If you are referring to the tires, the Michelin Primacy tires on the 18s cost $283, the Continental Pro Contacts on the 19s cost $268.
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Model 3 AWD 18” vs 19” wheels
- Thread starter 11thIndian
- Start date
If you are referring to the tires, the Michelin Primacy tires on the 18s cost $283, the Continental Pro Contacts on the 19s cost $268.
jonquiljo
Active Member
I'm going to bump this thread and ask which give the best ride? I keep hearing that the 18" wheels/tires give a much smoother rides. Is this true? I live in California and, while it may not snow here, the roads are terrible.
Ideally I wish they made an 18" that looked like the 19" I'm getting a red M3 and the aeros look just "so-so".
Ideally I wish they made an 18" that looked like the 19" I'm getting a red M3 and the aeros look just "so-so".
lencap
Member
I've owned my LR M3 for 10 months, about 14K miles driven. Like many others I too wondered about the 18" vs 19" wheels. At the time I didn't know about the "cap hub" for the 18" tires that admittedly make the 18" wheels look pretty good. I'm also a fan of Michelin tires, which are the 18" default. I was all set to save the $1500 and get the 18" wheels, despite liking the look of the 19" better on my black (standard color at the time) M3, but then I found a review of the two different tires from Edmunds. The link is here:
Edmunds concluded that the performance of the 19" wheel/tire combo is significantly better than the 18" version. Fast forward to time mark 2:40 for the summary - better acceleration, shorter stopping distance, higher G loads on skidpad, and quieter (very surprising, due to lower tire pressure for 19" tires). His conclusion is pretty clearly stated - buy the 19" wheel combo. I did, and I'm glad that I did. The ride is fine for me with the 19" combo, better than the 20" by far, yet with enough added performance over the 18" combo to be noticeable (i've driven BMW cars for many years).
Try before you buy, but don't discount the performance and fun factor of the 19" wheel/tire combo when making your decision. Yes, it's a $1500 luxury, but to me a better use of money than a color upgrade (personal opinion - YMMV).
Edmunds concluded that the performance of the 19" wheel/tire combo is significantly better than the 18" version. Fast forward to time mark 2:40 for the summary - better acceleration, shorter stopping distance, higher G loads on skidpad, and quieter (very surprising, due to lower tire pressure for 19" tires). His conclusion is pretty clearly stated - buy the 19" wheel combo. I did, and I'm glad that I did. The ride is fine for me with the 19" combo, better than the 20" by far, yet with enough added performance over the 18" combo to be noticeable (i've driven BMW cars for many years).
Try before you buy, but don't discount the performance and fun factor of the 19" wheel/tire combo when making your decision. Yes, it's a $1500 luxury, but to me a better use of money than a color upgrade (personal opinion - YMMV).
I've seen enough Aero's that look so hideous with scraps that potholes are the least of the problems.
19's always seem to look pretty good, and very few complaints about potholes with 19's. Plenty of complaints about 20's though.
Which rim you choose has nothing to do with what tire you choose.
You could have a grippy 18" tire and a not so grippy 19".
And that grip doesn't come for free. It will cost you efficiency and tire longevity.
No need to watch a Video that shows a grippier tire, is well, grippier.
jonquiljo
Active Member
But which wheels will give you a better ride? Or does it not really matter much? The roads around here stink and the stock LR (dual motor) seems more than enough car for performance.
Torque Monster
Member
Test drive both. I did and this what I found. The 18s do ride better over less than perfect pavement than the 19s. However, TO ME, the difference was not enough to sway me; I could not tell the difference between them unless I drove them back-to-back. See my previous posts in this thread. I was concerned about ride quality between the two, the risk of bending a wheel, and looks. I made a few visits to the dealer and took several test drives where I drove 18s and 19s back to back and other where I only drove 18s or only 19s.
I got the 19s but will say it again, the 18s drive smoother and quieter on anything less than brand new, smooth as glass, asphalt.
jonquiljo
Active Member
I’ve driven both, but there were a few days between the two tests. So I can’t say - especially because I was stunned on the first drive as the car was so different than anything I had driven before.
Most cars in general have smoother ride when using smaller tires and not low profile models like on the 19”. I really wis the car had an 18” chrome option. I’ll probably get the aeros and loose the plastic covers. If that doesn’t work, I'll order aftermarket wheels.
IMO, 19” wheels with low profile tires do not belong on a sedan. My last Porsche 911 had those - and it was a 911s.
Most cars in general have smoother ride when using smaller tires and not low profile models like on the 19”. I really wis the car had an 18” chrome option. I’ll probably get the aeros and loose the plastic covers. If that doesn’t work, I'll order aftermarket wheels.
IMO, 19” wheels with low profile tires do not belong on a sedan. My last Porsche 911 had those - and it was a 911s.
I didn't bother. I know the 20's were a non-starter; low profile tires do not work for me here in NJ - bad weather, potholes, the whole gamut. I'm sure the 18s and 19s ride similar enough that I wouldn't notice much of a difference. It's not like I'm racing or tracking the car; it's a family car.
18s vs 19s - well, I decided for the higher sidewall. Does it matter much? Probably not. But I actually like the look of the Aeros against the white body (I think it looks odd against anything but pearl white & MSM...) - so went that route and put $1500 back in my pocket. Figure that's 2 more sets of tires for the 18s.
If I can find a set fairly cheap, I'm considering picking up a set of 19" rims once I'm about through the first set of 18" tires, and then mount snow tires on the 18s. The problem is storage... Really don't want to chew up a ton of shed space for them.
Fossil Fool
Member
Who cares about spreadsheets? The 19s look cool and make the car look like it's ready to stomp on a vette!
There's the highly rational self that counts beans and the irrational self that counts blondes! Get those 19s... life is short.
There's the highly rational self that counts beans and the irrational self that counts blondes! Get those 19s... life is short.
MagnusMako
Member
Better acceleration eh? I'd like to see their numbers on that one. Shouldn't be any different.
lencap
Member
Magnus - I thought the same as you did about acceleration, but check the video at time mark 0:50. They measured 0-60 at 5.3 with the 18" wheels, 5.1 with the 19". I can't vouch for the accuracy of their measurements, but that's not an insignificant difference.
There have been several reports of the 18” wheeled stealth performance model accelerating faster than the 20” PUP performance model, and I have seen as low as 3.06 in 0-60 on my stealth performance car on factory aeros. I like the look of a bigger wheel, but the reality is 18” wheels are more efficient, ride better, more resistant to flats, easier and cheaper to put tires on especially snows (usually), and generally faster as the wheels are lighter.
XLR82XS
D M C
Without exaggerating, I thought the Aero's were / are the fugliest wheels I have ever seen. So when ordered mine the 19's were decent looking so i went with those.
Every time I saw the Aero's i thought they looked like hubcaps........ which i just found out after i placed my order that, they were indeed caps and were removable and they wheels they were hiding are actually pretty nice. I like the Aero-less 18's better, if they made those in 19's i would be all over them.
Those caps belong in the trash tho.
Every time I saw the Aero's i thought they looked like hubcaps........ which i just found out after i placed my order that, they were indeed caps and were removable and they wheels they were hiding are actually pretty nice. I like the Aero-less 18's better, if they made those in 19's i would be all over them.
Those caps belong in the trash tho.
BR666T
Member
I am leaning toward 18" wheels with good performance tires. Effects of Upsized Wheels and Tires Tested
18n inch tires are a good bit less expensive than 19's. 20's are cheaper than 19's. The Model 3 eats tires pretty fast, so the cost of tires is something one has to put into the equation. I like the 18 inch midnight silver wheel with the option of putting the aero covers back on for a road trip.
Alpaca
Member
I was wondering about the reported range on the dash. I have the mi range which was approx 260 mi when new ..I assume that is quoted with 18” Aeros and oem tires. But with the 19” contis … the max range should be less … at 10% reduction in efficiency .. should be 234 max . After 35000 miles and in the cold weather in CA .. my car now reports 220 max …which is about a 6% reduction over the 234 .. sounds about right. When the weather warms again, perhaps I can reclaim some of that ? Over 35000 miles I’m doing 239w/m … not sure what you guys on the 18” rims are reporting?
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