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tomsax
Member
That's correct, Continental Extreme Contact DWS, 225/45ZR17 on the rear and 195/50ZR16 on the front. They worked out very well, seemed to have good energy efficiency and also seemed quieter than the AD07's. I didn't get to drive them in deep snow, but they performed well in heavy rain, slush and some ice.
I've been a long-time fan of Discount Tire. They had always been great for us, right up until I took our Roadster there.
We were still looking for options for other wheels and they wanted to measure them. I pulled it into the bay and showed them the owners manual with the lift point. They couldn't be bothered and the young guy was ready to start jacking one side up on the wrong place. I had to physically stop him, and get a different guy to look at the diagram and figure it out. I decided that was the last time the Roadster would be in their hands.
They couldn't find any options for wheels that looked good and matched front and rear, so we bought a set of the base Roadster wheels and a set of TPMS sensors from Tesla.
Since I ordered tires that aren't on Tesla's recommended list (although they acknowledged that owners have had good results), they declined to mount the tires. So, I took the wheels and TPMS sensors to Discount Tire to mount them. They said they knew how to mount the sensors. I then took the mounted tires, swapped them onto the car myself, and the TPMS sensors didn't work. I would get an alert after driving for a few minutes. I double-checked with Discount Tire to make sure they had installed the right sensors (they also sell TPMS sensors that aren't compatible). They said they did. So I called up Tesla and told them the story.
Tesla sent two techs out to our house, and they drove the Roadster back to the Seattle service center. They found that the TPMS sensors weren't mounted correctly. They key is to make sure the sensors are in contact with the wheel, and torqued to 4 nm on the stem side. Here's a picture of what the sensor should look like when mounted.
Tesla also claimed that the wheels weren't balanced properly, the tech noticed a vibration on the drive to the service center at freeway speeds. (I hadn't driven it above 30 mph when testing the TPMS.) So, they rebalanced the wheels, and said it drove much better on the way back. The tires and TPMS sensors worked flawlessly through the winter. When I switched back to the summer wheels/tires, the car picked up the other sensors without a single alert.
Amazingly, Tesla didn't charge me anything for fixing Discount Tires' mistakes.
Sorry for the late replay on this, but better late than never...
I'm running the Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Position tires on the rear right now (still original AD07s on the front). I bought these before I figured out how badly my Roadster's rear alignment was and was trying to find something that would give me more than 6-7K miles. Well, these were a BIG mistake. Although they seem to be a good match in terms of size (ie. no regen TC issues), they just aren't soft/grippy enough. I cannot take off on a straight line on flat dry pavement without TC kicking in because they just don't have the grip. I found the previous Continental ExtremeContact DWS and the Michelan Pilot Super Sports to both provide enough grip for hard takeoffs, but the Protenzas are just not up to the task.
Next change (which may be long before these Potenzas wear out) will be back to the Michelan Pilot Super Sports, unless the fronts are ready to be replaced, in which case I'll consider moving all 4 to the Continental ExtremeContact DWS. Did I read Tom right, in that the Continentals performed well (in terms of TC issues) when pairing them on the fronts as well?
tomsax
Member
Thanks for the update on the Bridgestones. It's good to know what doesn't work to save others from doing the same experiment!
Yes, that's correct. I didn't do any two-footed drag race launches, but I didn't notice any more TC flickers than with the AD07s.
I put the new Dunlops on yesterday and boy are they quiet! What a difference! I imagine any new tires would have been quieter than my old "AD07"s? The rears were worn thru and were cupped on the insides. No TC problems with the Dunlops. One significant difference is that they squeal when lit up as opposed to the Yokos. I don't know why that is? Maybe it's because of the Dunlop's harder compound? I was expecting more wheel spin with the new tires but it doesn't look that way so far, more testing required! :biggrin:
I got a week of driving in with the Continental ExtremeContact DWS paired with stock fronts.
First, the Continentals are waaaay more quiet than AD07's. I'm talking big time difference here, night and day. Second, they ride way nicer too. Going over bumps and stuff is much more refined now.
However, I am getting TC light coming on during city driving. Usually on the final 20mph and below. So during city driving, I would accelerate on green light, and during slow down for the next set of traffic lights, TC would come on for a second or so. Not a big deal but I'm so used to aggressive regen, I expect a certain amount of deceleration and when its not there, I gotta use the brakes. A little surprising at the beginning but used to it now.
Overall, with the cheaper price, improved noise, improved ride, longer treadlife, I'm very happy with these.
First, the Continentals are waaaay more quiet than AD07's. I'm talking big time difference here, night and day. Second, they ride way nicer too. Going over bumps and stuff is much more refined now.
However, I am getting TC light coming on during city driving. Usually on the final 20mph and below. So during city driving, I would accelerate on green light, and during slow down for the next set of traffic lights, TC would come on for a second or so. Not a big deal but I'm so used to aggressive regen, I expect a certain amount of deceleration and when its not there, I gotta use the brakes. A little surprising at the beginning but used to it now.
Overall, with the cheaper price, improved noise, improved ride, longer treadlife, I'm very happy with these.
Sorry I didn't respond sooner, I just saw this tonight. The Dunlop is the Direzza 101. Fronts are 195/50R16 and the rears are 225/45/R17.
ChadS
Last tank of gas: March 2009
You're getting TC on slowdown with the DWS? I have those (paired with AD07 on the fronts at first; now all four tires are DWSs) and I haven't run in to that. Perhaps it's just that your tires are new and the mold release hasn't all come off. Or perhaps our tire management firmware is different...I have a 2.0, and this is the 1.5 thread, and I've heard the two differ, though I'm not sure just how.
In any event, I'm happy with the DWSs for around town. The only issue is that I sometimes get TC on acceleration (more often on dry pavement than wet, which I've never understood). They also seemed a bit squirmy when I tried emergency braking on a track once.
Try reducing the difference of rear versus front psi. In other words, where Tesla recommends 30F/40R reduce that 10psi difference to 7 psi, thus using (for example) 31F/38R. See what happens and report back. HTH.
The 2.0+ has a "Tire Learning" mode that does not exist on the 1.5. Also the 1.5 is less tolerant to a change in rpm (Revs-per-mile, or (basically) tire diameter).
Sorry, can't report back because I actually returned them. The DWS tires started out great, but as time went by, the TC came on more and more. It got to basically no traction control happens at 30mph deceleration.
I have since switched to Dunlop Direzza (sp?) as reported by Pantera Dude. It started out great. After 100 miles now or so, I'm getting just a hint of TC on inconsistent speed zones. If this doesn't work out, I'll just go with changing all 4 tires either with DWS or Dunlop.
I have since switched to Dunlop Direzza (sp?) as reported by Pantera Dude. It started out great. After 100 miles now or so, I'm getting just a hint of TC on inconsistent speed zones. If this doesn't work out, I'll just go with changing all 4 tires either with DWS or Dunlop.
I probably should have mentioned this but it just dawned on me, that the only time I use the TC is if the road is wet. Other than that, I drive without it. When I fire the car up for a drive, I turn the headlights on, reset the odometer and turn off the TC. So it is possible that I could experience a problem using the TC. I'm not sure I've even driven the car with the TC engaged on the Dunlops? I'm sorry if my recommendation has caused you or anyone else a problem.
After reading this entire thread, I can't figure out if there is any tire besides the AD07 that runs on the 1.5 without TC or regen problems.
It's a shame Tesla did not add the firmware code for tire learning to the 1.5. That seems to be a cheap solution and easy too.
Are we stuck with the AD07s for ever?
It's a shame Tesla did not add the firmware code for tire learning to the 1.5. That seems to be a cheap solution and easy too.
Are we stuck with the AD07s for ever?
Not true. The Continentals didn't work for me because I only changed out the rear and not the fronts. Tom and others had great experiences with the Continentals when all 4's are changed.
I'm currently using Pantera's Dunlop Direzza. It has very minimal TC issues (only the first couple of times of regen occurance per trip, remainder of the trip is just fine.). Pantera drives with TC off so I kinda jumped the gun on it but its working fine. Very happy with them.
I'm currently using Pantera's Dunlop Direzza. It has very minimal TC issues (only the first couple of times of regen occurance per trip, remainder of the trip is just fine.). Pantera drives with TC off so I kinda jumped the gun on it but its working fine. Very happy with them.
wiztecy
Active Member
Talk to Rob Dietsch, I discussed this with him and we spent some time talking about the revolutions matching the AD07's. He has a few tires that he says will last longer and be stickier than the Yoko's. I'm running the AD08's in the rear, cheaper and better than the AD07s. Same rev's as the AD07 so no TC issue. I may move up to the 195 fronts to make things work out better. I have 23k on the Roadster now, went through 1 set of rears around 12.5k, the AD08s appear to be holding up longer. My fronts are wearing on the inner like the rears due to the camber. So I'm about due on the next round for a full 4 tire swap.
I think a firmware change was incompatible with the 1.5 for some reason or else they'd have done it. Although many hardware issues can be resolved via software so I would think it is do-able. The 1.5 has a totally different TPMS system which I think might be the limitation as well as Tesla resources / focus at the time.
I will talk to Rob. I am surprised the Continentals worked. The rev/mile for the fronts are off 864 vs 882 for stock.
This will likely confuse the TC since relative rpm is one of the variables in determining slip.
I worry about TC coming on continuously for any length of time greater than a few seconds. The impact on the braking system is high and then there's the wear on the pads.
tomsax
Member
I have the Continental DWS Extremes all around and ran them for five months last winter on our v1.5 without any unusual TCS activity. I recently put them on for this winter and drove them on a 360-mile round trip to Portland without any issue.
It's great to have the quieter tires back on the car.
It's great to have the quieter tires back on the car.
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