What is ERANGE And Why Should You Care?
SHARP & Sailun Tires
Fast fact: Did you know that Sailun Tires has been in the tire manufacturing business for almost 20 years? It’s true. Up until this point, the manufacturer has focused on producing a wide range of value-based tire brands for passenger cars, light duty trucks, commercial vehicles and fleet operations. Their tires are now sold in over 130 countries and Sailun Tires is now the 11th-largest tire company in the world.
The company has eight manufacturing facilities, located in Cambodia, China, and Vietnam. All their tires intended for the North American market are first designed right here in North America. Until recently, Sailun Tires has focused exclusively on the value tire segment. This strategy has proven to be an effective way to enter an incredibly competitive marketplace filled with strong brands. They produce tires for a range of vehicle segments under a variety of brand names, including Sailun, BlackHawk, Rovelo, RoadX and Ironhead. Their newest brand, ERANGE EV, is the first-ever tire dedicated to electric vehicles. Representatives from the brand report that it’s been in development for nearly two decades.
For Sailun Tires, the release of the ERANGE is a departure. Apart from tires engineered for a combination of road and track use in all sorts of weather conditions, the requirements for an EV tire are perhaps the most challenging of all. Here’s how Sailun Tires has stepped up.
In developing the ERANGE, the company targeted what they refer to as the “magic triangle” — that elusive combination of low rolling resistance, overall grip and resistance to wear. The R&D team determined that the best way forward for an EV tire to hit the mark was to move from a powered mix construction to something called Liquid Phase Mixing.
This all-new tire manufacturing technology — branded EcoPoint3 — enables the ERANGE EV to meet of exceed the performance of many leading OEM tire brands. The company refers to EcoPoint3 as nothing less than an absolute breakthrough. And the numbers bear this out.
In third-party testing, the ERANGE scored big points across the board when pitted against Tier 1 OEM tires. The tests covered five key attributes of an EV: dry braking, wet braking, noise rating, rolling resistance and battery life consumption. (The tire size used for the tests was a 235/45R18.)
In the braking tests, the ERANGE performed better than the OEM tires in dry-weather conditions and nearly matched their performance in wet-weather conditions. When emergency braking from 97 km/h in the dry, the ERANGE came to a halt in just 37.5 metres, as opposed to 39.6 metres for the OEM tire. In wet conditions, stopping from the same speed took 43.3 metres in the ERANGE versus 41.5 metres in the OEM tire.
In terms of noise rating, the ERANGE was identical in performance to the OEM Tier 1 tire. The ERANGE EV tire uses ‘SilentTread™’ technology and a variable pitch sequence for a quiet and comfortable ride. (Our hands-on experience with the ERANGE fitted to a current Tesla Model 3 bore these results out—the ride was extremely quiet.)
When it came to rolling resistance, the ERANGE tire was the clear champion. In comparison testing, the rolling resistance coefficient was 15 percent lower than the OEM tire. In electric vehicles, rolling resistance is a key factor because it has a direct impact on battery range. The lower the number, the farther you can drive on the same level of battery charge.
Lastly, there was a test comparing battery consumption and here, again, the ERANGE lived up to its promise. In looking at average Watts per hour of consumption, the ERANGE performance seven percent better than the OEM Tier 1 tire.
So there you have it, proof positive that Sailun Tires has responded to the unique and demanding challenges of engineering an EV tire. With the ERANGE EV, the company is sure to make a big impression on how consumers think about and choose tires for their electrified vehicles.
Learn more about ERANGE EV tires here.
