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Durability of 21" tires

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I have elected to try Hankook Ventus V12 - 245/35/21

UpDate on the tires, my car came equipped with the continentals,
after rotating them at reasonable numbers.
I have found my tires excessively worn on the inside.
Which generates harsh edges that catch on the freeway grooves.
The car was very noisy with tire noise and being pulled right to left
whenever the road had grooves.

I have become aware of this significant camber settings,
that this car carries to improve its oversteer rating.

The problem is if people don't get to the service center
and rotate the tires, they will have blowouts at about 6000 miles
they won't see coming.
Because the outside of the tires look great.
My car is a P85 21 inch rims.
I have elected to try Hankook Ventus V12 - 245/35/21

To improve the freeway stability of my vehicle.
Based on its tread design.
So far it's working these tires are definitely softer,
and I don't throw the car around in the canyons.
I drive it as a luxury car that's fun to drive.

I can share with you at 75 miles an hour there is a little extra noise
either wind in the tread or road surface.

So far it's actually a good thing it gives you some speed awareness.
My keep your record intact a little longer

I drove a loaner car set up the same as mine while the service was being done.
It sure drove harsh compared to my car even before the tire change.

I was lucky enough to drive my car on a set of 19" for a few days
and that also generated a harsher ride in the 21

I will keep you informed as to how the Hankook Ventus V12 - 245/35/21
behave on this car when being driven by a moderate enthusiast.

I have pressed to the petal all the way down starting in a slight curve.
And there is a difference between the continentals and Hankook Ventus V12,

My car spends 99.8 percent of its time in a cruise configuration.
So so far I'm very happy have not seen a change in rolling resistance based on new tires.
Because the service center also added a lot more tow in to my car
during this tire change. Averaging 309 watts per mile mostly fast freeway driving.

I'd love to see a little softening in the camber numbers so the tires will have a chance
I'm getting reasonable life.
 
Am I the only one that thinks 7500 mile tire replacement is insane?? There is something wrong with design or something. Even 21" tires should last 10-12k miles on average. 7500?? Crazy.

I got 16500 on my rear Contis before changing them (they were down to the cords though on the inside). I rotated the front Contis back and put two Hankooks on the front. 21000 and still going on the Contis that were on the front...

What have others experienced?
 
I believe that Continental is the standard 21" tire for everything but the P+. Michelin PS2's are standard for the P+ model. They delivered some cars with PS2's due to a supply shortage of Continentals.

I bought a spare set of PS2's to keep on hand as there have been shortages of the rear tire size for the P+ model.
 
I believe that Continental is the standard 21" tire for everything but the P+. Michelin PS2's are standard for the P+ model. They delivered some cars with PS2's due to a supply shortage of Continentals.

I bought a spare set of PS2's to keep on hand as there have been shortages of the rear tire size for the P+ model.

I hope they start to put some real performance tires on 85 21's , as Continental is not one.

I mean paying $4500 for 21' should get you some good rubber at least.
 
Am I the only one that thinks 7500 mile tire replacement is insane?? There is something wrong with design or something. Even 21" tires should last 10-12k miles on average. 7500?? Crazy.

A lot of it has to do with driving style. Most people who buy the P85 and 21" tires probably drive it with gusto so yes 7,500 miles is crazy but not out of bounds for a max performance summer tire. Definitively on the low end though.
 
My tires where down to the thread at 8000 miles , so basically legally most likely down at 5000 miles ! I am not accepting this without a fight and will see what comes up about my complain.

I am also trying the Hankooks now as they are the cheapest option. I do not feel much difference in the general driving, but there is a BIG grip problem ! When I floor the car, tires squeak for more than just milliseconds and they do so at 30 mph !! So looks like grip wise they are much worse than the contis. Will be interesting how long the hold. afilm_guy, how is it looking with yours, how many miles since you got them ?
 
My tires where down to the thread at 8000 miles , so basically legally most likely down at 5000 miles ! I am not accepting this without a fight and will see what comes up about my complain.

I am also trying the Hankooks now as they are the cheapest option. I do not feel much difference in the general driving, but there is a BIG grip problem ! When I floor the car, tires squeak for more than just milliseconds and they do so at 30 mph !! So looks like grip wise they are much worse than the contis. Will be interesting how long the hold. afilm_guy, how is it looking with yours, how many miles since you got them ?
This is the second report I've heard of this (traction troubles with Model S) regarding the Hankooks. Make sure you talk to buzzbuzz (start with PMs) about his dismay with the Hankooks.
 
When you guys install the Hankooks, who does it for you? Someone above mentioned that when they installed Hankooks, the service center also adjusted camber which leads me to believe it was a TM service center doing the install, but doesn't Tesla shy away from installing non Tesla-approved tires?
 
Hankooks are more slippery than the Contis were but I made the Contis slip plenty and am trying to take it easy on my Hankooks. They get rotated every 1 or 2 months since I have a set of fun wheels to trash. The fun wheels are staggered and 275 in the rear. the inner edge is just getting past the tread grooves and 1 more weekend I may need to flip the tires on the wheels.

I like my Potenza Re-11s a lot more than the others but don't know how long they would last taking it easy. Most of my driving on them has been trying to keep them at the edge of losing it!


I have 3K mi on Hankooks @ 352 Whr/mi and
618 mi on Potenzas @ 478 Whr/mi ( and 200 miles of it was mild freeway driving)
 
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Am I the only one that thinks 7500 mile tire replacement is insane?? There is something wrong with design or something. Even 21" tires should last 10-12k miles on average. 7500?? Crazy.


When the NSX first came out they would eat tires after only a few thousand miles. The soft compound of the special Yokohama tires were partially to blame and the alignment settings (which made the car handle insanely good in 1991, and is still pretty amazing today) were mostly to blame. Acura ended up having to give vouchers for a free set of tires to every owner as part of a settlement and they changed the alignment specs to balance out the wear vs. handling. This is what I suspect will have to happen with Tesla. They will have to modify the specs for the alignment to prevent the inside tire wear or face a PR and possible class action mess. If guys buying an exotic (and the NSX was more exotic than a comparable Ferrari it could be argued) won't tolerate that sort of tread wear issue, I can't see how sedan owners will long-term.
 
For someone who uses the car as a daily driver and ONLY driver, the Hankooks should do just fine right? And is the treadwear rating of 280 (over Pilot PS2 of 220) really indicative of longer tread life in real world scenarios?

Thanks guys.
From the small sampling of anecdotes I've heard so far, I wouldn't put Hankooks on my daily driver in the Seattle area. In Arizona, California, or Florida it might be fine. I can't speak for Canada.
 
Am I the only one that thinks 7500 mile tire replacement is insane?? There is something wrong with design or something. Even 21" tires should last 10-12k miles on average. 7500?? Crazy.

I got 6,000 miles on the rear tires of my RENNTech C63 AMG (running OEM PZeros). Frequent tire replacement is part of the game; you gotta pay to play!

_________

The Hankook Ventus V12 is a very popular tire among AMG enthusiasts at MBWorld. Is it the best tire? No. Is it a great performer for the price? Yes. If you can spring for a set of Super Sports than do so, but the Hankooks are great for the price.