The concept of electric cars made the tire manufacturers to develop car tires with low rolling resistance to ensure that the electric cars could reach a longer distance. Having low rolling resistance then proved to be very good also for gasoline cars, as it lowers the fuel consumption and lowers the wear. This is of course beneficial not only for electric cars.
Very low rolling resistance is a concept developed by Nokian Tyres as they were working with BMW to develop winter tires for their i3 electric car, the result was the new Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2. These tires have extremely low rolling resistance, excellent grip with great driving comfort. With these they have been able to reduce the rolling resistance of electric cars by almost one third. The wear is also reduced, but you will still need to check if you need to rotate the tires during the season.
This means that you extend the distance you can get with an electric car by almost 40% with their existing batteries and load capacity. This is a game changer for electric cars as you can reach so much further on a single charge and thus the usage of the car changes. The tires are also excellent winter tires, developed for the Nordic winters, that are long and tough. If tires can handle these conditions, then you have winter tires that can handle real winter weather safely.
Using non-studded tires, ensures that you can drive in all states and provinces without any restrictions. That makes these tires a good choice regardless if you only drive in your area or if you are driving and visiting a lot of locations in other states. This gives more flexibility versus having studded tires, as they are not allowed to be used in all states and provinces.
Instead of using metal studs these tires use "cryo crystals" to add traction for the tires on ice, where the crystals add an abrasive tread surface that can dig into the ice. They also use different sipes to create grip on different surfaces, so that you have good grip on snow, slushy and icy surfaces, but also dry and wet roads. This enables you to stay safe before the snow arrives and once it has arrived. It is always important to mount the winter tires before the winter weather arrives. Since winter tires outperform all-season tires at low temperatures, you should change tires as soon as it approaches 45 degrees Fahrenheit.
Winter tires should be combined with all-season tires for the warmer seasons and changed accordingly based on the changing weather situations. You can also use all-weather tires that are approved for winter use and have the severe service emblem on the sidewall of the tires. This ensures that the tires have passed the performance tests compared to the M+S marking that just indicates that the tread design is aimed for handling mud and snow.
For more information regarding ultra-low rolling resistance tires, visit: nokiantires.com
