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19" Turbine Wheel Solution
- Thread starter NJS1207
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- Driving Dynamics Model S
kevincwelch
Active Member
Yes.
Ordered the gunmetals, Michelin Xi3 tires, a wheel rack, and called the guys to get the black lug nuts. I inquired about optional center caps -- they only have the titanium color...no gunmetal color. I think that's odd. I'll be spraying mine with some black and then putting on the Tesla wheel cap stickers.
I've seen a pic somewhere in the forum of the gray 21's on white model s and they looked awesome!! The gunmetal is the same color as the Tesla gray. We have mc red and have both the gray 21's and the tirerack gunmetal 19's.
One thing I've noticed with the Xi3's is that they really can't handle lane changes under rapid P85 acceleration--like if you punch it while changing lanes to go around someone on the highway. It induces quite a bit of instability. The car was just realigned and rear toe links fixed, so I'm reasonably confident it's just the tire change from the 21's and nothing else. Temperatures in the 40s, so not really warm but probably a bit higher than ideal for the compound. Otherwise the tires seem pretty good for winters. Can anyone else getting Xi3's confirm what I'm experiencing?
I don't have the Xi3 tires, but to me that would be expected behaviour. Deep tread, lots of voids, flexible tread compound, and a more compliant belt structure all reduce stability during rapid lane changes. R2 and Blizzak would have the same behaviour.
Yes, even with the S85 at low-30s ambient temp the Xi3 gave me the same feeling. As Jerry says, not a big surprise.
deonb
Active Member
carrerascott
FUEL FTR
carrerascott
FUEL FTR
Nope those are just the gunmetal Rials. I painted the center cap black and put a red Tesla logo on it, but the wheels are right from Tire Rack.
SteveW25561
Member
I have the same wheels. The center cap has a Rial logo on it, and it creates a bit of texture -- is that visible through the paint?
carrerascott
FUEL FTR
Yeah but only if you look closely. I got some blank black ones I will probably replace them with, but the Rial ones with the paint isn't noticeable enough so I may not ever get around to it.
I'd stopped following this thread since I figured I'd always have 21's and tesla came out with 19's anyway, but revisited after discovering yet another flat today. I dreaded spending 1k simply on rears and knew my fronts would need replacing soon anyway.
So off to 19" winters I go, and then I discover this thread again and the gun metal rials. Awesome! I think I'm going to go with the xi3's and the road hazard protection. ~2k for new tires, wheels and protection made my day.
Thanks all.
So off to 19" winters I go, and then I discover this thread again and the gun metal rials. Awesome! I think I'm going to go with the xi3's and the road hazard protection. ~2k for new tires, wheels and protection made my day.
Thanks all.
mnx
2018 M3P
I did some very spirited driving on a local side road and I can certainly confirm that there is a significant change in handling with the Xi3s. It was a warm day, in the 50s. It felt like the tires were really squishy - like having play in the steering wheel. I can't say that it felt unsafe though. Under hard acceleration the traction control came on most of the time, but I found it coming on a lot with the PS2s as well - the car is new and I only had them a few days before getting the winters on.
I have a 2007 Audi S6 with Bridgestone LM-25 winter performance tires and they feel rock solid. I wanted better snow and ice performance with rear wheel drive on the Tesla - plus it's really expensive so I don't want to bang it up.
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justaddsun
Member
Yeah, this is early in NoVa to have winters. I was going to wait until T'giving weekend to put mine on in CT but they were just sitting there in the basement, staring at me, and I couldn't resist :smile:. It's been warm the last few days but the cold(er) snap arrives tonight.
justaddsun
Member
Actually I did this to my front 21, so figured it was time to get the winters on :-(. Now on to the alloy gators thread...
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