Tire Recommendation - Quietest all season?

[jombolo]

I have looked over that chart a few times. I have always found it a bit difficult to follow.

Essentially, the higher up in the subcategory the tire is, the better. But you do have to distinguish between the wheel sizes for better accuracy. I know some tires for 18” won’t work for 19” or 20” and vice versa bases on load rating or simply aren’t available in all sizes

 

[comanchepilot]

The questions here are all good ones. How far is your drive and what kind of pavement is the questions that matter most. Different tires will sound and wear differently. You've heard that.

The recommended tires for EV's tend to be hard and wear slowly - basically to allow for better mileage. Softer compounds provide better traction - then you have certain more aggressive all season tires for snow - if you drive in snow often then I'd recommend a dedicated snow tire and cheap steel wheels for the winter season. You will not regret that decision. When my wife had the Saab 9-3 we substituted 16" steel wheels and Blizzaks for the 17" summer tires - car was unstoppable in snow.

As to specific tires I'll leave that for others but changing out the stock tire means more wear - more wear is from more friction which means more watts per mile. . . .

 

[EmOne]

Cheap alloy, yes; steel, I don't think so!

 

[chinney]

Just wondering if anyone had a perspective on the weight rating issue that I raised earlier. I.e., my own understanding is that you should not get tires that are weight rated less than OEM specs. Correct? For the Model 3 LR AWD that is 98 XL.

 

[jrweiss98020]

Where is the OEM spec found? I can't find it in the manual or on the door pillar label. Just because there is a certain tire on the car when delivered, doesn't mean that's the minimum spec...

I see that the Continental Extreme Contact (weight rating 98, 1653#) is recommended by Tire Rack, but the Pure Contact (weight rating 94, 1477 lb) is rated by several places as quieter and more efficient. The Pure Contact would be good for a total load of 5908 lb, well above the car's GVWR of 5072 lb.

 

[comanchepilot]

Where is the OEM spec found? I can't find it in the manual or on the door pillar label. Just because there is a certain tire on the car when delivered, doesn't mean that's the minimum spec...

I see that the Continental Extreme Contact (weight rating 98, 1653#) is recommended by Tire Rack, but the Pure Contact (weight rating 94, 1477 lb) is rated by several places as quieter and more efficient. The Pure Contact would be good for a total load of 5908 lb, well above the car's GVWR of 5072 lb.

your analysis is accurate - you need a tire that will support the GVWR - thats all.

That's not the entire argument - but many seem to think quiet is all thats important -

 

[JCtx]

Remember there are THREE figures you need to check: GVWR and GAWR (front and back). The latter is the 'axle' rating, and in some cars, they could be significantly different. I assume on Teslas you have to watch the rear one. All 3 figures should be on the door label. If the tires have half the rating of the highest rated GAWR, then you'd be good . Somebody needs to post the door label of a M3 LR, to know the max tire load needed.

 

[SomeJoe7777]

I see that the Continental Extreme Contact (weight rating 98, 1653#) is recommended by Tire Rack, but the Pure Contact (weight rating 94, 1477 lb) is rated by several places as quieter and more efficient. The Pure Contact would be good for a total load of 5908 lb, well above the car's GVWR of 5072 lb.

your analysis is accurate - you need a tire that will support the GVWR - thats all.

GVWR is not all you have to look at. GAWR is important as well. Remember that the weight distribution in the vehicle depends on how the passengers are seated and how any cargo is loaded. If you place heavy objects in the trunk along with some passengers in the rear seats, it's quite easy exceed the rear axle GAWR without exceeding the entire vehicle's GVWR.

Using 98W tires with a 1653 lb rating ensures that you will never exceed the tire's weight rating under any combination of total passengers and cargo, no matter how the weight is distributed, provided that you also don't exceed the GVWR or GAWR. The W speed rating also ensures that this guarantee holds even up to the top speed of the vehicle.

If you use tires with a lower load index, say 94 vice 98, those tires will still carry the vehicle at normal speeds and low loads. However, this opens the possibility that there are passenger and cargo loading combinations that, while they may be within the GVWR and GAWR, may still exceed the tire's weight rating. This is dangerous for the tire and unsafe for the vehicle and passengers. To ensure safety, you would have to do a computed load and weight balance for the vehicle, and also compute a top safe speed, which may be quite a bit less than the top speed of the vehicle.

As most of us to not get out a clipboard and calculator to do a load and weight balance every time we begin a trip in our vehicle, the simpler solution is to use a load index of 98 or higher.

 

[jrweiss98020]

With all that understood, where does Tesla publish the minimum tire weight rating?

The Model 3 has a weight distribution F/R of 47/53%. That means the rear axle carries about 2253 lb empty. The 94-rated tire can carry 2954 lb per axle, giving an allowance of 701 lb of the 826 lb total load. The 98-rated tire gives a 1053 lb allowance.

FWIW, I will never approach the maximum rated speed of 149 mph, and have a VERY low likelihood of approaching the max load of 826 lb or 700 lb in the back.

 

[chinney]

Personally, I am just sticking with 98 (XL) tires. I know that reduces my tire choices somewhat, but so be it. I am willing to compromise on the speed rating bit (down to V from W, if necessary), but not the weight.

 

[EmOne]

Just remember that the maximum load is calculated at MAXIMUM TIRE PRESSURE, which is often higher than that recommended by the car manufacturer. I think my Michelin P4S 20" are rated at 51lbs. If you want to cut things close, I'd do some more detailed investigating

 

[Fadiawesome]

Initial review on the cross climate plus. Is a tad bit noisier but I listen to daily sound music anyways and I can easily drone out the sound of the road so that's not an issue. It's stickier than stock for sure. I live in southern cali so no weather testing was done.. it took me a while to have costco get these in stock. It goes in and out of stock randomly so I would just check everyday if your interested.

I wanted to get these tires, and I was just wondering, how are they performing now? Have you noticed a big hit in efficiency?

 

[Fadiawesome]

has anyone tried the cross climate + or pilot sport 4 all season? I need to get new 18' tires and dont know what is the best tire. I live in an area that gets a little bit of snow(not a lot), and is mostly dry in the summer if that matters.

 

[Knightshade]

has anyone tried the cross climate + or pilot sport 4 all season? I need to get new 18' tires and dont know what is the best tire. I live in an area that gets a little bit of snow(not a lot), and is mostly dry in the summer if that matters.

I've been enjoying the PS4 all seasons... the newer CCs are probably better if you need to do "real" snow driving, but here if there's significant snow on the roads you're not driving anyway since everything'll be closed, and they're fine in light snow.

 

[Fadiawesome]

I've been enjoying the PS4 all seasons... the newer CCs are probably better if you need to do "real" snow driving, but here if there's significant snow on the roads you're not driving anyway since everything'll be closed, and they're fine in light snow.

How is the efficiency on the PS4 all seasons? Is there a big hit? Are the tires louder or have a harsher ride? Sorry for asking so many questions lol, it's just hard to find data.

 

[Knightshade]

How is the efficiency on the PS4 all seasons? Is there a big hit? Are the tires louder or have a harsher ride? Sorry for asking so many questions lol, it's just hard to find data.

wh/mi increased roughly 7% though I don't have a ton of miles on them yet so can't say how much is seasonal vs tire difference, seems pretty worthwhile for what should be a 15-20% reduction in braking distance and much better handling.

Haven't noticed any difference in noise or comfort (other than taking corners at speed is way more comfortable )

 

[TomT]

I will likely go with the Quiettrack too in the 245 width. I'm on 19s.

Awesome review thanks, will definitely go with these for sure next year.

 

[superbaka]

Bump because I heard the MY2021 comes with "new, higher efficiency tires". (Quieter too?)

Anyone know whats up with them? Was just about to pull the trigger on a set of OEM 18"s that came with my car.

 

[dfndr90]

Bump because I heard the MY2021 comes with "new, higher efficiency tires". (Quieter too?)

Anyone know whats up with them? Was just about to pull the trigger on a set of OEM 18"s that came with my car.

I just had my S in the service center and the service tech mentioned they are now offering tires with foam inserts that reduce noise by about 9 to 10 decibels. He said it may not sound like much, but makes a big difference. Not sure if you knew about this. Just putting it out there.

 

[PNWLeccy]

I just had my S in the service center and the service tech mentioned they are now offering tires with foam inserts that reduce noise by about 9 to 10 decibels. He said it may not sound like much, but makes a big difference. Not sure if you knew about this. Just putting it out there.

Idk anything about the specific tires you're referencing but I know that most tests have found a 1-2db difference in OEM tires with and without the foam inserts. 9-10db is a massive difference since the noise is measured logarithmically - this does not sound correct at all.