Inside Tesla - 08.21.12

[westerndh]

At the Santa Monica store opening I was told the front/rear 21" wheels are different sizes, therefore expect the rear tires to need replacing more frequently!

I've asked Tesla about this. I was/am wondering what's going on, because Edmunds test vehicle had wider than standard tires in the rear.

From their review:

Link: 2012 Tesla Model S Track Test

Quote: “Tire Size (front): 245/35ZR21
Tire Size (rear): 265/35ZR21 (101Y)
Tire Brand: Michelin
Tire Model: Pilot Sport PS2
Tire Type: Asymmetrical summer performance”

But I confirmed with Tesla that the performance ships with 245's front and rear. (NOT the 265 used in the review)

 

[vfx]

Done the Porsche and the S at those accelerations. Noisily, the Porsche sounds like it's a 40 year smoker and struggling and groaning to make those speeds. While the S is so effortless. Like an excited 8 year old running though a sprinkler on a hot summer day. No stats for that...

 

[KenEE]

At the Santa Monica store opening I was told the front/rear 21" wheels are different sizes, therefore expect the rear tires to need replacing more frequently!

Will the real shipping tires size(s) please stand up?

Can anyone with a delivered MSP confirm the rear tire size?

 

[TEG]

Done the Porsche and the S at those accelerations. Noisily, the Porsche sounds like it's a 40 year smoker and struggling and groaning to make those speeds. While the S is so effortless. Like an excited 8 year old running though a sprinkler on a hot summer day. No stats for that...

I like to think of it like all roads feel like they are downhill...

 

[jaanton]

Will the real shipping tires size(s) please stand up?

Can anyone with a delivered MSP confirm the rear tire size?

Ditto. I just went to Tire Rack - Your performance experts for tires and wheels out of curiosity and wow! TireRack already has the Model S in their database. However none of the sizes are 265's.

(A few years back I lost a tire after just 65 miles on a brand new car. At least then replacing one tire is ok because the rest of them had pretty much no wear.)

 

[jerry33]

Maybe jerry33 can chime in here but I've heard him say several times that wider tires change the shape of the contact patch but do not actually increase the area of the contact patch... So I'm not sure those 265's would actually help to reduce the 0-60 or 1/4 mile time...

The contact patch area is almost entirely related to the air pressure so the contact area won't change size unless the air pressure is changed. However, the 265s may have a stickier tread compound which would reduce the times, or the 265 may just be a typo (that's what I'm leaning towards in absence of verification). The thing about tires is that you can't really tell much just by looking other than whether they will fit on the wheels or not.

 

[Francis Lau]

Will the real shipping tires size(s) please stand up?

Can anyone with a delivered MSP confirm the rear tire size?

I checked the spec page at Model S Specs and Standard Features | Tesla Motors and it says

19" aluminum alloy wheels with all-season tires (Goodyear Eagle RS-A2 245/45R19). Note: optional 21" wheels come with Continental Extreme Contact DW 245/35R21 high-performance tires

Are we not trusting the spec page?

 

[jerry33]

Are we not trusting the spec page?

It's not that. We're wondering if: a) Edmonds changed the rear tires, b) Tesla changed the rear tires, or c) The writer made a typo. I'm inclined to go with c, but so far there has been no hard evidence.

 

[Kevin Harney]

It's not that. We're wondering if: a) Edmonds changed the rear tires, b) Tesla changed the rear tires, or c) The writer made a typo. I'm inclined to go with c, but so far there has been no hard evidence.

There is a picture of the tire - what more evidence do you need ?

 

[jerry33]

The markings on the picture that I saw looked to me like 245 but it could have been 265. It wasn't the best picture.