Weight of 19" Wheels and Tires

[nrcooled]

Weight of 19" Wheels and Tires and Range Impact

Just as a point of reference I just got the information for the 19" wheels for the Model S

Wheels: 13.74kg ~30lbs each (according to a Tesla engineer)
Tires: 27lbs each (according to Tire Rack for Eagle RS-A2 245/45 19")

This further reinforces my desire for a lightweight set of wheels. Reducing the unsprung weight on each corner by 7-8lbs will make a huge difference in ride quality, acceleration, and transitions.

I am diligently looking for a new set of wheels now. I'm thinking that there may be up to a 7% increase in range by going to a set of lightweight wheels.

 

[loganss]

Nice.
So what are some of the requirements for these lightweight wheels you are looking for? i.e. being able to handle weight of the heavy car

 

[nrcooled]

Nice.
So what are some of the requirements for these lightweight wheels you are looking for? i.e. being able to handle weight of the heavy car

Funny you ask. I just ordered a set of lightweight wheels (23lbs) for the car. This is a savings of 7lbs on each corner reducing the overall rotational weight. I went with a 19x8.5 and I plan to use the stock rubber on them as it is a recommended sizing (245/45/19). The wheels should be here at the end of January and I will get them fitted ASAP. I'll post pictures and feedback. I have them same commute everyday so I will compare energy usage on the same trip while trying to maintain consistent driving characteristics over a week. Thus far with the stock wheels I have traveled 285 miles and used 90.1kWh.

With that being said, the overall requirements are a quality wheel manufacturer such as BBS, Enkei, or Volk that has a reputation for building quality race proven wheels. Plus, I am working off of the recommendation of the Tire Rack guy that I always use to get sizing and performance information from. Since this is a wider wheel (.5 inches) on the same tires it will change the contact patch of the wheels a bit by elongating it width wise but shortening it a bit (front to back). We shall see how this all works out.

Either way the wheels I bought look good and should have performance benefits.

 

[rick325]

Funny you ask. I just ordered a set of lightweight wheels (23lbs) for the car. This is a savings of 7lbs on each corner reducing the overall rotational weight. I went with a 19x8.5 and I plan to use the stock rubber on them as it is a recommended sizing (245/45/19). The wheels should be here at the end of January and I will get them fitted ASAP. I'll post pictures and feedback. I have them same commute everyday so I will compare energy usage on the same trip while trying to maintain consistent driving characteristics over a week. Thus far with the stock wheels I have traveled 285 miles and used 90.1kWh.

With that being said, the overall requirements are a quality wheel manufacturer such as BBS, Enkei, or Volk that has a reputation for building quality race proven wheels. Plus, I am working off of the recommendation of the Tire Rack guy that I always use to get sizing and performance information from. Since this is a wider wheel (.5 inches) on the same tires it will change the contact patch of the wheels a bit by elongating it width wise but shortening it a bit (front to back). We shall see how this all works out.

Either way the wheels I bought look good and should have performance benefits.

What wheels did you get? Specs (bore and offset)?

 

[jerry33]

Since this is a wider wheel (.5 inches) on the same tires it will change the contact patch of the wheels a bit by elongating it width wise but shortening it a bit (front to back).

No, it won't do that. It will just cause the sidewall to change shape and move the centre of flexing closer to the bead area. The belts and tread width won't change.

 

[nrcooled]

What wheels did you get? Specs (bore and offset)?

I went with Enkei Rajin in 19x8.5. 23.1 lbs each in hyper silver. These are very affordable wheels with a lighter weight than the stockers. If I don't like the look then I will just use them for winter tires instead of using the stock wheels as winter wheels.

We don't get much snow in VA so running winter tires all the time doesn't make much sense.

 

[FalconNinetyD]

As a point of reference, I believe it was reported in another thread that the 21"wheel/tire combo weighs 61 pounds...

 

[nrcooled]

As a point of reference, I believe it was reported in another thread that the 21"wheel/tire combo weighs 61 pounds...

That sounds about right for the 21" setup. The 19" w/ tires come out to be 57 pounds and 4 extra pounds for the 21s sound reasonable. I would have guessed just a touch heavier but good news for those that have the 21" setup.

 

[tdiggity]

Can't wait to hear your findings on range comparison!

 

[htsai14752]

What wheels did you get? Specs (bore and offset)?

based off info from enkei it looks like the wheels are +38 and a bore of 72.6

 

[nrcooled]

That is correct. Tire rack will be delivering centering rings and lug nuts for the setup too.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

 

[nrcooled]

Wheels have been delivered and will be mounted tomorrow (fingers crossed). I'll post up pictures if I can get enough daylight tomorrow or I will post up the next day.

 

[4sevens.com]

awesome let us know!

 

[nrcooled]

Well I got the new wheels fitted with the stock Eagle RS-A and mounted on the car. Of course it was too dark to get a decent picture of the car since it was 6:30pm when I got home. Then it promptly snowed last night in VA so I didn't drive the car today and opted to take the SUV.

As soon as I can get pics I will host them and post them up. I have also reset one of my trip meters to track the energy usage over the next ~700 miles to compare against the previous 721 miles that have been put on the car with the stock wheels. So far my energy usage is as follows:

721.9 miles traveled
267.1 kWh used
370 Wh/mi average

I am hoping that this will show decent improvement with the new lighter wheels (my hope is to see 7% improvement in efficiency). Holding each wheel the difference in weight is substantial. 8lbs doesn't sound like much until you have to carry each wheel and the difference is very apparent.

My initial impression is that the car seems more spry now that the new wheels are on. This is only based upon a short drive back from the tire shop though so more impressions will be forthcomming. FYI - The wheels are not exactly stock sized. They are 8.5" wide vs the 8" stock width so that can account for the "more spry" feeling.

 

[nrcooled]

Interesting first impressions of the wheels:

I took the car out to run some errands today. Normal driving and no flooring it all done on surface streets. I traveled a total of 11.5 miles in 39 deg F weather. The car used 2.7 kWh of energy to do this trip.

What was interesting is that the rated miles for the car started at 230 miles then when I got home I had 223 miles of rated range left. Can the wheels have THAT big of an impact?

I will keep updating this thread with my observations.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

 

[xhawk101]

Well I got the new wheels fitted with the stock Eagle RS-A and mounted on the car. Of course it was too dark to get a decent picture of the car since it was 6:30pm when I got home. Then it promptly snowed last night in VA so I didn't drive the car today and opted to take the SUV.

As soon as I can get pics I will host them and post them up. I have also reset one of my trip meters to track the energy usage over the next ~700 miles to compare against the previous 721 miles that have been put on the car with the stock wheels. So far my energy usage is as follows:

721.9 miles traveled
267.1 kWh used
370 Wh/mi average

I am hoping that this will show decent improvement with the new lighter wheels (my hope is to see 7% improvement in efficiency). Holding each wheel the difference in weight is substantial. 8lbs doesn't sound like much until you have to carry each wheel and the difference is very apparent.

My initial impression is that the car seems more spry now that the new wheels are on. This is only based upon a short drive back from the tire shop though so more impressions will be forthcomming. FYI - The wheels are not exactly stock sized. They are 8.5" wide vs the 8" stock width so that can account for the "more spry" feeling.

Can you confirm use of 19 in stock tires and which wheels? Lugano rial? Did tesla change tires for you?


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[nrcooled]

Can you confirm use of 19 in stock tires and which wheels? Lugano rial? Did tesla change tires for you?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

I bought the Enkei Raijin wheels in 19x8.5 +38mm offset from tire rack. The stock tires are the appropriate size for 8 and 8.5 inch wide wheels.

I had a trusted installer do the work of swapping the tires and TPMS sensors to the new wheels. I made sure that they kept the TPMS sensors in the same location on the car after the swap (I.e. right front TPMS stayed at the right front location).

Total cost was $120 to do the mounting and balancing.

Don't forget to budget in about 30 mins of extra Tesla time to talk about the car to the guys at the tire shop. :sly:

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[dave]

Pics please!

 

[nrcooled]

Pics please!

Here you go

 

[4sevens.com]

NICE!!