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    Michelin’s new Pilot Sport EV Tyre shows up on Tesla Model Y in Hong Kong

    Image credit: Jacky Cheung, Model 3 Australia FB page.

    Back in February, we learned that Michelin had launched a new version of their Pilot Sport tyre, specifically for electric vehicles. MICHELIN has some serious claims with this new rubber, with the new tyre addressing some of the very specific challenges related to EVs.

    • Engineered to meet the specific handling and range requirements of electric sports cars (additional weight)
    • Low road noise for superior travelling comfort
    • Low rolling resistance extends range by up to 37 miles (60km).

    The development of the tyre wasn’t by accident, but rather a result of the Michelin efforts in Formula E racing. Much like the Formula 1 efficiency developments for ICE vehicles in the past, it seems FormulaE will now feed innovations to the up and coming EV industry, ultimately benefiting us all.

    At the time we learned that the MICHELIN Pilot Sport EV was available in China and was told it would be available on vehicles released in Europe and North America from the third quarter 2021. Well now we’re in the third quarter of 2021 and we learn that a new Pilot Sport EV is being bolted on to the Tesla Model Y’s 20″ rims.

    MICHELIN says the Pilot Sport EV will be offered in a range of sizes between 18 and 22-inch. Given the characteristics of this new tyre help Tesla achieve (and others) achieve better efficiency numbers, while continuing to provide the grip of the 4S, it seems likely that we’ll see plenty more Tesla’s with this rubber as the standard offering.

    According to data from internal testing at MICHELIN late last year, when running 19″ tyres (255/45 R19), the MICHELIN Pilot Sport EV weighed in at just 6.47kg versus the MICHELIN Pilot Sport 4 SUV at 8.8kg.

    For an electrical vehicle of a mass 2,151kg, with a vehicle battery range of 540km, there is a gain in battery range of more than 60km, or more than 10% of the initial range.

    Michelin released a video on the tyre back in May of this year and if you can see they actually use a Model Y in this clip to promote it, so it’s not entirely surprising to see the tyre now offered on the Model Y in some markets.

    Having recently replaced the tyres on my Model 3 Performance, I would have definitely opted for these, especially given the lack of Pilot Sport ‘acoustic’ which are lined with foam to reduce noise. I was told from multiple locations that there simply wasn’t any in the country. While I don’t believe the regular Pilot Sport 4 are much louder, I would love some extra range, just by adding some different rubber.

    There’s no word on how many km you should expect out of a set, but if you drive a Tesla with a P in the name in Chill mode, you best hand over the keys (or phone) to grandma.

    Jason Cartwright
    Jason Cartwrighthttps://techau.com.au/author/jason/
    Creator of techAU, Jason has spent the dozen+ years covering technology in Australia and around the world. Bringing a background in multimedia and passion for technology to the job, Cartwright delivers detailed product reviews, event coverage and industry news on a daily basis. Disclaimer: Tesla Shareholder from 20/01/2021

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