Having to replace my rear t2 now. The passenger rear was leaking due to the tread separation. The driver side wasn’t that bad. I swap between summer/winter. These tires probably had 12k miles.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Plaid 21” rear tire woes - factory defect?
- Thread starter KOL2000
- Start date
bandido
Member
Here is another example of a ridiculous problem!! I have OEM Pirelli 19's with around 17k miles. Driven hard, still have around 6/32's left, no sidewall issues. Wearing perfectly. I have OEM T2 21's, with around 7k miles. I swap back and forth summer and more summer, lol. 3k miles ago I put the 21's on and last week I get the dreaded tire failure. Tesla says it is "Normal"!@##$@!. The tire is clearly not worn!! 7/32's across. Michelin says it is a car alignment issue. They are dealing with this "alot" and not providing me any warranty support...I think it is crazy that no one will own this issue. I am on the highway most of the time and car is auto "low". Clearly the 19's have no issue and the 21's simply cannot handle it?? I am just going to leave on my 19's and get some sort of camber kit. Anyone have any better luck?
Michelin is correct. Take your car to an actual alignment shop and have them get the readings off of it while it's in the low suspension setting, and 100% your toe is going to be way off. A local race/suspension place would be best because they're going to look at specific numbers and not a huge range that's "Within Spec"...
bandido
Member
I appreciate the input. Is it even worth having Tesla do the alignment? Why do my 19's have almost 20k miles and no wear issues? Thanks!!
No point Tesla doing it at all. Once it is in spec, they stop. Look for the N2itive alignment recommendations and use them.
Had both rear tires fail, exact same way 6 weeks (500 miles) apart.
In both cases the sidewalls delaminated from the bead... In both cases right where the DOT number is located. Car is about a year old with 8500 miles, and about 65% of the tread life left.
Same as other 10 complaints about this tire on NHTSA web site.
At the behest of Michelin customer service, I took the tires to Discount Tire to be inspected to see if they could offer any warranty support.
The tech at Discount tire told me that it was " impact damage" which presumably means the impact of the tire rolling on the pavement. Note that there was no other damage to the tread, the bead, the wheel, or anything else. So this guy reasoned that the pavement must have jumped up around the side of my tire to create the impact...
The NHTSA needs to take action before somebody gets hurt. It is unconscionable to sell one of the most powerful passenger vehicles made with tires that catastrophically fail unpredictably. But then again as bad as the tires are, they're still safer than FSD.
In both cases the sidewalls delaminated from the bead... In both cases right where the DOT number is located. Car is about a year old with 8500 miles, and about 65% of the tread life left.
Same as other 10 complaints about this tire on NHTSA web site.
At the behest of Michelin customer service, I took the tires to Discount Tire to be inspected to see if they could offer any warranty support.
The tech at Discount tire told me that it was " impact damage" which presumably means the impact of the tire rolling on the pavement. Note that there was no other damage to the tread, the bead, the wheel, or anything else. So this guy reasoned that the pavement must have jumped up around the side of my tire to create the impact...
The NHTSA needs to take action before somebody gets hurt. It is unconscionable to sell one of the most powerful passenger vehicles made with tires that catastrophically fail unpredictably. But then again as bad as the tires are, they're still safer than FSD.
@bandido ^^^
Tesla also only aligns in the medium height setting, so as soon as you get on the highway, everything changes when the car lowers. When you go to a performance shop, they know you want specifics and will try to get it on the dot as close as possible for the entire car. The car can be technically "within spec" and have a horrible alignment. Go to a place that stakes their business on making sure it's right.
The tires are not failing. They're suffering from premature wear because of a bad alignment.
bandido
Member
Great info! Are there recommended specs for toe on the rear? Will I have to tell the shop what I want?
The top settings are the ranges recommended by Unplugged. The second picture is what I found to work best with my car. But... I do have UP toe arms and the MPP tension and compression arm bushings installed so my settings are a little different than what would probably feel good on your car with only camber arms.
Show them the Unplugged recommendations and work from there.
n2mb_racing
Active Member
I had to call Michelin a few times until I got a friendly rep that approved the warranty claim.
NarTaX
Member
How are the Pirelli P Zero (PZ4) or the Michelin Pilot Sport EV compared to the PS4S? Wear post camber kit and alignment has been even but I think I have about 5k left on them.
headcase
Member
I ended up installing the Macsboost shims at the same time of putting on a new set of OEM T2s. I suspect this will be good enough.
No issues with the 19's and easily corrected if you want to run 21's. Don't let this stop you.
Having done a bit more research on this topic, what I’m discovering is that Tesla considers a -2.75 rear camber value as being “in spec” on medium height mode. Driving in default low mode will only increase rear camber values to inevitably exacerbate inner rear tire tread wear!
Now there’s always manufacturing variability vehicle to vehicle as well inherent height variance in an air suspended vehicle. This may well explain why some experience shorter rear tire life spans than others, ceteris paribus, especially since the Model S doesn’t come with adjustable camber from factory. My MSP may be sitting at -.75 and yours at -2.75 both “in spec” according to Elon.
21” Arachnids combined with the super sticky Tesla spec’ed PS4S create the perfect storm to have owners weather thru a fundamentally “constrained” suspension design.
There are solutions to address the camber challenge, but it’s found in the aftermarket which is a new endeavor for many Tesla owners.
P.S. 911 GT3s often run -2 rear camber at the track lol
Last edited:
FYI these are the specs recommended by N2ITIVE which has various adjustable toe/camber arms to get your alignment dialed in (at least the rear).
Note that the '21+ models show to have adjustable toe links/arms noted in yellow below which will provide adjustment options. The stock camber arm (green) is not adjustable. So an aftermarket adjustable camber arm is possible option here. Or possibly the cheaper shim solution. I believe the shim adds +.08 degree camber by moving the arm a few mm away from the subframe. Older cars will also need the adjustable Toe links, to bring toe back in spec after adjusting camber.
Note that the '21+ models show to have adjustable toe links/arms noted in yellow below which will provide adjustment options. The stock camber arm (green) is not adjustable. So an aftermarket adjustable camber arm is possible option here. Or possibly the cheaper shim solution. I believe the shim adds +.08 degree camber by moving the arm a few mm away from the subframe. Older cars will also need the adjustable Toe links, to bring toe back in spec after adjusting camber.
Attachments
Similar threads
