2.5 Roadster / Roadster Sport Tire Thread

[hcsharp]

Looks like you'll be getting some compensation from Michelin. Those were guaranteed to last 15k. You would get more money back if you made a claim when the tread was at the wear bars.

[daniel]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this.

At my first annual service last week (2010 2.5 non-sport #1117, purchased from inventory so I took delivery exactly a year ago last week) with roughly 3,600 miles on the odo, the ranger told me that my rear tire treads were at about 50% and suggested that below this they would not be safe in the rain. Based on his recommendation I bought two new rear tires from him. (I don't know enough about cars to feel comfortable deviating from Tesla's recommendations, so I'm sticking with their recommended tires, and I'm supporting Tesla by buying them from them, especially since he had them with him.) Since I'll be gone for a good part of summer, and getting tires switched is a hassle, I'll wait until it's time for winter tires before having the new ones installed, though I'll do that rather early than late.

My question is: What happens to the old tires? Do they have any value with 50% of the tread remaining, maybe for someone who only drives in dry weather? And if so, should I expect the tire place to give me something for them when I'm not buying the new ones from them? Or should I expect to pay them to haul the old tires to a tire recycler? Or is there a secondary market for them (e.g. Craigslist or eBay)?

[jerry33]

My question is: What happens to the old tires? Do they have any value with 50% of the tread remaining, maybe for someone who only drives in dry weather? And if so, should I expect the tire place to give me something for them when I'm not buying the new ones from them? Or should I expect to pay them to haul the old tires to a tire recycler? Or is there a secondary market for them (e.g. Craigslist or eBay)?

1. The tire place won't give you enough to make it worth your while.

2. There is always someone who will purchase your 50% worn tires. (for track practice if nothing else, after all, racers typically shave the tread down to 50% or lower).

[drees]

Ok I wore my Michelins down to the bone - about 11k miles versus ~5k for the Yokohamas.

With that much more tire wear on the insides rather of the tires, I have to suspect some sort of alignment issue or Tesla specs too much toe-out in the rear - perhaps to get the car to rotate better? Getting the rear alignment more neutral should add a lot more miles to the tires and perhaps increase efficiency, too if it's caused by toe-out.

[frequencydip]

Put the tires up on Craig's list you should get a $40 or give them away for free. Someone can certainly use them.

The Roadster will always wear the inside of the tires out, this is normal and the expected behavior. The tires all have negative camber on them, this is designed to improve cornering, the Roadster is a sports car not just an EV.

[drees]

The Roadster will always wear the inside of the tires out, this is normal and the expected behavior. The tires all have negative camber on them, this is designed to improve cornering, the Roadster is a sports car not just an EV.

Unless there is a LOT of negative camber, you shouldn't be seeing that much more wear on the inside. Looks like stock rear camber specs are -1.8. That's not really that much and maybe only slightly more than what you typically see on stock vehicles. Could have to do with how the particular car is driven - would be interesting to see if everyone's tires are wearing like that.

It's also quite likely that the wear looks more un-even than it really is from this one pic. Just seems like it could be a bit better.

[Doug_G]

I agree with drees... I've never seen that kind of wear. If it's in spec then it shouldn't be that bad.

[daniel]

1. The tire place won't give you enough to make it worth your while.

2. There is always someone who will purchase your 50% worn tires. (for track practice if nothing else, after all, racers typically shave the tread down to 50% or lower).

Put the tires up on Craig's list you should get a $40 or give them away for free. Someone can certainly use them.

The Roadster will always wear the inside of the tires out, this is normal and the expected behavior. The tires all have negative camber on them, this is designed to improve cornering, the Roadster is a sports car not just an EV.

Thanks!

[frequencydip]

That tire was worn out 2000 miles ago thats why the tire looks like that. with -1.8 and all the weight from the battery the roadster will chew the inside of the tire out much faster. All sports cars if properly setup will wear the inside of the tire out under normal driving conditions both front and back. If you were really driving the car hard like a sports car or at a track the tire wear would be even. When a car corners hard it leans on the outside edge of the tire, with negative camber the tire will lay flat when cornering thereby making maximum grip. when driving strait the car is leaning on the inside edge causing what looks like excessive wear. The roadster has insufficient front negative camber thats one of the reasons why the car tends to understeer.

[kgb]

I'm reviving this thread with an update:

I just replaced my rear tires again. To summarize the history of my rear tires:

Miles 0-3,100 = Yoko A048's (if I remember correctly, these tires were good but didn't last long)
Miles 3,100-7,100 = Toyo Proxes R888 (I liked these too, but also didn't last long)
Miles 7,100-16,200 = Continental ContiSportContact 3 (these were ok for just driving around town. they were very bad at the track. Mediocre grip taking off from red light)

I was noticing that my wet traction was getting really poor. More recently, my dry traction was poor too. Then I got a "low tire pressure" warning. I thought I picked up a nail, but when we took off the wheel, the tire was almost bald. Had to get something in stock, so this time I got the Hankook Ventus V12 evo. We'll see how that goes. So far, it's hard to test traction when the battery is low. (as for fronts, still on second set of A048's)