Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

19" Tire Recommendations

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
After having a sidewall failure on a 21" tire before 2500 miles, and struggling to find replacement tires, I purchase a set of 19" wheels from Tesla. The 21's handle great, but I am concerned about day to day driving with these tires/wheels.

I live in the Pacific Northwest and don't drive this vehicle in snow, but lots of rain. Any comments on the OEM 19" tires?

Also, looking for recommendations on a three season, high performance tire that is quiet enough for the Model S? Any thoughts?
 
Michelin Pilot Super Sport, but they are not available in 245/45/R19 (you'd have to with a different size such as 255/45 or 245/40).
The Continental DW comes in 19" so if you liked the 21's they may be an excellent option as well.

I think the Bridgestone S-04 Pole Position are worth a look as well, good performance for a great price!

Here's Tirerack's test results comparing the Continentals, Michelins and Bridgestone's referenced above.
Tire Test Results : Clash of the Titans: Testing Two New Max Performance Summer Heavy Hitters

That said, I find the OEM 19" Goodyears to be fine for everyday driving... Sure more performance would be nice. It's pretty easy to make the tires chirp and turn on the TC light in a straight line etc....


After having a sidewall failure on a 21" tire before 2500 miles, and struggling to find replacement tires, I purchase a set of 19" wheels from Tesla. The 21's handle great, but I am concerned about day to day driving with these tires/wheels.

I live in the Pacific Northwest and don't drive this vehicle in snow, but lots of rain. Any comments on the OEM 19" tires?

Also, looking for recommendations on a three season, high performance tire that is quiet enough for the Model S? Any thoughts?
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the feedback. What is the sound level like on the OEM Goodyears? I have the Michelin PS2s on the 21's and they are are quite quiet, especially compared to the pair of Nittos that I had to put on as there are no 21" PS2s to be found anywhere....

I like the idea of a decent all season, but don't want to give up on all performance, and get a noisy tire as the Model S really makes it noticeable.

I have the Nittos on the back and they traction is not as good as the PS2s in a straight line, even with my non-perf 85.
 
So it sounds like you wouldn't use the Goodyears if given the choice? I had some Michelin MXM tires on a Jetta before and wasn't really impressed with them in the wet. Have you had good experience with them?

I was also considering the Continental DW but have heard that they are loud.
 
As mentioned in another thread, I'm curious about ways to evaluate tire noise across tire manufacturers and models. Where is your data regarding the quietness of MXM4 coming from? Thanks.

In this case, personal experience with the MXV4 tire (the precursor to the MXM4). It was quiet down to the end of the tread life. My expectation is that Michelin will have kept the quietness.
 
Note that those Potenzas have terrible rolling resistance compared to its competitors... and even worse than the Super Sports (unfortunately not available in our stock 19" sizing), which significantly outperforms the S-04s. In any case, I'd eliminate them simply on the range reduction alone.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=174

Those Continentals are the same tires that go on the 21"s, and so are a relatively safe bet. Lots of people here have experience with them, so their strengths and weaknesses are well-known. They're not great, but they're relatively inexpensive, have good performance, and low rolling resistance for a summer tire.

You might also consider the Michelin Pilot Sport 3 and the Hankook V12 EVO. The V12s are cheap and perform well, but are loud compared to others. The PS3s are relatively new, I believe, so I don't know much about them yet. I do know they're a slot below the Super Sports in performance, but unlike the SS are available in our size.
 
I'm just across the pond from you with very similar conditions. it's wet and moderate here, I do very little snow driving and the occasional ICE skating rink conditions are simply best avoided with anything but chains. I've been very happy switching to the 19" turbine rials with the MXM4's. it made our P85+ quite a bit quieter and the handling is better than the cold performance rubber that can be had for the 21's. we dinged up our 21's quite a bit after being super careful and eventually gave up on them... not worth the hassle in these parts, IMHO!
 
My next set of 19's will likely be Nokian zLine. Low rolling resistance and excellent grip (comparable to the pilot super sports from what I can tell.) They don't come in the stock size so I'm going to grab them in 255/40R19.
Ugh. I wish TireRack would start carrying Nokians so we can get decent comparisons.

Looks like Consumer Reports ties the zLines and the ExtremeContact DWs. Super Sports beat them both.
http://www.moderntiredealer.com/blo...rts-michelin-leads-the-pack.aspx?prestitial=1
 
Ugh. I wish TireRack would start carrying Nokians so we can get decent comparisons.

Looks like Consumer Reports ties the zLines and the ExtremeContact DWs. Super Sports beat them both.
http://www.moderntiredealer.com/blo...rts-michelin-leads-the-pack.aspx?prestitial=1

You're just looking at the overall rating number. Looks like the Zlines are better for wet braking and have lower rolling resistance while the supersports give better tread life. They both get "excellent" ratings for dry handling/breaking and wet handling. The DW are down a notch on the wet handling category.... I guess the super sports could be more "excellent" at handling etc... But it appears the DW, MPSS and Zlines are all very comparable according to CR.

Does anyone else rate tires other than CR and Tirerack?