There’s a new aftermarket tire option for Tesla’s electric vehicles, as well as the Ford Mustang Mach-E. Bridgestone has developed a new EV-specific tire, at first available for all four Tesla models as well as the Ford EV crossover, with 13 more sizes coming next year. The tire maker says that the new Turanza EV all-season tire should offer EV drivers greater durability than current rubber.
“With the accelerated progress toward an electrified vehicle fleet, we’re thrilled to launch a tire that is designed to help drivers get the best overall experience from their electric vehicles, including ride comfort, all-season driving performance and excellent wear life,” said Riccardo Cichi, Bridgestone’s US president.
The new tire uses what it’s calling “Enliten” technology, “which marks a major pivot in how we approach tire technology and design to deliver both exceptional dynamic performance and increased use of renewable and recycled materials,” Cichi said.
EVs have slightly different tire requirements from vehicles with more traditional powertrains. The near-instant torque of an electric motor and the slightly higher curb weight both need to be taken into consideration, both for acceleration and deceleration. The absence of an internal combustion engine and transmission makes all a car’s other noises much more obvious, so minimizing tire roar is also a priority for EV-specific applications.
A more durable tire shouldn’t just mean more time between tire changes. Recent studies have shown an alarming link between tire particulate pollution and large fish deaths in the Pacific Northwest, and critics of EVs have seized on this link as a talking point against the adoption of electric cars on the grounds of that slightly higher curb weight. And as for being more durable, these tires should last several years—Bridgestone is warrantying them for 50,000 miles. The trick is a new polymer technology, although the tire maker was not more forthcoming about the exact nature of its new secret sauce, called “PeakLife.”
The Turanza EV tires are being made at Bridgestone plants in Wilson, North Carolina, and Monterrey, Mexico, and use a mix of renewable and recycled natural rubber and carbon black. Bridgestone has made the Turanza EV tire in sizes to fit the Tesla Models 3, Y, S, and X, as well as Ford’s Mustang Mach-E, but it says that it will launch an additional 13 sizes early next year.
