Has anyone tried a different tire/size for 19" Gemini wheels which would be less prone to scraping the wheels? May need a different tire size than the OEM 255/45R19 tire size. If so, what tire and size?
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Tire for 19" Gemini wheels less prone to scraping wheels?
- Thread starter Hippo25
- Start date
Tha_Ape
Active Member
Rubber isn't going to stop a 4500lb car from going 1/4" closer to the curb. Best to park 6" away from curbs that way if you misjudge by3" you're still 3" away and there's no damage
TomB985
Member
I’ve accidentally curbed tires in a bunch of previous vehicles, but have only touched the rim on my ‘19 Model 3. That and my Y are the only vehicles that have wheels sticking out past the sidewall of the tire, which exposes them to damage instead of the rubber sidewall.
My EV6 weighed 400 lbs more than the Model Y, but the sidewall rubbed the curb without touching the metal. Weight has nothing to do with it; it’s a tire width issue. This seems obvious to me.
fiehlsport
Tire Guy
Built-in sidewall protectors can only do so much. The weight of a car - regardless of what that weight is - is going to push right through the sidewall guard and you're going to contact the curb if you're not being careful. Sure, they can protect against a slight "glance" off of a curb, but if you're not driving with the wheels in mind to begin with, you're going to curb them regardless.
Don't go changing the size or aspect ratio of your tires just for curb protection - just drive more carefully.
Don't go changing the size or aspect ratio of your tires just for curb protection - just drive more carefully.
Well, that depends on your speed and sensitivity to things happening. At a low enough speed, you might be able to feel the tire rub on the curb before it gets to the wheel. That’s also if the tire sticks out past the wheel (tire “guard” or simply wider than the wheel).
I mean, if you go full speed at a curb, then, yeah… tire won’t matter.
While that would help in a direct contact from the tread face, I don’t think it’ll be as helpful from the side, like when trying to parallel park. A wider width tire would probably be more effective in that case. Either change in tire is likely more expensive.
I went with a narrower wheel with OEM sized tires, which is even more costly, since it replaces the wheel.
That said… with the 19” Gemini wheels, it might be more practical to just stick with having the wheel cover on and letting that eat the curb every time, while adjusting oneself to learn just how far they can go before contact with the curb. Replace the covers once they get too messed up or driver is confident they‘ll no longer get curb rash.
TomB985
Member
I’ll be going a bit wider when these wear out, but I’m too cheap to throw away good rubber.
I’m neurotic about curbs and take turns wide when I’m unsure of clearance. I accidentally hit sidewall on my EV6 last summer in a small parking lot. That same hit on my Y would have been a hard scrape on the wheel.
I’m neurotic about curbs and take turns wide when I’m unsure of clearance. I accidentally hit sidewall on my EV6 last summer in a small parking lot. That same hit on my Y would have been a hard scrape on the wheel.
The wife has curbed the wheels on our 2022 MYLR twice. The second time resulted in deformation of the wheel lip on both right side wheels. I took a file and sandpaper to them but the damage is somewhat noticeable from 5-6 feet away. I drove the car afterward and everything seems normal. As already stated, the tire does not extend past the wheel and curb rash is inevitable.
Clearly, a wider tire would offer some protection from curb rash. Too wide, however, may result in clearance problems. Doing some quick calculations, a 265/45R19 tire would be 0.4" wider and would stick out 0.2" further on the outside. This may be enough to take care of light contact with curbs. The tire/wheel diameter would increase from 28" to 28.4", resulting in a speedometer error of 1.4%. A reading of 70mph would actually be 71mph, which is perfectly acceptable. The OEM tires (255/45R19) still have a lot of miles left on them and I'm not going to replace them until they're down to the wear bars. Then, the decision to go wider will be considered.
Clearly, a wider tire would offer some protection from curb rash. Too wide, however, may result in clearance problems. Doing some quick calculations, a 265/45R19 tire would be 0.4" wider and would stick out 0.2" further on the outside. This may be enough to take care of light contact with curbs. The tire/wheel diameter would increase from 28" to 28.4", resulting in a speedometer error of 1.4%. A reading of 70mph would actually be 71mph, which is perfectly acceptable. The OEM tires (255/45R19) still have a lot of miles left on them and I'm not going to replace them until they're down to the wear bars. Then, the decision to go wider will be considered.
Farmer
Member
The problem is that the 19" wheel is 9.5" wide, which is almost too wide for the Conti 255/45R19 tires. Continental specifies a wheel width of 8 to 9.5" for these tires in this size and Tesla uses a wheel at the very limit of what Conti allows. This makes the wheel stand a bit proud of the tire sidewall since the bead-to-bead width is so similar to the tread width. It makes for a bit more responsive cornering, but leaves the wheel fairly unprotected. There's really no tire that can protect the wheel much more unless you want to go to an even wider tread, beyond 255mm and then clearance will become an issue if you size a tire actually wide enough to make a protective difference.
For my winter tire setup, I'm going to an 18" wheel in an 8.5" width, which will protect the wheel with both a slightly taller sidewall (increased pothole protection) as well as pulling the wheel lip inside the tire sidewall rather than the wheel standing proud. (I'd even do a 17" wheel if one would clear the brakes, but there isn't a chance of that.)
Tesla has gone slightly crazy with these wheels being so large in both major dimensions (relative to the tires) and our tires and wheel edges have to deal with it (or not.)
For my winter tire setup, I'm going to an 18" wheel in an 8.5" width, which will protect the wheel with both a slightly taller sidewall (increased pothole protection) as well as pulling the wheel lip inside the tire sidewall rather than the wheel standing proud. (I'd even do a 17" wheel if one would clear the brakes, but there isn't a chance of that.)
Tesla has gone slightly crazy with these wheels being so large in both major dimensions (relative to the tires) and our tires and wheel edges have to deal with it (or not.)
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The wide wheel is indeed the problem. The 18x8.5 wheel with a 255/50R18 tire would provide the same overall diameter as the OEM setup, but tire choices in that size are very limited. The 255/55R18 offers a bigger selection if you don't mind a 3.7% speedometer error. Maybe if the wife stops curbing the wheels, I'll stop thinking about it....(LOL)
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