Lawrence Rhodes via EV wrote:
The i3 runs the wider tires in the rear at 44psi. The Nissan Leaf recommends somewhere in the 30's. I suspect the i3 is more efficient than the Leaf partly because of the tire choices.
Our 2013 Leaf has 30k miles on it, and I can say for sure that the stock tire pressure is too low. The tires are almost worn out, and are especially worn at the outside edges -- what you would expect with under-inflation. This is despite them only being on for 8 months of the year (we have four snow tires on it in the winter).
Nissan recommends 36 psi. The tires are Bridgestone Ecopia, and rated for 44 psi max pressure. So this spring I went to 40 psi. That improved miles/KWH about 5-10%. The ride is a littler harsher, but there is no detectable degradation in handling or wet weather performance.
I should note that the Ecopia's are worthless in snow and ice! --
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