brucedp5 via EV wrote:
Let's keep in mind that in the north & north-east states.us have similar cold &wet weather like Canada. Changing a vehicle's tires for a half a year for bad/challenging weather is par/the-norm.
Right on, Bruce. That's what we do here in MN, too. Those who try to get by on summer or "all season" tires had better keep up on their AAA membership.
Cor is right that Lawrence posted about switching to a (less-grip) narrower tire, which he may use at a higher than normal tire pressure to maximize his Leaf EV range. I purposely ignored that, since IMO it would be out of spec/less-safe for Lawrence to do that.
This may not be entirely correct. Wide tires have more grip on dry pavement; but I think narrower tires are better on wet. Wide tires are more inclined to hydroplane.
On tire pressures: The Leaf (and several other EVs and hybrids) are factory-spec'd with higher than normal tire pressures. For years, I've had problems with dealers and service centers blindly using 32 psi, no matter what the sticker says, or what I tell them. If you let them get away with this, you'll be "rewarded" by faster tire wear and higher rolling resistance.
The best tire pressure is also not automatically what it says on the door sticker. That's just a "rule of thumb". It depends on the specific tire, how much load you have in the vehicle, and other factors. For example, our 2001 Prius said to inflate the tires to 35/33 psi front/rear. But if you actually ran at that pressure, the handling was poor, and the tires would scrub off the outer edges and wear out in under 20k miles! The car came with special low rolling resistance high-pressure tires, and the correct pressure was more like 42/20 psi. (Toyota admitted their mistake, and gave owners free tires and raised the pressure spec).
While my physical body does not fit well in the Leaf, and I feel its looks could be improved...
Well, there was the link you posted to someone who replaced the body of the Leaf with one from a Studebaker Avanti! :-)
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