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Different tires and wheels? Lower profile? Wider? Taller?

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He seemed to easily light up the tires in this video: http://www.oncars.com/video/268/Tesla-Roadster-Directors-Cut

-Shark2k

I have a suspicion that there may be a firmware "mode" you can activate if you want to completely turn off traction control.
Perhaps only known by people within the company? Just a guess though... If so, it is probably for the best (for safety/durability reasons) if they kept that only for "testing" and showing off.
 
I have a suspicion that there may be a firmware "mode" you can activate if you want to completely turn off traction control.
Perhaps only known by people within the company? Just a guess though... If so, it is probably for the best (for safety/durability reasons) if they kept that only for "testing" and showing off.

Good point. Wouldn't surprise me if that was true.

-Shark2k
 
Commuter tires

One brand/model of long wearing tires available in Tesla sizes: Continental Extreme Contact DWS. (In the case of the front, the 195 width used on the slicker optional tires from Tesla, rather than the standard 175.)
 
Really, where? All I see is him "sliding" by cranking the wheel too fast and/or exceeding the car's handling limit. At no point in the video does he blow the tires loose with raw engine torque.

I don't agree with you as it looks like he is definitely going straight for a little before that but since you don't seem to agree watch the first 15 seconds of this video: OnCars.com - Tesla Roadster Video Review: Performance Review.

-Shark2k
 
Put light pressure on the brakes, juice to the floor simultaneously (takes two feet), crank the wheel, and you will get the results in the video, with the TC off of course. I suggest you wait until you are on the way to the tire store for new tires!
 
I will be getting continental brand all-weather tires on my 2008 tesla next week. I can get all 4 tires replaced ($140 each) for about the same cost as just the rear tires in yoko AD07's ($320 per tire).
somewhere I read that the yoko AD07 is not upposed to be used below 14 degrees F. It certainly gets colder than that in Colorado! Anyone heard the same?
Gary in Denver
 
A very fine mechanic from Tesla was with my car today. He changed the suspension setting to try to get rid of some of the understeer.

But what I'm wondering is has anyone any experience how my tyres compare to other tyres on the Roadster Sport. Mine did come with:

Continental ContiSport Contact
Front: 195/50 R 16
Back: 225/45 R 17
 
The continental tires are working fine, and the car is definitely quieter which is nice. Cornering is not quite as tight, but I really had to push it to see any slip.
On the 2008 there is no input on a screen to say "new tires". Ii just drove carefully for 30 miles or so, I only saw the TC light when I pushed it to 90 MPH.
 
This is perhaps the best example so far of the original idea behind this thread:
5740359047_ebb377ec12_b.jpg

Those look a lot bigger than stock...

What do people think of the look?
 
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I did as much research on the Roadster as I could between 2008 and 2009. Tesla was very responsive to my questions and suggestions, sometimes saying that they were already looking into similar options. Here are the numbers I was given, and I hope they're not out of date since April of 2009:

5 bolt pattern, 110 mm' pcd
(this is in between the standards of 5x100 mm & 5x4.5" a.k.a. 5x114.3 mm)
M12 x 1.5 bolt
stock cast aluminum wheels: 10.2 kg each (total 90 lbs by my math)
optional forged aluminum wheels: 7.7 kg each (total 68 lbs by my math)

I run SSR Wheels on my older gasoline two-door, and I really like their SSF (semi-solid forged) Type-C model. With tires, they actually weigh less than the compact spare! But this is for the CRX Si.

Now that I finally have a Roadster 2.5, I am trying to find a way to get SSR Type-C SSF wheels in a 5/110 bolt pattern. They do not seem to have a 16x6 wheel, but they do have 16x7 and 17x7.5

$450 16x7.0J +42 offset 12.1 lb (normally 5/114.3)
$510 17x7.5J +49 offset 14.9 lb (normally 5/100)

A set of these for the Roadster would only be $1,920.00 and would total 54 lbs. That's a savings of 14 lbs versus the $2,900 forged Tesla wheels and a savings of 36 lbs versus the stock cast Tesla wheels.

As to the discussion about "performance," I suggest that the handling differences of low-profile tires are only sometimes useful, whereas reducing your unsprung weight will ALWAYS be useful, thanks to physics. Provided you don't somehow drop the weight too much - which should be impossible with that battery pack - I favor lighter wheels much more strongly than low-profile wheels. Note that larger diameters are always heavier than smaller diameters, at least when comparing the same technology. My theory is that extremely large diameter wheels are only for show, not for setting actual records.

If anyone has ordered SSR Type-C Wheels with custom Tesla Roadster bolt patterns, please contact me or leave a response here! I am just starting my research into whether these can be obtained, so any help would be appreciated.
 
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Wireless-EV-Charger-2.jpg


See also:
Alternative Wheels for Roadster
 
This is perhaps the best example so far of the original idea behind this thread:

I actually think those wheels look pretty good, although I'd like them an inch or two smaller. Are those the Brabus wheels?

The wheels in the post above mine like plastic or just "fake" to me. Almost like that Roadster is a non-driveable prototype (although I know it's not!)