1.5 Roadster Tire Thread

[jerry33]

Here's a thought on the rear tire diameter issue. If the tire diameter is too large, how about just lowering the pressure? Seems like that would reduce the effective diameter? And since the problem seems not to extist during acceleration, perhaps that is due to the car squating which should again reduce the rear tire diameter?

Nope, won't work. The revolutions per mile of a tire (which is what we're concerned about here) are dictated by the steel belts. Even at extremely low pressures (example 10 psi vs. 40 psi) the revs per mile won't vary enough to matter (probably less than 0.5% depending on tread depth and hysteresis). That would have worked with bias-ply tires because the revs per mile varied greatly with the pressure (30% to 40% was not uncommon). And there are a lot of other reasons to not lower the pressure.

VXF's solution of software change is the correct answer.

 

[Doug_G]

I look forward to honing in on the "miles traveled" to wear point that everything is normal.

Could always do what the racers do for best grip - shave your tires!

(I guess that might undermine the whole idea of getting less expensive performance tires...)

Have you tried the AD08's? That's what I run on my 2.0's rears. They're a lot less expensive than the AD07's and they work very well.

 

[vfx]

....
Have you tried the AD08's? That's what I run on my 2.0's rears. They're a lot less expensive than the AD07's and they work very well.

Not ruled them out. Will upgrade if I'm ultimately not happy. So far they are a solid O,K.

 

[dhrivnak]

I have the Continental DWS extreme contact tires on my Roadster. At less than half the price and 2X the tread life, actual not rating, and I have been pleased. I get some T/C on deceleration when new for about the first mile of driving, once the tires heat up a little the T/C stays off. Launches are just fine and on a clean dry road no T/C light. Since the car has significant understeer to me the car is slightly better balanced with the Yokohama AD07 on the front and the Continentals on the rear. The tires are also rated for snow which I hope to try out this year.

 

[j-g]

Anyone look at or install Bridgestone Potenza RE 970 AS Pole position tires on the rear? According to specs, they are identical size to the AD07's with 835 revs/mile and come with a tread life warranty. Test results on Tire Rak look good too.

 

[wiztecy]

Switched over to the AD08s from the AD07s and they look, feel, and work great. Got 14,200 miles out of the AD07s, will see how far the AD08s will last. You can burn the AD07s on the wear bars for a long time, just keep an eye on it. I wore them down to the last rubber layer right before the belts on the inner (not outer) side of tires. Note the inside of the tires will wear allot more than the outside!! Make sure to be careful in the rain and turns. I was amazed the Roadster didn't show any signs of Hydroplaning, I'm sure its due to weight favored towards the rear. I know if you hit a patch hard and fast enough (around a turn for the most part) it will, just physics. I also heard the AD08s go a little further than the AD07s. I had no issues with TC with hard launching or hard regen. What was odd was that the Tesla Service Manager recommended to get new front AD07s, he said if the TC light came on that would fix it due to the wear differences. I was confident it wouldn't and told him I highly doubt it will since the AD07s have the same rev's as the AD08s. Love the tread pattern of the AD08s. My neighbor saw them and said they looked very racy!

 

[smorgasbord]

I just want to urge people to be careful driving Roadsters in the rain with tires that have less than 3/32" of tread remaining (wear bars at at 2/32", btw). Despite TC, people have lost control of their Roadster in rain and on freeways. I saw a car in Menlo Park that had fishtailed out and smashed into the center rail. It had worn tires.

Yes, you can push the tread depth safety margin if it's dry. While on the East Coast it can rain anytime of the year, here in CA it's typically dry from May through August. So, if you're lucky enough to be wearing out your tires in the Spring, you can probably get through the summer before needing to replace them before the first rain.

Without enough tread depth there's nowhere for the water to do, so your car can hydroplane. Here's a good article on it from Tire Rack.

If you feel you must drive on worn out tires in the rain, putting the car in range mode will prevent you from applying maximum torque. But, really, replace your tires when they're worn.

 

[Doug_G]

Totally agree. The tread does nothing on dry pavement - there's a reason racing slicks exist. But in wet conditions the tread is there to channel the water away. I have experienced hydroplaning at highway speeds in the Roadster (new tires were already on order but the tread was thinner than I realized). I got off the highway immediately as it is much less likely to happen at lower speeds. Standing water is especially dangerous. Don't take a chance with this!

 

[jerry33]

Totally agree. The tread does nothing on dry pavement - there's a reason racing slicks exist. But in wet conditions the tread is there to channel the water away. I have experienced hydroplaning at highway speeds in the Roadster (new tires were already on order but the tread was thinner than I realized). I got off the highway immediately as it is much less likely to happen at lower speeds. Standing water is especially dangerous. Don't take a chance with this!

Hydroplaning happens when the wedge of water that builds up in front of the tires is equal to or greater than the air pressure of the tires. Tread reduces this pressure raising the speed at which a given tread width tire will hydroplane (given the same inflation pressure).

 

[wiztecy]

100% agree on the hydroplaning warnings, and if its raining people should swap out their tires at those wear marks. Not much to channel at those wear marks (so be cautions there as well) but its some small place for water to go and every bit helps. Was lucky that we didn't get any serious consecutive rains here in Cali this winter. When I did drive the roadster I was driving very conservative, also I wouldn't push the fronts that far in a million years since that's disaster brewing.

One thing to note, when you hydroplane its essentially as if your wheels are on ice and where your inertia is focused is where you and your car will eventually end up.

Highway 17 is hell for driving in the rain, I'd push the roadster to its limit on the worn tires heading up the hill and on straits but never down the hill nor on turns and not over 50. I also was very cautious of others around me which is a big thing when being on the road and knowing you, your car, and its current driving limits.

 

[Jackyche]

I'm about to change my first set of rears. After reading this thread and other 2.5 threads on tires, here's what I summarized for a 1.5

3 choices in addition to stock that will not have any significant loss of regen or resulting in traction control coming on:

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus - possible tread life warranty
Continental Extreme Contact DWS
Yokohama AD08

Unverified 4th choice but with identical rev/mile as stock:
Bridgestone Potenza RE 970 AS Pole Position

Anything else anyone would like to add?

 

[tomsax]

We recently put Continental Extreme Contact DWS all around on our v1.5 as Seattle "winter" tires. So far, they seem great, quieter, no traction control issues, and the efficiency seems at least as good at the originals. We also bought a second set of rims, which was more of an ordeal that I expected especially considering we ended up buying wheels from Tesla. I can write up what we learned, or PM me if you're looking to purchase a second set of wheels.

 

[Pantera Dude]

We'll if its a bug, its a bug that the car forgets the tire size when going into sleep mode.

This is the second set of tires I've put on the car, no problem previously with the AD07, problem with new 25 inch tire. I also have a second set of rims with Kumho ECSTA V710s and they have no problem as they are normal sized tires.

My rear Yoko AD07's are worn out so I'm doing a little tire research. The Kumho's worked for Frequencydip which surprises me a bit. The rpm's for that tire are shown as 830 where some folks have had slight regen/TC problems with tires that are closer to the Yoko's 835 rpm. I don't understand why, any ideas?

 

[Pantera Dude]

My rear Yoko AD07's are worn out so I'm doing a little tire research. The Kumho's worked for Frequencydip which surprises me a bit. The rpm's for that tire are shown as 830 where some folks have had slight regen/TC problems with tires that are closer to the Yoko's 835 rpm. I don't understand why, any ideas?

For example: Btown's Michelin's gave him a slight problem and their rpm is 833, very close it seems? The rpm ratio of the stock AD07's rear to front is .946 to 1. The ratio of the Michelin rear to the AD07 front is .944 to 1. Two thousandth's difference, hard to believe that would have any effect? Tom Saxton's Continental Extreme Contact DWS have a ratio of .958 for a difference of twelve thousandth's over stock, assuming he is running the 195/50-16's on front. How can that be?

- - - Updated - - -

I've found a promising option for the 1.5. It is the Dunlop Direzza DZ101 at Tirerack. The 225/45-17 has an rpm of 837, the front would be the 195/50-16 which has the identical 882 rpm of the AD07 175/55-16. The rear to front ratio is .948 as opposed to the Yoko's .946. What might help here is that the rear Dunlop is slightly smaller than the stock tire unlike the other slightly larger rear tires that have caused problems. You also have to love the price of the Dunlops, $76 for the fronts and $92 for the rears! :biggrin:

 

[bart513]

Do you save any significant money buying tires/wheels outside of Tesla?

 

[Doug_G]

Yes, last time I changed tires I found the stock AD07's were cheaper at Tire Rack.

 

[Pantera Dude]

For example: Btown's Michelin's gave him a slight problem and their rpm is 833, very close it seems? The rpm ratio of the stock AD07's rear to front is .946 to 1. The ratio of the Michelin rear to the AD07 front is .944 to 1. Two thousandth's difference, hard to believe that would have any effect? Tom Saxton's Continental Extreme Contact DWS have a ratio of .958 for a difference of twelve thousandth's over stock, assuming he is running the 195/50-16's on front. How can that be?

- - - Updated - - -

I've found a promising option for the 1.5. It is the Dunlop Direzza DZ101 at Tirerack. The 225/45-17 has an rpm of 837, the front would be the 195/50-16 which has the identical 882 rpm of the AD07 175/55-16. The rear to front ratio is .948 as opposed to the Yoko's .946. What might help here is that the rear Dunlop is slightly smaller than the stock tire unlike the other slightly larger rear tires that have caused problems. You also have to love the price of the Dunlops, $76 for the fronts and $92 for the rears! :biggrin:

Have any of you tried the Dunlops?

 

[strider]

Have any of you tried the Dunlops?

There's some talk in the 2.5 tire thread:
2.5 Roadster / Roadster Sport Tire Thread - Page 49

 

[Pantera Dude]

There's some talk in the 2.5 tire thread:
2.5 Roadster / Roadster Sport Tire Thread - Page 49

Good tip! Thanks strider, I hadn't even thought about checking the 2.5 thread. DOH. :biggrin:

 

[Jackyche]

Good tip! Thanks strider, I hadn't even thought about checking the 2.5 thread. DOH. :biggrin:

The 2.5 thread doesn't really apply to us 1.5 owners because their car has a learn tire feature.

I'll be changing my rear to Bridgestone in a month or two at discount tires. They gave a 30 day thing so if its no good, ill just go with the continental extreme contact (which they have in stock).