Non staggered LR tires

[a1machinista1]

Here's a question, my father in law ordered the LR and he was asking about tire wear. After my initial chuckle, I was telling him what staggered meant and not having the ability to rotate the tires. He drives about 30k miles a year. Does any know the width and offset of a wheel that will work so he can do rotations?

 

[Tam]

Here's a question, my father in law ordered the LR and he was asking about tire wear. After my initial chuckle, I was telling him what staggered meant and not having the ability to rotate the tires. He drives about 30k miles a year. Does any know the width and offset of a wheel that will work so he can do rotations?

Model X has staggered tires too as the rear wider ones don't fit in front. Some owners just buy additional 2 front tires and place them in the rear so they can now rotate them freely.

I assume you can also do the same for the new Model S Plaid. I am not sure whether the new non-Plaid would have a staggered tire.

 

[lbowroom]

Model X has staggered tires too as the rear wider ones don't fit in front. Some owners just buy additional 2 front tires and place them in the rear so they can now rotate them freely.

I assume you can also do the same for the new Model S Plaid. I am not sure whether the new non-Plaid would have a staggered tire.

We are sure that the LR has a staggered setup. 19x9.5 front, 19x10.5 rear with 255 Front, 285 rear.

lots information in this thread starting with post #44

Vendor - Official Signature Wheel Gallery | Model S Plaid & Performance.

@SignatureSales can you tell if the new Tesla Arachnid is still a forged wheel? At 35lbs, I’m guess it isn’t. It is a cast wheel

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[Aggmeister2010]

Model X has staggered tires too as the rear wider ones don't fit in front. Some owners just buy additional 2 front tires and place them in the rear so they can now rotate them freely.

I assume you can also do the same for the new Model S Plaid. I am not sure whether the new non-Plaid would have a staggered tire.

I mean, I guess you could do put skinnier tires on the 10" rear wheels, but putting wider wheels on the front with stretched tires would look kinda goofy.

From an aesthetics standpoint, the best option is staggered. The S has a wide rear end needs wide tires to fill them out. Putting 245s on the back of an S makes it look like it skipped leg day.

I've also found that, especially with all the torque these cars have, they can really struggle to plant it to the ground with 245s in the back. Most equivalently powerful cars have at least 275s in the back.

From my viewpoint, there are a few options:

1) Use non-staggered wheels/tires, but install spacers in the rear to improve the offset.
2) Use staggered wheels and rotate tires side to side (requires dismount, but that's not a huge problem)
3) Use staggered wheels and just fuggeddaboutit.

IMO, just do option 3. Enjoy the car, don't cheap out on it. I have staggered wheels/tires on my S and with good alignment, I haven't needed to rotate them. And if you get tires that aren't unidirectional, you can rotate them side to side if you want.

 

[a1machinista1]

I wouldn't call wanting to be able to rotate tires
"cheap out". I do like the idea of a spacer in the rear. Maybe run 255s on all 4 corners.(?) provided the spacers is not more than .500.

 

[Aggmeister2010]

I wouldn't call wanting to be able to rotate tires
"cheap out". I do like the idea of a spacer in the rear. Maybe run 255s on all 4 corners.(?) provided the spacers is not more than .500.

Can you only buy the LR with staggered wheels? No squared option?

I'm not sure if the wheel arches are flared for *both* the Plaid and the LR, but if the LR wheel arches are the same dimensions as the 2012-2020 S, you may struggle to fit a 255 tire in there without rubbing, especially if you're putting them on the 10" wheels from the rear and then rotating that to the front. But maybe not, as I'm not sure what sidewall profile or wheel size you're looking at and that plays in as well. When he gets the car, he can take some measurements and we can help get it all figured out.

If I was you, my suggestion would be to keep the staggered wheels with the recommended tire widths, and just have a tire shop swap the tires across the axle (left to right, not front to back) once at about halfway through their lifespan. That way you get full use of the tire even if there's some camber wear in the rears. Tesla is super finnicky about denying warranty coverage where they can, and I guarantee that if they found you running your rear wheels in the front with stretched tires, they'd duck out of any suspension warranty claims you made.

Other question is - what about tire life warranties? I've never used them, but heard of folks on this forum who get, say 15k miles out of a tire that guarantees 30k miles, file a claim, and use the refund to partially cover new tires.

 

[lbowroom]

Can you only buy the LR with staggered wheels? No squared option?

I'm not sure if the wheel arches are flared for *both* the Plaid and the LR, but if the LR wheel arches are the same dimensions as the 2012-2020 S, you may struggle to fit a 255 tire in there without rubbing, especially if you're putting them on the 10" wheels from the rear and then rotating that to the front. But maybe not, as I'm not sure what sidewall profile or wheel size you're looking at and that plays in as well. When he gets the car, he can take some measurements and we can help get it all figured out.

If I was you, my suggestion would be to keep the staggered wheels with the recommended tire widths, and just have a tire shop swap the tires across the axle (left to right, not front to back) once at about halfway through their lifespan. That way you get full use of the tire even if there's some camber wear in the rears. Tesla is super finnicky about denying warranty coverage where they can, and I guarantee that if they found you running your rear wheels in the front with stretched tires, they'd duck out of any suspension warranty claims you made.

Other question is - what about tire life warranties? I've never used them, but heard of folks on this forum who get, say 15k miles out of a tire that guarantees 30k miles, file a claim, and use the refund to partially cover new tires.

The refreshed S has the same bodywork for LR and Plaid. Both the LR and Plaid come with 9.5" wide front and 10.5" rear. The LR has 255/285 tires while the Plaid has 265/295. They don't rub.

 

[lbowroom]

You can do a square 19x10 with 285 all around. Just read through the thread I linked above.

 

[a1machinista1]

Can you only buy the LR with staggered wheels? No squared option?

I'm not sure if the wheel arches are flared for *both* the Plaid and the LR, but if the LR wheel arches are the same dimensions as the 2012-2020 S, you may struggle to fit a 255 tire in there without rubbing, especially if you're putting them on the 10" wheels from the rear and then rotating that to the front. But maybe not, as I'm not sure what sidewall profile or wheel size you're looking at and that plays in as well. When he gets the car, he can take some measurements and we can help get it all figured out.

If I was you, my suggestion would be to keep the staggered wheels with the recommended tire widths, and just have a tire shop swap the tires across the axle (left to right, not front to back) once at about halfway through their lifespan. That way you get full use of the tire even if there's some camber wear in the rears. Tesla is super finnicky about denying warranty coverage where they can, and I guarantee that if they found you running your rear wheels in the front with stretched tires, they'd duck out of any suspension warranty claims you made.

Other question is - what about tire life warranties? I've never used them, but heard of folks on this forum who get, say 15k miles out of a tire that guarantees 30k miles, file a claim, and use the refund to partially cover new tires.

I would get him different wheels and tires. I wouldn't be stretching any tire.

 

[a1machinista1]

You can do a square 19x10 with 285 all around. Just read through the thread I linked above.

285 holy snikeys!!! What offset would those need to be? And would the back need any spacing? Thanks for the link.

 

[Aggmeister2010]

The refreshed S has the same bodywork for LR and Plaid. Both the LR and Plaid come with 9.5" wide front and 10.5" rear. The LR has 255/285 tires while the Plaid has 265/295. They don't rub.

Oh man, that's good stuff. With my P90D being lowered, I can't fit more than a 245/35/21 without rubbing, and no more than 285/30/21 in the back.

If the LR has that much room in the front, then all bets are off! In that case, OP, do what lbowroom suggested and do square 285s (if you don't mind buying two extra 19x10s), or at least 265's all around, though that would be a bit of a stretch on your 10" rears.

 

[cwanja]

@Hayseed_MS I think you were asking about this.

 

[pitiso]

I mean, I guess you could do put skinnier tires on the 10" rear wheels, but putting wider wheels on the front with stretched tires would look kinda goofy.

From an aesthetics standpoint, the best option is staggered. The S has a wide rear end needs wide tires to fill them out. Putting 245s on the back of an S makes it look like it skipped leg day.

I've also found that, especially with all the torque these cars have, they can really struggle to plant it to the ground with 245s in the back. Most equivalently powerful cars have at least 275s in the back.

From my viewpoint, there are a few options:

1) Use non-staggered wheels/tires, but install spacers in the rear to improve the offset.
2) Use staggered wheels and rotate tires side to side (requires dismount, but that's not a huge problem)
3) Use staggered wheels and just fuggeddaboutit.

IMO, just do option 3. Enjoy the car, don't cheap out on it. I have staggered wheels/tires on my S and with good alignment, I haven't needed to rotate them. And if you get tires that aren't unidirectional, you can rotate them side to side if you want.

Solid advice