Thoughts on 19" wheels compared to 20" Re punctures

[Mustyblowfish]

Hi All,
Trying to decide between a M3P and a LR with Acc Boost. Personally i'm not a big fan of any of the wheels but really don't like the Aero's. The M3P seems amazing but see lots of reports of tyre blowouts and buckled wheels which is concerning... I live in Rural UK so there are potholed roads... If I went for a LR with the 19" would this reduce the chance or are the 19's just as bad? Thanks!

 

[Candleflame]

yes, I live in Australia where our roads are even worse than rural UK roads - the 20" tires are puncture and blowout magnets. The 18" tires eat potholes for breakfast, particularly if nicely inflated. 19" are a happy medium which imho is good enough for europe.

 

[Webeevdrivers]

Hi All,
Trying to decide between a M3P and a LR with Acc Boost. Personally i'm not a big fan of any of the wheels but really don't like the Aero's. The M3P seems amazing but see lots of reports of tyre blowouts and buckled wheels which is concerning... I live in Rural UK so there are potholed roads... If I went for a LR with the 19" would this reduce the chance or are the 19's just as bad? Thanks!

We went through the same thing here in Canada for the same reasons. Have you considered getting a set of the new orbital Aero Covers RIMETRIX to dress up the 18 inch rims? They are actually close to an inch bigger and make the wheel look like a 19 and the tire lower profile.

Or maybe go cheap like we did and just dress up the Aeros with a little wrap.

Re the boost. Yep, we'll do that if it ever goes on sale.

We'll probably get the RIMETRIX aeros covers this spring. Right now the aerocovers with wrap are soooo easy to clean. Glad we didn't get the 19's. The eighteens are bullet proof.

 

[Candleflame]

We went through the same thing here in Canada for the same reasons. Have you considered getting a set of the new orbital Aero Covers RIMETRIX to dress up the 18 inch rims? They are actually close to an inch bigger and make the wheel look like a 19 and the tire lower profile.

Or maybe go cheap like we did and just dress up the Aeros with a little wrap.

Re the boost. Yep, we'll do that if it ever goes on sale.

We'll probably get the RIMETRIX aeros covers this spring. Right now the aerocovers with wrap are soooo easy to clean. Glad we didn't get the 19's. The eighteens are bullet proof.

I actually think the aeros look quite good and the important thing is that they always look good. They are so easy to clean and even look good when a bit dirty. The 19 and 20 inch need constant cleaning. And not just the rims - the caliper etc needs cleaning too as it otherwise just looks neglected.

I was gonna spray mine black to fit with the black paint (stealth p) but i actually like it just the way it is.

Also if you ever get damage to the rim/aeros you can just buy a new aero cover for like 30 pounds.

 

[dmd2005]

Hi All,
Trying to decide between a M3P and a LR with Acc Boost. Personally i'm not a big fan of any of the wheels but really don't like the Aero's. The M3P seems amazing but see lots of reports of tyre blowouts and buckled wheels which is concerning... I live in Rural UK so there are potholed roads... If I went for a LR with the 19" would this reduce the chance or are the 19's just as bad? Thanks!

Get the performance car you want and sell the 20” wheels. I sold my 20’s and even got a set of 21” Forged Signature wheels and a few other sets for different purposes. Ride on the 21’s are pretty firm and noisy but the looks are 2nd to none. In the winter, I have a set of 19” wheels with winter tires and when conditions are bad I have a set of 18’s with studded Nokians. There are potholes around where I live and I make sure to pay attention when I’m on unfamiliar roads.

 

[Candleflame]

Get the performance car you want and sell the 20” wheels. I sold my 20’s and even got a set of 21” Forged Signature wheels and a few other sets for different purposes. Ride on the 21’s are pretty firm and noisy but the looks are 2nd to none. In the winter, I have a set of 19” wheels with winter tires and when conditions are bad I have a set of 18’s with studded Nokians. There are potholes around where I live and I make sure to pay attention when I’m on unfamiliar roads.

i think he is particularly concerned about pothole blowouts, not about looks. He will need to get a second set anyway for his winter tires (i presume he lives in the north of the uk).
The 19" and 18 inch tires are too small for the performance brakes.

 

[dmd2005]

I have a performance 3 and some aftermarket 18’s will clear the brakes and 19’s will clear. My studded Nokian Hakka 9’s are on 18’s.

I’m just suggesting to order the performance 3 and sell the 20’s so he can get a set of aftermarket wheels or a set of 19” Geminis that will fit the performance 3.

 

[Peteski]

UK rural driver here. 18” Aeros on standard LR suspension are perfect for our B roads. Ride is still firm and sporty, without all the crashing and banging of 20” rims on Performance suspension. Looks are subjective, but I love the Aeros.

 

[Let's Drive]

Hi All,
Trying to decide between a M3P and a LR with Acc Boost. Personally i'm not a big fan of any of the wheels but really don't like the Aero's. The M3P seems amazing but see lots of reports of tyre blowouts and buckled wheels which is concerning... I live in Rural UK so there are potholed roads... If I went for a LR with the 19" would this reduce the chance or are the 19's just as bad? Thanks!

Depending on your budget, it's generally easier to change wheels and/or tires. I'd primarily focus on which vehicle you want, since that's something more difficult to change, once final. From there, you can go as low as 18s and increase the sidewall on your wheel options, to suit your needs (especially since you don't like any of the factory wheels).

 

[offhegoes]

I just have one question... can the Santa Ana service center repair uberturbine curb rash? Lol

I've had it less than a month now. I still have my ISF with 19's and it's always the same rear passenger wheel. Drives me crazy.

 

[afadeev]

Trying to decide between a M3P and a LR with Acc Boost. Personally i'm not a big fan of any of the wheels but really don't like the Aero's. The M3P seems amazing but see lots of reports of tyre blowouts and buckled wheels which is concerning... I live in Rural UK so there are potholed roads... If I went for a LR with the 19" would this reduce the chance or are the 19's just as bad?

For what it's worth, I have a set of summer 20" wheels on my M3P, and a set of 18" winters.
After 20+K miles, with ~2/3 of those on summers and ~1/3 on winters. I've had 1 puncture in 20" tires, and 2 punctures in 18" tires. The data is too small to draw statistically significantly conclusions. In my experience, there is more debris and crap on winter roads than in the summer.

With regards to bending wheels over major put holes, lower profile tires on bigger wheels (same overall rolling diameter) will be more susceptible to the wheel damage. That's just physics.

I would have been happy with any size wheels that clear the brakes of the P-model, and come with quality summer tires. It just so happens that M3P comes with 20" wheels that support great Michelin PS4S tires, so that's the size of my summer wheels.

The 19" and 18 inch tires are too small for the performance brakes.

That's NOT true.
Some 18" and 19" wheels don't clear the brake calipers, some done. It all depends on the shape of the wheel barrel.
Tirerack.com is a good place for checking which wheel will, or will not, clear the P-calipers.

 

[freeAgent]

I want to make sure you're aware that you can remove the aero hubcaps from the 18" aero wheels before you make your decision. The wheels underneath look like this (minus the red calipers): Review: 2020 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus – WHEELS.ca I think they're pretty nice. You can always get either model and aftermarket 18" wheels (there are 18" wheels that fit over the larger brakes on the Performance model). For me, I didn't want the Performance wheels or spoiler, and I didn't care one way or the other about the brakes. The slightly lower suspension would've been nice and the additional acceleration was the main selling point, but it also costs in the range department. I ended up going with the AWD + Acceleration Boost and I don't regret it at all.