2021 Plaid - Here we go again! SSDD and tires...

[Dameon]

Same Crap, Different Day (and Car).

My P90DL ate through tires like an island rescuee at a buffet. I was "glad" to get 10K out of a set of rear tires... no track time, no fancy stuff, just regular driving. I dealt with this issue through several brands (OEM Michelin, Continental, and Falken). In the end, I stuck with Falken as ride, performance, and sound was on par with the others and I usually got 12K out of them. Plus they were a few bucks cheaper.

I'm 14K in on my 2021 Plaid and the rear OEM Michelins (295/30R21) are literally falling apart. These are rated at 30K miles and my wear indicator is right at half, so wear is on par for rating.



Wear indicator...



I called a local authorized Michelin reseller in town and was told they have no warehouses in the US with that tire in stock. They recommended I call the only other Michelin dealer in town and they, surprisingly, had two in stock. How weird is that? I've called local tire places with far more common tire sizes and always have to wait a day or two to get them from Baton Rouge, Lake Charles or New Orleans. Anyway, after talking to him, he said this is a known issue and he has had several cases of the early release of this "special Tesla build tire" being covered under warranty. There is now a new revision of this tire and that's what he has in stock.

Anyway, I'll be back on the road soon enough, but I just disappointed in the continuance of Model S tire woes and, in this case particularly, a "known" issue and Tesla didn't offer a warning? My tires look like they are ready to explode taking my fenders and vehicle control with them. Reminder to check your tire, front to back, side to side, frequently.

 

[lolachampcar]

24k miles lowered PLAID. I started one of the first tire threads many years ago. I am amazed at how the latest geometry has controlled camber and how good the tire wear has been on my car. My wife's S is exactly the same for geometry control. I thought they had addressed this issue.

 

[n2mb_racing]

Same Crap, Different Day (and Car).

My P90DL ate through tires like an island rescuee at a buffet. I was "glad" to get 10K out of a set of rear tires... no track time, no fancy stuff, just regular driving. I dealt with this issue through several brands (OEM Michelin, Continental, and Falken). In the end, I stuck with Falken as ride, performance, and sound was on par with the others and I usually got 12K out of them. Plus they were a few bucks cheaper.

I'm 14K in on my 2021 Plaid and the rear OEM Michelins (295/30R21) are literally falling apart. These are rated at 30K miles and my wear indicator is right at half, so wear is on par for rating.

View attachment 872966 View attachment 872967 View attachment 872968

Wear indicator...

View attachment 872969

I called a local authorized Michelin reseller in town and was told they have no warehouses in the US with that tire in stock. They recommended I call the only other Michelin dealer in town and they, surprisingly, had two in stock. How weird is that? I've called local tire places with far more common tire sizes and always have to wait a day or two to get them from Baton Rouge, Lake Charles or New Orleans. Anyway, after talking to him, he said this is a known issue and he has had several cases of the early release of this "special Tesla build tire" being covered under warranty. There is now a new revision of this tire and that's what he has in stock.

Anyway, I'll be back on the road soon enough, but I just disappointed in the continuance of Model S tire woes and, in this case particularly, a "known" issue and Tesla didn't offer a warning? My tires look like they are ready to explode taking my fenders and vehicle control with them. Reminder to check your tire, front to back, side to side, frequently.

Are your new tires a new version or still T1?

 

[Dameon]

Are your new tires a new version or still T1?

The replacements are the update revision tires.

 

[Dameon]

24k miles lowered PLAID. I started one of the first tire threads many years ago. I am amazed at how the latest geometry has controlled camber and how good the tire wear has been on my car. My wife's S is exactly the same for geometry control. I thought they had addressed this issue.

I have been very pleased (except for this event) on the improved tire wear for the Model S performance series. When I got my Plaid, I assumed the tires would wear as fast (maybe faster with the additional power and softer compound), but have been pleasantly surprised that they are living up to the rating.

 

[n2mb_racing]

The replacements are the update revision tires.

Your old tires above show version T1. What do your new tires say?

 

[Tdriver]

Too much negative rear camber. It Has to be corrected.

 

[Dameon]

Your old tires above show version T1. What do your new tires say?

I learned a few oddities about the tires. For one, I've been told (from multiple sources) that this particular tire was a Tesla spec'd, Michelin built, tire, but apparently Michelin did build a non-Tesla spec'd Pilot Sport 4 S in 295/30ZR21. Anything I Google on that tire seems to indicate it is a Tesla sized tire. Nothing else seems to use it... at least not as an OEM tire. This was somewhat confirmed at the dealer Saturday as they had (for some odd reason) a demo tire in the waiting area that was this tire...



This looks like the non-Tesla version of the exact same tire. No "T1/T2" markings, no acoustic foam.

They also had a "T2" version of the same tire... and has the foam and a weird little "sensor" the other one didn't...



There's a 3D barcode I haven't tried to decode yet. Not sure if the T1 tires have this sensor. The dealership kept my tire to send back to Michelin. Until they get them, I won't know what my compensation will be. It should be 100% (obvious factory design defect), but I'm guessing I'll probably get 50% credit.

More to come...

 

[Dameon]

Too much negative rear camber. It Has to be corrected.

That would be the safe assumption. Since I don't autocross the car, I might consider finding someone to give me neutral camber. Or slightly closer to neutral on the negative side.

 

[Muzzman1]

24k miles lowered PLAID. I started one of the first tire threads many years ago. I am amazed at how the latest geometry has controlled camber and how good the tire wear has been on my car. My wife's S is exactly the same for geometry control. I thought they had addressed this issue.

I have the same experience as you. Do you think it's possible the wheel/tire combo we have (20" 275/35) is the reason why?
There's another thread suspecting that the 21" variant of the PS4 might be the issue?

My tire wear has been noticeably even, but Im rotating ever 5k.

 

[lolachampcar]

I'm chalking it up to geometry given the massive increase in mechanical grip. I just think Tesla went away from every day ICE top heavy suspension design and did a bespoke layout (roll centers) catering to the low CoG. The result is a flat tire contact area making the very most of the available grip. Just my guess as I have zero experience with the 21s.

 

[autigerman83]

This was my rear tire I had changed last week. The only tires they could find to replace it were Pirelli P Zero Winter tires. I live in alabama and do not actually need winter tires but due to the condition of the tires I had no choice. My question is how will winter tires hold up in alabama heat?

 

[n2mb_racing]

View attachment 878059
This was my rear tire I had changed last week. The only tires they could find to replace it were Pirelli P Zero Winter tires. I live in alabama and do not actually need winter tires but due to the condition of the tires I had no choice. My question is how will winter tires hold up in alabama heat?

Terrible. Not recommended. They will be squishy and wear out too quickly.

 

[Dameon]

View attachment 878059
This was my rear tire I had changed last week. The only tires they could find to replace it were Pirelli P Zero Winter tires. I live in alabama and do not actually need winter tires but due to the condition of the tires I had no choice. My question is how will winter tires hold up in alabama heat?

Yep, looks familiar. Is this the 21"?

 

[roocher]

Same issue, rear drivers side tire, low pressure, tire separating from sidewall - 10K miles, no racing, did Plaid mode a couple times. Has anyone had good luck with the warranty through Michelin?

 

[n2mb_racing]

That is a strange issue. It looks like there is plenty of tread left in the tires.

 

[nilesborg]

Same issue, rear drivers side tire, low pressure, tire separating from sidewall - 10K miles, no racing, did Plaid mode a couple times. Has anyone had good luck with the warranty through Michelin?

The inside of both of my two front tires on '21 MS LR (with 21" arachnids) were down to the threads. If you do your research as I did you'll unfortunately learn that this is commonplace for this setup... Michelin won't cover uneven treadwear like this in the warranty - as it's obviously a wear/use issue. Tires are warrantied for 30k miles, but you'll get about 20k if you're lucky. Sorry for the bad news. I was out $1000 this week for 2 new pieces of rubber myself...

 

[KyleDay]

Same issue, rear drivers side tire, low pressure, tire separating from sidewall - 10K miles, no racing, did Plaid mode a couple times. Has anyone had good luck with the warranty through Michelin?

I found the exact same issue on my rear driver side plaid tire today too. 11k miles. $600/each to replace out the door at SC

 

[lolachampcar]

This is very odd.
In the previous variant, there was insufficient camber adjustment to remove the massive amounts of negative camber Tesla used to pass stability control regulations (speculation on my part). German manufacturers used these same techniques in the beginning to pass US stability regs.

Both our new S' have reasonable camber (judged by eye and wear) and yet others are experiencing horrible inside shoulder wear. I'm over 25k miles on my (20") Pilot Sports without rotating inside out. That was simply not possible with my previous PDL. Given some new cars like mine are "good", there must be a non-fundamental geometry explanation. I am lowered and I am running 20" rims but that should not explain the huge gulf in wear.

Someone with the problem and baseline suspension knowledge would do the community a huge service to stick their car up on a rack and dissect the alignment to identify the source of the issue. I'd do it as I did with our first cars but our current crop of S' are performing very well and all with over 1.1G lateral grip on my Plaid :0

 

[n2mb_racing]

This is very odd.
In the previous variant, there was insufficient camber adjustment to remove the massive amounts of negative camber Tesla used to pass stability control regulations (speculation on my part). German manufacturers used these same techniques in the beginning to pass US stability regs.

Both our new S' have reasonable camber (judged by eye and wear) and yet others are experiencing horrible inside shoulder wear. I'm over 25k miles on my (20") Pilot Sports without rotating inside out. That was simply not possible with my previous PDL. Given some new cars like mine are "good", there must be a non-fundamental geometry explanation. I am lowered and I am running 20" rims but that should not explain the huge gulf in wear.

Someone with the problem and baseline suspension knowledge would do the community a huge service to stick their car up on a rack and dissect the alignment to identify the source of the issue. I'd do it as I did with our first cars but our current crop of S' are performing very well and all with over 1.1G lateral grip on my Plaid :0

I'll take some photos of my tires after 8k miles. I don't think they are wearing unevenly. I wonder if some cars are just not aligned correctly from the factory, or there is a defect in the shoulders of these tires.