Just picked up my 19" Cardenio Winter Wheel + Tire set from Tesla. No wheel weights... Unusual?

[WilliamG]

So just picked up my winter wheel set for my 2021 Model S Plaid from Tesla service. I did not have them mounted on the car. I noticed only one wheel had a weights on it, and the other three did not. I asked, and they did not seem concerned, and the service advisor told me this happens if the tires are perfectly balanced without them, and that the guy who balanced them literally does this all day... I did not get to speak to the tech.

Since I won't be mounting these on the car for a while, anyone want to chime in here whether I should be concerned? @jebinc

 

[jebinc]

So just picked up my winter wheel set for my 2021 Model S Plaid from Tesla service. I did not have them mounted on the car. I noticed only one wheel had a weights on it, and the other three did not. I asked, and they did not seem concerned. Since I won't be mounting these on the car for a while, anyone want to chime in here whether I should be concerned? @jebinc

Isn’t true that these tires were mounted to rims at different times (and likely by different people) over the past theee months while the SC waited for some delayed wheels and back ordered tires to arrive? Being cast rims, different mounting times by different people, and the likelihood that Tesla doesn’t use the more expensive “road force balancing” machines, I would guess that the three weight feee wheels were not balanced, while the one with weights was at a different time and by a competent tech. YMMV.

Edit: Since you have time, and balancing is inexpensive, perhaps eliminate the concern by going to Discount Tire and get a proper road force balance?

 

[WilliamG]

Isn’t true that these tires were mounted to rims at different times (and likely by different people) over the past theee months while the SC waited for some delayed wheels and back ordered tires to arrive? Being cast rims, different mounting times by different people, and the likelihood that Tesla doesn’t use the more expensive “road force balancing” machines, I would guess that the three weight feee wheels were not balanced, while the one with weights was at a different time and by a competent tech. YMMV.

No, that's not what happened, - but that's amazing speculation. They were all built at the same time. The service center had all 4 tires waiting for the wheels to arrive and had received two wheels a while ago and were waiting for the other two. They only build them around the appointment time in case of cancellation so they can have individual parts for other customers.

 

[WilliamG]

Edit: Since you have time, and balancing is inexpensive, perhaps eliminate the concern by going to Discount Tire and get a proper road force balance?

I may do that for peace of mind. It just seems so odd they were adamant it was normal…

 

[jebinc]

I may do that for peace of mind. It just seems so odd they were adamant it was normal…

Consider the source. General consensus here is you really can’t “bank” what you’re told by a SC SA; and getting three “cast” aluminum wheels with new tires and no weights seems like an outlier…. Would love to get other thoughts on this.

 

[Muzzman1]

I agree, in my experience with 20 or so cars I've owned over 35yrs, I have yet to see a "perfectly" balanced wheel that did not need weights. I would definetly take them to a tire shop for a proper balance.
Like @jebinc said, consider the source. That's the same SC that took your front motor out twice cause they managed to install the wrong inverter in it.....and countless other horrible service mistakes.

 

[jebinc]

I agree, in my experience with 20 or so cars I've owned over 35yrs, I have yet to see a "perfectly" balanced wheel that did not need weights. I would definetly take them to a tire shop for a proper balance.
Like @jebinc said, consider the source. That's the same SC that took your front motor out twice cause they managed to install the wrong inverter in it.....and countless other horrible service mistakes.

@Muzzman1 It would have been a first for me as well, after 40 years working on as many cars!

 

[WilliamG]

I’ll take them somewhere this weekend…

 

[WilliamG]

Alright! Just got back from Discount Tire. They were as surprised as I was. But... tires were all great, and did not need further balancing. I guess I'm just annoyed now that there's a weight on one wheel. Did the guy give up on the last one? Anyway, road force numbers are 21, 24, 7, and 13. Those numbers I'm sure mean something.

Anyway, a data point for you all!

@Muzzman1 @jebinc

 

[Mash]

I guess Tesla started to balance rims with TPMS weight taken into account. How long will it take aftermarket to start doing it the same way.