Carbon Fiber Rims

[Xenoilphobe]

Had an email exchange with ESE today - the stock Tesla lug nuts will not work with their wheel seat design. They use Ball/Radius/Spherical R14mm or R13MM seat (same as Porsche if 14mm and same a VW if 13 mm) verses the 60 degree tapered/conical setup that Tesla uses. They are checking on the center cap fitment. Besides Gorilla nuts any idea who sells the best M14 x 1.50 mm Ball/Radius/Spherical lug nuts - I prefer gray/black/PVD black chrome or even Red (to match the calibers)? I looked at these over at Track Studs

 

[FlatSix911]

Congratulations on taking the plunge with a set of Carbon wheels. Over on the Porsche forum, Rennlist, we call it the slippery slope ...
The 14mm Ball/Radius/Spherical nuts are considered a superior design and used frequently on the track.
I would recommend purchasing Porsche lug nuts as you have lots of choices available:

• Aluminum - light weight, but not super durable
• Titanium - light weight and durable, but expensive.
• Steel - not light weight, but durable and inexpensive (you can use lug nut covers like Tesla OEM)

See the examples in the photos below ... Hope this helps!

http://www.amazon.com/BLACK-LUG-COVERS-PORSCHE-BOXSTER/dp/B00EKUMJ4Q

Had an email exchange with ESE today - the stock Tesla lug nuts will not work with their wheel seat design. They use Ball/Radius/Spherical R14mm or R13MM seat (same as Porsche if 14mm and same a VW if 13 mm) verses the 60 degree tapered/conical setup that Tesla uses.

They are checking on the center cap fitment. Besides Gorilla nuts any idea who sells the best M14 x 1.50 mm Ball/Radius/Spherical lug nuts - I prefer gray/black/PVD black chrome or even Red (to match the calibers)? I looked at these over at Track Studs

View attachment 107550

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Thanks so much for providing the link to some great options - I too have been drawn into mostly Porsche lug designs - they seem to be light years ahead of some of the other markets. I really like the integrated look of those TIKORE's but at $700 for 20 nuts that seems well "nuts", but I may go with a subdued look with just the plain PexAlloy - any idea what that is? and how durable it is?

 

[RobStark]

Order placed today with ESE, should receive them in April...

Sweet! Can't wait to see pics.

 

[sillydriver]

Order placed today with ESE, should receive them in April... I went with the same specs as the 19 inch TST 19 x 8.5 with +35 ET on all four. I chose a glossy finish on the exterior and matte finish on the "barrel" since it would just reflect brake dust anyway. Now I just need to order conical or tapered lugs (can't remember if the Telsa lugs are conical or not)... I can't wait!

Victor their sales consultant told me that first thing I would notice is the significant improvement in braking and significant road noise reduction. He says that all his customers rave about how quiet the ride is with carbon wheels... I will post more once I get them in my hands!

View attachment 107291

I wish you the best with your order and look forward to hearing about how they run, but I'm curious: why 19s and not 20s? I assume that in addition to a low moment of inertia, the other benefit of carbon wheels is their stiffness which will hopefully aid handling precision. My fear is that the flexibility of the higher tire sidewalls with 19s would mask that. Admittedly, 20s would have more pothole risk, but not as much as the 21s many of us use.

 

[artsci]

I wish you the best with your order and look forward to hearing about how they run, but I'm curious: why 19s and not 20s? I assume that in addition to a low moment of inertia, the other benefit of carbon wheels is their stiffness which will hopefully aid handling precision. My fear is that the flexibility of the higher tire sidewalls with 19s would mask that. Admittedly, 20s would have more pothole risk, but not as much as the 21s many of us use.

I wondered about that as well - why not 20"?

 

[Xenoilphobe]

I'm going for range and efficiency. I'm not racing the car and don't really see the benefit of 20's when most true high performance cars don't exceed 19 inches for wheels. I live in an area with crappy roads and don't want to risk damaging the rims either. I chose a size similar to the Koenigsegg carbon fiber wheels. They use 19 x 9 in front.
Unless Elon or one of his senior engineers calls and tells me otherwise this what I will go with.

 

[artsci]

I'm going for range and efficiency. I'm not racing the car and don't really see the benefit of 20's when most true high performance cars don't exceed 19 inches for wheels. I live in an area with crappy roads and don't want to risk damaging the rims either. I chose a size similar to the Koenigsegg carbon fiber wheels. They use 19 x 9 in front.
Unless Elon or one of his senior engineers calls and tells me otherwise this what I will go with.

Thanks and Understand. We're all very eager to hear about your experiences once they're installed.

 

[sillydriver]

Yes, thanks. I hope it gives you the range improvement you want.

 

[AWDtsla]

I'm going for range and efficiency. I'm not racing the car and don't really see the benefit of 20's when most true high performance cars don't exceed 19 inches for wheels. I live in an area with crappy roads and don't want to risk damaging the rims either. I chose a size similar to the Koenigsegg carbon fiber wheels. They use 19 x 9 in front.
Unless Elon or one of his senior engineers calls and tells me otherwise this what I will go with.

I think most of the efficiency loss/gain from wheels comes from the aerodynamics of the spokes. They don't look particularly aerodynamic to me, but you'll find out for sure.

 

[bhzmark]

I'm very interested in 19" carbon wheels also.

Is anyone else interested in perhaps getting ESE to put together a group buy?

 

[artsci]

I'm very interested in 19" carbon wheels also.

Is anyone else interested in perhaps getting ESE to put together a group buy?

I'd be interested in a Group Buy. But for 20"

 

[lolachampcar]

Just contacted ESE and the other provider (Carbon Revolution?) for a set (not for the Tesla). The fronts are 19 and the rears are 20 if memory serves... I'll post what I learn.

 

[ifung90]

responding to someone's post last page.

the wheels are not "angled" inwards on the top, that's call camber. and the camber angle is adjacent to the strut. the strut assembly is adjusted either from the top strut mount or via the lower control arm.

a bigger wheel will not "extend" more towards the top of the strut and touch it. Only width and offset of the wheel OR the thickness of the tire may cause a hitting on the inner strut.

Best fitment for tesla is most likely going to be as follows:

20 x 9 et35 front, 20x10.5 et35 rear. This will easily accommodate a 245/40/20 front and a 275/35/20 rear which is more tire than it really needs. Anything over 275 section is expensive as hell as replacement and offers no real benefit.

- - - Updated - - -

Also! If you're looking for weight saving, the OEM 21 wheels are ridiculously heavy from the start.

Any forged or flow form wheel will save you 10 - 15 pounds of weight, CF is sort of overkill in terms of value for dollar.

My flowform AG M621 Wheels at 20x10" weighs in at 27 pounds. Cost $600 a wheel. More than enough weight saving to be noticed and much safer to drive on than $1000 a wheel.

For fun, here is a picture of my friend's Half CF wheel (more cosmetic than functional of course)

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Thats next, I am actively bidding on P85D's on eBay as we speak. I just missed one that went for $87K fully loaded. (I didn't have the alerts setup right - they are working now!)

For the price of the carbon fiber wheels you can just upgrade to the p85d and get better performance.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Good news, spoke with ESE Carbon today - they are working with Tesla to get the exact fitment on the center cap and make these wheels compatible with the Model X also. So I ended up going to 20 x 9 after all - so they could be used on the Model X when I buy one in the future.

	Order Confirmation
Hello Xenoilphobe, Thank you for shopping with us! We will send you a confirmation email when your products ship. Order Details Order #REDACTED Estimated delivery date 2016-4-15 Diameter: 20" Width: 9" Offset: 35mm mm Bolt Pattern: 5x120 Center Bore: 64.1 QTY: 4 Price: $2,000.00 each Shipping Address XENOILPHOBE Address: REDACTED Phone: REDACTED Shipping Cost: $0.00 Order Subtotal: $8,000.00 Deposit Amount paid: $4000.00 Due Date: 04-08-2016
Comments Finish: Gloss Carbon Exterior; Gloss Carbon Barrel Future orders mentioning: Have future Tesla orders reference "Xenoilphobe” so we know which spec to pull for both the Model X and Model S
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You are receiving this email because you are registered with ESE Carbon Company. Please do not reply directly to this email. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact us at [email protected]
www.esecarbon.com

 

[lolachampcar]

I ordered a set as well

 

[Xenoilphobe]

I ordered a set as well

NICE!!!! Did you get them for your Tesla or another car? If for a Tesla, which tires are you going with?

I think 245/40/20 's will meet the stock diameter. Every says Mich PSS? What other options should I consider?

 

[lolachampcar]

The McLaren

 

[Xenoilphobe]

The McLaren

What size does it use? SWEET - you are going to love these!!!! What estimated delivery date did you get?