BMW wheels, Corvette tires and Mustang lug nuts!

[_Shado_]

Hi everyone! This is only my second post but I feel it will be very informative for anyone looking to add aftermarket wheels to their MS!

As many of you know there is an aftermarket company that specializes in Tesla performance/ aftermarket products called Unplugged Performance. While all of their products look amazing and (I assume) perform very well, I just can not see spending those kind of prices for wheels, lug nuts etc. Not trashing Unplugged in any way shape or form, just giving my experience and what I found for WAY, WAY less money.

I wanted to stick with a 19" wheel for a couple reasons. Tires can be found and purchased for much cheaper than for the 21" wheel, generally. Choice of wheel style in nearly unlimited in a 19 when compared to a 21.

I do not like the "rubber band tire look" or "stretched tires" on any vehicle. Maybe that's the racer in me, idk. So I wanted to do something I hadn't seen done on a Tesla before, run a 265/40 tire front and rear. I Scored on a set of discontinued Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar G2 (265/40R19) tires for $89/ tire. I'm running 42psi on all four corners. Total $400

I also LOVE the fact that the bolt pattern on the MS is the same as BMW, 5x120. I know the hub is a different size but that is a very minor issue. This led me to my favorite wheel of all time, the APEX ARC-8! I chose a 19x9.5 et25. I got these on a group buy through APEX for a total of $1200.

Lug nuts. When searching for aftermarket lug nuts I found the UP lugs for around $500... Yikes! Come to find out the 2015-2017 Mustang has the same thread pitch as the MS! A pack of 5 open ended Mustang performance lug nuts is $12.97, I ordered 4 packs (20 nuts total) Total $51.80

For the TPMS sensors I went with the Tire Rack part number #2168 433MHZ these work perfect and are $65/ sensor. Total $260

To find this setup took some researching but with the help of (willtheyfit dot com) I was able to make an informed decision before ever spending a dime. The tires only rub the front fender liner at full lock, backing out of the driveway.

To put the setup I'm running into perspective, the new wheel and tire setup is:
37.1mm wider per side.
4.25mm lower ride height
1.2% speedo error
1mm closer to the air suspension (plenty of room left)
26lbs per tire, 21lbs per wheel = 47lbs of rolling weight

Total setup cost $1911.80

I will post pictures later today!

 

[_Shado_]

 

[jaguar36]

FYI, the lug nut shape on the contact end also has to match the wheel shape. Some lug nuts have a conical shape and some have a spherical shape. Should check and make sure the lug nuts you have match the wheels properly.

 

[_Shado_]

FYI, the lug nut shape on the contact end also has to match the wheel shape. Some lug nuts have a conical shape and some have a spherical shape. Should check and make sure the lug nuts you have match the wheels properly.

You are 100% correct. The factory lug nuts are conical, the mustang lug nuts are conical and the ARC-8 wheel takes a conical style lug nut.

I spent the better part of a week searching and researching Tesla specs and trying to figure out what would and would not work before I ever made a purchase. Everything fit like a glove, as I expected it to.

 

[_Shado_]

I would also like to add a couple things.

1. I am an ASE master tech and working on all types of vehicle is what I do for a living. I've seen it all and probably worked on just about everything.

2. Working with factory and aftermarket wheels on a regular basis, 99% of the time the lug nuts are conical (matching wheels to accept conical type nuts) I agree it is always good practice to make sure your lugs and wheels match up.

3. I am NOT running hub centering rings. Some say this is bad, some say it will not matter. I say it depends on NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) I balanced the wheels and tires with what we call "fingers" in the lug holes instead of balancing them using only the hub. I do this because I do not trust that every manufacture cuts a perfectly round hole for the hub. I do however know that balancing with the fingers, set to the correct bolt pattern will give you a better, more accurate balance and less tire vibration at highway speeds. Seeing how a conical type lug nut is designed to help center the wheel I chose to go without a centering ring knowing that there could be a possibility of me needing them in the future. I have zero tire vibration issues and it has been almost 1000 miles. Tire noise did however increase slightly.

 

[Morgo]

Thanks for the post! I'm looking to do the same set myself. I drive about 90 miles a day at an average of 80 mph. Would I I need to have any concerns with wheels that are much larger in center bore size for my S, especially since I commute so much? Additionally, how have things been for you post 1000 miles? Thanks!

 

[FlatSix911]

Well done... nice offset and concave dish on your wheels. I did the same thing with a set of BMW forged M6 wheels

 

[_Shado_]

Thanks for the post! I'm looking to do the same set myself. I drive about 90 miles a day at an average of 80 mph. Would I I need to have any concerns with wheels that are much larger in center bore size for my S, especially since I commute so much? Additionally, how have things been for you post 1000 miles? Thanks!

My wife drives 25mi to and from work, 4 days a week. Around 200 miles a week. We’ve noticed an increase in distance (slower loss of charge, driving at 79mph) these wheels/ tires are significantly lighter than the stock setup. I balanced these wheels using the lug holes instead of the center bore as I do with all my wheels and we have had no issues with wheel balance. The car has been amazing. I don’t like running these tires at 45psi but the car and tpms seem to like them between 42-45psi

 

[chingwodapigu]

Apologizes for bringing a thread back from the dead. New P100D owner here looking to pick up a set of 19" wheels for a winter tire setup. I know that Model S wheels are 5x120 with a bore of 64.1mm and an offset of +40. Looking over ALL the wheel threads on this forum, looks like most folks are just doing the OEM wheels, but I wanted to ask folks who have done wheels other than OEM Tesla wheels about their experiences with aftermarket wheels. Looks like BMW, Camaros, and I think Land Rover(iirc) also use the 5x120 bolt pattern as well, with various offsets. I've seen quite a few sets that are 19"+ for these applications and wanted to get an idea how difficult it would be to use a set of wheels from one of these other applications, provided the offset is within an acceptable range, and the wheels are at least 19"+, and the bore is large enough to fit the Model S? Here are some questions I have since I'm just starting to learn about non-OEM wheel fitment. I'm looking at 8.5 to 9" wide wheels for snow tires for this fall.
1) If the bore of the wheel isn't the same 64.1mm as Tesla, do I need to buy hub-centric inserts to convert from Tesla to the larger bore size? BMW I believe uses a bore size of 72.56mm except on the older e39 5 series, which had a bore size of 74.1mm. Camaro bore looks to be 66.9mm. Land Rover bore is 70.1mm. Would I use a Hub centric ring that goes from ID=64.1 to OD=72.6 for a BMW wheel? Is it better to get rings made of aluminum? Do the rings affect the offset of the wheel?
2) I know the Tesla OEM lugnuts are conical shaped, any issues going to a BMW wheel that uses conically shaped wheel bolts instead of nuts? Camaro and Land Rover appear to use conical lugnuts, are there any differences in the conical shape of the wheel fasteners between manufacturers or is this a standard?
3) Anyone know what the Tesla center wheel cap size is for the Model S? I believe it is 58mm correct? Do they make any different sizes or is there only one? Is the Model 3 center cap the same? I believe BMW uses a cap which is 68mm on the 5x120 wheels, unless it's the center cap for one of the newer 5x112 wheels which uses a 56mm cap. Any ideas for center caps since the Tesla one is significantly smaller?
4) What is the minimum and maximum range of offset that I should consider for the Model S considering I'm just going with 8.5 or 9" wheels front & rear? I know clearance is tight on the front, with a max of 9" without rubbing, what is the widest rear wheel without rubbing? I'll more than likely go with a squared setup instead of a staggered one since this is a winter setup, but just thought I'd ask what the MAX would be. I'd prefer not using a spacer. I know folks have used the 20" Model X wheels with an offset of +35, and Tirerack has a bunch of recommendations with +35 offset.
Thanks for your input and I'm looking forward to learning about wheels and what will work. Anything else I'm overlooking that you would recommend?