Recommendation for 18 inch wheels for Performance

[MasterC17]

The fact the site says nothing about it excluding upgraded brakes or the rest makes me lean towards their doing something different now to allow the 18" wheels fit with them. We'll have to wait till someone puts in this configuration to tell us how it goes to be certain and if it changes the final price at all.

It may not say it, but it's just the P3D- again (18" Wheels instead of 20", no spoiler, no pedals, no track mode, etc).

Trust me, having put every Tesla caliper available on a Model 3, there's no way on earth the performance rear caliper is clearing the stock 18" aero wheel.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

no track mode

Every one of these they sold recently has Track Mode. There was confusion on this point initially, but they all were sold with Track Mode. Just a second coming of the P3D Stealth.

The 18" Tesla aero wheels also don't clear the front brake caliper on the P3D+ sufficiently. I've tried it. It's less than 1mm clearance. That is not enough.

 

[Adam3]

Looks quite odd to have the caliper that close to the barrel of the wheel.

 

[Rachmaninov]

I don’t have any experience yet with Tesla wheels but I have had great results with the Koenig wheels with them on very high performance street / track cars. They were the lightest and strongest wheels I could find for a realistic price.

PS - I’m not the person in the photo.

 

[Orwell]

Nice and toight

 

[Rachmaninov]

Which wheels are those?

Also do any of the aftermarket performance 18” wheels still enable you to use the stock Aero hubcaps (maybe on long trips)?

 

[Orwell]

Which wheels are those?

Also do any of the aftermarket performance 18” wheels still enable you to use the stock Aero hubcaps (maybe on long trips)?

Weds Sport TC105N 18x8.5 +43. 16.7 lb wheel.

Mostly likely no. I got a set of the aero caps to try to mount it to these wheels. I abandoned the project because it would require too much trimming of the cap to allow fitment. The aerocap is very concave.

If there are any aftermarket wheels that can accept the aerocap, then it would look very similar to the OEM wheel.

You are better off making your own aerocap for road trips. I'll probably make a flat one using plastic or aluminum pizza pans.

 

[yearofthedragon]

Looks quite odd to have the caliper that close to the barrel of the wheel.

AMG SLS

LA FERRARI

LAMBORGHINI URUS

Welcome to the world of Performance. =)

 

[Rachmaninov]

Just noticed this photo from my Apple News Tesla feed today 7/23.

Are these the stock 18 inch wheels with the Red brake pkg?

 

[yearofthedragon]

Just noticed this photo from my Apple News Tesla feed today 7/23.

Are these the stock 18 inch wheels with the Red brake pkg?

could be painted calipers and a black painted rotor hat.

 

[MasterC17]

Every one of these they sold recently has Track Mode. There was confusion on this point initially, but they all were sold with Track Mode. Just a second coming of the P3D Stealth.

The 18" Tesla aero wheels also don't clear the front brake caliper on the P3D+ sufficiently. I've tried it. It's less than 1mm clearance. That is not enough.

I hear you, but in an effort to not spread misinformation, you're wrong. The NEW iteration of the P3D- (or P3D Stealth) DOES NOT include Track Mode. It is simply a standard Dual Motor with increased speed/horsepower/torque. Nothing else is changed. I confirmed this in multiple vehicles.

 

[MasterC17]

Just noticed this photo from my Apple News Tesla feed today 7/23.

Are these the stock 18 inch wheels with the Red brake pkg?

No, those are clearly the one-piece 320mm base rotors. Owner likely had the calipers painted red.

Again, the Performance Brakes will not under any circumstances fit under the stock 18" aero wheel. See above post regarding NEW P3D-.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

I hear you, but in an effort to not spread misinformation, you're wrong. The NEW iteration of the P3D- (or P3D Stealth) DOES NOT include Track Mode. It is simply a standard Dual Motor with increased speed/horsepower/torque. Nothing else is changed. I confirmed this in multiple vehicles.

Wait. There are multiple pictures posted here recently of people who have picked up their P3D Stealth, and they DO have Track Mode (pictures posted!).

But, when you say “I have confirmed this in multiple vehicles”...that sounds definitive as well. What do you mean by that, exactly?

Here is my evidence; a new vehicle in San Diego:

Model 3 performance 18 inch wheel option now avail 7/15/19 - Showing Track Mode

July 2019 DOB, Performance with 18” Aeros, With Track Mode (picture of screen).

This is a very definitive post (has date of manufacture and pictures) - we REALLY need to clear up this confusion...so I do want to understand why you would think it does NOT have Track Mode.

As far as I am concerned, I am correct, based on the evidence presented so far.

 

[MasterC17]

Wait. There are multiple pictures posted here recently of people who have picked up their P3D Stealth, and they DO have Track Mode (pictures posted!).

But, when you say “I have confirmed this in multiple vehicles”...that sounds definitive as well. What do you mean by that, exactly?

Here is my evidence; a new vehicle in San Diego:

Model 3 performance 18 inch wheel option now avail 7/15/19 - Showing Track Mode

July 2019 DOB, Performance with 18” Aeros, With Track Mode (picture of screen).

This is a very definitive post (has date of manufacture and pictures) - we REALLY need to clear up this confusion...so I do want to understand why you would think it does NOT have Track Mode.

As far as I am concerned, I am correct, based on the evidence presented so far.

I checked two Inventory cars at my local sales center and both were badged as P3D's with 18's but did not have the Track Mode slider on the Touchscreen. Both were on 2019.16. Possibly a Firmware difference or a configuration difference?

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

I checked two Inventory cars at my local sales center and both were badged as P3D's with 18's but did not have the Track Mode slider on the Touchscreen. Both were on 2019.16. Possibly a Firmware difference or a configuration difference?

I see.

If the screens you looked at did not indicate Performance (no red underline on the screen as shown in second picture linked above - please confirm), they simply had not been updated in software to be Performance at the time you looked. 2019.16 is obviously late enough to have Track Mode for Performance Stealth. So the cars you looked at were likely running AWD software/firmware 2019.16.

 

[MasterC17]

I see.

If the screens did not indicate Performance (no red underline on the screen as shown in pictures above - please confirm), they simply had not been updated in software to be Performance at the time you looked. 2019.16 is obviously late enough to have Track Mode for Performance Stealth. So the cars you looked at were likely running AWD software 2019.16.

That very well may be the case! My apologies then.

 

[Hairyman]

Does fitting 18” rims change the distance between the tyre sidewall and the suspension?

(This is a very Australian question involving a minute amount of potential snow driving and snow chains)

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

Does fitting 18” rims change the distance between the tyre sidewall and the suspension?

(This is a very Australian question involving a minute amount of potential snow driving and snow chains)

Even for a wheel of the same width & offset (8.5" and either ET35 or ET40 depending on the vehicle), the answer is yes, but a picture makes the issue more clear. It makes it closer because the inner diameter of the tire is of course two inches smaller if you're talking about a P3D+. Whether this matters for chains...it's not clear. I'd never put chains on the 20" wheels, of course. They would be cosmetically destroyed instantly due to scratches. 18" wheels might also sustain damage.

This is a picture of an 18" wheel without a tire on it, on a P3D+, on the rear wheel (the tightest spot as far as I could tell), and the suspension member which has to be cleared.

You can see what would happen if the wheel (not the tire OD) were 2" larger diameter - the top edge would move up 1" and there would be more clearance - but it would depend on the sizing of your chains as to whether this is relevant.

In general I would try to go with snow tires for snow driving. Spare yourself the chains if regulations permit - it is relatively easy to do a lot of damage to your vehicle if one comes off inadvertently. Can't imagine snow would be all that common in Australia, though at elevation, of course it is.

 

[Hairyman]

Even for a wheel of the same width & offset (8.5" and either ET35 or ET40 depending on the vehicle), the answer is yes, but a picture makes the issue more clear. It makes it closer because the inner diameter of the tire is of course two inches smaller if you're talking about a P3D+. Whether this matters for chains...it's not clear. I'd never put chains on the 20" wheels, of course. They would be cosmetically destroyed instantly due to scratches. 18" wheels might also sustain damage.

This is a picture of an 18" wheel without a tire on it, on a P3D+, on the rear wheel (the tightest spot as far as I could tell), and the suspension member which has to be cleared.

You can see what would happen if the wheel (not the tire OD) were 2" larger diameter - the top edge would move up 1" and there would be more clearance - but it would depend on the sizing of your chains as to whether this is relevant.

In general I would try to go with snow tires for snow driving. Spare yourself the chains if regulations permit - it is relatively easy to do a lot of damage to your vehicle if one comes off inadvertently. Can't imagine snow would be all that common in Australia, though at elevation, of course it is.

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Thanks very much for the detailed reply Alan.

My Australian ski trips involve about 600km each way of which the last 3km has a risk (once in the last decade) of having snow on the road. There is a traction option for the 20” rims that is allowed in NSW (where I ski) but not for a popular resort in Victoria where they require chains. You may end up driving up to 12 km on potentially snowy roads in Oz if you are doing day trips up to the resort car parks.

You are quite right about the potential risk for damage which is why I’m researching carefully. Snow traffic in Australia crawls along for this reason. If I was going to do any proper snow driving I would without question follow your advice re snow tyres- as well as getting some proper snow driving training!

Thanks again.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

Thanks very much for the detailed reply Alan.

My Australian ski trips involve about 600km each way of which the last 3km has a risk (once in the last decade) of having snow on the road. There is a traction option for the 20” rims that is allowed in NSW (where I ski) but not for a popular resort in Victoria where they require chains. You may end up driving up to 12 km on potentially snowy roads in Oz if you are doing day trips up to the resort car parks.

You are quite right about the potential risk for damage which is why I’m researching carefully. Snow traffic in Australia crawls along for this reason. If I was going to do any proper snow driving I would without question follow your advice re snow tyres- as well as getting some proper snow driving training!

Thanks again.

Hopefully someone who actually lives near snow and uses chains in a Model 3 will chime in here with more info for you. You could also go with 18x7.5" rims and narrower tires, too, I guess if you want to improve clearance. But I know people who have used a high quality chain on the rear wheels of a Model 3 with the stock 18" wheels without difficulty (other than minor scratching of the wheel face). So I think you'd have no issue on the Performance with after market 18" as long as the chain is a low profile chain.