anyone put a 275/30 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S on rear 8.5” wheels of a Performance model?

[Huskyfan]

Need to replace my tires on my 2020 model 3 Performance, which has 8.5” wheels all around. Paying all that money and not getting any improvements in looks or performance is a bit disappointing. Was hoping to fill out the rear wheel well a bit more by putting 275/30-20 tires on the back. Tire Rack tire finder lists 275/30 as an alternate size. But Tirerack human chat support and in person service guy at Discount tire says no; max size for 8.5” width wheel is 235/35.

anyone put a 275/30 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S on rear 8.5” wheels of a Performance model? If so, how did it affect range, etc. How did it look?

No i don’t want to replace the wheels. I like the way the car looks, am careful in avoiding potholes, and am concerned a 18 or 19” wheel would not look as good, handle as well, and would be noisier, and cost more initially.

 

[gearchruncher]

So 275 in the rear, 235 in front?

First, if you are looking for performance, you want a square setup. 275 in rear and 235 in front won't make the car any faster in any situation. The car is not traction limited in a straight line as it is, and more understeer is not your friend. Plus, in your other thread, you say you don't drive hard, so what kind of performance improvement are you hoping for?

Second, yes, 275 on an 8.5" wheel is too wide. You're not limited to 235, but Michelin lists 255 as the widest they want you to go on an 8.5" rim. The issue is no 245 or 255 tire has a diameter close enough to 235 to not mess with the traction control. You'd need to go 245/255 all around.

If you're just looking for aesthetics, put some spacers on the rear.

 

[Huskyfan]

So 275 in the rear, 235 in front?

First, if you are looking for performance, you want a square setup. 275 in rear and 235 in front won't make the car any faster in any situation. The car is not traction limited in a straight line as it is, and more understeer is not your friend. Plus, in your other thread, you say you don't drive hard, so what kind of performance improvement are you hoping for?

Second, yes, 275 on an 8.5" wheel is too wide. You're not limited to 235, but Michelin lists 255 as the widest they want you to go on an 8.5" rim. The issue is no 245 or 255 tire has a diameter close enough to 235 to not mess with the traction control. You'd need to go 245/255 all around.

If you're just looking for aesthetics, put some spacers on the rear.

Good advice. Thanks. Any downsides to spacers?

 

[tm1v2]

Need to replace my tires on my 2020 model 3 Performance, which has 8.5” wheels all around. Paying all that money and not getting any improvements in looks or performance is a bit disappointing. Was hoping to fill out the rear wheel well a bit more by putting 275/30-20 tires on the back. Tire Rack tire finder lists 275/30 as an alternate size. But Tirerack human chat support and in person service guy at Discount tire says no; max size for 8.5” width wheel is 235/35.

anyone put a 275/30 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S on rear 8.5” wheels of a Performance model? If so, how did it affect range, etc. How did it look?

No i don’t want to replace the wheels. I like the way the car looks, am careful in avoiding potholes, and am concerned a 18 or 19” wheel would not look as good, handle as well, and would be noisier, and cost more initially.

Discount Tire person is partly wrong. Both 245 and 235 are recommended tire widths for 8.5" wide wheels. My older Tesla came with 245 on 8.5" wide wheels, and so did my last ICE car. I am running 245/45R18 on 18x8.5" wheels on my 2021 M3P right now.

That said...275 is super wide for 8.5" wide wheels. Probably bad for handling response and maybe tire wear. Especially with the super skinny sidewalls from 20" wheels it seems like a bad idea to me, I wouldn't trust such a setup, if the 275s can even be mounted at all with so little sidewall to work with.

 

[DocHolliday]

Q: isn't the stock Uberturbine 20 x 9.0"?

 

[gearchruncher]

Q: isn't the stock Uberturbine 20 x 9.0"?

Yes, but the 2020 M3P didn't have Uberturbines, The previous wheels were 8.5" (the 20" sports).

 

[Lindenwood]

Good advice. Thanks. Any downsides to spacers?

As long as you are aware of these caveats:

1) Spacing out wheels isn’t any harder on wheel bearings than buying wheels with a lower offset.

2) If you use bolt-on spacers, remember to torque them fully.

3) If you use slip-on spacers, generally you’ll be limited to about 8mm thickness without running extended-shank lug nuts (which I currently use).

Note: I am at about 140k miles on lug-centric wheels across various vehicles, with about 45k of those being on spacers, and which include Autocross and lots of off-roading.

 

[Huskyfan]

As long as you are aware of these caveats:

1) Spacing out wheels isn’t any harder on wheel bearings than buying wheels with a lower offset.

2) If you use bolt-on spacers, remember to torque them fully.

3) If you use slip-on spacers, generally you’ll be limited to about 8mm thickness without running extended-shank lug nuts (which I currently use).

Note: I am at about 140k miles on lug-centric wheels across various vehicles, with about 45k of those being on spacers, and which include Autocross and lots of off-roading.

So what thickness spacer are you using and how does it look? I know how to remove, replace extended shanks so I’m not concerned about that process. Just curious how much difference appearance wise a space provides.

 

[CKwik240]

So what thickness spacer are you using and how does it look? I know how to remove, replace extended shanks so I’m not concerned about that process. Just curious how much difference appearance wise a space provides.

He was taking about extended shank lug nuts. They allow you to keep the factory studs as the lug nuts have an extension passed the seat. They generally don't work on aftermarket wheels as the OE wheels have larger diameter lug holes than most aftermarket wheels which does the extension to fit into and grab additional threads.