric motorsport series Extreme E. These include rubber compound and. Hiking.”
Manufacturers are experimenting with nanomaterials in their tires, such as nanocarbon And nanosilicaTo improve performance, traction and durability. Research is also underway on bio-based alternative compounds such as gyule And dandelion rubber,
You can reduce rolling resistance by reducing the tread depth, but this also means the tire will not last as long and will produce more noise. However, Continental thinks it has the answer. “We have developed special soft rubber compounds that allow us to reduce rolling resistance and noise at the same time without sacrificing mileage,” says Vanka.