19" vs 20" Snow Tires?

[Michelx]

Stephen thank you,i will receive my 5 seat X about 1 week or 2 before that.

 

[toothcarpenter]

I just bought 19" black wheels and Blizzack tires from tirerack.com. The rumor is 19" is a better ride and works better in snow. Total out of pocket with taxes and shipping was $2107. I have always had Blizzacks on our other cars and they always have performed well for me. They also test well with Consumer Reports. It seems like my research shows the Pirelli's are better for dry/wet pavement at cold temps, but Blizzacks and others do better with snow and ice. Easy to work with and no one including Costco could touch the price. Should be here in a few days. Now I just need to pick up my Model X friday! Looks like I may be rolling home thru the snow on the all weather tires - so I'll see how squirrley the MX is without snow tires. Tirerack should do a head to head Pirelli vs Blizzacks on the Teslas and then hit the forums with the results - could be some money to be made.

 

[goneskiian]

Yup. If you're not afraid of doing some shopping, there are deals to be had over what Tesla and TSportline offer for winter set ups.

 

[evanevery]

I just bought 19" black wheels and Blizzack tires from tirerack.com. The rumor is 19" is a better ride and works better in snow. Total out of pocket with taxes and shipping was $2107. I have always had Blizzacks on our other cars and they always have performed well for me. They also test well with Consumer Reports. It seems like my research shows the Pirelli's are better for dry/wet pavement at cold temps, but Blizzacks and others do better with snow and ice. Easy to work with and no one including Costco could touch the price. Should be here in a few days. Now I just need to pick up my Model X friday! Looks like I may be rolling home thru the snow on the all weather tires - so I'll see how squirrley the MX is without snow tires. Tirerack should do a head to head Pirelli vs Blizzacks on the Teslas and then hit the forums with the results - could be some money to be made.

I put Blizzaks on my truck (GMC 2500 Sierra) but Scorpions on my ModelX. In my experience, the Blizzaks will have slightly better traction in snow and ice, but the Pirelli's still have great winter performance for a sportier vehicle. The Pirelli's will take the snow and ice without a problem, but will do much better on relatively clean pavement than the Blizzaks. I've been using both tires for years on different vehicles. I've always put the Scorpions on sportier vehicles though (ModelX, BMW X6M, Infiniti FX45) and put the Blizzaks on my truckier vehicles. You'll find the Scorpions are much quieter on the road than the Blizzaks and perform much better on dry/wet pavement. The Scorpions are just as quiet (or even quieter) than the original tires on the Model X. That's pretty amazing considering their snow/ice performance...

In any case, either tire (Scorpion or Blizzak) will make a good choice!

 

[mk9027866]

I just installed Scorpion winters on my 20" Helix rims. Is the rear tire (275/45/20) directional? On the front tires the 265 it says "rotation" direction on it with an arrow. I can't find it on the rears. I hope they mounted it correctly.

Thanks

Mike

 

[goneskiian]

I just installed Scorpion winters on my 20" Helix rims. Is the rear tire (275/45/20) directional? On the front tires the 265 it says "rotation" direction on it with an arrow. I can't find it on the rears. I hope they mounted it correctly.

Thanks

Mike

It should be the same as the fronts. You can tell by the tread. If it has arrow shaped blocks down the center they are directional.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Pirelli&tireModel=Scorpion+Winter

 

[balefire]

View attachment 202307 View attachment 202303 View attachment 202306

Very helpful.
Thanks.
Has this 255/50/20 (instead of 265/45/20) snow tire combo been able to traverse the winter snow without clearance problems?
If so I'd consider getting nokian or blizzak tires in this non standard size in the future when my standard size Pirelli winters die out.

Or hopefully more tire manufacturers besides Pirelli will make our 265/45/20 size.

 

[G77P]

See posts with pictures on page 3 for the 255/50 R20 front clearance. No issues with clearance anywhere on the car with quite a bit of snow in the MN the last two weeks (10 inches then 7 inches). Again, I'd strongly recommend the Blizzak DMV2's. When the weather is bad having the best traction possible is a lifesaver.

 

[MillerLite]

If you order snow tires from the Tesla's web site - any guess at how long it takes for them to be delivered to your SC?

 

[bak_phy]

If you order snow tires from the Tesla's web site - any guess at how long it takes for them to be delivered to your SC?

I ordered mine Nov 17th and they arrived at the Springfield, NJ SC about 2 weeks ago but the first opening that they had to have them put on is Dec 20th!!

 

[fredz]

@evanevery -- when you installed your new wheels with the new TPMS sensors for the first time, did the car pick up the sensors automatically without the need for you to do anything other than driving ~ 5 miles? Model S owners have stated here that they have an option in the Settings menu to "Reset TPMS." However, my X does not have this option, and I am assuming yours would not either.

My Tesla service center is telling me that they need to program my new set of TPMS sensors, and this will cost $150 (only for programming; sensors are $200). Are they lying to me just to make money?

I have the same question. On the S, you can also select the new tire size. Which you can't on an X. Why is this so? Why would the TPMS need the tire size? I suppose that in the SC they set it for you. But what if you don't when switching wheel size?

 

[mk9027866]

It should be the same as the fronts. You can tell by the tread. If it has arrow shaped blocks down the center they are directional.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Pirelli&tireModel=Scorpion+Winter

It seems that the 275/45/20 (rears) are in fact not directional.

Also just a note. I drove in pretty rough winter conditions the day after installing the scorpion winters and it was night and day vs all seasons. I felt extremely comfortable with them. It was not like dry pavement but I had loads of control and confidence braking on completely covered roads.

They also seem to be even quieter than the conti silents that came on the car. I'm starting to think that foam covering on the inside is a gimmick.

 

[fredz]

I spoke to my SC. They say that with the X and the new model S versions being delivered, the menu has vanished from the screen. They also claim that for EVERY wheel swap (winter-summer), even if the size is the same, the TPMS need to be reset. They seem to be using a new TPMS system that knows which tire is which (wasn't the case before?), so that can only be done in the SC. When I asked him if it could be done at a tire center, he wasn't sure.
Can someone shed some light on this? It's all very unclear...

 

[krouebi]

Hi,

my question is not as much related to snow tires, but rather to the difference in offset (ET) of the 19" Cyclone rims vs. the 20" Slipstream rims on the rear axle.

We have a X90 up for delivery in March, and as we're in Europe, it comes on summer tires. We would have liked to have all-season tires on the original 20" Slipstream rims, but this was unfortunately not possible.

As a courtesy, we have been offered a set of 19" Cyclone rims with snow tires - very nice, but not very convenient, as we live in two different locations, and stocking the unused wheels represents a logistical problem.

We are currently considering putting Pirelli Scorpion All-Season on the 19" rims, and using this setup all year round. Until now, we have only seen photos of the 19" Cyclone rims from the side, and the rear track seems narrow - narrower than the 10 mm reduction in tire width and the 5 mm difference in offset should justify.

Does anyone by chance have photos taken from the rear of these two setups??

TIA, sorry for the long post.

 

[goneskiian]

I have the same question. On the S, you can also select the new tire size. Which you can't on an X. Why is this so? Why would the TPMS need the tire size? I suppose that in the SC they set it for you. But what if you don't when switching wheel size?

View attachment 206621

I spoke to my SC. They say that with the X and the new model S versions being delivered, the menu has vanished from the screen. They also claim that for EVERY wheel swap (winter-summer), even if the size is the same, the TPMS need to be reset. They seem to be using a new TPMS system that knows which tire is which (wasn't the case before?), so that can only be done in the SC. When I asked him if it could be done at a tire center, he wasn't sure.
Can someone shed some light on this? It's all very unclear...

Those of us that have 2 sets of wheels here in the US have found that the TPMS simply sees the new sensors after 10 min or so of driving and resets itself. No need to go to the SC to have them reset them!

I bought TPMS sensors from my local SC but others have found that the system will see other sensors as well. I chose not to test that and the ones from Tesla weren't that much more expensive. Here's a picture of the sensor from Tesla.

 

[vandacca]

Those of us that have 2 sets of wheels here in the US have found that the TPMS simply sees the new sensors after 10 min or so of driving and resets itself. No need to go to the SC to have them reset them!

I bought TPMS sensors from my local SC but others have found that the system will see other sensors as well. I chose not to test that and the ones from Tesla weren't that much more expensive. Here's a picture of the sensor from Tesla.

View attachment 210126

Wow, that TPMS is "Made in Mexico". Quick, delete that picture before Trump gets a hold of it.

 

[FarmerDave]

I put on 19" Bridgestone Blizzaks from Tire Rack just in time for two long trips in ice and snow. No slipping and no issues. Tire Rack sent direct to my home a set of four, ready to mount with balancing and Tesla-compatible TPMS for $2278. That's more than $500 less than Tesla charges, and the Blizzak is one of the highest rated winter tires.

 

[Solarman004]

I put on 19" Bridgestone Blizzaks from Tire Rack just in time for two long trips in ice and snow. No slipping and no issues. Tire Rack sent direct to my home a set of four, ready to mount with balancing and Tesla-compatible TPMS for $2278. That's more than $500 less than Tesla charges, and the Blizzak is one of the highest rated winter tires.
View attachment 210148
View attachment 210149

What rim model is that? Those are really nice.

 

[dmd2005]

I ordered 2 sets of TSportline 20" TST wheels. One set of gloss black with the winter Pirelli tires and TPMS and I plan on getting some Nokian Hakka 8 studded tires to put on the stock 20" X wheels and swap the all-seasons from the stock wheels over to the metallic grey TST wheels. I rotate my own wheels/tires in my garage and it only takes 30 mins, so when it gets icy around here I will be prepared. I don't pick up my X till first week in March, but I couldn't pass up the holiday savings/discount from TSportline...plus I like different wheels for my vehicles.

On a side note, the Blizzak DM-V2 tires are great when new, but the compound is super soft and when you're down to 6/32" depth they lose most of the snow traction because the inner 1/2 layer is a different and harder compound.

 

[FlatSix911]

Hi, my question is not as much related to snow tires, but rather to the difference in offset (ET) of the 19" Cyclone rims vs. the 20" Slipstream rims on the rear axle. We have a X90 up for delivery in March, and as we're in Europe, it comes on summer tires. We would have liked to have all-season tires on the original 20" Slipstream rims, but this was unfortunately not possible.

As a courtesy, we have been offered a set of 19" Cyclone rims with snow tires - very nice, but not very convenient, as we live in two different locations, and stocking the unused wheels represents a logistical problem. We are currently considering putting Pirelli Scorpion All-Season on the 19" rims, and using this setup all year round. Until now, we have only seen photos of the 19" Cyclone rims from the side, and the rear track seems narrow - narrower than the 10 mm reduction in tire width and the 5 mm difference in offset should justify. Does anyone by chance have photos taken from the rear of these two setups?? TIA, sorry for the long post.

As a general rule, you will get better traction in the snow with a narrow tire width

http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=126

Save Money While Enhancing Your Vehicle's Deep Snow Traction
Unfortunately wide, low profile tires have to "plow" a wide path through deep snow, where narrower tires have an easier time. So if you're likely to drive through deep snow this year, you'll want winter / snow tires and wheels in sizes that help put the laws of physics on your side.

Tire Rack's Preferred Winter Packages* often feature alternate sizes that combine smaller diameter wheels (that fit over the vehicle's Original Equipment brakes and within its wheel well) with narrower, higher profile tires (that have equivalent load capacities and overall diameters). This not only promotes better deep snow traction, but also results in less expensive Winter / Snow Tire & Wheel Packages. An additional advantage higher profile tire sizes offer is they feature taller sidewalls and smaller diameter wheels that more easily resist damage associated with winter road hazards and early spring potholes.