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The weather finally cooperated (well, it's still way too warm for this time of year, but I'll take the 70F temperatures for enjoyment reasons)

I finished my last run for efficiency comparison today and the Goodyear ElectricDrive tires are coming up just as good as the Ecopia for efficiency. I was surprised to see near identical numbers given that the Goodyear ElectricDrive is not advertised as a LRR (Low Rolling Resistance) tire.

For me, that checks off one box of "what I want this tire to do" which is to a make good replacement for the discontinued Ecopia tires when it comes to efficiency. The next thing I will monitor is the tire wear. I've already put over 1,000 miles on them and when I get to 5,000 miles, I will measure the tread depth again to see how much wear happened.

So far, compared to the Ecopia tires that I've been driving on for many years, this is how the ElectricDrives are working out for me comparison wise.
  • Better Wet Weather Handling that the Ecopia
    (hands down better than Ecopia)
  • Much Quieter than the Ecopia
    (to be fair, Ecopia was never advertised as a quiet tire)
  • Identical Dry Road Handling
    (personal opinion Ecopia might be slightly better)
  • Identical Efficiency for better mileage like the Ecopia
    (ElectricDrive actually scored just slightly higher)

Finally, is this tire better in Snow (or Mud?), well I will find out soon (or not if it doesn't snow this winter), but I don't think you would buy either tire to go off-road or snow storm driving in. :lol:
 
Very curious about the snow handling.

I have been trying out my new cross climate2s this week, which I specifically got for better winter handling, and do feel the efficiency hit. At 60mph on a north south loop (with some fairly hefty winds from the west) at 60mph in 59F ambient, the car only managed 3.9 miles/kWh. Not out of this world horrible for new tires, but was hoping for a little more given how well the S+ does with its ecopias.
 
Thanks for your write-ups, @knightmb
Next time I'd due for tires, I'm going to check these out. I abandoned Ecopias a long time ago (for Michelin's) due to the fact that they didn't last anywhere near their warranty spec, but I'm always looking for something with similar efficiency. Sounds like these are it...with the added benefit of a quiet ride!
 
Stanton said:
Thanks for your write-ups, @knightmb
Next time I'd due for tires, I'm going to check these out. I abandoned Ecopias a long time ago (for Michelin's) due to the fact that they didn't last anywhere near their warranty spec, but I'm always looking for something with similar efficiency. Sounds like these are it...with the added benefit of a quiet ride!

I'm hopefully too, but just like you, Ecopia tires only had one thing going for them, the efficiency part. Wear was terrible, they never lasted anywhere near that 70K warranty. These have less warranty at 60K, but if they actually last close to that, on an EV, then I will be impressed. :)
 
knightmb said:
Stanton said:
Thanks for your write-ups, @knightmb
Next time I'd due for tires, I'm going to check these out. I abandoned Ecopias a long time ago (for Michelin's) due to the fact that they didn't last anywhere near their warranty spec, but I'm always looking for something with similar efficiency. Sounds like these are it...with the added benefit of a quiet ride!

I'm hopefully too, but just like you, Ecopia tires only had one thing going for them, the efficiency part. Wear was terrible, they never lasted anywhere near that 70K warranty. These have less warranty at 60K, but if they actually last close to that, on an EV, then I will be impressed. :)

Not worth invoking the tread warranty ?
Just this week I swapped out the OEM tyres on my Chevy Bolt for Michelin crossClimate2. Youtube reviews (hah!) say that the sipes and grooves are more than skin deep so I'm hopeful that the winter traction persists beyond a few mm of tread wear but that remains to be seen.
 
SageBrush said:
Not worth invoking the tread warranty ?
Just this week I swapped out the OEM tyres on my Chevy Bolt for Michelin crossClimate2. Youtube reviews (hah!) say that the sipes and grooves are more than skin deep so I'm hopeful that the winter traction persists beyond a few mm of tread wear but that remains to be seen.
I have been actually, but warranty is pro-rated by mileage. I usually get about 35K on Ecopia. So the replacement tire is half price, but you still have to pay for labor and warranty does NOT restart. So in the long run you pay more for the tires even under warranty. :(
 
knightmb said:
SageBrush said:
Not worth invoking the tread warranty ?
Just this week I swapped out the OEM tyres on my Chevy Bolt for Michelin crossClimate2. Youtube reviews (hah!) say that the sipes and grooves are more than skin deep so I'm hopeful that the winter traction persists beyond a few mm of tread wear but that remains to be seen.
I have been actually, but warranty is pro-rated by mileage. I usually get about 35K on Ecopia. So the replacement tire is half price, but you still have to pay for labor and warranty does NOT restart. So in the long run you pay more for the tires even under warranty. :(

"more", yes, but by my arithmetic still worthwhile:

If a tyre is $150 and you get half the tread life then $75 is credited less the ~ $20 labor to install a new tyre.

Sound right ?
If so then money wise you got 70*15/17 = 61.7k miles out of the 70k advertised
 
SageBrush said:
knightmb said:
SageBrush said:
Not worth invoking the tread warranty ?
Just this week I swapped out the OEM tyres on my Chevy Bolt for Michelin crossClimate2. Youtube reviews (hah!) say that the sipes and grooves are more than skin deep so I'm hopeful that the winter traction persists beyond a few mm of tread wear but that remains to be seen.
I have been actually, but warranty is pro-rated by mileage. I usually get about 35K on Ecopia. So the replacement tire is half price, but you still have to pay for labor and warranty does NOT restart. So in the long run you pay more for the tires even under warranty. :(

"more", yes, but by my arithmetic still worthwhile:

If a tyre is $150 and you get half the tread life then $75 is credited less the ~ $20 labor to install a new tyre.

Sound right ?
It's cheaper than buying a second tire, but still cost more than the original tire lasting the specified warranty. If I spend $150 for the tire and it last close to 70K, then it was $150. But if the same $150 tire only last half as long, then I spend an additional $75 plus the labor, knowing that the tire is only going to last the other *half* of the life and need replacement again. Math wise, you still lose with warranty. Even with free labor, you still come out behind with $150 + $75 + labor vs. $150 to achieve the same mileage.

I understand that tire warranty is usually helpful for tire defects, but I'm pretty certain that the issue with ICE vs. EV tires is that the manufactures have not really *designed* a tire for an EV, they just take the ICE tires they already have and sell them as is. Maybe if my EV weight 1,000 lbs less, the tire would last longer? Seems to me like a lazy spec update on the part of the tire manufactures for never testing their tire under a weight load higher than what they want to promote for their warranty.

That's why I'm hopeful that at least Goodyear is going to give it a try. It turns out the tire is actually rated UTQG at 700, it wasn't a typo when I did more research to verify. Being twice as hard as the Ecopia, maybe it will last close to it's 60K warranty? I'm going to find out before the end of year probably as I'm keeping tabs on the tire wear this time and will probably have close to 15K miles on them by the end of the year.
 
knightmb said:
If I spend $150 for the tire and it last close to 70K, then it was $150. But if the same $150 tire only last half as long, then I spend an additional $75 plus the labor, knowing that the tire is only going to last the other *half* of the life and need replacement again.

Ahh ... very fair point
 
knightmb said:
So the replacement tire is half price, but you still have to pay for labor and warranty does NOT restart. So in the long run you pay more for the tires even under warranty. :(
This is the key (bold added by me). If these things get anywhere close to their warranty mileage, I'm in.
 
A friend just sent me a code to get 20% off a set of 4 Goodyear tires. I don't think they have to be the ElectricDrive specifically or I don't know if they are even part of this discount since I don't want to waste the code to find out, but if anyone wants to give it a try, here is the link to get started. I don't know if this link only works once or if everyone is going to get that discount, so I guess first come first serve. Let me know if anyone gets it to work. :lol: (USA Only I believe)

Start With This Link First
The Discount code is DOORDASH20

If it is a one time code, I'll delete this post afterwards to avoid any future confusion, but I can't use the discount, they can't use it, why let it go to waste?
 
I had a unique opportunity to test out the "Mud" traction part of the tires last week. Basically, a short Jeep trail in the Appalachian mountains that was muddy after a heavy rain the day before. The camera never shows the flatness or hills that well from a 3D perspective, but I was able to make it through the whole trail (about 3 miles long, uphill most of the way) in the Leaf a lot better than I expected, granted I was taking it slow and steady to avoid any spin-outs in the mud the entire way. This trail was in no way difficult for any descent 4x4, but for a car, had to drive around a lot of deep ruts. :lol:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr9aJNOZDRM
 
Had plenty of opportunities to test out the Snow and Ice part of the traction this week. Granted, these aren't meant to be snow tires or compete with chains on a tire, but compared to what I was driving before they performed just as well. I was able to climb some steep roads made of pure ice with ease, didn't have any problem steering or controlling my stops and starts. One note to this, I always deflate my tires to 30 PSI (cold pressure) during snow or ice to increase my traction, which results in terrible range of course, but good control in those slippery conditions.

I also did a tread depth check since it's been 5,000 miles now. So the front started at 11/32 or roughly 9 mm, are now down to 10/32 or roughly 8 mm, the rear tires (which were still Ecopia), started at 5/32 or 4 mm and have since measured at slightly less than that (maybe 4.8/32 or 3.8mm) as being un-powered rear tires, not surprising.

So, provided that one rotated a full set of these tires every 5K miles, the math works out that they should last to actual 60K warranty or pretty darn close. I'm a very aggressive driver and even I was surprised how little wear I've caused these tires. Just goes to show if someone makes a tire specifically for an EV, it just works better than trying to fit generic non-EV tires on.

So for an Ecopia replacement, these check all the boxes and then some.
  • Range Efficient
  • Good Handling on Dry & Wet
  • Works in Mud & Snow within all-season tire limits of course
  • Tread life actually in line with warranty
  • Quiet tires
  • Overall, very pleased with them
 
On our 2016 Leaf SL 30KWh, we ended up returning/exchanging a new set of Goodyear ElectricDrive tires due to loss of range.

Previous tires were the OEM Michelin Energy Saver, 215/50R17. They only had 19k miles (we bought the car used @3500 miles), with 5/32 tread left on one pair, 7/32 on the other pair. One of the better tires was ruined due to a sidewall cut, and they were all 6yrs old, so we chose to replace the whole set.

We put on the ElectricDrive tires in early November 2022, then switched to new Michelin Energy Savers right after Christmas after almost 500 miles. The drop in range on the Goodyears was too much to make our standard 75-mile trip without stopping to charge, in the current cooler weather (40's F) plus rainy conditions. Well, it was possible to make it in one go with some "white-knuckle hypermiling", e.g. limiting motor power to ~20KW, no heater, staying below 55mph, etc. But that's no way to live your life when different tires caused the change.

Here are our energy use measurements:
- 4.2 mi/kwh before Goodyears, 2yr avg, varying trips/seasons, 36-44PSI.
- 3.9 mi/kwh on Goodyears, std trip with hypermiling, 45PSI.
- 3.6 mi/kwh on Goodyears, std trip, no hypermiling, 50PSI.
- 4.0 mi/kwh on new Michelin Energy Savers, no hypermiling, 44PSI.
- 4.4 mi/kwh on new Energy Savers, hypermiling, 44PSI.

Switching back to the Michelins pretty much means we have our car back, for the purposes of this longer trip. The drop in range from the Goodyear ElectricDrive tires made the car impractical for this common use case, especially given that quick chargers in that area can be scarce and sometimes inoperative when you need one.

This was our experience, hopefully others will find the information useful.
 
Thank you for the report. I will definitely stay away from the goodyears when my ecopias are rotted out in a couple years.

Had you considered going to 16" rims to help mileage further? The efficiency difference between the 16" and 17" rim/tire combos was pretty noticeable with our Leafs.
 
This is straying a bit from the Goodyear topic, but no, we've not considered changing the rim size. We did lease a new 2012 Leaf SV for 45k miles, and still have a 2013 Leaf SL we bought used at 9k miles (now over 90k miles). Both of those have 16" rims, and on both we replaced the OEM Ecopias with Michelin Energy Savers. Better grip than Ecopias, no significant change in daily range.

We didn't keep precise data, but the 2013 Leaf ran at an average of 4.4mi/KWh for several years of daily 65-mile round trip commuting (city streets and 65mph freeway mix). The 2013 Leaf and the 2016 Leaf have different drivers, different uses, and different size batteries, so any difference in their efficiency due to their different rim size would be obscured by those variables.
 
hakanson said:
This is straying a bit from the Goodyear topic, but no, we've not considered changing the rim size. We did lease a new 2012 Leaf SV for 45k miles, and still have a 2013 Leaf SL we bought used at 9k miles (now over 90k miles). Both of those have 16" rims, and on both we replaced the OEM Ecopias with Michelin Energy Savers. Better grip than Ecopias, no significant change in daily range.

We didn't keep precise data, but the 2013 Leaf ran at an average of 4.4mi/KWh for several years of daily 65-mile round trip commuting (city streets and 65mph freeway mix). The 2013 Leaf and the 2016 Leaf have different drivers, different uses, and different size batteries, so any difference in their efficiency due to their different rim size would be obscured by those variables.

I am surprised that you say the Michelin Energy Savers have better grip than Ecopias. That is the opposite of my experience. My 2015 SL and 2019 SL Plus both came with OEM Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires and they were the worst passenger car radial tires I have owned. Wet and dry traction was terrible regardless of inflation pressure over the range of 36 to 44 psi. I will never buy a set of them. Michelin makes great motorcycle, car, and truck tires but the ones that came on my LEAFs were junk.

I am watching this thread about the Goodyear EV tires to see how they work out and may try them. For now, I am very happy with the Michelin Cross Climate 2 tires (25,000 miles so far) on my 2019 SL Plus.
 
Gerrymandering

My experience was the same. The Energysavers were hockey pucks in winter in terms of grip, and not really that great in rain.

Ecopias are not amazing, but notable better in snow and modestly better in rain.

Now that we have the ecopias on the SV+...not sure why, but they running even more efficient than when they were on the S+. I don't run heat until.we hit single digits, so the heat pump wasn't part of the equation. 37F today and most trips today were still at or north of 5 miles/kWh.

The crossclimate2s are a whole different level of grip in snow...at an efficiency cost.
 
We don't drive our Leaf's much in what little snow/ice we get here. We still have an AWD ICE vehicle for those rare events, and also for longer road trips. Someday that'll become an EV when used ones become affordable to us :).

I don't claim our Michelin Energy Savers have awesome grip. They were just better in the wet and dry for us than the OEM Ecopias we started out with on our 2012 & 2013 cars. We have no experience with the newer, non-OEM Ecopia Plus or whatever they're called -- though I have read those were improved over the Ecopias that Nissan sent from the factory.

The tiny bit (one drive on a dry winter day) of traction & handling tests I did with brand new 17" Goodyear ElectricDrives on our 2016 Leaf seemed OK, but also not awesome. Better than what I remember on 16" OEM Ecopias, but not significantly different from the 17" OEM Michelins that were on it before the Goodyears. I have not yet driven that car with the new, non-OEM Michelins, but its regular driver is happy with them.

BTW, the Goodyears have directional tread, so make sure they get mounted the right way. Ours were the first set our shop (regional chain) had sold, and 3 of the 4 were wrong on the first try.

Again, we ditched the Goodyears because we could not afford the loss of efficiency & range. It was worth a try, but they did not meet our needs.
 
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