Does anyone have Michelin MXM4 on their 19" wheels?

[Rpgonzalez]

There has been a ton of discussion regarding 18" vs 19" wheels, and its obvious there is an efficiency hit. But, after about literally 12 hours of reading about wheels and tires I cant find anyone who can compare apples to apples.

The general consensus is that tires are very important for efficiency, and a bunch of speculation that the effect of wheel size is negligible. I wish I could find someone who has actually taken this to the streets.

Please respond if you have the efficient MXM4's tires or maybe any other LRR all season with higher UTQG on your 19" wheels and what your impression is regarding efficiency.

 

[Snow Drift]

The main issue isn’t the efficiency of the rubber, it’s the added weight and dimension of the 19” rims vs 18s.

The rubber is the same width, but different height which is another benefit to 18” as you get stiffer sidewalls for protection and strength.

Outside of appearance there is zero reason to pay extra for the 19s. You don’t even get a wider rim for potentially wider tires.

 

[Rpgonzalez]

The main issue isn’t the efficiency of the rubber, it’s the added weight and dimension of the 19” rims vs 18s.

The rubber is the same width, but different height which is another benefit to 18” as you get stiffer sidewalls for protection and strength.

Outside of appearance there is zero reason to pay extra for the 19s. You don’t even get a wider rim for potentially wider tires.

There are very few people on these forums that agree with you.

@Daniel in SD kept 18" (aftermarket ~2 lbs lighter per wheel) and changed tires from stock MXM4 to Michelin PS4S. He lost about 15% efficiency.

@AlanSubie4Life went from 20" to 18" wheels AND decreased the weight at each corner about 12lbs each. He shows 0 gain at high speed and marginal improvement at low speeds.

I could go on (search Michelin a/s 3+ efficiency or any of the 100's of posts that I went through) but as I said, the consensus is that tires have the greatest impact on range and efficiency.

I am not here to debate that. Im here to ask for data... on MXMX on 19" wheels.

 

[mreynolds767]

I don't know but thought all of the 18's come with the Michelin MXM4 tires and all of the 19's come with the Continential Tires?
The Performance 20's with the Michelin PS4S

If that is true, not sure why anyone would put MXM4 tires on the 19's ; the opinions on the MXM4 seem quite negative overall for the price point.

 

[Rpgonzalez]

I don't know but thought all of the 18's come with the Michelin MXM4 tires and all of the 19's come with the Continential Tires?
The Performance 20's with the Michelin PS4S

If that is true, not sure why anyone would put MXM4 tires on the 19's ; the opinions on the MXM4 seem quite negative overall for the price point.

yes, the 19's come with continental procontact RX's. It is true that the MXM4's are disliked over at tirerack.com, but there are plenty of people here that acknowledge its benefits in the low rolling resistance dept. Its also one of the quietist tires out there, and the handling isn't that bad.

To answer my own question though, I just found a post where someone went from the 18" wheels with the MXM4's to the 19" OEM wheel and fit those with pirelli p7+... a tire that is starting to look as if it has the same properties as the Michelins. That user said he saw no change in range or efficiency.

 

[mreynolds767]

So to be clear you are trying to prove the efficiency difference between the 18 and 19 options for the model 3 are due to the choice of tires and not the rims themselves.
Interesting if true.

May be able to easier find owners that have those Continental Tires on the 18 Aeros and see if that made their efficiency much worse.
I thought in the Model 3 early days the tires used varied a little bit as well but could be wrong about that.

 

[Snow Drift]

There are very few people on these forums that agree with you.

@Daniel in SD kept 18" (aftermarket ~2 lbs lighter per wheel) and changed tires from stock MXM4 to Michelin PS4S. He lost about 15% efficiency.

@AlanSubie4Life went from 20" to 18" wheels AND decreased the weight at each corner about 12lbs each. He shows 0 gain at high speed and marginal improvement at low speeds.

I could go on (search Michelin a/s 3+ efficiency or any of the 100's of posts that I went through) but as I said, the consensus is that tires have the greatest impact on range and efficiency.

I am not here to debate that. Im here to ask for data... on MXMX on 19" wheels.

How could sticky summer tires be more energy efficient than eco rated all seasons?

If you reduce to 18s, keep the equivalent width and ratio sidewall and the same model tire, the car will become more efficient. Less weight and smaller diameter to rotate.

You are really trying to determine if MXM4 are more, less or equally as efficient as the Contis of the same size.

 

[Rpgonzalez]

How could sticky summer tires be more energy efficient than eco rated all seasons?

since I’m in the “tires matter” club, summer tires will always wreck efficiency. In fact, the Michelin Pilot Sports 4s are even listed as having an eco-focus which is hilarious (esp considering a UTQG of 300).
Others have gone with non LRR All Season tires (Continental DWS06 @Beaver from the Tesla forum) who have concluded with others in that thread that those tires are close to the MXM4’s in efficiency, but less so by about 5%.

The only tires I’ve found around here that are actually low rolling resistance have been the Pirelli p7 plus. Those users said they saw no change in efficiency. I was hoping someone could post at least one more data point.

 

[Rpgonzalez]

You are really trying to determine if MXM4 are more, less or equally as efficient as the Contis of the same size.

The OEM Continental Procontacts are probably less efficient based on the lack of LRR and softer compound (low utqg).

@rxlawdude and many others for some reason defaulted to Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ when replacing the MXM4’s (top tire rack recommendation and Costco specials were mentioned) and all saw a drop in efficiency of 10% (even after 1000 miles).

 

[dmurphy]

I'm likely going to look at the Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack tires for the 19" wheels. They seem highly rated, have good UTQG numbers, and the 19" version is XL weight rated.

Just don't know what the efficiency #'s will look like!

 

[Rpgonzalez]

I'm likely going to look at the Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack tires for the 19" wheels. They seem highly rated, have good UTQG numbers, and the 19" version is XL weight rated.

Just don't know what the efficiency #'s will look like!

Sweet. Definitely heard great things on the forum.... Apparently users are happy with them. But no one has mentioned efficiency.

 

[XLR82XS]

I'm likely going to look at the Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack tires for the 19" wheels. They seem highly rated, have good UTQG numbers, and the 19" version is XL weight rated.

Just don't know what the efficiency #'s will look like!

I have my eye on those as well. Interested to hear your feedback if you get them.

 

[dmurphy]

I have my eye on those as well. Interested to hear your feedback if you get them.

Will do. That's likely what I'm going to grab; just trying to wait it out for the springtime. Wear down the 18" MXM4's a little more so I don't feel quite so bad ditching them...

Unless I try to sell the MXM4s with 6/32" tread as they sit.

 

[JCtx]

I think the newer Michelin 'grand touring' tires (forgot the model name), replacing the aging MXM4s, would be the best option for both rim sizes IMO. Anything higher performance, like A/S3s (ultra high performance all-season), or summer tires, will suffer in efficiency and noise for obvious reasons. Finally, somebody said 18" tires had stiffer sidewalls than 19s, and that's generally the opposite (at least for the same tire model), also for an obvious reason: less rubber between wheel and road. Plus lower profile tires typically require higher tire pressures, basically negating the effect of softer sidewalls (even if it's true) anyway.

Finally, I'm also struggling between 18s and 19s. I know the 19s will ride harsher, are $1,500 more expensive, and I'd have to get new quieter tires... but the 18 aero wheels are so ugly, I'm having a hard time not 'upgrading' to 19s. Ha ha. We'll see. We haven't made the decision of an EV right now, or in a few years.

 

[mreynolds767]

The 18's look OK if you remove the Ugly aero hubcaps and add the $50.00 wheel kit Telsa sells.
Ok is much better than Ugly and saves $1500

 

[XLR82XS]

Finally, I'm also struggling between 18s and 19s. I know the 19s will ride harsher, are $1,500 more expensive, and I'd have to get new quieter tires... but the 18 aero wheels are so ugly, I'm having a hard time not 'upgrading' to 19s. Ha ha. We'll see. We haven't made the decision of an EV right now, or in a few years.

FWIW I don't find the 19s to ride harsh at all compared to 18s.

 

[Rpgonzalez]

FWIW I don't find the 19s to ride harsh at all compared to 18s.

+1

 

[ZapCarM3]

I have my eye on those as well. Interested to hear your feedback if you get them.

Yeah do tell! It's a rather heavy tire though and that was bugging me a little just to think about it being 5 pounds heavier than the Crossclimate+

Let us know. Any updates?

 

[ZapCarM3]

I think the newer Michelin 'grand touring' tires (forgot the model name), replacing the aging MXM4s, would be the best option for both rim sizes IMO. Anything higher performance, like A/S3s (ultra high performance all-season), or summer tires, will suffer in efficiency and noise for obvious reasons. Finally, somebody said 18" tires had stiffer sidewalls than 19s, and that's generally the opposite (at least for the same tire model), also for an obvious reason: less rubber between wheel and road. Plus lower profile tires typically require higher tire pressures, basically negating the effect of softer sidewalls (even if it's true) anyway.

Finally, I'm also struggling between 18s and 19s. I know the 19s will ride harsher, are $1,500 more expensive, and I'd have to get new quieter tires... but the 18 aero wheels are so ugly, I'm having a hard time not 'upgrading' to 19s. Ha ha. We'll see. We haven't made the decision of an EV right now, or in a few years.

Have you considered after market wheels? More options, better price, lighter weight..

 

[dmurphy]

Let us know. Any updates?

Sorry, I haven’t pulled the trigger on anything yet. Just haven’t had a chance. Will let you know as soon as I do.