Winter tires

JCHLi

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Anyone have experience or advice when it comes to winter tires with a EV SUV?

Since I've been in Michigan I always get a second set of wheels and tires for winter.

Since I'm bored and think of stuff like this I've been looking at options and prices. I've been able to find 225/60 R18 Blizzak as one option.

Just curious if anyone has input on the general idea of winter tires on a EV SUV.
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JamieGeek

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Haven't put winter tires on any of my vehicles, but I have driven EVs in the winter in Michigan with their stock (admittedly horrible) tires (the low rolling resistance tires are so hard they slip on dry pavement let alone 3" of snow).

Electric motors are sooo much more responsive to even the subtlest inputs compared to a gas engine. This is relevant because it makes EV traction control systems that much better than their gas counterparts.

Even with the horrible tires I was able to trudge through almost anything in both my Focus Electric and the Bolt. I have gotten each one stuck exactly once but in both cases it was "off pavement" and I was able to rock them out without much difficulty.
 
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JCHLi

JCHLi

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Thanks for the feedback. Maybe I'll try it out for one winter and see if my deep seeded Michigan belief in winter tires good away.

I remember driving my old Impala company car with stock tires for several interesting winters and never had an issue. Either it was luck or something to do with the weight.
 

ClaudeMach-E

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I was thinking about the same thing has you here, I will probably put 225/60 R18 on my Premium but will probably get Aluminium wheels instead of regular steel , lighter is better for the range. For the tire brand they are many good ones out there and it's a quetion of choice. Maybe I'l go with Michelin X-ice Xi3 , their suppose to improve them next year. Yokohama Ice Guard are good ones too. One important factor is the rolling resistance factor that should be low of course for the same range reason. Here in Quebec it is mandatory to have winter tires has all seasons tires loose their grips when it goes under 7 C or 45 F.
 
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jhalkias

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My dad always swore by snow tires in Ohio. But once I got a FWD or AWD car I never bought them again.
 

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I live in Northeast Ohio and currently own a BMW i3 EV which is a RWD vehicle. I've used winter tires every year and wouldn't drive winter roads without them. The one time I put them on later than normal and we had icy roads, I drove over an ice patch and just about skidded off the highway - thanks to stability control, that was avoided. I will definitely put onto my RWD Mach-E.

The big issue I've run into is that the tires are relatively soft and wear thinly - they had to be replaced after two years. Knowing when to put them onto the car and when to switch them out every year has been a guessing game.
 
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JCHLi

JCHLi

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I was thinking about the same thing has you here, I will probably put 225/60 R18 on my Premium but will probably get Aluminium wheels instead of regular steel , lighter is better for the range. For the tire brand they are many good ones out there and it's a quetion of choice. Maybe I'l go with Michelin X-ice Xi3 , their suppose to improve them next year. Yokohama Ice Guard are good ones too. One important factor is the rolling resistance factor that should be low of course for the same range reason. Here in Quebec it is mandatory to have winter tires has all seasons tires loose their grips when it goes under 7 C or 45 F.

I actually have the Michelin ice x on my Honda right now and love them (my wife had the blizzak on her focus and they are good too). However, when I was looking at options the website indicated that the ice x wasn't suitable for the Mach-e, not sure why as they seemed to be properly rated.
 

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I live in Northeast Ohio and currently own a BMW i3 EV which is a RWD vehicle. I've used winter tires every year and wouldn't drive winter roads without them. The one time I put them on later than normal and we had icy roads, I drove over an ice patch and just about skidded off the highway - thanks to stability control, that was avoided. I will definitely put onto my RWD Mach-E.

The big issue I've run into is that the tires are relatively soft and wear thinly - they had to be replaced after two years. Knowing when to put them onto the car and when to switch them out every year has been a guessing game.
You must live in the snow belt. Canton and where I work in Broadview Heights has not been so bad for awhile outside of the infrequent crazy storms.
 

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Anyone have experience or advice when it comes to winter tires with a EV SUV?

Since I've been in Michigan I always get a second set of wheels and tires for winter.

Since I'm bored and think of stuff like this I've been looking at options and prices. I've been able to find 225/60 R18 Blizzak as one option.

Just curious if anyone has input on the general idea of winter tires on a EV SUV.
We had a set of Blizzaks that we used on our Outback in the winter in Colorado. Great snow/ice tires.

Haven't put winter tires on any of my vehicles, but I have driven EVs in the winter in Michigan with their stock (admittedly horrible) tires (the low rolling resistance tires are so hard they slip on dry pavement let alone 3" of snow).

Electric motors are sooo much more responsive to even the subtlest inputs compared to a gas engine. This is relevant because it makes EV traction control systems that much better than their gas counterparts.

Even with the horrible tires I was able to trudge through almost anything in both my Focus Electric and the Bolt. I have gotten each one stuck exactly once but in both cases it was "off pavement" and I was able to rock them out without much difficulty.
Good point @JamieGeek. I've been amazed at how well our Leaf does in snow/ice, although there's been so little snow in the DC area the last few years I've barely been able to test it under winter condition.
 

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I live in Northeast Ohio and currently own a BMW i3 EV which is a RWD vehicle. I've used winter tires every year and wouldn't drive winter roads without them. The one time I put them on later than normal and we had icy roads, I drove over an ice patch and just about skidded off the highway - thanks to stability control, that was avoided. I will definitely put onto my RWD Mach-E.

The big issue I've run into is that the tires are relatively soft and wear thinly - they had to be replaced after two years. Knowing when to put them onto the car and when to switch them out every year has been a guessing game.
I drive a Volt. The first year, I stayed with the all season but switch to winter tires the next year. The main issue for me is not getting stuck in snow but the stopping distance. I drive (as volunteer) patients to cancer treatment. Frequently I find that I am on a side street that has not been salted yet and its iced up close to the intersections. Winter tires make a big difference in that case.
I will see how it goes with the Mach-e in few weeks.
 

ClaudeMach-E

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I drive a Volt. The first year, I stayed with the all season but switch to winter tires the next year. The main issue for me is not getting stuck in snow but the stopping distance. I drive (as volunteer) patients to cancer treatment. Frequently I find that I am on a side street that has not been salted yet and its iced up close to the intersections. Winter tires make a big difference in that case.
I will see how it goes with the Mach-e in few weeks.
Well winter tires are mandatory here in Quebec. The main reason is that all season tires under 7oC loose their grip so not no efficient in winter conditions. There are plenty of video on You Tube about that and doing comparison and all that.
 

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I'm planning on putting good winter tires on the stock 19" wheels and buying some after market wheels for summer... But still in 19". Not a big fan of the look of the stock wheels on the premium
 

Gilles

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Well winter tires are mandatory here in Quebec. The main reason is that all season tires under 7oC loose their grip so not no efficient in winter conditions. There are plenty of video on You Tube about that and doing comparison and all that.
You are absolutely correct. Even on a dry road, the braking distance is shorter with winter tires when it's cold. I grew up in Quebec City. In my younger days many taxis had wheel chains. I now live in Toronto.
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