Wider Pilot Sport 4S tires on stock 18-inch wheels installed and tested

[Sunshine Speed]

Hello, if anyone wants to replace their stock Michelin Primacy MXM4 tires with summer performance tires, I can confirm that it works fine to get a slightly wider and taller tire, I got Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires installed at Costco. I have the aero wheels with aero covers removed, I'm in Los Angeles.

Stock tire from Tesla factory : size is 235/45/18
New tire size I got installed : 245/45/18

Compared to the stock tire size my Pilot 4S are a bit wider, it has more sidewall, slightly more diameter too. I'm just a regular driver who doesn't race but here is my review:
Noise and ride comfort: I didn't notice any difference compared to stock tires.
Grip: MUCH better compared to stock. After break in of a few hundred miles was done, I punished these tires on a wild ride from Burbank to Wrightwood through the twisty mountain roads on Highway 2 (Angeles Crest highway) last weekend and had a REALLY good time. I can drive with more confidence now. I can accelerate during the middle of a turn without any loss of grip or wheel spinning now.
Braking distance: I didn't test anything but supposedly the car is safer because my braking distance is much better with these tires.

I'm not sure how these would have been different if I bought the standard 235/45/18 size of the same tire. I probably have some slight loss of range with this bigger tire but I haven't noticed anything. Also I'll have to replace them sooner compared to stock. Here's an image of TireRack size compare tool. Hope this helps.

 

[BillO]

Thanks for the report. I have been thinking about going to a 245 or even 255. Got any pics? I’m wondering if the wheel arch gap looks any smaller.

 

[TEG]

Thanks.

Pictures of the tires on your car?

 

[TT97]

Do you know how your efficiency has been affected by the new tires? Thanks.

 

[NeverFollow]

Thanks for the report. I have been thinking about going to a 245 or even 255.
Got any pics? I’m wondering if the wheel arch gap looks any smaller.

I would be interested to see if you get also a better protection against curb damage?

 

[Sunshine Speed]

 

[Sunshine Speed]

 

[TEG]

Yes, thanks. I think I will be doing something like that once my original tires wear out. I am at 6K miles so far.

 

[gilscales]

I did the same thing with my previous car 235/45/18 to pss 245/45/18 and it was a huge difference as well, I have the 19's and will be getting the 245/40/19 in the ps4s as well, it would be interesting to see what range hit you get with this slightly larger much stickier tire, please report back if when you have any info on range loss

 

[insaneoctane]

• Also very curious about range loss
• Does 245 allow rubber beyond rim to avoid rim rash?
• What was your motivation to change the tires?
• Price?
• MPH displayed vs GPS. .. Any difference?

 

[Candleflame]

how does it affect kw/100km though?

 

[MacGreiner]

Do you know how your efficiency has been affected by the new tires? Thanks.

Yeah. This.

 

[Agon]

Very interesting. Thanks for the photos. Do you feel there is a visual difference in the wheel arch gap? It is not easy to see on the photos.

 

[TANGO SUKKA]

Will definitely be doing this one I eat through my stock tires. I wonder if 255's would be overkill. Will probably do 245's to get a good balance of range and performance.

 

[Msjulie]

MPH displayed vs GPS. .. Any difference?

This I'd like to know as I feel like the car can't know to correct..

 

[jkcheng122]

Pretty sure I will do this too when my stock tires run out. Would like to know how summer tires’ cost and tread life are vs stock.

 

[ba2002]

Noise and ride comfort: I didn't notice any difference compared to stock tires.

So literally 0 difference? My only hesitation with replacing the all seasons with a stickier tire is they could be louder? I have not been impressed with the amount of road noise on the Primacy tires on the Model 3 - much louder than my model S was with the same tires on 19 inch wheels.

If they were even slightly quieter or more comfortable, I would swap them in a heartbeat.

 

[Seven7]

Good thread, thank you for posting this OP

 

[Sunshine Speed]

• Also very curious about range loss
• Does 245 allow rubber beyond rim to avoid rim rash?
• What was your motivation to change the tires?
• Price?
• MPH displayed vs GPS. .. Any difference?

I'm not sure how to measure range loss because I wasn't monitoring range or kw/mi before. I got the V9 update a couple of weeks ago, and it varies between 150 and 300 depending how I drive, maybe average at 200? I don't notice any difference between this and my old tire. My motivation to change the tire was that the stock tires are not grippy enough when I accelerate out of turns, and I was nervous doing high speed turns on mountain roads with the stock tires. Since I don't drive anywhere cold I knew I could get summer performance tires. Also I wanted to improve the stopping distance for hard braking for emergency. Price at Costco for all 4 installed was $940 which includes 9.5% sales tax and I got my old tires back in bags. Regarding MPH vs GPS take a look at my original post above and you'll see that it's only 1MPH difference, so that's negligible.

Very interesting. Thanks for the photos. Do you feel there is a visual difference in the wheel arch gap? It is not easy to see on the photos.

No I don't notice any visual difference but my friends at work said the new tires look better and bigger and more aggressive. To me they just look like my old tires, but I feel safer driving around with the better grip and I can drive more confidently. So getting the Pilot 4S definitely delivered on grip but I'm not sure how the 235 and 245 size would have been different.

So literally 0 difference? My only hesitation with replacing the all seasons with a stickier tire is they could be louder? I have not been impressed with the amount of road noise on the Primacy tires on the Model 3 - much louder than my model S was with the same tires on 19 inch wheels.

If they were even slightly quieter or more comfortable, I would swap them in a heartbeat.

I too was hoping the larger sidewall would mean some increased ride comfort over bumps, but I don't think it made a difference. I use around 40PSI . I don't notice any difference in noise either.

These tires were an expensive upgrade, but I wanted the extra grip and driving confidence since the car is so powerful. The tires will probably wear out after driving 20K miles on them so I only recommend doing this if you're willing to spend extra money on tires every 2 years instead of every 4 years. Maybe if I keep up with rotations due to RWD I can drive them 30K miles.

 

[insaneoctane]

Does 245 allow rubber beyond rim to avoid rim rash?

Thanks for answering our questions! I am still interested in this one....