New Tires Install - Uneven Front and Rears

[Killer Junior]

Good morning, team. Yesterday I had new tires installed on my ‘23 MYP Uberturbines. I went with 295/35/21 in the rear and moved the 275/35/21 to the front. I noticed that the left (driver’s side) tires have a gap between the edge of the wheel/tire and fender (approx. 5mm in the front and about 10mm in the rear). No problem as far as I can tell. However, the passenger side wheel/tires have no gap and sit flush with the fender. Any ideas as to why? I’ll take it back to the shop today to address it but wanted to hear from the group to see if this is cause for concern. Car seems to drive fine. About to take off on my morning commute.

 

[fiehlsport]

My first thought is that the shop incorrectly put a rear wheel on the front instead of dismounting both 275s and putting them on the front wheels. They're different widths/offsets. But, this would cause a weird look on one of the rear tires if that were the case too.

 

[Killer Junior]

My first thought is that the shop incorrectly put a rear wheel on the front instead of dismounting both 275s and putting them on the front wheels. They're different widths/offsets. But, this would cause a weird look on one of the rear tires if that were the case too.

Spoke to the shop on the phone this morning. They claim to have swapped each tire one at a time. I’m bringing it by to have them look at it.

 

[Killer Junior]

Looking at it again I’m guessing they’ll need to adjust the camber on the driver’s side.

 

[fiehlsport]

That might be a Tesla issue if true. If the car currently drives straight, adjusting camber on one wheel will cause it to pull left or right, and would need the toe adjusted to compensate for it. You'd be on the hook for an expensive alignment, most likely. (Unless it's one of those $90 alignment places, but either way it's a new car and Tesla should cover it if it's majorly messed up like that)

Another possibility, even if implausible: The front subframe is shifted slightly more to one side, causing differing camber on the front wheels

I'm still thinking the wheels are the cause, but if not, I'm stumped!

 

[Killer Junior]

That might be a Tesla issue if true. If the car currently drives straight, adjusting camber on one wheel will cause it to pull left or right, and would need the toe adjusted to compensate for it. You'd be on the hook for an expensive alignment, most likely. (Unless it's one of those $90 alignment places, but either way it's a new car and Tesla should cover it if it's majorly messed up like that)

Another possibility, even if implausible: The front subframe is shifted slightly more to one side, causing differing camber on the front wheels

I'm still thinking the wheels are the cause, but if not, I'm stumped!

I have an appointment with my local Tesla service center to check it out. Will see if the warranty covers it since I just took delivery a few weeks ago. I’m interested in what they might say about the tire swap.

 

[fiehlsport]

Definitely curious what they find. Is it something you can take a pic of and post on the forum? Or is it something that's hard to photograph?

 

[Killer Junior]

1. Passenger rear is flush
2. Driver side rear shows about a 10mm gap
3. Passenger front is flush
4. Driver side front shows about a 5mm gap (hard to tell in this pic but it’s there)

 

[thesmokingman]

I have an appointment with my local Tesla service center to check it out. Will see if the warranty covers it since I just took delivery a few weeks ago. I’m interested in what they might say about the tire swap.

It won't cover that as you introduced the issue with the really large tires, which will cause some camber issues as the wheel heights are higher now. What you probably need is an alignment with someone who knows how to use minor amount of slack in the suspension to dial the camber in. Normally there's no adjustment fyi.

 

[Killer Junior]

It won't cover that as you introduced the issue with the really large tires, which will cause some camber issues as the wheel heights are higher now. What you probably need is an alignment with someone who knows how to use minor amount of slack in the suspension to dial the camber in. Normally there's no adjustment fyi.

I didn’t think a wider profile would cause height issues but I guess it makes sense given the camber may have been negatively affected by the added surface contact. If that’s the case then I probably won’t take it in to the Tesla service center. I appreciate your input.

 

[thesmokingman]

I didn’t think a wider profile would cause height issues but I guess it makes sense given the camber may have been negatively affected by the added surface contact. If that’s the case then I probably won’t take it in to the Tesla service center. I appreciate your input.

Yea, going to Tesla would just be wasting your time and given that alignment isn't warranteed after so many x miles anyways and only with stock setup. Search the alignment threads in the 3 forum especially to get an idea of how to wiggle for that extra tenth or two tenths of a degree.

Oh also, don't forget to reset your steering angle in the service menu after alignment.

 

[Cavity]

Yea, going to Tesla would just be wasting your time and given that alignment isn't warranteed after so many x miles anyways and only with stock setup. Search the alignment threads in the 3 forum especially to get an idea of how to wiggle for that extra tenth or two tenths of a degree.

Oh also, don't forget to reset your steering angle in the service menu after alignment.

I was messing around in the service menu today.....What does resetting the steering angle do?

 

[thesmokingman]

I was messing around in the service menu today.....What does resetting the steering angle do?

The steering is electric so it can apply an offset to the steering angle. Say you hit a curb and now it goes left right, you can apply an offset to straighten it back out, putting aside that's the wrong way to fix it lol. Or what typically happens after an alignment is everything is good by the numbers yet the car is still veering left. That most likely means there was a steering angle offset enabled previously, so you'd go into the service menu and remove that offset and voila, the car goes straight.

 

[Cavity]

Thanks. That's pretty cool.....So say my car pulls slightly to the right, I would go into service mode and adjust the angle to the left a few degrees and go for a short test drive, then reevaluate after?
...Also, would it be advantageous to reset to zero before taking it in for an alignment at a local tire shop, or would I reset to zero after it's done with the alignment?

 

[thesmokingman]

Yea you can do that, but it may take a few miles for it to apply. However as I wrote about putting aside the wrong way to do it, if you did do this and your alignment was off be aware that your tires could be wearing poorly due to mechanical misalignment, etc. If you wanted to zero it out just in case before alignment do it a day before or something just to be sure.