18 or 20 inches rims

[david_42]

No debate, 18" or even smaller. Potholes, lots and lots of potholes. I've seen wheels shatter because the 3-4 cm of rubber between the road and rim with a 30 profile tire isn't enough to pad the rim. And curbs, and low center dividers. There's a guy down the street who has busted three rims on his BMW (and an equal number of air dams). Got to wonder about someone who spends thousands installing a supercharger and trick suspension, but can't keep the car on the road.

 

[03DSG]

I believe 275/30/20 (silver alpha) will not make it to initial production. Was done for show/looks/stance. Could potentially be the rear tires on the PD version but I doubt it. The MS uses 245's in 19 and 21. The smaller lighter M3 most likely won't use 245's as 225's will be sufficient and have less rolling resistance.

M3?
275/30/20 has an overall diameter of 26.5"
225/40/20 has an overall diameter of 27.1" my guess for the 20"

235/45/18 has an overall diameter of 26.3"
225/50/18 has an overall diameter of 26.9" my guess for the 18"

Model S (bigger and heavier):

245/45/19 has an overall diameter of 27.0"
245/35/21 has an overall diameter of 27.8"

 

[Justmurr]

This thread might have me changing my mind...I had always envisioned trying to fit in the premium wheel upgrade and then picking up another set for winter in the after market but some of the points raised here are certainly making me think twice. Maybe i should just go standard wheel. I have my eye on the matte grey Model3, thus figured on Tesla's black wheels via upgrade but there's plenty of great looking wheels out there in the $2500 range.
Just like any of the option costs though... won't know any actual actuals until config-time.

 

[03DSG]

This thread might have me changing my mind...I had always envisioned trying to fit in the premium wheel upgrade and then picking up another set for winter in the after market but some of the points raised here are certainly making me think twice. Maybe i should just go standard wheel. I have my eye on the matte grey Model3, thus figured on Tesla's black wheels via upgrade but there's plenty of great looking wheels out there in the $2500 range.
Just like any of the option costs though... won't know any actual actuals until config-time.

Exactly. I have to wait to see the price of any wheel upgrade. I won't need a second as we have an AWD Escape with a second full winter set.

 

[TomatoOne]

A 275 width tire seems awfully wide to me for a non-P model.

These are definitely showroom wheels. There's no reason to have a tire that wide on a production Model 3.

 

[pkalhan]

I recently test drove a Model S P90D with 21 inch wheels and was very surprised how smooth the ride was and how there was a lack of road noise. Not sure if that was due to the size of the car and its wheel base. Maybe the 3 being smaller and having a smaller wheel base would result in a rougher ride.

 

[FlyNavy01]

No debate, 18" or even smaller. Potholes, lots and lots of potholes. I've seen wheels shatter because the 3-4 cm of rubber between the road and rim with a 30 profile tire isn't enough to pad the rim. And curbs, and low center dividers. There's a guy down the street who has busted three rims on his BMW (and an equal number of air dams). Got to wonder about someone who spends thousands installing a supercharger and trick suspension, but can't keep the car on the road.

A 3-4cm sidewall would mean a tire size of 225/15/18 which is pretty extreme and I doubt even exists. Even the aggressively low-profile 20 inch alpha's had 3.2" sidewalls (over 8cm). I do agree that low profile certainly means a stiffer ride, but many enthusiasts (such as myself) prefer that as it gives a better feeling/connection to the road. I think the pothole debate on this sub is a little overblown as I drove around exclusively on low-profile tires for 10 years in the Portland area and never experienced a problem. Obviously your mileage may vary depending in location/driving style, but most modern premium alloy wheels these days won't "shatter" and if they do you must be driving in some pretty extreme circumstances.

 

[Jayc]

Don't see the point in an EV with a silky smooth drivetrain to then let all the road noise and texture in, just doesn't add up but then that's just me. Got a friend who drives to work in a lotus elise because he loves the 1-1 connection with the road but with that engine noise and ultra stiff suspension it makes sense. Not in a Model 3 though.