3 ms·

> I suspect these are going to be much more sensitive to overloading than normal tires since they're gonna be specifically matched to the vehicle weight (unlike

> I suspect these are going to be much more sensitive to overloading than normal tires since they're gonna be specifically matched to the vehicle weight (unlike a pneumatic tire which can carry far more than vehicle but is simply inflated to a specific pressure for NVH/handling) you can't just air them up by a few pounds. Interestingly, there's only 845lbs wiggle room on these tires as installed on the Chevy Bolt assuming the standard Bolt configuration at 3,563lbs and the carrying capacity of the tire at 1,102lbs. After accounting for your average American family of four (or just the weight of two men and two women) at 728lbs, you're left with 117lbs for the fifth person or belongings. ...so even if they're prototypes, I hope they've been over-engineered. That said, I want them to succeed.

dsfyu404ed 7y ago
800lb is a perfectly normal capacity for anything built on a passenger car platform. Considering the bolt is a subcompact I'd actually say having ~800lb of "OEM approved"[0] capacity actually seems pretty good. I suspect most of that stems from having to build a beefier car to carry around those batteries 100% of the time while not having an unreasonably short service life for suspension components. In showroom configuration 99.99% of vehicles are only spec'd with tires that barely exceed the GWVR. That said, with a pneumatic tire you can just air it up higher than the OEM tells you to and you're good for more GVW at the expense of the tire wearing faster. Obviously you need to be reasonable about it but tires are pretty durable even over their stated weight rating as long as you don't run them hot (airing up reduces flex therefore reducing heat). It will be very interesting to see if they come out in other sizes/capacities. They already make similar tires for off road use but they aren't suitable for road speeds (go figure) [0] https://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?276641-What-is-Bolt-EV-weight-capacity-(GVWR)&s=1959a18499d799c25ea6f5a1d2580a16&p=3875441#post3875441 https://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?276641-What-is-Bolt...
- eganist 7y ago
  Huh, TIL. Thanks!
- saalweachter 7y ago
  For another data point, the Subaru Forester - which is more of a light SUV - only has a max passenger+cargo load of 900lbs.
VirtualAirwaves 7y ago
> After accounting for your average American family of four (or just the weight of two men and two women) at 728lbs Sad, but true! Society should really charge people for the externalities of being obese or overweight.

dsfyu404ed 7y ago

800lb is a perfectly normal capacity for anything built on a passenger car platform. Considering the bolt is a subcompact I'd actually say having ~800lb of "OEM approved"[0] capacity actually seems pretty good. I suspect most of that stems from having to build a beefier car to carry around those batteries 100% of the time while not having an unreasonably short service life for suspension components. In showroom configuration 99.99% of vehicles are only spec'd with tires that barely exceed the GWVR. That said, with a pneumatic tire you can just air it up higher than the OEM tells you to and you're good for more GVW at the expense of the tire wearing faster. Obviously you need to be reasonable about it but tires are pretty durable even over their stated weight rating as long as you don't run them hot (airing up reduces flex therefore reducing heat). It will be very interesting to see if they come out in other sizes/capacities. They already make similar tires for off road use but they aren't suitable for road speeds (go figure) [0] https://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?276641-What-is-Bolt-EV-weight-capacity-(GVWR)&s=1959a18499d799c25ea6f5a1d2580a16&p=3875441#post3875441 https://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?276641-What-is-Bolt...

eganist 7y ago
Huh, TIL. Thanks!
saalweachter 7y ago
For another data point, the Subaru Forester - which is more of a light SUV - only has a max passenger+cargo load of 900lbs.

VirtualAirwaves 7y ago

> After accounting for your average American family of four (or just the weight of two men and two women) at 728lbs Sad, but true! Society should really charge people for the externalities of being obese or overweight.