Thoughts on P85D being locked into 21 inch rims for Summer and Winter

[sandpiper]

Re-posting this conversation here under "Ordering" as this is something impacting ordering for many people:

I have a P85D confirmed with a Dec delivery and plan on driving to Blue Mountain (local ski hill) for skiing and generally driving on all types of roads including likely un-avoidable potholes and other road imperfections that I won't be able to see and avoid because they will be filled with slushy snow in the Toronto, Canada area. I really just want the best owner experience balancing needing the correct tires to deal with the torque/regen and my desire to not have tire and rim issues.

The following summarizes the rim size ordering confusion for the P85D:

1) I called the national sales group (Tesla HQ) to change my P85 order to a P85D. When walking through the options with them, when I came upon the 19 inch and 21 inch options for the Winter tire packages, although I wanted the 19 inch package the rep told me I could not order with it and must order the 21 inch Winter package.

2) in my other post under "Driving Dynamics " where I was questioning this 19 versus 21 use of rims, many forum members with confirmed P85D orders are stating that they have successfully selected 19 inch winter packages.

3) Forum members from Norway are stating that when they configure the P85D they can ONLY order with the 19 inch rims for winter.

4) Forum members with P85+'s are all stating that they run 19 inch rims for both summer and winter on their cars without issues. They point out that when they ordered the P85+ that they had the same mandatory 21 inch rim requirements but changed to 19's even with the Service Centers mounting them on their P85+'s.

5) every subsequent time I call the national sales group the agents answering always state that even though the P85D can be configured on the website with 19 inch rims for the winter package, they say that they will notify people ordering of the mandatory need to use 21 inch rims. I have called at least 6 times always with the same answer.

To improve on the ordering consistency, what do we need to do to get the correct answer and what is it? Can someone from Tesla answer this "Can we use 19 inch rims for summer and or winter on the P85D?

Odd. I have a confirmed order with 19" winter rims on a P85D ( in Canada). Nobody raised any questions. I really really don't like the 21" rims. When I get the car I'm going to try to sell the 21" summer rims and replace them with 19 inchers. There are just too many potholes in this area.

 

[yobigd20]

To improve on the ordering consistency, what do we need to do to get the correct answer and what is it? Can someone from Tesla answer this "Can we use 19 inch rims for summer and or winter on the P85D?

I think you need a change.org petition to demand that 19" wheels fit for a P85D.

 

[stevezzzz]

Talked to a new owner with a P85 running 21's, at the Silverthorne SpC: he'd had the car less than a week and had already had to replace two rims and all four tires from one unfortunate run-in with a pair of perfectly spaced potholes.

I get get it that some careful/lucky people have never had a problem with their 21's, but the horror stories are real, and numerous. Problems with the 19's, anyone?

<crickets>

 

[yobigd20]

Problems with the 19's, anyone?

nada. I've yet to come across anyone that experienced a blowout or bent rim with 19s. and there are A LOT more 19s than 21s driving around. that's very significant. I'm sure there are some, but the % is negligible at best. there are , however, cases of 19" tires needing early replacement due to wear, but that is 100% alignment problem which all models are susceptible to.

 

[AMN]

I am 90% sure, the suspension geometry on P85D is identical to P85+ which is perfectly fine on 19" wheels.
If the diameter of the brake disk didn't increase, P85D should be fine with 19" wheels and Tesla is just making money by forcing us to buy those high margin 21s.

I may cancel our order and keep our P85+ if I can't put proper snow tires of reasonable diameter on it. I may entertain 20s but I am not driving it in Minnesota winter on 21" wheels.

 

[JohnQ]

So, from a purely technical perspective, why would the P85D require 21" wheels? Other than the brake clearance issue if it exists?

 

[JohnQ]

Sure, I slightly bent one rim and had a sidewall bubble in 25k of driving ... but I ran over the damn curb. That was with two wheels and only one got bent (very slightly). Car drove fine on the way home, I only noticed when I switched to my snows.

 

[sataponw]

I emailed Tesla and asked and he said that the 19 inch will fit P85D. "The only reason we require the 21” for summer is because we need as much rubber on the road to put down the 691 horsepower."

 

[Trnsl8r]

I emailed Tesla and asked and he said that the 19 inch will fit P85D. "The only reason we require the 21” for summer is because we need as much rubber on the road to put down the 691 horsepower."

My impression was that the anti-spinn system on the Model S was so sophisticated that it should be able to adjust...

 

[dsm363]

A lot of it matters where you live. Some parts of country have decent roads so 21" rims less of an issue. Tesla should have a 19" performance tire option though.

 

[linkster]

I don't have any personal experience with the 21s. I was smart early on and preemptively downgraded for free before I got my car based on the reports from 2012 owners that were getting killed financially from them. I'm simply just relaying the dozens if not hundreds of instances from people on the forums and local owners I know that's had multiple incidents with their 21s plus all the service centers I've been to (Norristown, queens, Springfield) all swamped with 21" tire and rim replacement vehicles. Everybody that I know that had 21s now has 19s. That's pretty significant and speaks for itself. I don't know anyone who HASNT had a problem with the 21s (except for you apparently). There's people on these forums that have had 4 tire / 4 wheel replacements within weeks of each other.

It's important to educate future owners about this so they are not slapped in the face with $2k bills a week after getting their cars. Most people are completely unaware of all the problems with driving on the 21s. They just buy the car with all the bells and whistles not realizing the maintenance nightmare and income hit they just set themselves up for. Again most ppl I know that had them are like "why didn't someone tell me about this before I bought the car, it would have saved me thousands!!"

+1

yobig,

Please continue to spread your direct, accurate information about this topic.

 

[Denarius]

I've had no issues with my 21s. I've had 3 flats (all due to punctures) so they had nothing to do with wheel size. My only complaint is the extremely limited options in the staggered size (265/35/R21) on my P85+.

That being said, if I had the option I would have ordered 19s.

 

[svp6]

I also specifically asked my local Tesla reps and I was told 19" winter is going to work with P85D.

 

[yobigd20]

I emailed Tesla and asked and he said that the 19 inch will fit P85D. "The only reason we require the 21” for summer is because we need as much rubber on the road to put down the 691 horsepower."

tire size (19" vs 21") has nothing to do with this. the contact patch difference between the two is not that much. a proper 19" tire that has enough grip is more than sufficient for the 691 horsepower. besides, the rear motor size didn't change at all in the 'D' model and my aftermarket 19s are more than sufficient for my P85 at full accel. if anything, in the 'D' model the torque should be slightly more distributed so that's even less of an issue in the 'P85D' vs the 'P85'.

 

[scottf200]

I have the same tire rack. I mounted it fairly high on the wall. I find that lifting the wheel and tire while on a ladder is down right scary. Are you doing anything different? I thought about trying to rig up a pulley system.

Aside: use something like this. Handy for many things. ~$40

Werner 39-1/2 in. x 12 in. x 20-9/16 in. Aluminum Work Platform-AP-20 at The Home Depot

 

[svp6]

You're not the only one. One person talked to 6 different Tesla employees and were told by all that 19s will not fit on the new P85D. Thread here: P85D conflicting information on ordering with 19 inch Winter rims

I also specifically asked my local Tesla reps and was told 19" winter is going to work with P85D. In the same thread there is a similar report received by email.

 

[yobigd20]

I also specifically asked my local Tesla reps and was told 19" winter is going to work with P85D. In the same thread there is a similar report received by email.

well, that response is consistent with Tesla's inconsistent communication reputation.

 

[Cottonwood]

well, that response is consistent with Tesla's inconsistent communication reputation.

And there is the third style of response that I got from the Denver people, "We are trying to get an answer."

 

[mrElbe]

When I reconfigured to a P85D, the 19" or 21" snow tire package was part of the selection. I am confirmed with the 19" snow tire package configuration.

 

[sandpiper]

I emailed Tesla and asked and he said that the 19 inch will fit P85D. "The only reason we require the 21” for summer is because we need as much rubber on the road to put down the 691 horsepower."

So.... that makes no sense. You could order a P85 with 418 in the back on 19s. As far as I know, the rear motor hasn't changed. They've just added a front motor. The rears don't care what's up front.