19" vs 21" Wheels Pros and Cons

[drbradfo]

For what it's worth, I talked with a friend the other day about wheels and tires. He drives a Nissan GTR with 20" wheels and 35 profile summer performance tires. He lives in Seattle and commutes to Portland about 20 times a year. I was concerned about wheel damage from the super low profile tires, and he says he has not had any problems in the couple of years of owning the GTR. He commented the rain performance was good, but snow was an absolute a 'no go' in Seattle. He had the car in the shop for some work and they had parked it outside overnight and it just happened to snow. Only about 1" of snow, and they were unable to drive it from parking lot to shop. They had to tow it... crazy. He looked into getting all weather tires, but decided against it for the couple times of year Seattle gets snow.

 

[ElSupreme]

For what it's worth, I talked with a friend the other day about wheels and tires. He drives a Nissan GTR with 20" wheels and 35 profile summer performance tires. He lives in Seattle and commutes to Portland about 20 times a year. I was concerned about wheel damage from the super low profile tires, and he says he has not had any problems in the couple of years of owning the GTR. He commented the rain performance was good, but snow was an absolute a 'no go' in Seattle. He had the car in the shop for some work and they had parked it outside overnight and it just happened to snow. Only about 1" of snow, and they were unable to drive it from parking lot to shop. They had to tow it... crazy. He looked into getting all weather tires, but decided against it for the couple times of year Seattle gets snow.

I run summer sport tires year round in Atlanta. It snowed ~1" and I tried to back out of my driveway. I slid all the way into the street (I was prepared for it) before I had a tire grab. My car sat parked in the street for another day before I tried to move it. My work knows that ANY snow means I work from home.

As for rain I think they work better than my stock 'all-season' tires did. Maxxis MA-Z1 225-45R17.

 

[brianman]

My work knows that ANY snow means I work from home.

I'd put that in the PRO category for summer sport tires...

 

[ElSupreme]

I'd put that in the PRO category for summer sport tires...

I certainly do. :biggrin:

 

[rlawson4]

I run summer sport tires year round in Atlanta. It snowed ~1" and I tried to back out of my driveway. I slid all the way into the street (I was prepared for it) before I had a tire grab. My car sat parked in the street for another day before I tried to move it. My work knows that ANY snow means I work from home.

As for rain I think they work better than my stock 'all-season' tires did. Maxxis MA-Z1 225-45R17.

I live in Atlanta as well. What about our cool days in the winter where we can get some wintery mix?

 

[ElSupreme]

I live in Atlanta as well. What about our cool days in the winter where we can get some wintery mix?

I am using those Maxxis tires which are VERY good in rain and standing water. The main problem is with snow as the tires get packed with snow. They do ok if there is enough water in the mix and there isn't a huge amount of ice. But in general I try not to drive when there is any freezing precipitation of any sort.

I don't really ever have to go into the office. I can work from home even if my company doesn't like it. I just call into my boss and say that I have crappy tires for the conditions. If they would be willing to pay for my wrecked car I would gladly drive into work. Otherwise I'll just work from home.

That and I have a lot of physics education. And a good understanding of vehicle dynamics. I am no slouch driving in bad conditions, I just don't think it is worth wrecking my car.

 

[vfx]

It's a Henrik Fisker styling fetish. Nothing more. Serious overkill for a car this size.
....

Most designers draw cars with extra large wheels. They just look better. HF is not alone.

 

[Andrew Wolfe]

Most designers draw cars with extra large wheels. They just look better. HF is not alone.

Yeah - but I still think of 18" as XL.

 

[drbradfo]

The difference between the sidewalls is only 0.9". Smaller then I thought. I guess the main issue is tire choice or the lack of.

Specification Sidewall Radius Diameter Circumference Revolutions Speedometer Odometer Difference
245/35-21 3.4" 13.9" 27.8" 87.2" 727/mi 60MPH 10000mi N/A
245/45-19 4.3" 13.8" 27.7" 87.0" 729/mi 60MPH 10026mi -0.3%
245/50-18 4.8" 13.8" 27.6" 86.9" 730/mi 60MPH 10038mi -0.4%
245/55-17 5.3" 13.8" 27.6" 86.7" 730/mi 60MPH 10051mi -0.5%
245/60-16 5.8" 13.8" 27.6" 86.6" 731/mi 60MPH 10064mi -0.6%

 

[jerry33]

The difference between the sidewalls is only 0.9". Smaller then I thought. I guess the main issue is tire choice or the lack of.

The difference will be in the tread width, not the nominal section width. Also those measurements are for the tire mounted on the "measuring rim". Mounting the tires on a wheel with a wider rim width will also have an effect on the actual section width. Note that the best sidewall shape occurs when the rim width and the tread width are the same.

 

[AustinPowers]

Yeah - but I still think of 18" as XL.

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I know all those concept drawings where even small hatchbacks often look as if they sported 23'' monster-wheels. And even though it may or may not look good on some cars, the drawbacks far outweigh the nicer optics:

- large rims / tires are prohibitively expensive
- they don't last as long
- they are no use in winter conditions (or at least you don't get winter tires in dimensions that big)
- they decrease your milage efficiency (imho the most important drawback, especially in an EV!)

 

[Bound466]

FWIW, when I saw the two wheels side-by-side, I preferred the clean, open lines of the 19". Obviously this is a matter of personal preferences, but the 19" wheels are not the ugly duckling.

I completely agree with you Robert. I saw the 19-inch rims on the silver Model S at the Fashion Island event today, and my wife and I instantly made up our mind --> We're getting the 19-inch rims hands down.

The 19-inch rims look great, the straight lines on the rims work well with the curves of the car body. The tires still have a nice aggressive look to them, nice and big tires.

The 21-inch rims means higher potential for scuffs, reduced life on the tire. a higher cost tire to replace. And $3500 added cost on the car. For my wife and me, we decided the edge that the 21-inch rims get you is not worth it in the bigger picture.

However, its definitely a personal choice. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and costs are relative. I can see why many folks are going to go for the 21-inch rims - looks and performance. But for us, we're definitely down with the 19-inch rims.

 

[smorgasbord]

FWIW, my wife did the Fremont test drive on a Performance with 21" wheels and thought it handled the rough road section better then her BMW with 18" rims. Maybe the air suspension compensates really well?

The issues on M+S rating, etc. are, of course, still valid.

 

[Dave EV]

- they decrease your milage efficiency (imho the most important drawback, especially in an EV!)

FWIW - I talked w/the designer/engineer of the aero wheels in Hawthorne Saturday (sorry, forgot his name, but he was very helpful/informative), and from an aerodynamics perspective, the 19" and 21" wheels are basically identical.

 

[jerry33]

FWIW - I talked w/the designer/engineer of the aero wheels in Hawthorne Saturday (sorry, forgot his name, but he was very helpful/informative), and from an aerodynamics perspective, the 19" and 21" wheels are basically identical.

That would be correct because the nominal section width and overall diameter of both tires is the same. The difference in rolling resistance will be from the wider tread width, stickier tread compound, and perhaps the different belt construction in the 21" tires.

 

[nrcooled]

I plan to get the 19" wheels and stick proper all-seasons on them for the winter and I will go aftermarket for a set of spring/summer/fall wheels. I can't justify giving Tesla $3500 for 21" wheels when I can go aftermarket and get exactly what I want.

 

[Larry Chanin]

FWIW, my wife did the Fremont test drive on a Performance with 21" wheels and thought it handled the rough road section better then her BMW with 18" rims. Maybe the air suspension compensates really well?

The issues on M+S rating, etc. are, of course, still valid.

At Fremont my group and I had the opportunity to ride in both a Performance model with 21" wheels and a standard model with 19" wheels. All four of us riding in both cars were surprised that the Performance model handled the bumps much better than the standard. This of course is counter-intuitive.

We have no idea why this was the case, but it made me much less concerned about my decision to get performance wheels and tires. :biggrin:

Larry

 

[brianman]

At Fremont my group and I had the opportunity to ride in both a Performance model with 21" wheels and a standard model with 19" wheels. All four of us riding in both cars were surprised that the Performance model handled the bumps much better than the standard. This of course is counter-intuitive.

We have no idea why this was the case, but it made me much less concerned about my decision to get performance wheels and tires. :biggrin:

When they asked for your test drive vehicle preferences did you whisper back "convince my wife that we should get the Perf"?

 

[Larry Chanin]

When they asked for your test drive vehicle preferences did you whisper back "convince my wife that we should get the Perf"?

Hi Brian,

:biggrin: You're always working the angles, aren't you? :wink:

In 20-20 hindsight it worked out as you surmissed.

However, you realize that based on prevailing wisdom the standard should have had a more comfortable ride right? So wouldn't I be taking a greater risk trying to anticipate my wife's preferences by deliberately asking for a standard? :tongue:

An aspect that was less risky is that most women love the prospect of having more design options. Going with the performance model provided her with more interior accents to play with. Seriously, my wife has been very supportive in my decisions, but taking her design recommendations certainly didn't hurt when making the final decision to commit to a performance model.

Happy wife, happy life!!

We found this photo posted on the Tesla Event Gallery. Does she look happy to you?:biggrin:

The decision to drive a standard model simply hinged on the fact that there was at least a 40 minute wait for a performance model.

Larry

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Did they both have the air suspension?

There were none without.