Tires produce 20% more pollution than their gas counterparts

Experts have revealed that electric car tires produce up to 20 percent more pollution than their gas-powered counterparts, which means electric cars can come with a higher environmental price than many owners realize.

For decades, the effect of tailpipe emissions from gas-powered cars has been the primary drawback of battery-powered cars.

But experts warn that tires, which are often overlooked as a source of pollution, release chemicals and microplastics into the environment. While switching to an electric car undoubtedly helps reduce the amount of carbon you generate, it actually exacerbates the problem of tire emissions.

Electric vehicles typically weigh a lot more and accelerate faster than their gas-burning counterparts, so small particles are tossed into the air as the tire wears.

according to Road tests By research firm Emissions Analytics, under normal driving conditions, a gas-powered car drops about 73 milligrams per kilometer from four new tires. However, a similar electric car loses an additional 15 milligrams per kilometer – about 20 percent more.

“It’s a combination of weight and torque – basically how aggressively the car accelerates,” Nick Molden, founder and CEO of Emissions Analytics told DailyMail.com.

“The thing about electric motors is that they have the ability to go really fast. If you add that up and how heavy the car is, that’s what creates additional tire wear.

The typical electric vehicle weighs about 1,000 pounds more than the gas models, according to Molden.

in Stady Conducted by Emissions Analytics in March of this year comparing the Tesla Model Y — the most popular electric car in the US — and the similarly sized Kia Niro hybrid car, the company found that Tesla produced 26 percent less tire emissions.

“The Kia Niro Hybrid saves about 30 percent in CO2 emissions, while the Tesla is probably somewhere around 50 percent,” Molden said.

“Tesla is better from a CO2 standpoint, but not by much. Then you weigh some extra CO2 reduction but worse tire emissions.

according to Study 2017The average American produces nearly 10 pounds of tire emissions each year. The global average person emits less than 2 pounds of tires per year.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature says tires are the second leading source of microplastic pollution in the oceans, after textiles.

“People are spending a lot of money on these big beasts, when we really should be moving towards vehicles that are small, light and economical,” Molden added.

It comes as the US faces an electric vehicle revolution – led by a surge in sales of Tesla.

Last week, the company, co-founded by billionaire Elon Musk, announced a record increase in sales in the second quarter of the year — delivering 446,140 vehicles worldwide in the three months leading up to June, topping its forecast of 445,000 vehicles. .

Business in the US has been boosted by federal tax breaks for electric vehicles, though experts warn it could take up to a decade to pay back the premium customers pay for an electric vehicle.

Although green engines tend to be cheaper to run, the average electric vehicle costs no more than $20,000 to buy up front than a gas-powered vehicle.

Despite the outpouring of interest in electric vehicles, major automakers said this week that President Joe Biden’s push for the electric vehicle is doomed because it ‘underestimates’ key challenges — including the cost to consumers.

The White House has set a goal that requires two-thirds of all new car sales to be electric by 2032.

But in comments submitted to the federal government, Toyota and Stellantis – owners of Vauxhall – criticized the plan as “overly optimistic” because of inadequate toll infrastructure and high fares. Stellantis said the goal “significantly reduces” the complexities of building a viable electric vehicle market.

Meanwhile, tire emissions aren’t the only environmental question raised about electric vehicles.

Experts discussed the environmental impact of the lithium-ion batteries used to power electric vehicles, which require rare metals and huge amounts of energy to manufacture.

For Molden, it’s a ‘no-brainer’ for the world to move towards hybrid vehicles.

“They are barely heavier than regular vehicles and significantly reduce carbon dioxide,” he said. If you want to genuinely tackle the environmental problem, the obvious way to do it is to make vehicles that are smaller and lighter. Not bigger and heavier monsters.