EV tyres for first-time owners – why they wear faster, when to rotate, what replacements cost

Going electric means no more engine oil changes, spark plugs or air filters. Tyres are a different story. They still wear out, and the weight and instant torque of an EV mean they can wear out faster than they would on a comparable petrol car.

Tyremakers have been saying so for a while. When Hankook launched its iON EV tyres here in 2023, it said EVs have 20% faster tyre wear than ICE cars. A year later, Michelin Malaysia said that “given the instantaneous torque of electric motors and the weight of the battery, tyres tend to wear out faster on EVs compared to internal combustion vehicles.”

The weight gap is easy to see. Hankook puts EVs at around 25-30% heavier than equivalent ICE cars. Closer to home, the Proton eMas 5 weighs between 1,230 and 1,305 kg, against 1,010 to 1,025 kg for the Perodua Myvi, as we noted in our eMas 5 maintenance cost comparison.

EV tyres don’t have to cost a fortune, but they do need a bit more attention, and some habits from a petrol car don’t carry over. Here’s what first-time EV owners should know.

Rotate every 10,000 km, even if your service is every 20,000 km

Rotating means swapping the tyres between the front and rear axles so they wear evenly. Tesla’s owner’s manual says to rotate every 10,000 km, or sooner if there’s a tread depth difference of 1.5 mm or more. BYD’s service schedule for the Atto 3 and Dolphin, as published in Australia and New Zealand, also calls for a rotation every 10,000 km and lists it as the customer’s responsibility.

This is where new EV owners get caught out. EVs need fewer service visits, so the gaps between them are longer. Proton services the eMas 5 and eMas 7 roughly every 20,000 km or 12 months, while the Myvi and Proton X70 go in every 10,000 km or six months.

With a petrol car, the rotation can be done at a regular service. With an EV, you’ll probably need a separate trip to the tyre shop halfway between services. Skip it, and one pair of tyres can wear out well ahead of the other.

Check whether your EV can be rotated front to rear

Some EVs have wider tyres at the rear than at the front, known as a staggered set-up. These can’t be swapped front to rear. It isn’t limited to performance cars either:

• Leapmotor B10: 225/50 front, 235/50 rear, 18-inch wheels
• Volvo EC40 Ultra Single Motor: 235/50 front, 255/45 rear, 19-inch
• Tesla Model Y L: 255/45 front, 275/45 rear, 19-inch
• Tesla Model 3 Performance: 235/35 front, 275/30 rear, 20-inch

If your car is one of these, you can still swap the tyres from left to right on the same axle, as long as they aren’t directional (these have an arrow on the sidewall showing which way they must roll). Tesla’s owner’s manual says this can increase tread life by changing each tyre’s direction of rotation and balancing shoulder wear. It won’t even out the bigger gap in wear between the front and rear tyres, though, so expect to replace them in pairs, one axle at a time, and budget for it. To check whether your car has a staggered set-up, compare the sizes printed on the sidewalls of the front and rear tyres.

Check the pressure every month

BYD says to check tyre pressure and condition at least once a month, and Michelin says the same. Michelin adds that pressure should be checked when the tyres are at ambient temperature, so do it before a drive, not after.

Use the pressures on the placard, usually found on the driver’s door pillar, not the maximum figure printed on the tyre. Michelin says an under-inflated tyre wears on both shoulders because the load across its contact patch isn’t even, while an over-inflated one wears in the centre.

Look at the whole tread, including the inner edge

The middle of the tread can look fine while one edge is nearly bald. Michelin says excessive wear on one side of a tyre, or patchy wear, may point to a wheel alignment problem or worn suspension parts.

The inner edge is the hardest to see, so turn the steering to full lock and look behind the front tyres. BYD’s schedule includes a front and rear alignment check at every service, which is worth asking about if you spot uneven wear.

Replacements: the load rating matters, the EV badge doesn’t

You don’t have to buy EV-specific tyres. The eMas 5 and eMas 7 both come with regular tyres from the factory, and Michelin Malaysia says its regular tyres have always been EV-ready.

What matters is the load index, the number on the sidewall that tells you how much weight the tyre can carry. Replacements should match or exceed the original tyre’s rating. That’s why tyremakers sell EV-ready tyres with extra load (XL) ratings. Toyo’s Proxes Comfort, for example, has XL ratings on 11 of its 14 sizes, aimed at EVs, hybrids and plug-in hybrids.

EV-specific tyres do have their benefits. Hankook claims its iON is 18% quieter, lasts 15% longer and gives 6% more range than regular high-performance tyres. It also has a foam layer inside to cut road noise, which is more noticeable in an EV without an engine to drown it out.

What it costs

Tyre prices depend mostly on size, and EVs often come with big wheels. The Perodua QV-E rides on 215/50 R18 tyres, which will cost more to replace than the 15- or 16-inch tyres on the eMas 5.

Recent price lists show how wide the spread is. Toyo’s Proxes Comfort costs RM279 to RM698 a tyre across 16- to 19-inch sizes. Michelin’s Primacy 5 energy, sold in 18- to 21-inch sizes, ranges from RM614 to RM1,624, and the sportier Pilot Sport 5 energy goes from RM930 to RM2,006.

For comparison, our Myvi running cost guide puts a set of four 14- or 15-inch tyres at roughly RM560 to RM1,240. Rotating on time and keeping the pressures right is the cheapest way to make a bigger, pricier set last.

Tell the tyre shop it’s an EV

The battery pack sits under the floor, so an EV can’t be jacked up just anywhere. Tesla’s manual warns against lifting the car from under the battery or the side rails, and specifies the lift points to use. It also says that damage caused by lifting the car incorrectly isn’t covered by the warranty, and that non-Tesla workshops should be made aware of its lifting instructions. Look up the jacking points in your owner’s manual and make sure the workshop uses them.

Done plenty of kilometres in your EV? Let us know how long your first set of tyres lasted in the comments.

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