Couple questions about winter wheel change

[Mickie]

I searched the forum a bit but wanted to see if I could get more definitive answers, or maybe some confirmation on stuff I think I know. Tesla states that it's $75 to change my 21" Turbines out to my 19" Slipstreams. Why so much? Apparently the TPMS have to get calibrated. I asked if that isn't simply done with a few taps on the touchscreen with the newer style Continental TPMS. He got conveniently dumb at that moment. So I decided to try it myself. The few questions are:

1. I plan on using a 3-ton jack and the hockey puck method to do one corner at a time. Barely break loose the lugs on the 21", jack corner, pop wheel off, clean the heck out of the wheel well, hand tighten the 19" with socket/wrench, lower corner, torque lugs in criss-cross order to 129 ft. lb., rinse/repeat for other 3 corners. Does this sound about right?

2. Recalibrating TPMS. I've read the old ones needed to be driven about to get them registered/reading, but the new Continental TPMS which I have simply need to be reset/registered via the touchscreen, selecting the 19" wheel option after resetting them. Correct?

Thank you guys!

 

[Naonak]

I haven't heard that the TPMS need to be reset at all? I have a set of winter wheels that I will be swapping in this week, I can report back if I need to change anything. I didn't last year, but I had Tesla put the tires onto the wheels, so maybe they did the procedure you describe?

 

[Ande]

I swap weels for my winter set, get asked to choose diameter when driving, an there is no problem whatsoever.
Swapped to spiked tires last week .. so tpms lost pressure, got some low pressure alerts the first 10km , even the pressure were fine, then everything was fine.

 

[Mickie]

Thanks guys. Anyone else?

 

[Joelc]

1. I plan on using a 3-ton jack and the hockey puck method to do one corner at a time. Barely break loose the lugs on the 21", jack corner, pop wheel off, clean the heck out of the wheel well, hand tighten the 19" with socket/wrench, lower corner, torque lugs in criss-cross order to 129 ft. lb., rinse/repeat for other 3 corners. Does this sound about right?

2. Recalibrating TPMS. I've read the old ones needed to be driven about to get them registered/reading, but the new Continental TPMS which I have simply need to be reset/registered via the touchscreen, selecting the 19" wheel option after resetting them. Correct?

yes for both. that's how i do it.
if you have smart suspension, remember to enable 'jack mode' via the touch screen too.

 

[Saimaannorppa]

Yes, jack mode on or the car will try to level suspension. That would be dangerous.

I think the car automatically reset TPMS after a few km, just had to click ok on main screen. VIN 205xxx.

Check torque of all lugs after about 50 miles.

Also, put CRC or similar lubricant in lug thread to make next round easy.

 

[David.85D]

I’ve done this twice now. Exactly same as you describe. Just reset the tpms on the center console. Sometimes takes 5-10 miles before it starts showing the new readings. Don’t stress.

And remember you are supposed to re-torque the nuts after 50 miles or so. Something easy to do at home.

 

[Mickie]

Thanks all you guys. Totally forgot to list jack mode, but good call. Nothing wrong with setting suspension to ‘very high’ then enabling jack mode, correct? I’ve read most people doing this but one person detracting, if I read him right.

 

[David.85D]

Don’t lubricate your lug nuts unless it is specified like that. It changes the amount of force you get for a certain torque value, and you risk breaking a stud.

I have coils, so no jack mode for me.

 

[Mickie]

Yeah, I never lubed lug threads personally. A breaker bar around my 1/2” breaks lug nuts loose pretty effortlessly anyway.

 

[Lloyd]

recalibrating takes about 6 miles of 45 to 60 mph driving on my car

 

[Naonak]

A word about the Tesla lug nuts. They bend and warp pretty easily, given their "standard" 129 lb/ft torque ratings. I've bent an entire set using air tools (yeah yeah, I know) and had to replace them. They are pretty malleable in my opinion, so be careful on your torque values when you tighten them down. I've never had a set of lugs that were so "fragile," but I've never had a set of lugs that take 129 lb/ft as their standard torque value, either.

Car goes up on my lift tomorrow for winter tire swap.

As a side note, do you guys use digital torque wrenches, adapters, or analog ones? Do you ever get your wrenches or gauges calibrated? I personally use an adapter for my standard 1/2" wrench, and I have never had it calibrated. I just kind of hope/assume it's around 129 lb/ft.

 

[David.85D]

I’ve owned both digital, click, and dial torque wrenches. I prefer the click style. Digital was nice but the battery leaked and the repair would have been 2/3 new, so I canned it.

I check calibration using this gizmo. Not a Swiss tool, but if it agrees with the click wrench within 1-2% then I am happy. Not very expensive way to get a big boost in confidence. I don’t, but you could even do a before and after check.

https://www.amazon.com/OEMTOOLS-25682-Digital-Torque-Adapter/dp/B004FEI2ES

Calibration is a funny thing. My good torque wrench says it should be calibrated every 10,000 uses. Pretty long time for me, but imagine a tire shop with a technician doing 15 cars a day x 4 wheels x 5 Lugs x 2 times each = recalibration every 3 weeks! I can’t imagine that happening.

 

[HankLloydRight]

I'll just add that how the OP describes it is exactly how I do myself. No problems swapping 21"s for 19"s each season.

I check calibration using this gizmo.

That's exactly the tool I use to torque the lug nuts down.

Side note: I'm thinking of getting one of these to speed up the process:

BL-6000XLT Super-Length Car Lift - Car Lift Systems
see: QuickJack to produce Tesla-specific model

 

[Mickie]

And lastly, no issues setting suspension to ‘very high’, then enabling jack mode?

 

[Naonak]

I’ve owned both digital, click, and dial torque wrenches. I prefer the click style. Digital was nice but the battery leaked and the repair would have been 2/3 new, so I canned it.

I check calibration using this gizmo. Not a Swiss tool, but if it agrees with the click wrench within 1-2% then I am happy. Not very expensive way to get a big boost in confidence. I don’t, but you could even do a before and after check.

https://www.amazon.com/OEMTOOLS-25682-Digital-Torque-Adapter/dp/B004FEI2ES

Calibration is a funny thing. My good torque wrench says it should be calibrated every 10,000 uses. Pretty long time for me, but imagine a tire shop with a technician doing 15 cars a day x 4 wheels x 5 Lugs x 2 times each = recalibration every 3 weeks! I can’t imagine that happening.

Yeah, that's basically what I use as the torque wrench itself, as opposed to using it for calibration. I should probably just get a regular torque wrench, but it's just one more tool I have to store somewhere for infrequent use.

As for lifts, I use a BendPak HD-9W with a pair of RJ-45 rolling jacks. Works great for me.

 

[Mickie]

With a D car, you’ll want to put the 19s with the most remaining tread on the rear?

 

[David29]

With a D car, you’ll want to put the 19s with the most remaining tread on the rear?

Don't know what Tesla would say, but with past cars (not Teslas), I was always told that better tires should be in front because that is where the most braking occurs, and in an emergency you want the best tread on the axle that brakes the most. Always made sense to me.

 

[DFibRL8R]

And lastly, no issues setting suspension to ‘very high’, then enabling jack mode?

Yep, that's what I do.
Also for lugs I switched to these after the chrome cladding on the original lugs started to deform:

Gorilla Automotive 61147CX Chrome 13/16" (14mm x 1.50 Thread Size) Hex Lug Nut

They are not clad like the Tesla OEMs which can deform after several removals.

 

[Naonak]

Yep, that's what I do.
Also for lugs I switched to these after the chrome cladding on the original lugs started to deform:

Gorilla Automotive 61147CX Chrome 13/16" (14mm x 1.50 Thread Size) Hex Lug Nut

They are not clad like the Tesla OEMs which can deform after several removals.

Those definitely fit the Tesla? That's awesome... I will get a set of those next time I need to replace lugs. The Tesla ones are really soft and weak... I don't like them at all.