19" vs 21" Wheels Pros and Cons

[neroden]

I was told by a Rep that there would not be a winter tire package, at least not by the time I would order mine. He said that the best thing is to buy 3rd party rims and snow tires (you can bet it will be cheaper to avoid Tesla as an extra middleman). They will provide us with enough specs to do so. Although I might be tempted to get two sets of Aero rims, maybe there are good non-Tesla aeros out there that would fit??

3rd party rims can be a pain to get, because few cars use exactly the same profile for brake equipment -- and I'm pretty sure Tesla will have used something at least slightly nonstandard, given their "too futuristic by half" design habits. Tire Rack custom-manufactures their aftermarket rims on a per-model basis after measuing your car, so there's gonna be some way to get 3rd party rims, though.

3rd party tires are no trouble at all.

[dadaleus]

I was told by a Rep that there would not be a winter tire package, at least not by the time I would order mine. He said that the best thing is to buy 3rd party rims and snow tires (you can bet it will be cheaper to avoid Tesla as an extra middleman). They will provide us with enough specs to do so. Although I might be tempted to get two sets of Aero rims, maybe there are good non-Tesla aeros out there that would fit??

Maybe not a package, and I'm not expert, but wouldn't you be able to easily find snow tires to fit the 19" rims? 21" rims are more specialized so I understand why that would be harder.

My favorite rep told me to only get the 21" rims if I'm happy only using the performance (summer) tires. Fine for LA but for you others I could see that being a challenge.

[bonnie1194]

Mod note: Dborn's post of what appears to be a photo of an aero wheel has been moved to 320 miles wheel thread. (Great find!)

[drees]

A couple of links that may prove helpful for those deciding between 19/21" wheels. Here are links directly to TireRack for each tire size - one can easily see the wide variety of tires available in the 19" size and the 7 available in the 21" size (all max-performance-summer tires).

245/45/19 Tire Search Results

245/35/21 Tire Search Results

[dsm363]

Looks like they're going with the highest reviewed/rated tire for the 21" wheels which is nice. I thought they were cheaper but I hope they last more than 7,000 miles.

Some people are getting 30,000 miles out of these on the Tirerack.com reviews. Granted, not on the Model S but gives some indication that they should at least last 15,000 miles which would be nice.

[Bound466]

I keep going back and forth.. I really like the look of the 21 inchers. But I like low maintenance too. I really want to see the 19 inchers on a beta in person.

I drive about 15-20k a year. If I only got 7 or 10k on them, I'd be hosed. Decisions, decisions.

[AustinPowers]

+1

I got stuck at my hospital for 3 days during the last winter storm here in the Puget Sound area with my all-season tires. I am never making that mistake again.

+1 on that.

Every tire test I read (especially by the automobile clubs like your AAA) here specifically warns about all season tires and I would never ever think of getting them.
Even just at lower temps (lower than +7 Celsius!) it is advisable to change to winter tires, let alone at snow, ice rain etc.

What I don't understand is why the Model S needs such monster tires at all. It is hard enough to get 19'' tires (summer or winter) and rims at reasonable prices, but 21'' is just ridiculous. Even most show cars or prototype / experimental cars at auto shows don't have 21'' rims/tires.

The biggest available wheels on the 760Li BMW for example are 20'', whereas 19'' are standard. And that is a helluva big car.

I would opt for 18'' as standard as even for that dimension tires and tire sets are hideously expensive. Perhaps not in the US, but definitely over here. Another drawback of large tires is they are not tested by the standard testing organisations (tests are normally done for 14'' to 16'' as those are installed on the majority of vehicles as standard, sometimes also 13'' and 17'') so you can't really judge which ones to buy.

[Robert.Boston]

I really want to see the 19 inchers on a beta in person.

FWIW, when I saw the two wheels side-by-side, I preferred the clean, open lines of the 19". Obviously this is a matter of personal preferences, but the 19" wheels are not the ugly duckling.

[Jeeps17]

... but the 19" wheels are not the ugly duckling.

Those might unfortunately be the aero wheels...

Quack!

But I reserve final judgement until I have seen them in person, of course!

[Andrew Wolfe]

+1 on that.

Every tire test I read (especially by the automobile clubs like your AAA) here specifically warns about all season tires and I would never ever think of getting them.
Even just at lower temps (lower than +7 Celsius!) it is advisable to change to winter tires, let alone at snow, ice rain etc.

What I don't understand is why the Model S needs such monster tires at all. It is hard enough to get 19'' tires (summer or winter) and rims at reasonable prices, but 21'' is just ridiculous. Even most show cars or prototype / experimental cars at auto shows don't have 21'' rims/tires.

The biggest available wheels on the 760Li BMW for example are 20'', whereas 19'' are standard. And that is a helluva big car.

I would opt for 18'' as standard as even for that dimension tires and tire sets are hideously expensive. Perhaps not in the US, but definitely over here. Another drawback of large tires is they are not tested by the standard testing organisations (tests are normally done for 14'' to 16'' as those are installed on the majority of vehicles as standard, sometimes also 13'' and 17'') so you can't really judge which ones to buy.

It's a Henrik Fisker styling fetish. Nothing more. Serious overkill for a car this size.
That said - I'm almost certainly going to get them since 1) They look better than the 19" Tesla has chosen and 2) I want summer tires.