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18 or 20 inches rims

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I would go for smaller wheels, larger sidewalls on the tires. My friend's Model S has a noticeably smoother ride on the smaller wheels, that extra height on the tires helps absorb the bumps.
I agree 100%.

However I want the largest wheels. It will be a little rougher ride....but it will look amazingly cooler. ( not to my friends - but to me ).
 
I believe in the case of the model S, 21 inch wheels cost an extra $12k over the life of the vehicle.

21 inch Tires basically wear out twice as fast and cost twice as much. Then you pay an additional $4 or $5k to buy them over the stock rim/tires when purchasing the car.

I will likely buy the stock wheels on my model 3 and look for an aftermarket solution once my tires need to be replaced. This is the solution favored by savvy model s owners. Some living in colder climates actually use this trick to use stock tires as winter tires, and have nicer looking 20 inch wheels/tires for the warmer season.

I believe 20 inch aftermarket wheels/tires in the case of the model s look as good as teslas 21 inch wheels, cost a lot less, and don't wear out as fast.
 
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^^^ I agree with Xav. $4500 for teslas aftermarket wheels seems crazy to me. I went and did some searching last week - and you can buy some incredible looking aftermarket wheels for the model S for about $2000-3000 and that's for the over the top fancy ones. Not to mention this scenario: You order your model 3 with the larger size premium wheels option for estimated $4500. You only get the one set of premium wheels and it cost you an arm and a leg. While on the other hand you could order your M3 with the base wheel option, purchase beautiful aftermarket wheels, and enjoy have 2 sets of wheels and tires that you can switch out whenever you want. TLDR - buy base wheels and nice aftermarket wheels for the looks. Saves you around $2500 and you get the added benefit of a second set of wheels.
 
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For me it will be a question of aspect ratio. If larger wheels can have an aspect ration of 50 or higher I'll take them. If not I'll pass because I am unwilling to face both road hazards, worse ride and the lower efficiency of the larger wheels, if the aspect ratio reduces. With the higher ration I'll sacrifice a little range maybe, but not ride or longevity.
 
Tires for the 20's are really expensive. If you want a sporty look with the 18's just lower the car a little. If the offer the air suspension that would be easy. Also think of the weight saving from 18's = gains in acceleration and range.
 
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Tires for a 20" are a little more expensive but if you're in it for the looks then the cost is negligible as its probably under $400 difference each time you replace tires. I think slammed cars look good but its expensive to lower a car on something like coilovers or bags and I don't know that I would want to risk messing with the tesla or its warranty in that way TBH
 
Tires for the 20's are really expensive. If you want a sporty look with the 18's just lower the car a little. If the offer the air suspension that would be easy. Also think of the weight saving from 18's = gains in acceleration and range.

The overall diameter of the 18's is very similar to the 20's. The 18's have a higher numerical aspect ratio. Higher sidewall with more rim protection and a better ride.
 
17 or 18, whichever is standard for me here as well. I will (most likely) ultimately end up with 2 sets (summer and winter) so if I don't like the stock wheels, I'll make them my winter wheels and pick up a set of aftermarket rims with tires for the summer (which will still be 17 or 18" diameter since I think that is a sweet spot for wheel size). Tire rack has some solid options for the S for reasonable pricing, I assume they will have plenty of options that fit the 3 as well.
 
In addition to having a larger diameter and lower--profile tires, the optional, upgraded wheels are wider than the standard wheels. I prefer wide tires on my car. I think it looks better when the tires fill up the wheel-well.

Ideally, I'd take the smaller diameter, but with a larger width. But that's not going to be offered by Tesla.
 
Zoomed in photos of the alpha and release candidates indicate 20" wheels with 275/30-R20 tires.


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