P85 owners who changed tires from 21" to 19" resulting in good mileage

pramod1969 · May 31, 2014

Please help me with few tire questions; I am replacing my set of 4 tires after 15K miles despite non-aggressive driving, every 5K miles rotations and wheel alignment done with bolt less than 6 months ago.

For some reason, Tesla P85 is losing alignment rapidly (see picture) and I am sick of going to SC 2-3 times per year.

1. If we ever replace P85 factory 21" wheels/tires to 19", can we expect them to last 40-50K miles like original factory 19" owners are reporting?

My tire-shop person is telling me that wear will be similar even for 19" because of the way factory designed the 21" P85 for high performance, which will always accelerate the rear tire wear.

2. When you downgrade to 19", does it miraculously resolve all the alignment problems?

3. Can anyone with P85 who had good experience in longevity after changing tires to 19" please comment so I can make a decision?

4. I know I can get 15-20 K miles with my 21" wheels if I take my car to SC twice a year for alignment. I want to know if I can get 20-30K with 19" downgrade.

PS; original 19" wheel/tire owners; I know some of you getting 40-50K mileage. I want to know if I can come close by dropping from 21" to 19".

Pramod

ecarfan · May 31, 2014

Do you have a P or a P+? Those are different versions of the Model S. The P+ has the altered suspension. The P does not, as I understand it, it has the same suspension as the standard Model S but a higher output motor and inverter.

But it sounds like you have 21" wheels which are standard with the P+. Of course one can install 21" wheels on any Model S.

Just trying to understand what you have.

jerry33 · May 31, 2014

I have an S85 and the first 19" tires wore very badly. It took the SC three or four tries to get it right, and it finally seems like it's good after the last alignment and the camber bolts. The alignment never went out, it was just never done right to start with. (I can tell this by the wear on the original tires.)

There is a post that I couldn't find saying that if the alignment actually goes out there is some other part which is loose. Both 21" and 19" tires will wear badly if the alignment isn't correct. What you want is the fronts to be as close to zero as practicable without going to a toe-out condition. For the rear there should be a very small amount of toe-in and camber bolts should be used to reduce the camber to under 2% (1.5% seems to be about optimal).

pramod1969 · May 31, 2014

ECARFAN, I have P85 not P85+.

Lolachampcar, I read your helpful posts regarding why 19" last longer;

(1) they are narrower so less mechanical leverage on the inside shoulder
(2) the side wall on the 19" is larger and more compliant allowing the contact patch to comply with the road better.
(3) the UTQG rating of the 19's (primacy/eagle) approximate 64% increase over the 21's (extreme contact/pilot ss/ps2).

Still, I wanted to see the approximate mileage benefit for a non-aggressive driver by changing 21" to 19".

Pramod

yobigd20 · May 31, 2014

if you haven't caught my posts in earlier threads, I have a P85, drive very aggressively, and I got 48k miles on my original 19" goodyears before I replaced them. All 4 tires had about 3-4/32" tread left. I could have actually driven them another several thousand miles if I wanted to, BUT they were showing the inside edge wear but not down to the cords. So I had the car realigned with new camber bolts by the SC and then I put new tires on. Again, mine lasted me 48k miles before I did this and I could have easily got 52-55k out of them if I really wanted to stretch it.

IF you have 21" continentals, they SHOULD last you about 20-24k in a perfect scenario. As their tread depth is much smaller , they just aren't going to last as long and they are summer tires too, aka sticker and they wear faster.

In other words, in my opinion, the expected mileage you should get assuming car stays in good alignment for the OEM tires and you rotate often and maintain tire pressure (need at least once every other week):

- 21" michelin PS2 (P85+) 10k miles (Max Performance Summer)
- 21" Continental ExtremeContact DW 20-24k miles (Max Performance Summer)
- 19" Goodyear Eagle RS-A2 45-50k miles (High Performance All-Season)
- 19" Michelin Primacy MXM4 50-60k miles (Grand Touring All-Season)

those are rough estimates of expected mileage in my opinion. in any case no doubt you'll get at least double the mileage on 19s than you will the 21s

apacheguy · May 31, 2014

yobigd20 said:
- 21" michelin pilot super sports (P85+) 10k miles (Max Performance Summer)
- 21" Continental ExtremeContact DW 20-24k miles (Max Performance Summer)
- 19" Goodyear Eagle RS-A2 45-50k miles (High Performance All-Season)
- 19" Michelin Primacy MXM4 50-60k miles (Grand Touring All-Season)

Really? I've always heard that the PSS wear much better than the Conti's.

andrewket · May 31, 2014

apacheguy said:
Really? I've always heard that the PSS wear much better than the Conti's.

Since he said P85+ I think he meant PS2.

Denarius · May 31, 2014

andrewket said:
Since he said P85+ I think he meant PS2.

Must be, because the PSS doesn't even come I the rear wheel size of the P85+.

andrewket · Jun 1, 2014

Denarius said:
Must be, because the PSS doesn't even come I the rear wheel size of the P85+.

True, but is is possible to mount the 245/ PSS on the 9" rear wheel per the specs on the Michlin website.

pramod1969 · Jun 1, 2014

yobigd20, thank you for your fast reply. I am thinking of ordering Rial Lugano 19" wheels (~$1020) and Good eagle RA2 (~510).
I had 19" tires on my other cars before (CLS, A7 and XKR), but none lasted more than 20K miles. It is a good news that model S gets ~40-50K with 19" tires. I will be happy if I can get even half that longevity.

P

yobigd20 · Jun 1, 2014

Yeah my bad, that was a typo on my part. I meant the ones that go with the P85+. PS2

Madartist · Jun 1, 2014

yobigd20 said:
Yeah my bad, that was a typo on my part. I meant the ones that go with the P85+. PS2

OK. With that correction, where do you see the PSS tire wear fit in this spectrum, assuming proper alignment, of course?

yobigd20 · Jun 1, 2014

Madartist said:
OK. With that correction, where do you see the PSS tire wear fit in this spectrum, assuming proper alignment, of course?

The same. 10k. This is because on the P85+ with the wider rears you cannot rotate tires. On a staggered setup, tire life is half of what it would be otherwise.

mnx · Jun 2, 2014

FWIW I have 19" Goodyears on my car with 18200km on my tires so far. They are at 4-5/32 of tread depth. I imagine I'll get ~25,000km out of them.

pimp-boy · Jun 2, 2014

Continental ExtremeContact DW 21" - Lasted about 20k miles
Micheline Pilot PS2's 21" Staggered - So far lasting 10,500 miles. Front's have lots of tread left. Probably another 5k -8k miles. Rear's probably 1-2k miles. Rear's probably be 12k - 13k miles and front's 15k - 18k miles. Not too bad with spirited driving and freeway.

yobigd20 said:
if you haven't caught my posts in earlier threads, I have a P85, drive very aggressively, and I got 48k miles on my original 19" goodyears before I replaced them. All 4 tires had about 3-4/32" tread left. I could have actually driven them another several thousand miles if I wanted to, BUT they were showing the inside edge wear but not down to the cords. So I had the car realigned with new camber bolts by the SC and then I put new tires on. Again, mine lasted me 48k miles before I did this and I could have easily got 52-55k out of them if I really wanted to stretch it.

IF you have 21" continentals, they SHOULD last you about 20-24k in a perfect scenario. As their tread depth is much smaller , they just aren't going to last as long and they are summer tires too, aka sticker and they wear faster.

In other words, in my opinion, the expected mileage you should get assuming car stays in good alignment for the OEM tires and you rotate often and maintain tire pressure (need at least once every other week):

- 21" michelin PS2 (P85+) 10k miles (Max Performance Summer)
- 21" Continental ExtremeContact DW 20-24k miles (Max Performance Summer)
- 19" Goodyear Eagle RS-A2 45-50k miles (High Performance All-Season)
- 19" Michelin Primacy MXM4 50-60k miles (Grand Touring All-Season)

those are rough estimates of expected mileage in my opinion. in any case no doubt you'll get at least double the mileage on 19s than you will the 21s

Search

P85 owners who changed tires from 21" to 19" resulting in good mileage

pramod1969

Member

Attachments

ecarfan

Well-Known Member

jerry33

(S85-3/2/13 traded in) X LR: F2611##-3/27/20

pramod1969

Member

yobigd20

Well-Known Member

apacheguy

S Sig #255

andrewket

Well-Known Member

Denarius

Active Member

andrewket

Well-Known Member

pramod1969

Member

yobigd20

Well-Known Member

Madartist

Member

yobigd20

Well-Known Member

mnx

2018 M3P

pimp-boy

Member

Similar threads