Model 3 Performance Tire or Wheel Damage?

[wonton332]

Hi Everyone,

I recently got new wheels and all season tires for my Model 3 performance, roughly 600 miles on them, and I hit a pretty big pothole this morning and the tire pressure immediately dipped to 32. I inflated the tires back up to Tesla's recommendation of 42 PSI for the cold. After about 15-20 minutes of driving I started to feel a vibration coming from the rear left wheel at highway speeds, and I also heard an audible noise coming from the same wheel, and the tire dropped to 36 PSI.

I looked at the rear tire/wheel after I got out and I couldn't see any visual damage to the wheel or tire. I can have both the wheel and tire replaced for free as they are both covered under warranty.

Should I just replace both the wheel and tire?

 

[Lindenwood]

Whatever you decide, you will need both the wheels and tires inspected for roadworthiness. If they are damaged, and whatever warranty you have for the aftermarket wheels and tires covers pothole damage, they may replace whatever is required. That said, I wouldn’t expect it to be quick or convenient.

The neat thing about warranties and insurance is even if you have them, it usually feels like you don’t.

 

[SVDNN]

Look over carefully, sounds very suspicious for damage...sometimes damage is not so easily seen on the outer portion of the wheel/tire. Do not forget to also look at the inner sidewall portion of the tire as well.

 

[jjrandorin]

I can have both the wheel and tire replaced for free as they are both covered under warranty.

Im going to make an assumption (I know, assuming can be bad) that you are talking about some sort of aftermarket / third party tire and wheel warranty, because the tesla new vehicle warranty absolutely does not cover damage from potholes.

 

[BR0CK]

backside bend

 

[BR0CK]

can get a licensed wheel repair shop to heat andmachine them perfectly round again for about $150-200/wheel versus buying a new one for $1000.

 

[tm1v2]

backside bend

Could also be cracked on the backside rim. That was my first Tesla "performance" wheel failure. Symptom was a slow leak, but the real issue was the cracked rim. It was a similar super skinny sidewall setup, 245/35R21 on 21x8.5" wheels. Though OP hasn't posted their new wheel and tire sizing.

 

[rcm3]

Also hit a deep pothole last week, blew out the front passenger tire with 20". Went to the shop to put on a replacement used tire but I saw a small bend on the inner rim; mechanic said it should be ok and mounted/balanced it. Felt a new vibration coming through the steering wheel and that side of that car with the replaced tire. Brought it to a specialized wheel shop to have them check out the bend and they found the rear passenger wheel was bent as well; said the used tire was fine though. Fixed both bends for $250 total (SF Bay Area), no more vibrations. Now I feel like I have PTSD, always scanning the road for potholes

 

[Cmdred]

i hit a pothole a year ago and blew out both drivers side wheels and rims. Hit a pothole last night and blew out the passenger side wheels and rims.
These 20" wheels are not designed for city streets; they're only good for the track. Looking for some tires that will withstand more shock. Possibly looking at continental all weather tires.. it'll impact range but nothing impacts range worse than 2 blown out wheels.
Anyone else have any recommendations?

 

[tm1v2]

i hit a pothole a year ago and blew out both drivers side wheels and rims. Hit a pothole last night and blew out the passenger side wheels and rims.
These 20" wheels are not designed for city streets; they're only good for the track. Looking for some tires that will withstand more shock. Possibly looking at continental all weather tires.. it'll impact range but nothing impacts range worse than 2 blown out wheels.
Anyone else have any recommendations?

@Cmdred I doubt that any tire which fits would make much difference in protecting the wheel itself. The stock tire diameter is already pretty close to the maximum that fits. 245/35R20 should fit just fine, and some tires fit in 255/35R20, but not all. Summer tires with their shorter tread are more likely to fit in 255/35R20.

Those sizes are only marginal increases in sidewall though, and there really is no more room than that.

For really bad pavement, downsize to smaller diameter wheels. 18" will be functionally best for such pavement, and also cheapest. I switched our M3P to 245/45R18 on 18x8.5" wheels because of the roads we drive on (including dirt roads). No performance downside, in fact grip went up thanks to better tires. No loss of steering feel or precision either, again thanks to firm sporty feeling performance tires. The ride got better of course, not night-and-day but certainly took the edge off, and surprisingly efficiency also improved. Only real downside is looks, I'll always miss the look of the stock M3P wheels, and I miss the look of our P85's stock wheels too, but wheels like those aren't practical for where we drive.

 

[canadianowner]

@Cmdred I doubt that any tire which fits would make much difference in protecting the wheel itself. The stock tire diameter is already pretty close to the maximum that fits. 245/35R20 should fit just fine, and some tires fit in 255/35R20, but not all. Summer tires with their shorter tread are more likely to fit in 255/35R20.

Those sizes are only marginal increases in sidewall though, and there really is no more room than that.

For really bad pavement, downsize to smaller diameter wheels. 18" will be functionally best for such pavement, and also cheapest. I switched our M3P to 245/45R18 on 18x8.5" wheels because of the roads we drive on (including dirt roads). No performance downside, in fact grip went up thanks to better tires. No loss of steering feel or precision either, again thanks to firm sporty feeling performance tires. The ride got better of course, not night-and-day but certainly took the edge off, and surprisingly efficiency also improved. Only real downside is looks, I'll always miss the look of the stock M3P wheels, and I miss the look of our P85's stock wheels too, but wheels like those aren't practical for where we drive.

@tm1v2 can you give some more details about this? I have an M3P and would like to switch from the stock Ubertrine 20” wheels and tires to an option which can withstand potholes and rougher roads better. You mentioned 18” wheels and tire sizes, perhaps you could give more details about those and how you made sure that they had no issues with your brake callipers fitting?

 

[Lindenwood]

I would concur with @tm1v2 about downsizing for maximum effect, but if you want to keep the factory wheels and are more concerned about a cushier ride and maximum rim protection than best handling, technically most 275/30R20 are rated for 9-10.5” wheels (sometimes 9-11”).

 

[tm1v2]

@tm1v2 can you give some more details about this? I have an M3P and would like to switch from the stock Ubertrine 20” wheels and tires to an option which can withstand potholes and rougher roads better. You mentioned 18” wheels and tire sizes, perhaps you could give more details about those and how you made sure that they had no issues with your brake callipers fitting?

@canadianowner I went with wheels in an M3P PUP specific spec, the Titan7 T-S5 in 18x8.5" ET35. There are a good number of wheels nowadays that offer M3P specific spec. Here's some pics of my setup:

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/posts/6356654/
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/posts/6705435/
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/posts/6791334/

I was back and forth on 18" vs 19" initially (would 18" be *too* much sidewall?), and also on whether to go wide (9.5"+) or just stay in the 8.5"-9" stock width range, because I wasn't satisfied with the grip of the stock Pirelli PZ4 summer tires. I settled on 18" and stock-like width because I figured at worst, if I ended up wanting wider or bigger wheels, then I would simply turn the 18x8.5" set into my winter set, after wearing through the initial summer tires I put on them.

Of note, 8.5" wide ET35 is a fully stock offset/track. Some folks like to have their wheels pushed out more to the fender edge. That looks nicer but I believe hurts efficiency, that's why a lot of efficiency focused cars tend to have their wheels pretty tucked in, or even cover up the back wheel (e.g. original Honda Insight). I'm not after max efficiency at all, I care more about grip and function, but I'm okay without a super flush wheel fitment and we do a lot of long drives away from any superchargers/DCFC where efficiency really does matter. So the stock offset works well for me.

As mentioned, it turned out 18x8.5" felt great with good performance tires, and grip really improved too thanks to the better tires. Going wider or larger would make the tires and wheels more expensive, and reduce efficiency too. Not the end of the world, if that's what you want go for it, but personally I'm still very happy with 245/45R18 on 18x8.5"' for street use, even with lots of back road shredding.

Also, don't bother with 18x9" on this car. The only benefit over 18x8.5" would be a better fitment for squeezing in 255/45R18 tires, but the performance tire selection in that size is extremely minimal. 245/45R18 makes far more sense just because of tire selection, and then you might as well run 18x8.5" wheels. And I assume wheel makers realize this, which is why you don't see many or any 18x9" M3P direct fitment wheels. So in 18" stick with 18x8.5", or if you want wide then move up to 18x9.5" to run 265/40R18.