Paul Jolly: Look after your tyres and help the planet

Pollution from fossil fuel vehicles is a constant topic and of course, we are talking about emissions from the exhaust which does not happen with electric vehicles.
However, there are pollutants from all vehicles, EV’s, Hybrids, HGV’s and fossil fuel cars no one seems to talk about.
Tyre and brake materials continually wear down from all vehicles, emitting clouds of tiny particles, much of which rain washes out of the atmosphere and into the water courses, some of which then eventually ends up in the oceans.
It is said that globally, tyres produce 6 million tonnes of pollution every year. The heavier the vehicle, the more particles get released.
Around 6.5 millimetres of tread around the whole circumference of tyres gets worn away during the life of each car tyre. With four tyres per car, this is a considerable amount of material degrading. The average EV is now about twice the weight of the family car of 50 years ago. Ford’s Cortina was under 800kg and Tesla’s are around 1800kg.
Every time a tyre accelerates, corners and brakes, it wears down. EV’s are noted for their extraordinary acceleration for sure, and their tyre wear is much higher that non EV’s. But before we all point fingers at EV’s, we must take into account that most EV drivers tend to be cautious with throttle use being aware of power consumption and range issues. Uniquely to EV’s, they also use regenerative braking from reverse motor technology thereby reducing brake pad wear.
London based firm Enso is a tyre technology company that makes better tyres for EV’s with reduced pollution and increased range. Formula One also contributes hugely to tyre degradation research, all of which filters down through the manufacturing process to mainstream motorcar consumers.
The best F1 drivers of their time have always been the ones who look after their tyres and reduce wear, thus extending the track efficiency and minimising pit stops. We should learn from them with smooth anticipation of the road ahead, without perhaps, their extremes of speed. Sudden stop/start aggression is a killer for tyres and brakes.