Wheel Bolt Pattern?

[nrcooled]

> break down the numbers [nrcooled]

These are not the figures that others have previously posted here & the ones I'm working with. So where did you derive each one??

These were derived from my napkin drawings to figure out the ideal fitment for me.

1. Revs/mile since not provided by TM must be calculated by math from tire (inflated) circumference. If the TStore has a loose tire/rim use your tape. Then derate for weight on tire. Probably be easier & more accurate to use industry data for tire size, which is what I did.

Not that concerned about this since the tire and wheel combo will be VERY close to stock circumference. I am looking at a +/- 5% difference which isn't enough impact to have a great effect on my driving or the car.

2. Offset posted here is +40mm, so where did you get your figures?? BMW using identical 5x120 has 42+mm offset, presumably with similar calipers.

My figures, again, come from my napkin drawings. The disclaimer I put at the bottom of my post "Disclaimer: This is not the ideal fitment for wheels but one which I am willing to sacrifice some function for form." is just that. I am looking for a particular style and fitment that isn't the ideal since the ideal would be to just keep the stock wheels/tires. If I am going to change the look of the car I am going to do it to fit my personality and style.

3. BMW center bore is 72.56mm, but you just need to clear that (hub-centric is for sissies). If ModelS has a bigger hub we can just machine it out. But 72.56mm is among the largest center holes used.
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The company that will be building my wheels is sending me a test wheel for a fitment check. I'll report back if there is anything crazy but most aftermarket wheels should fit.

 

[artsci]

Took some measurements at the Menlo Park store today. The bolt pattern is 5 X 120. The hub diameter appears to be 57mm but I couldn't get a precise measurement, so that might be off, but not by much. Also could not measure the wheel bolt size and thread. Also took some photos of the wheel hub and bolt hole pattern from the front and back in the hope that might help. Here they are:

 

[EarlyAdopter]

Tirerack.com now dispalys many 19" and 20" wheel options for the Model S:

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/results.jsp?filterSize=All&filterFinish=All&filterBrand=All&filterWeight=All&autoMake=Tesla&autoModel=Model+S&autoYear=2012&autoModClar=&sort=Brand&filterNew=All&filterSpecial=false

I have no experience with aftermarket wheels, though. Does anyone know if you can trust that Tirerack.com has the correct bolt pattern/offset?

I've ordered many a set of winter wheels from tirerack and never had a problem with fitment. I would recommend getting wheels with the exact hub diameter though, as hub centering rings (spacers) are a royal pain in the ass to deal with if you change out your own wheels. They get stuck to hubs, fall out while trying to mount, get wedged in at an angle. Just makes the whole wheel change process an ordeal. I hate em hate em hate em.

 

[mnx]

I'll second that! They're made out of flimsy plastic so they break easily too.

I've ordered many a set of winter wheels from tirerack and never had a problem with fitment. I would recommend getting wheels with the exact hub diameter though, as hub centering rings (spacers) are a royal pain in the ass to deal with if you change out your own wheels. They get stuck to hubs, fall out while trying to mount, get wedged in at an angle. Just makes the whole wheel change process an ordeal. I hate em hate em hate em.

 

[jerry33]

I've ordered many a set of winter wheels from tirerack and never had a problem with fitment. I would recommend getting wheels with the exact hub diameter though, as hub centering rings (spacers) are a royal pain in the ass to deal with if you change out your own wheels. They get stuck to hubs, fall out while trying to mount, get wedged in at an angle. Just makes the whole wheel change process an ordeal. I hate em hate em hate em.

And it's really easy to lose a wheel during cornering if you have them on. They also tend to cause uneven tire wear and vibration.

 

[NJS1207]

TUNERSHOP in Arizona is offering 19"x8.5 Rial Lugano wheels with a 5x120 bolt pattern, 32mm offset and a 72.6mm centerbore. In terms of looks, these tires are very similar to Tesla's stock 21" wheels. Based on artsci's measurements above, it looks like Telsa's hub diameter on the Model S is about 57mm, so there would be a 15.6mm mismatch. Given the commentary above about the problems that can come from different centerbore sizes, I am worried that I might be asking for trouble going with this option. Any thoughts?

 

[Robert.Boston]

Based on artsci's measurements above, it looks like Telsa's hub diameter on the Model S is about 57mm, so there would be a 15.6mm mismatch. Given the commentary above about the problems that can come from different centerbore sizes, I am worried that I might be asking for trouble going with this option. Any thoughts?

You're asking for trouble. Find something with a matching hub diameter.

 

[Andrew Wolfe]

TireRack takes this stuff very seriously and has developed industry leading expertise in wheel fitment. I would confirm the fitment with one of their specialists on the phone - but I would definitely trust them over almost anyone.

 

[wycolo]

I'm using 750 rpm since both 19in and 21in tire sizes listed by TM correlate to that figure. Of course any given brand could turn faster or slower, but the industry standard should be, err, a standard. Tesla's systems should be happiest when given this parameter and the speedo/odo will remain accurate. The 17in set of snows waiting patiently here for their ModelS are also spec'd at 750 revs per mile.
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[artsci]

TireRack takes this stuff very seriously and has developed industry leading expertise in wheel fitment. I would confirm the fitment with one of their specialists on the phone - but I would definitely trust them over almost anyone.

Update: Just bit the bullet and got Tire Rack on the phone. They told me the wheel bore was 64mm.

Couldn't agree more. I I've almost always upgraded my wheels and Tire Rack as been totally dependable.

FYI, my measurements of of the hub diameter were taken on the outside of the wheel hub bore. I really don't know how these measurements are done, so mine might be wrong. The inside, as the photos below show for both the 21" and 19" Tesla wheels, is much wider. So I'm guessing the 72.6 center bore for the Rail Lugano wheels could be correct. Tire Rack will know these dimensions.

21"

19"

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[KBF]

Any current ideas for "aero" wheels that might fit? I tried searching tire rack, but couldn't find anything like what was discussed in this old thread. I guess 18" wheels are not an option? There was some talk that they might work, but that was before production vehicles were on the road.

 

[artsci]

Any current ideas for "aero" wheels that might fit? I tried searching tire rack, but couldn't find anything like what was discussed in this old thread. I guess 18" wheels are not an option? There was some talk that they might work, but that was before production vehicles were on the road.

So far nothing has been found. Aesthetically, there are some good choices but the bolt pattern and/or center bore are not right. But let's all keep searching.

 

[jerry33]

Probably the best way to make good looking Aero wheels is to make the spokes tear-dropped shaped rather than turbine. That's how it's done with bicycle aerodynamic spokes. Note that this would require a right and left wheel. The disk that Tesla originally showed didn't look good because it tried to look like a spoked wheel when it was really a disk. A disk would look good but airflow is poor in a plain disk so that's probably not the best option.

 

[Cottonwood]

Well, I've got the 19" wheels with snow tires mounted in my garage, it getting cold and snowy, the 21" wheels with performance tires are getting less attractive, and its time to change the wheels/tires.

Does anyone know the torque recommendations for the lug nuts on the Model S?

 

[KBF]

@jerry33 or others, is there a good reason not to just get steel rims for my winter tires? I need winter tires now, but Tesla is coming out with aeros down the road that might be worth waiting for. Do 19" steel rims even exist that would fit the pattern/offset? Has anyone found out if we can go with 18", or doesn't that work with the brakes? Thanks very much!

 

[ElSupreme]

@jerry33 or others, is there a good reason not to just get steel rims for my winter tires? I need winter tires now, but Tesla is coming out with aeros down the road that might be worth waiting for. Do 19" steel rims even exist that would fit the pattern/offset? Has anyone found out if we can go with 18", or doesn't that work with the brakes? Thanks very much!

About 3 years ago I went in search of a 17" steel wheel to fit my GTI and had no luck. I was told basically anything above 16" is AL alloy only. And even the 16" steel wheel like my 'full sized' temporary spare are hard to get.

EDIT: But to answer your questions there isn't any real reason to get alloy wheels over steel ones.

 

[KBF]

About 3 years ago I went in search of a 17" steel wheel to fit my GTI and had no luck. I was told basically anything above 16" is AL alloy only. And even the 16" steel wheel like my 'full sized' temporary spare are hard to get.

EDIT: But to answer your questions there isn't any real reason to get alloy wheels over steel ones.

I'm pretty sure that these wheels have the wrong bolt pattern, but from what I gather they are 19.5". Maybe they have more, but Canadian Tire doesn't have Tesla listed as a manufacturer, so I can't do a search online. Maybe I'll try later when I'm on a real computer instead of my smartphone. I know little about wheels, and I don't want to waste $1000 on wrong rims.

 

[jerry33]

@jerry33 or others, is there a good reason not to just get steel rims for my winter tires? I need winter tires now, but Tesla is coming out with aeros down the road that might be worth waiting for. Do 19" steel rims even exist that would fit the pattern/offset? Has anyone found out if we can go with 18", or doesn't that work with the brakes? Thanks very much!

It's like El Supreme says, nothing wrong with it but good luck in finding any. The reason high performance cars don't use steel wheels is that at high lateral G forces the steel can stretch and be pulled over the wheels nuts. This generally doesn't lead to good results.

Still waiting for someone to try 18" wheels.

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I'm pretty sure that these wheels have the wrong bolt pattern, but from what I gather they are 19.5". Maybe they have more, but Canadian Tire doesn't have Tesla listed as a manufacturer, so I can't do a search online. Maybe I'll try later when I'm on a real computer instead of my smartphone. I know little about wheels, and I don't want to waste $1000 on wrong rims.

19.5" wheels are for light trucks. They take 19.5" tires. These tires have a 15[SUP]o[/SUP] bead seat rather than a 5[SUP]o[/SUP] bead seat like tires that have an even inch nominal rim diameter have. No car tire will fit on these wheels and most light truck tires won't either. These are basically scaled down highway truck tires (18 wheelers).

The link didn't work, but in the link there was the description "multi-fit". This refers to the bolt holes in the wheel. They take various inserts to make them work with multiple bolt circles. Do not use these kind of wheels. I can't say that strongly enough. You will have no end of problems with them.

 

[KBF]

It's like El Supreme says, nothing wrong with it but good luck in finding any. The reason high performance cars don't use steel wheels is that at high lateral G forces the steel can stretch and be pulled over the wheels nuts. This generally doesn't lead to good results.

Still waiting for someone to try 18" wheels.

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19.5" wheels are for light trucks. They take 19.5" tires. These tires have a 15[SUP]o[/SUP] bead seat rather than a 5[SUP]o[/SUP] bead seat like tires that have an even inch nominal rim diameter have. No car tire will fit on these wheels and most light truck tires won't either. These are basically scaled down highway truck tires (18 wheelers).

The link didn't work, but in the link there was the description "multi-fit". This refers to the bolt holes in the wheel. They take various inserts to make them work with multiple bolt circles. Do not use these kind of wheels. I can't say that strongly enough. You will have no end of problems with them.

Thanks, that's very helpful. Maybe I'll just play it safe and get Tesla to do my winter set.

 

[William13]

Cottonwood,
The Tesla service rep putting on my winter wheels said: 170 Newton/meters of force. This looked to be around 50-70 pounds at 1.5 feet. Use a torque wrench or do a formal conversion if you want it right. You will need to take it in for the TPMS to be synced if you don't use them from your summer wheels.