Bridgestone officially started to sell Turanza T005 EV tires in Taiwan on July 5th. For now, the T005 EV is only introduced for the Tesla Model 3s in Taiwan. What are the special features of the tire?
In 2022, Japan's Bridgestone announced that its "E8 Commitment" will be achieved by 2030. E8 refers to the 8 major commitments of an enterprise's social responsibility. One of the E8 commitments is "Ecology." In its first step towards becoming a sustainable enterprise, Bridgestone launched its first electric vehicle tire, the Turanza T005 EV, for Tesla. T005 EV's five features include energy efficiency, ride comfort, security, high stability of control, and long wear life. Let's take a look at what makes the T005 EV tires superior to general tires.
First, a T005 EV tire has less vibration and noise. Generally speaking, an EV is quieter than an ordinary vehicle because it does not have an internal combustion engine. The absence of an engine's vibration and noise makes the sound of a tire rolling much more apparent in an EV. As the T005 EV's B-Silent technology uses a sponge inside of the tire to absorb the sound waves of street bumps, it is able to reduce tire noise.
The second advantage of a T005 EV tire is low tire rolling resistance. Since EVs have long driving ranges, the T005 EV has employed an advanced lightweight technology called "Enliten" to reduce the weight of the tire so that it could lower its rolling resistance on street surfaces. This feature decreases the energy consumption of the EV, and the rolling resistance level fits the EU Tyre Label A's standard.
Third, a T005 EV tire offers enough grip on the street. When rolling resistance is reduced, a sufficient grip on the road must be ensured. Thus, the T005 EV is designed with a new tread pattern. The pattern and grooves can increase ground contact area, alleviate shocks, and ensure good wet braking performances.
Fourth, a T005 EV tire has better load index rating, speed rating, wear life, and driving range. The T005 EV's specification is 235 / 45R18 XL, which is similar to a standard T005A tire. However, when it comes to load index rating, the T005 EV offers an upgrade from 94 to 98, and its speed rating is also raised from W to Y.
Despite not needing an internal combustion engine, an EV will still have to account for the weight of its Li-ion batteries. The batteries will often make an EV weigh more than it looks, so a higher load index rating is necessary. As for speed rating and wear life, although a Tesla model's high torque force can quickly accelerate the car, its tires will still wear out faster than the tires of standard cars. If a Tesla owner constantly pushes the accelerator pedal to boost its speed, then the general tires' abrasion can be very severe. Therefore, tires with longer wear life and high load capacity are necessary for Tesla cars.
The original equipment manufacturer for the T005A EV tire has yet to publically announce its retail price. However, if a set of four standard T005A tires is already priced at 25 K NTD, then it is almost certain that a set of four T005 EV tires will be priced higher than that.
Before speaking about the driving range, there is one question that people will probably be curious about. Was the release of Bridgeton's T005 EV tires a tactic to milk more money out of EV owners? We have to admit, at the current stage, EV owners seem like the type of consumers who will accept high price ranges. And naturally, tire manufacturers will want to take advantage of that. However, according to the European Union's standard, a T005 EV is rated as Level A. Compared with a Level C tire, a Level A tire can increase a car's driving range by about 50 kilometers. Thus, its high price is probably justified.
▲Mercedes Benz EQXX uses Bridgestone Turanza series tires to account for its long driving range. (Source: Daimler)
Let's take a look at Bridgestone's competitors in Tesla Taiwan. Tesla Taiwan's OE tires currently include the Michelin PS4 and Hankook S1 evo3. They are both top-ranked performance tires. According to the experiences shared by users on internet forums, if Tesla owners were to return to a Tesla service center to change four tires, they might need to pay about 30 K NTD. From this, it is reasonable to assume that Bridgestone's T005 EV's fees for labor and materials will reach the 30K NTD range.
If Tesla owners want to have quieter and longer rides, they should definitely do some research on EV tires before replacing them. At the current stage, nearly all of the major tier tire brands have designed new EV tires with quiet features and rolling resistance technology.
(Photo credit: Bridgestone)