21" vs. 19" Cost Breakdown

[Owner]

I went through a detailed estimate of the cost of the 21" wheels over the lifetime of the Model S. My entire blog post can be found here: 19 Tesla Owner

In summary:

1. For my driving conditions, the 21" wheels will cost a total of 8.3K more than the 19" wheels over 15 years.
2. Tires are recycled or reused about 80% of the time, so I can feel okay about buying a few more tires.
3. The replacement costs of the Model S 21" tires will be less than the Roadster because the tires are cheaper and also the low mode of regenerative braking.
4. The 19" tires will only last 50% longer than the 21" tires.

In the end, I changed my order from 19" to 21" wheels.

I know these estimates are really just guesses but as reasonably accurate as I could make them.

I did forget one item on my original blog post. Eventually the 19" wheels will show some aging through the wheel itself. I didn't look into this issue much but my Tesla representative did mention this fact.

 

[UMD86]

I went through a detailed estimate of the cost of the 21" wheels over the lifetime of the Model S. My entire blog post can be found here: 19 Tesla Owner

In summary:

1. For my driving conditions, the 21" wheels will cost a total of 8.3K more than the 19" wheels over 15 years.
2. Tires are recycled or reused about 80% of the time, so I can feel okay about buying a few more tires.
3. The replacement costs of the Model S 21" tires will be less than the Roadster because the tires are cheaper and also the low mode of regenerative braking.
4. The 19" tires will only last 50% longer than the 21" tires.

In the end, I changed my order from 19" to 21" wheels.

I know these estimates are really just guesses but as reasonably accurate as I could make them.

I did forget one item on my original blog post. Eventually the 19" wheels will show some aging through the wheel itself. I didn't look into this issue much but my Tesla representative did mention this fact.

Did you factor in the cost of damaging a 21" RIM vs a 19" RIM? With the low profile (I have experience w/ my 650i) you are more likely to damage the larger "ALUMINUM" rims than the smaller rims. The replacement cost will prohibit a lot of owners in getting the 21"s. As we all know local municipalities have less money to maintain our roads which means more pot holes!!

 

[yobigd20]

Did you factor in the cost of damaging a 21" RIM vs a 19" RIM? With the low profile (I have experience w/ my 650i) you are more likely to damage the larger "ALUMINUM" rims than the smaller rims. The replacement cost will prohibit a lot of owners in getting the 21"s. As we all know local municipalities have less money to maintain our roads which means more pot holes!!

Roads without pot-holes, you say? Gasp! Is there such a thing?

- says a fellow NJ driver.

 

[Owner]

Nope I did not factor in the cost of damaging the rims. I don't have any potholes in my regular driving area. : )
But I will keep that in mind when venturing out.

 

[Owner]

I also updated my original blog post for completion sake.