Yeah. There's no way that because they are powder coated they caused rotors to warp. For them to even suggest that is absurd. They seem to be bullsh1t stretching on this one. The one real answer that I know of is improper torque. I still can't believe they'd actually say it was due to powder coating. They must take you an idiot if they think they can convince you of such. lol I know they know better than this.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Uneven or over torque may lead to warped rotor. I think hard/panic braking and rotor over-heat can cause it too.
My mechanic told me new rotors usually need a breaking period for the first few hundred miles. Basically you apply brake at various speed and avoid any hard braking.
Back pad is usually masked off during power coating process so it should be smooth. I fail to see how it can affect the rotors.
Ask TMC to provide you the reason to void the warranty in writting. I do not think they will so most likely you will get the rotors replaced under warranty. Good luck.
My mechanic told me new rotors usually need a breaking period for the first few hundred miles. Basically you apply brake at various speed and avoid any hard braking.
Back pad is usually masked off during power coating process so it should be smooth. I fail to see how it can affect the rotors.
Ask TMC to provide you the reason to void the warranty in writting. I do not think they will so most likely you will get the rotors replaced under warranty. Good luck.
Last edited:
Masked off???? You really think wheels are powder coated while still on the car?????
*facepalm*
No. I know how the power coating process is done. I also have been to several wheel power coating shops (They are usually very small so I should not call them Plants).
I am not talkig about the entire wheel, just the wheel back pad. Do you know what a wheel back pad is and why it needs to be masked off?
*facepalm*
Last edited:
William13
Active Member
You two obviously know more than I do about wheels and powder coating. Could you please explain what you are talking about?
Gizmotoy
Active Member
He's just talking about the mating surface between the wheel and the hub. That's usually called the back pad, and is left unpainted/powdercoated becuase it's important to have a clean mating surface there. That's why on even painted OEM wheels, you'll often see bare metal where the wheel hits the hub.
The comment about powder coating above was because the powder coating process involves baking the coated wheels, which obviously can't occur while they're on the car.
First one needs to do the homework.
40mm is the offset on Model S, meaning you need that much offset to clear
the brake calipers. Hubcentric with TireRack not a problem, they never failed
to provide me with a correct adapter ring over the years.
Notice how TireRack offers a variety of 19" wheels for the Model S
with offsets 32-40mm, with only the uber-$500 ones having the correct 40mmm offset.
Dunno how this slipup occured at TireRack, they are usually pretty anal about
specs, and only failed me once in 15 years. The affordable OEM lookalike Taiwanese grey
21" turbines though have correct offsets.
Based on above, this future S85D owner will order a car with basic wheels (to be sold)
and winter 19" Tesla winter package, which while affordable will clean easily and not
accumulate ice unlike the multispoke narrow gap wheels, their light color will help blend
in curb rashes too. The 21" TireRack summer setup with TPMS and all will set me back
below $2300, roughly 2k below OEM setup, and that even using OEM Michelin tires.
40mm is the offset on Model S, meaning you need that much offset to clear
the brake calipers. Hubcentric with TireRack not a problem, they never failed
to provide me with a correct adapter ring over the years.
Notice how TireRack offers a variety of 19" wheels for the Model S
with offsets 32-40mm, with only the uber-$500 ones having the correct 40mmm offset.
Dunno how this slipup occured at TireRack, they are usually pretty anal about
specs, and only failed me once in 15 years. The affordable OEM lookalike Taiwanese grey
21" turbines though have correct offsets.
Based on above, this future S85D owner will order a car with basic wheels (to be sold)
and winter 19" Tesla winter package, which while affordable will clean easily and not
accumulate ice unlike the multispoke narrow gap wheels, their light color will help blend
in curb rashes too. The 21" TireRack summer setup with TPMS and all will set me back
below $2300, roughly 2k below OEM setup, and that even using OEM Michelin tires.
Last edited:
breser
AutoPilot Nostradamus
That's not a terrible plan but I'm not sure why you'd bother to order the Tesla winter tires. From what everyone here has said the Pirelli's that come on their winter setup are not that great of a winter tire. You could just sell the tires off the standard 19" wheels and buy winter tires to put on them.
My intention has been to order another pair of wheels and TPMS from Tesla and a set of the Michellan XIce3. Given the price drop on wheels and TPMS from Tesla that should only run me about $2600. So $100 more for the better winter tire seems like the far better option.
Unless Tirerack drops their prices buying the TPMS from Tesla is now cheaper they're charging $200 for all 4 ($50 each). While Tire Rack wants $388 for all 4.
I have ordered 21" wheel tire combo from Tirerack for my yet to be delivered S60, I called and asked about the bolt and a (very knowledgable) rep there said the bolt is there only to keep the rotor from falling off on the assy line and while servicing brakes. It can be removed and should be removed for aftermarket wheels that do not have a pocket or some other clearance. I plan on modifying a standard SS screw with a turned down head tho
Old thread but I will chime in anyway. For everyone who is interested in aftermarket wheels for the Model S, brake rotor warping is a real possibility. To avoid the chance of this happening it's crucial to get a set of wheels that are made specifically for the Model S. Off the shelf wheels will not fit properly in most cases as there is additional work that must be done to achieve correct fitment. In the course of developing our own wheels we found that adjustments needed to be made as we experienced rotor warping as well. It is not from improperly torquing lug nuts or any other factor listed here. It is due solely to the fact that most wheels are not designed for Teslas. If anyone has any questions about this we have more experience working on Teslas, different models, specs and wheels than any other shop so feel free to drop me a PM or call us directly
Interesting....wheels not designed for teslas, yet a large company like tirerack would sell them....and take on that liability
Xenoilphobe
Well-Known Member
I agree - I was almost killed after a brake job on my FJ, drove it 1000 miles and the front passenger wheel started vibrating at 30 MPH vibration would go away at higher speeds - by the time I pulled off the high way 3 lugs had seared of and the wheel was just barely on the vehicle - minutes before I had been towing a trailer doing 80 MPH. My guess is the tech hand tightened the lug nuts and never rechecked them.... Toyota paid to fix everything.
Xenoilphobe
Well-Known Member
my bet is that the calipers may have seized and caused extensive overheating of the rotors - enabling the 0.9 mm of runout. There is absolutely no way wheels cause rotor warpage. Also the wheel torque ratings are suspect as well, since the legacy Tesla torque ratings for lug nuts was lower than 129 on 2012 and 2013 cars.
Similar threads
