The Electric Vehicle Range Hack No One Talks About….!
Electric cars are clean, quiet, and of course boast that white knuckle inducing instant torque. But all of that poses a new engineering challenge, tires. [music] Because after all, these four rings of rubber go through a lot of stress when it comes to electric vehicles. But fortunately, there are a ton of really interesting, really innovative solutions. [music] And I promise you that the tire industry is much more interesting than you might think. Because after all, this is an industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars. People like [music] Hanook make 100 million tires a year. Each car needs at least four of them. So, it’s a pretty good business [music] to be in. But numbers and dollars aside, looking at the tires and engineering those interesting solutions could get more range out of your EV [music] without even touching the battery. So, today we are here to find out how Hankook and their 58 patents [music] have basically reinvented the wheel. Welcome to Everything Electric. Our three free YouTube channels on EVs and clean energy tech are funded by our fun-packed test driveastic events in the north, west, and greater London and our events down under. Next up, everything electric Sydney 2026. Plus, check out everythingleelectric.store for merch and much more. Back to the episode. So, as I’ve alluded [music] to the tire trillemma, weight, torque, and silence. Now, electric vehicles tend to be around 10 to 15% heavier than their internal combustion engine counterparts, and that means that tires tend to wear about 20% faster, and nobody wants to be changing tires all the time. Then, of course, there’s the torque. That instant acceleration really puts a lot of stress through those contact patches. And then, of course, the silence, which is what makes EVs generally so lovely. But without engine noise there to mask the road noise, suddenly that road noise becomes a little bit more obvious and tire engineers really have to think about dampening that sound. So heavier, faster, quieter. Three words that make it quite difficult for tire engineers and not least when they’re already having to balance conflicting needs. For example, reducing uh rolling resistance but also thinking about grip, thinking about durability but not adding too much weight into the tire. This is a pretty tricky challenge when it comes to tire engineering. Luckily, Hanukk’s iron technology was developed specifically to tackle some of those unique characteristics of electric [music] vehicles. And I want to share with you some of the super nerdy innovations that make all of that possible. Now, everybody wants to get more range from a single charge in their electric vehicle. And one of the ways to tackle this is by looking at low rolling resistance. This is the energy that a tire wastes as it rolls typically as heat. Now Han Cookook tackled this with something called I extreme lightness. And they have three approaches to this. First of all chemical. So they’ve created a specific compound that can reduce the internal resistance within a tire. Then there’s structural. They have a fine-tuned material thickness that again can boost low volume resistance by about 4% and reduce weight by another 4% as well. And then lastly, there’s production. By using a uniform curing production during manufacturing, again, they can get up to a 3% gain in that low rolling resistance. You can put all that together and increase range by about 6%. Next up, there’s [music] Hanukk’s eye super. And to do that, they have two main approaches. So, first of all, they developed this pro durable compound, which is all about getting that top-notch abrasion resistance. But the really impressive thing is this round even technology where they’ve looked at the internal structure of a tire and ensured that you get this even distribution of stress as the tire rolls so that you don’t get uneven wear. And you put all of that together and you get tires that last about 15% longer. Next comes the eye sound absorber which is all about reducing road noise. And to do this appropriately they have to think about sound across the frequency spectrum. So for those low frequency sounds, so think about things like the low thump of a washing machine, that kind of sound, they have a specific foam which acts as an insulation and can reduce noise by about six dibbels. But then for those higher frequency sounds, so think of things in the range of like a microwave beep, they actually have to look at the tread pattern of the tire blocks. And they’ve arranged them in a really unique pattern in these kind of like corn husk patterns. And that can disperse the sound by a further 1.7 [music] dibels. And then of course there’s a third thing. They have a unique compound which addresses sound across the frequency spectrum. And you put all of that together and you basically get this beautiful [music] acoustic firewall for your EV. Of course, durability is nothing without safety, [music] and that is where I Perfect Grip comes in. And with an optimized tire profile, they can increase cornering stiffness by about 20% so your EV can feel even more stable. But then the thing that I think is really cool are these 3D cypes that kind of lock together. So these are in the uh tread blocks and basically they lock together a bit like Lego bricks rather than what you would traditionally see in a tire which is looks like the tread blocks are more like stacking bananas. So Lego bricks versus stacked bananas. And the result of that around 10% higher grip. Now, every part of this technology is validated during the ABB FIA Formula E World Championships because the Han Cook Formula E edition of its EVO tire is really put through its paces, ensuring that it can handle those high tors both on [music] wet and dry circuits. And it’s all of that learning. It’s all of that stress testing which makes its way into the consumer ion lineup. So, whilst we are unlikely to be buying any Formula E tires anytime soon, we might be buying one of the others in the lineup. So, for example, there might be the ion GT, which is perfect for urban environments. It also features 77% recycled materials. Then, of course, there’s the Flex Climate, which is an allseason tire, or the Evo, which is a high performance summer tire. So, you put all of that together and what do you get? Well, you get tires that last 15% longer, will extend [music] your battery range by 6%, improve grip by 10%, and reduce noise by [music] 18%. which basically means you can go further quieter and more safely. I personally think that is pretty cool and there’s some pretty stunning stunning engineering that’s made that possible as well. But that is all that we have time for. Please do let us know what you think. Please do like and subscribe and if you have been, thank you for watching.
Electric cars are heavy, boast instant torque and are ultra-quiet—all factors that put massive stress on standard tyres, leading to faster wear, reduced range, and noticeable road noise.
In this episode of Everything Electric TECH, we dive into the fascinating engineering of the rubber rings that connect your EV to the road and discover how Hankook’s iON technology has effectively “reinvented the wheel” via the four key pillars of Hankook’s iON lineup:
🪶 i Extreme Lightness: Unique compounds and structural design for lower rolling resistance, boosting battery range by up to 6%
🏃 i Super Mileage: Pro-durable compound and ’round even technology’ for even stress distribution, helping tires last up to 15% longer.
🤫 i Sound Absorber: Acoustic foam for low-frequency sound and a unique ‘corn husk’ tread pattern for high-frequency noise, resulting in an 18% reduction in road noise.
🤝 i Perfect Grip: Optimised profile and 3D interlocking sipes (like Lego bricks!) for superior stability and 10% higher grip
From the ABB FIA Formula E World Championships to your daily commute, Hankook is solving the biggest EV tyre challenges.
➡️ Find out more about the Hankook iON lineup (including the iON GT with 77% recycled materials, iON Flex Climate, and iON Evo) here: https://www.hankooktire.com/uk/en/brand/ion.html
@hankooktire_global | AD
0:00 – The EV Tyre Challenge: Torque, Weight, and Silence
1:17 – How EV Weight and Torque Impacts Tyres
2:18 – Hankook iON Technology is the Solution
2:35 – Boosting EV Range with i Extreme Lightness
3:24 – Making Tires Last 15% Longer with i Super Mileage
3:52 – Reducing Road Noise by 18% with i Sound Absorber
4:42 – Higher Grip and Safety with i Perfect Grip
5:18 – Formula E Validation and Consumer Lineup
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