Winter Wheel Ideas?

[RDaneel]

I'm looking for a set of 18" wheels for my Model 3's winter shoes. I run PS4s on the OEM 19s for summer, but think having a bit more sidewall for winter conditions here in the northeast would be nice.

The two most obvious options seem to be the turbine style wheels from TSportline ($1200, 21 lbs.) or EV Wheels Direct ($1000, 28lbs.). Any advice on which of these makes more sense, or whether there are other options in that price range that I should consider?

Thanks!

 

[pdxev]

I would consider OEM Aeros for winter wheels. You can get great deals on them and their aerodynamics may counter some of the range loss you have with winter wheels.

 

[steilkurve]

I would consider OEM Aeros for winter wheels. You can get great deals on them and their aerodynamics may counter some of the range loss you have with winter wheels.

Has anyone determined if 18’’ wheels will fit the large brakes of P3D+?

 

[jtpassat]

http://discounttiredirect.com/ Is having their Labor Day sale with up to 20% off your order. I ended up buying 18” wheels and falken eurowinter tires for $1500 not including the rebates.

 

[pdxev]

Has anyone determined if 18’’ wheels will fit the large brakes of P3D+?

I believe you need a minimum of 19" for the + brakes. There may be some ultra low clearance wheel that fits but I wouldn't count on it.

 

[TheLocNar]

The TST 18" flow forged will fit over the P+ brakes/rotors. Just be sure to specify in the drop-down menu that it's for a Performance Upgrade Package car so they can mill the center bore to clear that silly 3mm lip on the P+ hub.

 

[Pkatz]

Has anyone determined if 18’’ wheels will fit the large brakes of P3D+?

I not only considered them, I have them. I purchased an 18” wheel and tire package from TSportline for my Model 3 Performance (with performance brakes). I found both TSportline and Tire Rack had 18” wheel and tire options, but I went with TSportline because they had a particular package with forged wheels that looked very good. The car originally came with 20” wheels, and after having to replace 3 destroyed tires in 3 months because every time I hit any pothole a sidewall of a tire collapsed, I decided to switch to 18” wheels that I purchased from TSportline. The good news was that I haven’t had an issue with a tire having to be replaced in the 8 months I’ve been riding with the Tsportsline package, the bad news is 2 of the 4 wheels turned out to be defective. I say this because one, from the minute they were installed, was slowly leaking. I eventually learned that it was remarkably an issue with the wheel. There was a hole the size of a pinhole in the wheel that was letting air escape. It took me several trips to several tire places to figure out the issue. A second wheel, within a few months of being on my car, bizarrely cracked. I thought it was just a scrape cutting through the paint on the wheel surface, but my tire installer showed me that the wheel had cracked through, and warned me that if I kept riding on it, I would be making a turn sometime soon and the wheel would collapse. Two bad wheels of four in less than 8 months is not acceptable when you are paying over 3k for a tire package, and just plain dangerous. Seems to me that they are outsourcing their wheel design to a company who does not have good defect monitoring standards. I am lucky that I didn’t end up stranded, or worse yet hurt, on a road with a collapsed wheel. You might want to give Tire Rack’s options a try. There are a number of companies that offer options that work with the performance M3, but Tire Rack is a large, established company, and given that safety should be a priority, it’s probably better to look for options with well established companies than some of the smaller, newer, operators who have attractive looking products but may not be as accountable.