2.0 / 2.5 Roadster / Roadster Sport Tire Thread

[Doug_G]

That's exactly why I didn't go with the AD08s

A fellow I know has an Elise with AD07 on front and AD08 on the rear. He says it works just fine.

On the other hand, Tesla advised against mixing front and back tires, because they might not expand at the same rates when heated, which might confuse the traction control. (Couple of "might"s in there.)

 

[smorgasbord]

Does Tesla's Traction Control even deal with the front tires? When Tesla filed for an exemption from providing a full ESC system on the Roadster, they said:

Tesla believes that safety will not be unduly compromised if the exemption is granted. In support of this assertion, Tesla cites its inclusion of a traction control system (TCS) on its vehicles. Tesla's TCS is comprised of software, wheel speed sensors, and the drive system electronic control unit (ECU). Tesla states that its TCS has many elements of an ESC system required by FMVSS No. 126. Tesla claims that the TCS is able to detect slip in the drive wheels through the vehicle's ECU and that the vehicle will limit drive power until wheel spin is controlled. However, Tesla notes that the TCS does not have the capability to independently monitor or adjust steering inputs to prevent oversteer or understeer, nor is it capable of applying brakes independent of driver input, both of which are required by FMVSS No. 126.

As for differing expansion/contraction rates, the front tires are a different size than the rear tires. Even with the same model of tire, the fronts and rears will have differing rates of expansion. And, let's not forget that we replace the rears with new while keeping the semi-worn fronts in place. That strikes my layman's mind as more of an issue, but we do it all the time.

Finally, Tesla service in Menlo Park will only install AD07s, AD08s, or AD048s, but expressed no reservations about installing AD08s on the rear of my car that has AD07s on the front.

 

[dsm363]

It would be nice if Tesla said they officially support their customers putting AD08s on the rears with AD07s on the front. Guess I could just try it but just put new AD07s on the rear.

 

[Doug_G]

Does Tesla's Traction Control even deal with the front tires?

Given the number of "Ranger Legends" out there, you can't really be sure.

As for differing expansion/contraction rates, the front tires are a different size than the rear tires. Even with the same model of tire, the fronts and rears will have differing rates of expansion. And, let's not forget that we replace the rears with new while keeping the semi-worn fronts in place. That strikes my layman's mind as more of an issue, but we do it all the time.

Presumably they accounted for the different front/rear sizing when they designed the system in the first place. If it matters, of course.

The system probably assumes that the tires will indeed "shrink" over time, and has been tuned to accommodate tires from the original size down to the wear bars. Either that or it slowly adapts over time, and just needs the retraining for new tires because it's a sudden change.

I'm not even sure I entirely believe that the difference in expansion between different tire brands would be that significant. But what do I know...

Finally, Tesla service in Menlo Park will only install AD07s, AD08s, or AD048s, but expressed no reservations about installing AD08s on the rear of my car that has AD07s on the front.

It would be nice if Tesla said they officially support their customers putting AD08s on the rears with AD07s on the front.

+1!

 

[DrTaras]

Finally, Tesla service in Menlo Park will only install AD07s, AD08s, or AD048s, but expressed no reservations about installing AD08s on the rear of my car that has AD07s on the front.

The Tesla-LA service said this, "Tesla has 3 approved tires: AD07, AO48 and a set of snow tires. I don’t have any info on the AD08’s. " so a disparity between the service centers. This speaks to a deeper problem which I've mentioned will be Tesla's Achilles Heel. If Tesla is trying to emulate Apple, one thing you get is homogeneous service no matter which Apple store you step into, whereas the same can not be said between the differing Tesla Service Centers. This is something to be concerned about!

 

[hcsharp]

The Tesla-LA service said this, "Tesla has 3 approved tires: AD07, AO48 and a set of snow tires. I don’t have any info on the AD08’s. " so a disparity between the service centers. This speaks to a deeper problem which I've mentioned will be Tesla's Achilles Heel. If Tesla is trying to emulate Apple, one thing you get is homogeneous service no matter which Apple store you step into, whereas the same can not be said between the differing Tesla Service Centers. This is something to be concerned about!

While that may be a problem now and then I think it works in our favor more often than not. If every service center took their marching orders from HQ in Palo Alto it would be worse overall service IMHO. Here in the Northeast we have requirements that often differ from other parts of the country. Our service center is aware of these differences and handles things accordingly. We've all seen companies grow and become more centralized, leading to less independence at the local store, resulting in less flexibility and ultimately worse service. Just my .02

 

[cinergi]

Does Tesla's Traction Control even deal with the front tires?

There are wheel sensors in the front and if the speed between front and rear is too great, traction control kicks in.

 

[Dragon]

Anything new from Yokohama? Do they still produce the Advan Neova AD07 LTS? Any news that give some hope the AD08 will come in our sizes? The Tesla Roadster disappeared from the car listing on yokohamatires.com.

 

[dsm363]

Anything new from Yokohama? Do they still produce the Advan Neova AD07 LTS? Any news that give some hope the AD08 will come in our sizes? The Tesla Roadster disappeared from the car listing on yokohamatires.com.

No news that I'd heard about. I believe it disappeared from their website since they're only still producing those tires for Lotus and Tesla customers through other outlets like Tirerack.com or others. Still don't know why they just won't come out with the AD08s are replacements.

 

[zylstra]

I have the some tires on my Roadster. The first set lasted 15.000km until i had to replace the back one. They are unbelievable smooth and silent. No problem with TC and with has sufficient grip (non sport). The rolling resistance is quite low, as good as the AD07.

Eberhard, I believe you are referring to the Toyo Proxes 4 here. Are you comparing the noise level of old AD07's to new Proxes 4's (old tires are almost always louder than new), or is this your sense in general for the tires. Thanks.

 

[strider]

Eberhard, I believe you are referring to the Toyo Proxes 4 here. Are you comparing the noise level of old AD07's to new Proxes 4's (old tires are almost always louder than new), or is this your sense in general for the tires. Thanks.

I've had the Proxes 4 on my car for about 3 months and 3,000 miles and I'm happy with them. They take a little while to warm up and until then are much less grippy than the AD07's. Once they're warm they are closer but still have less grip (completely expected as I wanted a tire that would last longer and longer life = less grip no way around it). But they handle well in the dry and rain. They are quieter than the AD07's, even when they were new and they feel like they give a softer ride (but I may just be getting used to the Roadster). IMHO, for a daily driver the Proxes 4 are great. For a sport driver I would like something stickier.

 

[Eberhard]

Eberhard, I believe you are referring to the Toyo Proxes 4 here. Are you comparing the noise level of old AD07's to new Proxes 4's (old tires are almost always louder than new), or is this your sense in general for the tires. Thanks.

i compared to new ones. first replacement was AD07 and my dealer gave me an advice to try the Toyo Proxi 4.

 

[Mitrovic]

The German magazine Auto Bild did a huge test of summer tires 225/45 R 17.
Toyo Proxi was not that good.
Among the things they discovered was that the difference in rolling forces ( ? ) between the best and the worst is 7 %.

 

[hcsharp]

Interesting that Tire Rack came up with very different test results, as did Consumer Reports, who wasn't that much different from Tire Rack. Auto Bild gave heavier weighting to wet performance, perhaps explaining the difference.

A tire that caught my attention in the Tire Rack and CR tests was the Michelin Pilot Super Sport. It's very light, has excellent (low) rolling resistance, good tread wear and high performance. OEM on some of the Ferrari 599 models last year. I wonder how it would work with Advan AD07 on the front.

 

[benji4]

These tires look like the would work with the Roadster.

TOYO DRB
Rear: 225/45R17 91W
Front: 195/50R16 84V

These would save a lot of cash obviously, but what would the downside be of using something like this and has anyone tried them?

 

[frequencydip]

These tires look like the would work with the Roadster.

TOYO DRB
Rear: 225/45R17 91W
Front: 195/50R16 84V

These would save a lot of cash obviously, but what would the downside be of using something like this and has anyone tried them?

these are not for sale in the US, and they dont seam to have a DOT rating..

 

[benji4]

these are not for sale in the US, and they dont seam to have a DOT rating..

Here is a link

TOYO DRB | Toyo Tires

So this is not even sold in the U.S.? In Japan they are sold for as little as $110 for the rear tires and $90 for the front.

 

[vfx]

Does anyone know of a tire place near me that can be trusted to work on my Roadster?

I didn't trust anyone. I stood and watched a Sears. Does not matter where I went. I stood and watched.

 

[smorgasbord]

Does anyone know of a tire place near me that can be trusted to work on my Roadster?

Tire shop guys will LOVE your car. Give the service guy a tour. Hand him a copy of the manual page about jacking the car. Get him to put his best person on it, and meet that person. He/She will love working on an exotic car.

 

[hcsharp]

Tire shop guys will LOVE your car. Give the service guy a tour. Hand him a copy of the manual page about jacking the car. Get him to put his best person on it, and meet that person. He/She will love working on an exotic car.

I went to 2 garages and they both said "We won't touch that thing!" Finally I found a place with a special machine made for low-aspect ratio tires on alloy rims. And they let me jack my own car, and use calibrated torque wrenches instead of air. They took pride in knowing they were the only shop I would use. Ironically they scratched my rims anyway on the balancer (but took responsibility and paid to fix it). Like Eric said, don't trust anybody. And make sure they know you're watching. Take pics of your rims before you go in.