P85D No Longer Requires 21" Turbine Wheels

[Electrical_Eng]

I was grandfathered before the change to 21" required tires and went with 19" tires on the P85D (in the queue to be built). I am thinking of getting my own 21" wheels/tires through The Tire Rack for the summer. They have some interesting looking wheels but the Pilot Super Sports are on back order.

Does anything need to be re-programmed when going from 19" tires to 21" tires? Is there a way to change the image on the (Air) Suspension screen to show the size tires that are installed? I'm guessing the Service Center has to do this programming.

 

[clydebuilt]

Are the 19 and 21 inch assemblies the same diameter or do you have to change something to allow for the difference re the speedometer/odometer etc??

 

[rjcbox]

Does Tesla Motors employ Focus Groups to understand their customers? I'm thinking not so much...

Probably the same Focus Group that bundled alcantara headliner with Power Liftgate & cornering lights

 

[thecloud]

As someone in this thread observed in a previous thread:

on-again off-again on-again off-again on-again off-again. required not-required required not-required. staggered non-staggered staggered non-staggered. rear seats nextgen rear seats oldgen rear seats nextgen rear seats oldgen. service center says one thing, rep says a completely different thing, website says completely different thing. fake misleading price on website actual-price fake-price actual-price fake-price. options included excluded included excluded.

 

[mgboyes]

The outer diameter is pretty close for the 19"s and 21"s, because the 19"s have extra rubber, compared to the low-profile tires on the 21s.

For the square setup yes but the rears on staggered cars (i.e. P85D) are taller by about 1.5cm.

 

[ArtInCT]

As I recall, the various wheel sizes of 19" and 21" when mounted with the correct tire, result in nearly the same outside diameter.

For the Tesla the 19" wheel is D and the 21" inch wheel is D+2. Where D is the minimum diameter wheel fitment with correct offset.

The aspect of the tires for D = 19 is 245/45 and for D+2 (21") is 245/35 (in a four squared setup with no stagger).

So in that regard, the air suspension does not require any tweaking. I would care less about the graphics on the screen showing 19 or 21" wheels. that's just me.

However, in order to run two sets of wheels, one set for winter and another for summer, I shall need 4 additional TPMS of the same type. And probably 4 extra center caps for the T-Sportline Wheels.

that is my thinking so far.

BTW, there was once a really wonderful article on wheel fitment in one of the car magazines. It discussed offset and the wheel diameter "D" concept as well as lowering. I sadly forget the issue or title but perhaps a Google search could reveal it.

Also, not all tires of the size, for example 245/45 have the exact same outside diameter. There are some minute variances from brand to brand when mounted on your wheels... tread depth being one factor that I am aware of.

 

[mgboyes]

As I recall, the various wheel sizes of 19" and 21" when mounted with the correct tire, result in nearly the same outside diameter.

For the Tesla the 19" wheel is D and the 21" inch wheel is D+2. Where D is the minimum diameter wheel fitment with correct offset.

The aspect of the tires for D = 19 is 245/45 and for D+2 (21") is 245/35 (in a four squared setup with no stagger).

So in that regard, the air suspension does not require any tweaking. I would care less about the graphics on the screen showing 19 or 21" wheels. that's just me.

However, in order to run two sets of wheels, one set for winter and another for summer, I shall need 4 additional TPMS of the same type. And probably 4 extra center caps for the T-Sportline Wheels.

that is my thinking so far.

BTW, there was once a really wonderful article on wheel fitment in one of the car magazines. It discussed offset and the wheel diameter "D" concept as well as lowering. I sadly forget the issue or title but perhaps a Google search could reveal it.

Also, not all tires of the size, for example 245/45 have the exact same outside diameter. There are some minute variances from brand to brand when mounted on your wheels... tread depth being one factor that I am aware of.

Yes a 245/45R19 and a 245/35R21 tire have almost exactly the same diameter. That's well known, and it means that on non-staggered cars you can switch between 21 and 19 easily (if you have 21 summers and 19 winters any old tire shop can switch them for you, and if you contact ownership they'll update the images in the dash and on the app too).

However the rear tires on a staggered car like the P85+ and P85D are 265/25R21 which is about 1.5cm taller than the other 2 configurations. Since the rear tires are taller (as well as being wider) than the fronts, the air suspension is programmed differently so that the car still sits level rather than being higher at the rear. If you switch a staggered car on to an official Tesla winter set (which are square) then Tesla will adjust the rear suspension for you and also do a wheel alignment, however I don't know if they'll do this for you if you are switching on to a non-OEM wheel. Hence my question to the person who is planning to run staggered turbines in summer and TSportline square 19" turbines in winter as to whether they've determined if Tesla will do the swap, recalibrate and realign for them or not.

 

[ecarfan]

Yes a 245/45R19 and a 245/35R21 wheel have almost exactly the same diameter.

I think you mean "tire", not "wheel". The wheel diameters are obviously different. The tire diameters are essentially the same.

 

[mgboyes]

I think you mean "tire", not "wheel". The wheel diameters are obviously different. The tire diameters are essentially the same.

Actually I mean "tyre" but I have to remember to translate for the US audience :smile:

Message updated.

 

[Electrical_Eng]

Yes a 245/45R19 and a 245/35R21 tire have almost exactly the same diameter. That's well known, and it means that on non-staggered cars you can switch between 21 and 19 easily (if you have 21 summers and 19 winters any old tire shop can switch them for you, and if you contact ownership they'll update the images in the dash and on the app too).

However the rear tires on a staggered car like the P85+ and P85D are 265/25R21 which is about 1.5cm taller than the other 2 configurations. Since the rear tires are taller (as well as being wider) than the fronts, the air suspension is programmed differently so that the car still sits level rather than being higher at the rear. If you switch a staggered car on to an official Tesla winter set (which are square) then Tesla will adjust the rear suspension for you and also do a wheel alignment, however I don't know if they'll do this for you if you are switching on to a non-OEM wheel. Hence my question to the person who is planning to run staggered turbines in summer and TSportline square 19" turbines in winter as to whether they've determined if Tesla will do the swap, recalibrate and realign for them or not.

Thanks for the informative reply. Does anyone know the specs on the TM 21" gray turbine wheels? It seems like they are susceptible to damage and I'm wondering if any aftermarket 21" wheels would hold up better. I asked The Tire Rack about this and they said they don't have any information on the Tesla 21" wheels.

Also does anyone have suggestions on which 21" summer tire to go with since I am buying them on my own?

Thanks.

 

[griffd]

I recall this happening once last year as well on the P85 model - the 19" wheels were not an available selection for some time, and then were added (back?). I also recall Elon saying that he doesn't know why anyone would buy 19" wheels (or coil suspension). Perhaps it was his mandate, and then when the customers and potential buyers made a fuss, they again added them back?

 

[dogphlap]

It's nice to have the choice of rim size and matching profile tyres again for the P85D. I do not have any intention of buying that top of the range car but if I did I'd go 19" high profile. We tend to associate low profile with high performance but F1 has managed OK despite being restricted to high profile tyres by regulation for many years. I guess the P85D should be able to cope on either just as it did before the 19" option was taken away. Could this just be down to a short term supply issue with the 19" wheels or tyres that has now been overcome ?