[domoritz]

But they are heavier. Not saying it offsets the effect but it's just not straight forward to assume either way.

[Reason077]

EVs have very low brake wear because you simply aren’t using the friction brakes at all most of the time.

A lot of EVs even have smart “blended” brake pedals that preferentially apply regen braking when you press the pedal. Only in particularly hard stops will the friction brakes get used.

An easy way to test/observe this is simply to check for wear on the brake pads of EVs compared to combustion vehicles of similar mileage.

Tires, on the other hand, do tend to wear out quicker in an EV. Partly due to weight and also due to higher performance/acceleration compared to combustion models.

[looofooo0]

This little friction break usage is actually something which manufacture need to consider. They need to activate once in a while to stop rust and other problems.

[bryanlarsen]

In the US, the average car weight and the average EV weight are basically identical. (4300 pounds vs 4400 pounds). When you compare similarly sized models the EV tends to be about 10% heavier, but gasoline cars tend to be larger than EV's.

[arghwhat]

In the EU an average car is 1400 kg (3000 lbs), with most vehicles probably in the 1000-1200 kg range. We don't really want the average here, but the median - and we don't want to compare to the average EV, but to the equivalent EV - comparing an F150 to, say, a model 3 isn't right.

A BYD Dolphin, roughly sized like a VW Polo, is some 400kg heavier than the polo. A Polestar 2 is roughly 500 kg heavier than equivalent sized cars. In other words, something like 33% heavier.

[AnthonyMouse]

They're not inherently heavier. They're only heavier if you put a long-range battery in them, even then it's not by very much, and even that may not persist as higher energy density batteries are developed.

Or to put it another way, the difference between a small car and a large SUV is far greater than the difference between an electric car and a gasoline car.

[Spooky23]

A Tesla Model Y is 30% heavier than a Honda CRV. They have alot of other advantages, and are about the same weight as a three-row SUV and lighter than a Tahoe on a truck frame.

We shouldn’t be singling out EVs if we suddenly care about tire wear… it’s pretty ridiculous.

[merman]

Size for size they’re heavier. Maybe someday not but they are.

[rowanG077]

It's true they are not that much heavier in terms of pure numbers. But road wear is a proportional to the difference in axle weight to the fourth power.

[bornfreddy]

It doesn't matter though? Less braking material used equals less particles emitted. So if we accept that brakes on EVs last longer (and are otherwise similar in size), then they pollute less.

[gambiting]

My Volvo XC60 T8 is not even a full EV but after 5 years of ownership the brakes on this 2200kg, 400bhp SUV are only 10% worn - it's all thanks to regenerative braking with the EV motor. It definitely makes a massive impact on how quickly the brakes wear out(as in - much much much less than in a normal car).

[djaychela]

But the brakes don't get used 90% of the time,it's all regen.

[potato3732842]

The pads aren't any bigger. If they last longer then they're emitting less.

[originalvichy]

If you want to go into the details of this, for all the things people hve mentioned, you have to calculate the road wear done by trucks carrying fuels to stations every day. Electricity does not need the same regular road wear as ICE vehicles do.

[cogman10]

Yeah, the refining and transport of petroleum products always gets left out when talking about EV pollution.

It's pretty energy intensive to separate crude oil into it's various parts.

[josephcsible]

It is in fact straightforward to assume EVs create way, way less brake dust, because of how much less often they need brake replacements than ICE vehicles with the exact same brakes.