Roadster 3.0 Tires

[smorgasbord]

Smorgasbord, What Urethane bushings did you go with? Did it add any additional noise or vibration to the car?

I don't remember which ones were installed. Maybe wiztecy has some recommendations.

I added the RaceUprights for more negative camber and it dropped 9Lbs from the unsprung weight. (It requires modification of the brakes so not for the weary)

Cool, but it also lowers the ride height by about an inch, which wasn't for me. If you track your car, sure.

 

[gregd]

For efficiency reason i use Toyo nanoenergy 2, having the lowest rolling resistent of all tires i found. Efficiency class A.Best mileage even after 100.000miles

What sort of difference did the Toyo tires make in terms of range, over the stock ones from Tesla?

 

[ecarfan]

For efficiency reason i use Toyo nanoenergy 2, having the lowest rolling resistent of all tires i found. Efficiency class A.
Best mileage even after 100.000miles

I just did a search for those tires, and sadly they do not appear to be available in the USA. If that is correct, Tesla will not use them in the 3.0 upgrade.

 

[ViperDoc]

Besides the battery, the other major feature of the 3.0 upgrade is the tires. We've had 100 pages of battery talk...a few posts about tires isn't going to hijack the thread. I'm interested in knowing more about the features and timing of the tire upgrade as part of this 3.0 version. Very strange they didn't announce the full 3.0 "package".

Agreed. I was surprised too. While I am not in the market to purchase right now (Happy with my 4 year old battery and have pre-bought the replacement), since they said battery, tires, wheel bearings and some sort of body style/shape changes for decreased resistance, I would have thought it would be a package deal too, but perhaps they felt they could get the batteries to market faster and have something to show (even if it is only 2-3/week, only Roadster 2.0 and 2.5, etc).

 

[Eberhard]

What sort of difference did the Toyo tires make in terms of range, over the stock ones from Tesla?

The consumtion dropped from 120Wh/km down to 107Wh/km
over distances of 300-400km.
a saving of about 10%. I use the Toyos on the Rear only. the front tire are Yokohama with a rating of Efficiency Class C

 

[wiztecy]

I don't remember which ones were installed. Maybe wiztecy has some recommendations.

The urethane bushings I had upgraded were on the rear control arms. The stock rubber bushings known to prematurely wear on the Elise which then give slop/movement when braking causing the control arm to rotate upwards which then makes contact and damages the rear subframe. Rob inspected mine and found them to be worn out which he recommended the upgrade to correct the issue.

 

[ecarfan]

I use the Toyos on the Rear only. the front tire are Yokohama with a rating of Efficiency Class C

Is there a reason why you don't uses the Toyos on the front?
Which Yokosuka are you using on the front? Thanks.

 

[smorgasbord]

The urethane bushings I had upgraded were on the rear control arms. The stock rubber bushings known to prematurely wear on the Elise which then give slop/movement when braking causing the control arm to rotate upwards which then makes contact and damages the rear subframe. Rob inspected mine and found them to be worn out which he recommended the upgrade to correct the issue.

Yes, same for me. But, there are different levels of replacements, identified by color I think. Black, purple....?

 

[Eberhard]

Is there a reason why you don't uses the Toyos on the front?
Which Yokosuka are you using on the front? Thanks.

I didn't replace the front tires because they are still fine. If they are due to replace, i will take the Toyos too.

 

[wiztecy]

It was the upper rear control arm bushings that were upgraded. They're PowerFlex bushings which come in the street (purple color) or race (black) version. Black is stiffer vs. the purple. Blacks were installed on mine. Looking forward to replacing all the bushings to the black poly when I start to see wear, cracking or sloppyness from the stocks. Rob said all the rest looked fine and no need to do the full upgrade since there's plenty of life left. I'm certain replacing all of them will give a better feel and connection to the road. You have to love the stiffness that aluminum tub gives to you and the feedback from the car/wheels. I can only image how rigid and an awesome of a feel it would be if fully blown in Carbon Fiber.