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This is the impact EV tires have on a Tesla Model 3

Tires are engineered with specific purposes in mind and can affect everything from safety to fuel economy

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Are EV-Specific Tires Better than Popular Non-EV Tires? — 2024

Many people decide to buy the right tires for their cars or trucks based on the sticker price alone. They think that whatever is the cheapest will be the best bang for the buck because tires are all essentially the same. But that sort of reductive thinking can end up costing far more in the long run. Tires are engineered with specific purposes in mind and can affect everything from safety to fuel economy.

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With that in mind, TireRack.com tested nine tires on a 100-mile loop. Their car of choice was the very popular Tesla Model 3, which allowed them to look at things from an EV perspective. Tire Rack decided to rank these tires in eight categories, including a final overall ranking. We highlighted the two most important categories for EV drivers: Energy Consumption and Overall Ranking.

The tires competing in this test were as follows:

  • Bridgestone Turnanza EV
  • Continental ProContact RX (T1)
  • Goodyear EcoReady
  • Goodyear ElectricDrive 2
  • Hankook iON evo AS
  • Michelin Pilot Sport 4S
  • Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4
  • Pirelli P Zero (P24)
  • Yokohama ADVAN Sport EV A/S

Read on to see how each of these tires ranked in each category.

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The Hankook iON evo AS was the most efficient tire of the bunch

Red Tesla Model 3
Tesla

Rating energy consumption is something many of us would have never thought about. But thankfully, the experts did. Each tire was rated in terms of reported efficiency measured in watt hours per mile, which is the amount of energy a tire uses per mile of driving. The lower the number, the better. A noteworthy caveat is to know that eight of these were tested on a Tesla Model 3 using 18-inch wheels except for the Goodyear EcoReady rubber, which was tested on a Model 3 using 19-inch rims, which undoubtedly affected the final scoring.

  1. Hankook iON evo AS: 263 Wh/mile
  2. Goodyear EcoReady: 269 Wh/mile
  3. Continental ProContact RX (T1): 272 Wh/mile
  4. Goodyear ElectricDrive 2: 274 Wh/mile
  5. Yokohama ADVAN Sport EV A/S: 274 Wh/mile
  6. Pirelli P Zero (PZ4): 274 Wh/mile
  7. Bridgestone Turanza EV: 276 Wh/mile
  8. Michelin Pilot Sports 4S: 290 Wh/mile
  9. Michelin Pilot Sports All Season 4: 292 Wh/mile

The Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires won the overall scoring title

Tesla Model 3 and Model Y parked in front of a city skyline on a runway
Tesla

Tire Rack also went on to compare these tires in more standard categories: Wet Braking and Skidpad, Dry Braking and Skidpad, Wet Lap Times, and finally Dry Lap Times. Each tire in each test was scored based on a top score of 10. Those results were then averaged out to create an overall score (also out of 10) for the final rankings, which are as follows:

  1. Michelin Pilot Sports 4S: 7.84
  2. Pirelli P Zero (PZ4): 7.74
  3. Continental ProContact RX (T1): 7.62
  4. Goodyear ElectricDrive 2: 7.32
  5. Michelin Pilot Sports All Season 4: 7.11
  6. Goodyear EcoReady: 7.10
  7. Hankook iON evo AS: 7.09
  8. Yokohama ADVAN Sport EV A/S: 6.96
  9. Bridgestone Turanza EV: 6.92

It should be no surprise that the winner of the performance categories came in dead last in efficiency, and the most efficient tire came in second-to-last in overall performance. Purpose-built tires are just that. They excel in their respective categories and poorly in areas outside their typical purview. There are trade-offs that need to be weighed and measured based on your own specific driving needs, style, and environment.

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Lou Ruggieri
Lou Ruggieri
Writer
A lifelong lover of cars, Lou contributes to Motor Trend, Hot Cars, Auto & Truck Connection, and the PowerAutoMedia Group.
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