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265/35/21 on all corners?

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Hi all -

So I was at the SD service center and rumor is Elon's car has 265/35/21 size tires on all 4 corners. Thoughts on this? Apparently he doesn't want to deal with the staggered tires/rotations though I don't see why that would be a problem! Anyway, I've thought about going this route too given all the driving I do. I would probably go this route once I get the "plus" retrofit when my current tires wear out.
Lolachampcar please chime in as well!

thanks!
 
2 quick thoughts,

The first thing is that you'd need the 9" wide rears in the front as well. 265 tires aren't in the fitment range for 8.5" wheels. You may need a different offset as well, guys who have put 9" or wider in the front would know better.

Hi all -

So I was at the SD service center and rumor is Elon's car has 265/35/21 size tires on all 4 corners. Thoughts on this? Apparently he doesn't want to deal with the staggered tires/rotations though I don't see why that would be a problem! Anyway, I've thought about going this route too given all the driving I do. I would probably go this route once I get the "plus" retrofit when my current tires wear out.
Lolachampcar please chime in as well!

thanks!
 
Thanks for the input. I also thought that the tires would rub in the front considering how little clearance there is now. I do know of someone in SD running the 265 on the 8.5 inch wheels in the rear. To play it safe, I suppose I will get the 9inch wheels and go with the staggered configuration when I end up doing the retrofit. The car just isn't to my liking in terms of quick lane changes on the freeway.
 
Hi all -

So I was at the SD service center and rumor is Elon's car has 265/35/21 size tires on all 4 corners. Thoughts on this? Apparently he doesn't want to deal with the staggered tires/rotations though I don't see why that would be a problem! Anyway, I've thought about going this route too given all the driving I do. I would probably go this route once I get the "plus" retrofit when my current tires wear out.
Lolachampcar please chime in as well!

thanks!

I had a chance to spend some time with what I think was Elon's car (if it was the black signature performance that was given to journalists early on) and at that time it had 245/35ZR21 (96Y) Pilot Sport tires up front. You should be able to do the 265/35/21's all around but it is likely if Elon is running these tires that he is using a one off variant of the 21" rims that solves any clearance issues.
 
There's more to it than whether it fits or not. By increasing the width of the front tires, you're also changing the car's balance by adding more grip in the front. More front grip = less understeer / more oversteer. Of course, going 20mm wider up front isn't going to suddenly make you spin out all over the place, but at the limit it's something you should probably be aware of.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing either. On my MR2, I run 20mm wider than stock in front, and 10mm wider in the back (still staggered, 205 in front and 225 in back). I can tell that the car is more likely to let go in the back than in the front now, but my overall grip is increased and I prefer the handling dynamics this way. Who wants a sports car that understeers, right?

Anyway, as long as you're aware of it, know how to handle it, and it doesn't make the car unsafe (ie driving on spares / rubbing your sidewalls off), I think it's fine. Sounds like running the rear tire size on the front won't fit well, but I have no experience with the Model S.