redLEAF
Well-known member
Lambtron said:redLEAF said:I looked for the most recent post for discussions on replacement tires for our LEAF so will add a new wrinkle here as didn't return any search results for Bridgestone DriveGuard run flats (as well as my own experience once I get these on the car). Here in the Midwest (Chicagoland area) we have fairly poor roads, although now ALL of them seem to be under construction; lots of pot holes to try an avoid. I was all ready to switch my OEM 16's alloys for some quite nice looking 17's that were take offs from an earlier model Juke -- no real issues with the original Ecopia's other than they're completely worn out at 31K miles but that's pretty much expected. The newer Ecopia Plus seemed a good bet but my local tire and maintenance guy gave me some other ideas; both keeping the original aspect ratio for thicker sidewalls and thought I might want to try something that would solve the no-spare issue when the wife drives this car.
For about the same price I'll be trying the Bridgestone DriveGuards using the OEM 16" alloy rims -- these are the latest 'run-flat' tech that will allow you to get 50 miles to have them serviced if you get a puncture; I know, I know; run flats of old were simply terrible, 'hard' tires with very stiff sidewalls that had a bad reputation but these at least (from a few reviews on tire rack) seemed to have improved quite a bit. They give you a full 30 days to try them out and will swap out for others if you're not satisfied so we'll see how these do.
I'll report back once I get these mounted this coming Monday -- I do expect a bit of a mileage hit initially, but expect that to even out a bit over time. We've had lots of rain as of late and no more slipping and sliding around corners with the worn out tires will be a welcome change. I've been averaging about 5.2 to 5.6 miles/kWh during fairly cool temps (no A/C use) so we'll see how that compares with these new run-flats.
I put a set of Bridgestone DriveGuards on this week. I've got them pumped to 40psi. On smooth asphalt they ride smooth but any bumps in the road seem to be amplified greater than the original Ecopias.
My mileage took a hit from 4.5-5.5 (w/o heat) to 3.8-4.0. I also notice my max crawl speed went from 4 MPH to 3 MPH. I'm going to try pumping pressure to 45 to see if the crawl speed increases. That may indicate if better efficiency is possible. (Tire max pressure is 51 psi).
Just as an epilogue to my old post on the DriveGuard's worth mentioning -- after a break-in period of probably 500 to 1000 miles, only very minor difference between when the Ecopias still had decent tread with the miles/kWh -- I put 15K on the DriveGuards (my '12 was traded-in at 46K miles) and the tires still looked almost new; excellent wear versus the much softer Ecopias. My current EV is a VW e-Golf that runs LRR Continental ProContacts (car had only a bit over 1.2K miles so assume these are the OEM's); fine in dry conditions but a bit slick in wet and any snow (if I avoid using any regen settings they seem OK); will see how these wear if I get any significant miles on the car before the Tesla Model 3 shows up.