SomeJoe7777
Marginally-Known Member
Quite a bit quieter, both because they have more sidewall (aspect ratio 45 vice 35), and because they're an all-season/all-weather tire vice a summer performance tire.
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Performance Model 3 Snow Tires/Rims
- Thread starter gurtburns
- Start date
Quite a bit quieter, both because they have more sidewall (aspect ratio 45 vice 35), and because they're an all-season/all-weather tire vice a summer performance tire.
Good choice - I really like the Flow F3's look. Don't know if you saw the results of Tire Rack's formal testing of high end AS tires. What's really curious about that is the although the Bridgestone 980AS gets better user subjective ratings in snow, it was clearly the worst performer on snow and ice among the four tires tested, while winning the wet road driving tests. The Michelin AS3+ was the overall winner. We got those in the stock 235/35-20 size, mounted on stock OEM wheels after getting some lighter weight alloys for the summer tires. Was debating for quite a while about AS vs. full snows. Always had the latter in New England, but this car's traction control and AWD made it possible to think about AS, which are clearly better in non-snowy conditions, compared to full snow tires. Glad I went this way.
What's my impression after a month with these? - WOW! They are really great! Pretty impressive in the lighter snow, slush and just generally crappy weather we've had this winter, and just ridiculous on dry or wet pavement, where I have a hard time seeing much drop off relative to the benchmark 4S, which themselves are amazing. Slightly noisier than the 4S (probably due to no acoustic foam in the AS3+?), and pretty firm but not harsh riding.
Really curious to get your impressions on both ride and handling. Should be better riding then your stock 20s/4S setup without losing much in handling at all.
BTW, I hope you told them that these were going on the Performance version Brembro-braked car, otherwise, the hubcentric adapter won't fit, due to the appearance of a small lip on the hub of the M3P+ cars.
Front and back. Default on everything for the 19" TST wheels so +35 offset no spacers. No clearance issues that I can tell of.
Not sure if there are different rings for p3d+ but the hubcentric adaptor will absolutely fit. I worked with them on fitment issues of initial rings and revised rings are perfect!!
Posted a pic before of my 19” F3’s, but here’s nighttime pic.
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About 260 wh/mi on highway @ 65 mph and 50 F weather. Probably a 10-20 wh/mi change from the aeros. Idk though I never really check it. My lifetime wh/mi is 350 but I live in the city.
KingTito
Member
dmd2005
Active Member
Very nice. Same setup as mine except I got 19” TST with the Nokian R3’s. So far the energy usage has been the same as my 20” stock setup. R3 tires are ultra low rolling resistant helps.
T Sportline 18-inch - TST flow forged rims - specific for the Performance Pack hub.
Matte Black + 2 coats of Gyeon Q2 Rim ceramic coating (these are not the glossy black)
Rubber: Nokian WR G4 - 235/45-R18
Use: Wet season in SF Bay area + trips to Tahoe: Roads are rarely very steep to get to the ski areas and I would not venture in conditions announcing more than 8 inches accumulation in 2 hours (well CalTrans tend to close the roads on this type of days anyway).
The versatility of the WR G4 seemed to be the best fit. I had also considered the Vredestein Quadrac 5 (both all-weather tires, rated for winter conditions, featuring the 3-peak symbol)
After close to 500 miles with this new set:
- I would have preferred the silver color option (but was on back-order). I went for black and I must say I the satin finish with the coating.
- The ride offers slightly more cushion than the Tesla 20-inch with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. Perceptible particularly at low to mid speed on low quality pavement found in SF and in the mountains. A bit more comfy but you are not changing from a hard to soft ride.
- Handling "feels" great. I did not put the car to the test since mounting the new set but tried a couple of nice accelerations (3.37s 0-60 vs 3.28 with 20-inch), strong breaking on wet pavement (we got heavy rain in SF bay yesterday). On the highway: will really not change much at all . On winding roads, it definitely offers less corning ability and confidence than the 20-inch set + PS 4S for the sporty driver.
- There was no real snow on the roads during the past trip to Tahoe. Went to an open area with some snow / ice on it - flat - tested a ride up to 30 mph + sudden breaking. No sport track mode. The model 3 on the Nokian behaved really great. Even if it was a "controlled" environment, I feel very comfortable taking the car in light snow accumulation and slush.
- Noise level: the Nokians with their taller wall seem quieter than the Michelins on quiet surfacing, seem louder than the Michelin on the loud surfacing... No measurement... just a perception.
- Range and efficiency. Clear gain on highway driving (at or close to speed limit and some traffic jams): at least a 10%-12% range improvement on identical itinerary in similar temperature and similar driving style. The Model 3 Performance shows energy consumption below 240 Wh/m when driving on flat or light up hill / down hill highways at 65 mph. The lighter rims and promised rolling efficiency of the Nokian are paying off. I will report back when I look more closely at the numbers.
Observations / Questions:
- the car, including wheels, is fairly dirty on the picture (no wash in 500 miles) though the rain really cleaned it thanks to ceramic coating
- the TPMS sensors I bought on Amazon (ITM 433 MHz) seemed to be a very economical solution and sync'ed with the Model 3 within 2 miles of riding them after new set mount and report data as expected. Their cap is white and I may switch those to black
- I will put nut covers. I do not see the need to buy the T-sportline kit at $50. Any low spend, nice recommendation?
- I feel that the car is a bit too low, particularly when there will actually be snow accumulation on the roads in Tahoe. I wonder If I should have gotten tires with taller walls (235/50-R18 vs 235/50-R18): Any expert advice? I did not want to consider swapping the springs but that might be a decent solution to assess.
Matte Black + 2 coats of Gyeon Q2 Rim ceramic coating (these are not the glossy black)
Rubber: Nokian WR G4 - 235/45-R18
Use: Wet season in SF Bay area + trips to Tahoe: Roads are rarely very steep to get to the ski areas and I would not venture in conditions announcing more than 8 inches accumulation in 2 hours (well CalTrans tend to close the roads on this type of days anyway).
The versatility of the WR G4 seemed to be the best fit. I had also considered the Vredestein Quadrac 5 (both all-weather tires, rated for winter conditions, featuring the 3-peak symbol)
After close to 500 miles with this new set:
- I would have preferred the silver color option (but was on back-order). I went for black and I must say I the satin finish with the coating.
- The ride offers slightly more cushion than the Tesla 20-inch with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. Perceptible particularly at low to mid speed on low quality pavement found in SF and in the mountains. A bit more comfy but you are not changing from a hard to soft ride.
- Handling "feels" great. I did not put the car to the test since mounting the new set but tried a couple of nice accelerations (3.37s 0-60 vs 3.28 with 20-inch), strong breaking on wet pavement (we got heavy rain in SF bay yesterday). On the highway: will really not change much at all . On winding roads, it definitely offers less corning ability and confidence than the 20-inch set + PS 4S for the sporty driver.
- There was no real snow on the roads during the past trip to Tahoe. Went to an open area with some snow / ice on it - flat - tested a ride up to 30 mph + sudden breaking. No sport track mode. The model 3 on the Nokian behaved really great. Even if it was a "controlled" environment, I feel very comfortable taking the car in light snow accumulation and slush.
- Noise level: the Nokians with their taller wall seem quieter than the Michelins on quiet surfacing, seem louder than the Michelin on the loud surfacing... No measurement... just a perception.
- Range and efficiency. Clear gain on highway driving (at or close to speed limit and some traffic jams): at least a 10%-12% range improvement on identical itinerary in similar temperature and similar driving style. The Model 3 Performance shows energy consumption below 240 Wh/m when driving on flat or light up hill / down hill highways at 65 mph. The lighter rims and promised rolling efficiency of the Nokian are paying off. I will report back when I look more closely at the numbers.
Observations / Questions:
- the car, including wheels, is fairly dirty on the picture (no wash in 500 miles) though the rain really cleaned it thanks to ceramic coating
- the TPMS sensors I bought on Amazon (ITM 433 MHz) seemed to be a very economical solution and sync'ed with the Model 3 within 2 miles of riding them after new set mount and report data as expected. Their cap is white and I may switch those to black
- I will put nut covers. I do not see the need to buy the T-sportline kit at $50. Any low spend, nice recommendation?
- I feel that the car is a bit too low, particularly when there will actually be snow accumulation on the roads in Tahoe. I wonder If I should have gotten tires with taller walls (235/50-R18 vs 235/50-R18): Any expert advice? I did not want to consider swapping the springs but that might be a decent solution to assess.
dmd2005
Active Member
T Sportline 18-inch - TST flow forged rims - specific for the Performance Pack hub.
Matte Black + 2 coats of Gyeon Q2 Rim ceramic coating (these are not the glossy black)
Rubber: Nokian WR G4 - 235/45-R18
Use: Wet season in SF Bay area + trips to Tahoe: Roads are rarely very steep to get to the ski areas and I would not venture in conditions announcing more than 8 inches accumulation in 2 hours (well CalTrans tend to close the roads on this type of days anyway).
The versatility of the WR G4 seemed to be the best fit. I had also considered the Vredestein Quadrac 5 (both all-weather tires, rated for winter conditions, featuring the 3-peak symbol)
After close to 500 miles with this new set:
- I would have preferred the silver color option (but was on back-order). I went for black and I must say I the satin finish with the coating.
- The ride offers slightly more cushion than the Tesla 20-inch with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. Perceptible particularly at low to mid speed on low quality pavement found in SF and in the mountains. A bit more comfy but you are not changing from a hard to soft ride.
- Handling "feels" great. I did not put the car to the test since mounting the new set but tried a couple of nice accelerations (3.37s 0-60 vs 3.28 with 20-inch), strong breaking on wet pavement (we got heavy rain in SF bay yesterday). On the highway: will really not change much at all . On winding roads, it definitely offers less corning ability and confidence than the 20-inch set + PS 4S for the sporty driver.
- There was no real snow on the roads during the past trip to Tahoe. Went to an open area with some snow / ice on it - flat - tested a ride up to 30 mph + sudden breaking. No sport track mode. The model 3 on the Nokian behaved really great. Even if it was a "controlled" environment, I feel very comfortable taking the car in light snow accumulation and slush.
- Noise level: the Nokians with their taller wall seem quieter than the Michelins on quiet surfacing, seem louder than the Michelin on the loud surfacing... No measurement... just a perception.
- Range and efficiency. Clear gain on highway driving (at or close to speed limit and some traffic jams): at least a 10%-12% range improvement on identical itinerary in similar temperature and similar driving style. The Model 3 Performance shows energy consumption below 240 Wh/m when driving on flat or light up hill / down hill highways at 65 mph. The lighter rims and promised rolling efficiency of the Nokian are paying off. I will report back when I look more closely at the numbers.
Observations / Questions:
- the car, including wheels, is fairly dirty on the picture (no wash in 500 miles) though the rain really cleaned it thanks to ceramic coating
- the TPMS sensors I bought on Amazon (ITM 433 MHz) seemed to be a very economical solution and sync'ed with the Model 3 within 2 miles of riding them after new set mount and report data as expected. Their cap is white and I may switch those to black
- I will put nut covers. I do not see the need to buy the T-sportline kit at $50. Any low spend, nice recommendation?
- I feel that the car is a bit too low, particularly when there will actually be snow accumulation on the roads in Tahoe. I wonder If I should have gotten tires with taller walls (235/50-R18 vs 235/50-R18): Any expert advice? I did not want to consider swapping the springs but that might be a decent solution to assess.
View attachment 361753
The wheels look nice and good choice in WRG4 tires. I’ve used WRG3 on my previous Model S and they suited the wet climate nicely and handled snow well too. One thing I noticed about the matte black rims is that they’re hard to keep clean in the winter with brine and salt on the road. Worth while to invest in a wheel cleaning microfiber brush.
You should be able to pop by a Tesla service center and buy the black lug nut covers for less than a dollar each. The service center just gave me some silver caps for free when I went by to purchase some.
tslamir
Member
of course!
btw, those lugnut covers didn't fit. going to order another set this week.
Hello
this story looks terrible, did you get good answers ? IF any ...
Maybe this could be brought to Elon's attention through twitter ?
A quick vid I took today of my P3D driving up a pretty steep road in 12"+ of snow, without a single slip. It was like it was nothing. I've got Michelin PA4 winter tires installed on my stock 20" wheels. I couldn't be happier with these tires.
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