Thoughts on P85D being locked into 21 inch rims for Summer and Winter

[Taipan]

In Europe, you can NOT order the 21s Winter Wheels, only the 19s, when you order the P85D.
Model S Design Studio | Tesla Motors

I guess that confirms that whatever version you order, 19s will fit, winter or not.

Also, when you look at the Specs page on any EU site, you'll see no difference about calipers or disc sizes which could prevent 19s indeed.

My take is this is just some monetization trick (like the one about having to order the panoramic roof to be able to install a roof-rack).
Plus a real pain in the arse if you blow a tire on a week-end trip: 19s tires are already not often "in stock" at the local shop but getting a 21s ? You'll be AWOL for some days just waiting for the delivery ...

E.

 

[Cottonwood]

Thanks for the replies, can you let me know what rims you use for the 3 sets and where you got them? I am assuming the 21's are what came with your car...

I got this question as a private message and thought others would be interested, so I am answering it in the thread.

It's pretty simple. My 21's came with the car; I bought the 19's with the Nokian snow tires from Tesla in Fall 2012 (Tesla does not offer that combo now), and I bought the other set of Tesla 19's without TPMS from another owner via a TMC ad. I got the Tesla compatible TPMS's along with a set of tires from my local Discount Tire store.

Once you have the correct size wheels with the correct size tires, and the correct TPMS, then all you have to do is put them on the car and use the "learn TPMS" command on the 19" screen.

 

[Lloyd]

I just yesterday mounted 19's with Michelin PS3's for my winter tires in California on my p+. Hoping for lots of itwe need it desperately!

 

[yobigd20]

Tesla is shoving those 21s down our throats because they have a crazy margin on those wheels.

let alone the margin on the wheels are purchase time with the car, after purchase Tesla is making a KILLING on the 21" tire & rim replacements at all the service centers. I've yet to go to a service center that isn't SWAMPED with model s's lined up there for rim/tire replacement. the margins on these are what pay for the operating costs of the service centers. there is no incentive for tesla to do anything about this. they'd lose a lot of money and probably wouldn't be able to afford to operate the service centers if they didn't keep shoving those 21s down everyone's throats.

as to the OP, i'd be running 19s both in winter AND summer, especially given your location. sell your 21s as soon as you get them and downgrade and put some 255/45ZR19 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3's on. They'll have plenty of grip for the P85D under full accel. And you won't break your bank account either for tire/rim maintenance.

 

[commasign]

Just spoke to my local SC. They are being told that the 19" wheels will NOT fit the P85D due to the larger brakes/rotors. They are saying (as others have noted in this thread) that the website is in error allowing folks to select 19" winter wheels. I'm really hoping that's not true. Guess we'll all find out soon.

 

[yobigd20]

Just spoke to my local SC. They are being told that the 19" wheels will NOT fit the P85D due to the larger brakes/rotors. They are saying (as others have noted in this thread) that the website is in error allowing folks to select 19" winter wheels. I'm really hoping that's not true. Guess we'll all find out soon.

Oh man, if that's true then Tesla is set to make a fortune on tire and rim replacements!!!

Wait a minute, why are the 19s available for S60D and S85D then? Are the brakes/rotors any different?? I thought they were the same for all models which would mean they are feeding you BS

 

[commasign]

Wait a minute, why are the 19s available for S60D and S85D then? Are the brakes/rotors any different?? I thought they were the same for all models which would mean they are feeding you BS

Good question. Wish they would provide clarity on this. I don't understand why the brakes/rotors would be any different than the P85+ and we know that car fits 19" wheels just fine. If 19" are compatible, then I'm dumping my 21" at delivery.

 

[Cottonwood]

Good question. Wish they would provide clarity on this. I don't understand why the brakes/rotors would be any different than the P85+ and we know that car fits 19" wheels just fine. If 19" are compatible, then I'm dumping my 21" at delivery.

If 19's are incompatible with the P85D, then I am switching my order of a P85D to an 85D. I like summer performance, but being able to mount serious snow tires like the Hakka R2's or 8's for winter driving is a priority for me.

 

[andrewket]

Just spoke to my local SC. They are being told that the 19" wheels will NOT fit the P85D due to the larger brakes/rotors. They are saying (as others have noted in this thread) that the website is in error allowing folks to select 19" winter wheels. I'm really hoping that's not true. Guess we'll all find out soon.

This better not be the case as I just sold my P85+ with my silver 21" wheels and a spare, and kept my after market 19's.

 

[Chuck P85D]

let alone the margin on the wheels are purchase time with the car, after purchase Tesla is making a KILLING on the 21" tire & rim replacements at all the service centers. I've yet to go to a service center that isn't SWAMPED with model s's lined up there for rim/tire replacement. the margins on these are what pay for the operating costs of the service centers. there is no incentive for tesla to do anything about this. they'd lose a lot of money and probably wouldn't be able to afford to operate the service centers if they didn't keep shoving those 21s down everyone's throats.

as to the OP, i'd be running 19s both in winter AND summer, especially given your location. sell your 21s as soon as you get them and downgrade and put some 255/45ZR19 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3's on. They'll have plenty of grip for the P85D under full accel. And you won't break your bank account either for tire/rim maintenance.

dude... we get it... YOU DON'T LIKE THE 21" WHEELS. but give it up, man... you are like obsessed with this.

i have had 21" wheels for two years now and they have been great. tire wear has been fine and no bent rims. look great, perform great.

you are displaying elements of solipsism. get a grip. YOUR experience does not equal EVERYONE'S experience.

 

[dsm363]

Over two years with 21" rims. Other than tread life from summer tire compounds, no issues.

 

[yobigd20]

dude... we get it... YOU DON'T LIKE THE 21" WHEELS. but give it up, man... you are like obsessed with this.

i have had 21" wheels for two years now and they have been great. tire wear has been fine and no bent rims. look great, perform great.

you are displaying elements of solipsism. get a grip. YOUR experience does not equal EVERYONE'S experience.

I don't have any personal experience with the 21s. I was smart early on and preemptively downgraded for free before I got my car based on the reports from 2012 owners that were getting killed financially from them. I'm simply just relaying the dozens if not hundreds of instances from people on the forums and local owners I know that's had multiple incidents with their 21s plus all the service centers I've been to (Norristown, queens, Springfield) all swamped with 21" tire and rim replacement vehicles. Everybody that I know that had 21s now has 19s. That's pretty significant and speaks for itself. I don't know anyone who HASNT had a problem with the 21s (except for you apparently). There's people on these forums that have had 4 tire / 4 wheel replacements within weeks of each other.

It's important to educate future owners about this so they are not slapped in the face with $2k bills a week after getting their cars. Most people are completely unaware of all the problems with driving on the 21s. They just buy the car with all the bells and whistles not realizing the maintenance nightmare and income hit they just set themselves up for. Again most ppl I know that had them are like "why didn't someone tell me about this before I bought the car, it would have saved me thousands!!"

 

[Chuck P85D]

I don't have any personal experience with the 21s. I was smart early on and preemptively downgraded for free before I got my car based on the reports from 2012 owners that were getting killed financially from them. I'm simply just relaying the dozens if not hundreds of instances from people on the forums and local owners I know that's had multiple incidents with their 21s plus all the service centers I've been to (Norristown, queens, Springfield) all swamped with 21" tire and rim replacement vehicles. Everybody that I know that had 21s now has 19s. That's pretty significant and speaks for itself. I don't know anyone who HASNT had a problem with the 21s (except for you apparently). There's people on these forums that have had 4 tire / 4 wheel replacements within weeks of each other.

It's important to educate future owners about this so they are not slapped in the face with $2k bills a week after getting their cars. Most people are completely unaware of all the problems with driving on the 21s. They just buy the car with all the bells and whistles not realizing the maintenance nightmare and income hit they just set themselves up for. Again most ppl I know that had them are like "why didn't someone tell me about this before I bought the car, it would have saved me thousands!!"

so you have ZERO experience or firsthand knowledge about the 21's. but you have accepted the position of advocate for a few 21 owners who have had bad experiences.

well come back to reality. i have had no problems with my 21's in two years/20k miles. i just replaced them at 17k on my P85. not unreasonable for the performance i got. and i knew that going in.

there are LOTS of other 21 owners who have no problems as well.

you need to remember that you are getting a bit of a skewed reality if you are only paying attention to people who complain on internet message boards. 95% of satisfied 21" owners don't come on the internet to share how pleased they are with their purchase, you know?

it just seems to me that you have no personal knowledge of what the 21's can or can not do. you are relying on here-say and others' experiences, and have adopted them as your own. I would suggest you stop. you are becoming a one-note Charlie. if ACTUAL 21" owners are so infuriated by the wheel that they feel they need to go on a crusade to educate others as to their evils, fine. but coming from you, it's disingenuous and (at this point) REALLY GETTING OLD.

find a new bell to ring.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

There are five p85s in my neighborhood. 4 have 21s and 1 has 19s. All 21s have been stranded with flats due to pot holes here in DC/NVA and many have switched to 19s. My 19 has gone 23k with no issues.

While I like the look of the 21s. The risk is too high with no spare as my daily driver and costs are high for what you gain ( in my opinion).

I'm considering the p85d, but will have to explore other options than the 21s and may downgrade to the s85d instead.

 

[Chuck P85D]

There are five p85s in my neighborhood. 4 have 21s and 1 has 19s. All 21s have been stranded with flats due to pot holes here in DC/NVA and many have switched to 19s. My 19 has gone 23k with no issues..

1 - i live in the same area and have had no problems with my 21's. when i drive, i personally try to NOT hit the potholes. call me crazy, but my strategy has worked wonders so far.
2 - the potholes were really really bad last winter. they busted all kinds of rims and tires on all kinds of cars all winter long, wheels much smaller than the Tesla 21's or even the 19's..

 

[AMN]

19" winter wheel set shows up as an option for P85D, so I am sure they will fit. I just checked, it's a $2,500 add on. Not a bad deal, actually.

 

[GetAmped]

P85D conflicting information on ordering with 19 inch Winter rims

Re-posting this conversation here under "Ordering" as this is something impacting ordering for many people:

I have a P85D confirmed with a Dec delivery and plan on driving to Blue Mountain (local ski hill) for skiing and generally driving on all types of roads including likely un-avoidable potholes and other road imperfections that I won't be able to see and avoid because they will be filled with slushy snow in the Toronto, Canada area. I really just want the best owner experience balancing needing the correct tires to deal with the torque/regen and my desire to not have tire and rim issues.

The following summarizes the rim size ordering confusion for the P85D:

1) I called the national sales group (Tesla HQ) to change my P85 order to a P85D. When walking through the options with them, when I came upon the 19 inch and 21 inch options for the Winter tire packages, although I wanted the 19 inch package the rep told me I could not order with it and must order the 21 inch Winter package.

2) in my other post under "Driving Dynamics " where I was questioning this 19 versus 21 use of rims, many forum members with confirmed P85D orders are stating that they have successfully selected 19 inch winter packages.

3) Forum members from Norway are stating that when they configure the P85D they can ONLY order with the 19 inch rims for winter.

4) Forum members with P85+'s are all stating that they run 19 inch rims for both summer and winter on their cars without issues. They point out that when they ordered the P85+ that they had the same mandatory 21 inch rim requirements but changed to 19's even with the Service Centers mounting them on their P85+'s.

5) every subsequent time I call the national sales group the agents answering always state that even though the P85D can be configured on the website with 19 inch rims for the winter package, they say that they will notify people ordering of the mandatory need to use 21 inch rims. I have called at least 6 times always with the same answer.

To improve on the ordering consistency, what do we need to do to get the correct answer and what is it? Can someone from Tesla answer this "Can we use 19 inch rims for summer and or winter on the P85D?

 

[yobigd20]

19" winter wheel set shows up as an option for P85D, so I am sure they will fit. I just checked, it's a $2,500 add on. Not a bad deal, actually.

But the poster said that Tesla said that was a mistake on the web site and 19" winters aren't supposed to be offered for the P85D.

 

[yobigd20]

Just spoke to my local SC. They are being told that the 19" wheels will NOT fit the P85D due to the larger brakes/rotors. They are saying (as others have noted in this thread) that the website is in error allowing folks to select 19" winter wheels. I'm really hoping that's not true. Guess we'll all find out soon.

You're not the only one. One person talked to 6 different Tesla employees and were told by all that 19s will not fit on the new P85D. Thread here: P85D conflicting information on ordering with 19 inch Winter rims

 

[andrewket]

I just re-asked this question of Tesla via email. I will report back. If the answer is that the 19's are not compatible, I may have kept my P85+. No joke.