Winter wheels/tires packages for Model S

[4sevens.com]

I understand that because of this Tesla may never offer these tires in their package, which is too bad...

Driving faster that 170 km/h in winter (up here anyway) is borderline suicidal.

I'll take another look at the Pirelli's they offer, and may switch to Hakkas when those are worn, or just get the rims, TPMS and Hakka R separately (with the potential added cost and hassle to get them installed properly).

When I picked up my M3 in Munich January 2011 I took the car up to 155mph on the autobahn in sub zero weather with winter tires. It did just fine. The funny thing is I kept getting passed by astons flying by me at 40+mph. Germany is a different world.

 

[Jeeps17]

When I picked up my M3 in Munich January 2011 I took the car up to 155mph on the autobahn in sub zero weather with winter tires. It did just fine. The funny thing is I kept getting passed by astons flying by me at 40+mph. Germany is a different world.

Indeed.

My comment applies to Montreal / Quebec roads, I do not have experience with german autobahns.

 

[jerry33]

Jerry, What say you? I got the impression from this thread that the Hakka R's seem to be the most highly recommended. Is the R speed rating a safety issue?

Only if you go over the speed limit of the tires--and bear in mind that's a sustained speed limit. Winter tires almost always have lower speed limits than the equivalent summer tires.

Here's how it works:

1. The speed limit on the tires is based on the maximum load at the maximum pressure. Reduce the load and/or increase the pressure and slightly higher speeds can be used. There are formulas for this, but basically you lower the load and/or increase the pressure a lot and get a small gain in speed (and reduce tire life as well).

3. If you need snow tires in the area where you live, you aren't going to be going faster than R speeds anyway. (If you are please post when and where so that we can avoid the area

4. If you don't exceed the posted speed limit, you'll never have a problem with an R rated tire.

5. The manufacturer can't put on tires with a lower speed limit because some fool will run them in the summer at the car's maximum speed and then sue the manufacturer.

6. I wouldn't have any hesitation in putting them on my Model S.

Note that other than winter tires, I always purchase H rated or better. The reason is that H rated tires are made to tighter tolerances than R rated tires so there is less chance of vibration or odd wear. In addition, H rated tires have more material in the bead and tread area so they are more robust. It's the deeper and softer tread compound of real winter tires that lowers the speed rating.

 

[dashrb]

Swapping wheel+tire's myself

Tesla told me:
Swapping the tires and re-learning the sensors, about $87

I apologize for my confusion but....
My Model S will have 21" performance tires. If I buy an extra set of 19" wheels with the winter tires from tesla (i.e. the TPM's are already in the wheels), then can I swap the set back and forth at my convenience?

The service center isn't exactly convenient, and it should only take an hour in my garage to jack up the car and swap them one wheel at a time.

What I'm confused about is the "pairing"(?) of the computer to the TPMs in the wheels. Will the MS properly understand the alternate wheels each time I swap them? Or do I really need to visit the service center twice per year (November and March) and pay the $87 each time?

Thanks

 

[dsm363]

I apologize for my confusion but....
My Model S will have 21" performance tires. If I buy an extra set of 19" wheels with the winter tires from tesla (i.e. the TPM's are already in the wheels), then can I swap the set back and forth at my convenience?

Thanks

At this point, the car doesn't learn or remember different sets of rims (other than what is programed to the car). There is talk about tire swapping for winter/summer tires being part of the service plan but don't know if that is final yet. The Model S may be able to remember 2 sets of rims in the future but that is a software issue. Hoping a future update fixes this problem as it would certainly make it easier on owners and Tesla service.

 

[pbrulott]

Confirmed by Jeeps17 in the Canada thread that tire swapping is included in the maintenance plan.

Quote from Jeeps17:

I just had very useful series of e-mail exchanges with Kimbal Musk, George B, and Joost de Vries concerning the new ventilation ducts (which I posted in the Fogging thread), and winter tires - specifically whether bi-annual tire swaps are included in the annual maintenance. The gist of the information is below.

I must say that I have been thoroughly impressed by the level of interaction these three busy individuals have shown in addressing my concerns, taking the time to reply promptly and personally to a single customer. I made sure to note this in my replies to them.

Quoted from Joost de Vries:

"For your bi-annual tire swap, YES, this is included in your maintenance package. You'll have to come into our Service Center in Laval for the swap and we'll even offer to store your off season tires for you until you need to swap again 6 months later. This is applicable both in Ontario as well as Quebec."

I do not know if the tires are to be stored locally, or if a fee will be requested for the service, but this is fantastic news for those who are obliged to use winter tires !"

Well for Ontario and Quebec at least...

 

[eledille]

They need to make the TPMS system store and remember two sets of wheels. Then we could just choose "Set 1" or "Set 2" in some menu. That would solve this whole problem. Should be trivial to fix?

 

[dailydriver]

They need to make the TPMS system store and remember two sets of wheels. Then we could just choose "Set 1" or "Set 2" in some menu. That would solve this whole problem. Should be trivial to fix?

You would certainly think so with such a high tech car that can be easily upgraded. My Audi just recognizes a second set once you have reset them initially. Having this limitation is really crazy to me.

 

[mnx]

I was thinking about getting these for Winter tires:

MichelinPilot Alpin PA3

(They're a little wider than stock, but they don't come in 245/45). They appear to be an excellent winter tire according to consumer reports.

Any drawbacks to going with a 255/45R19 sized tire? (other than the fact that the speedo will be out by 1.266%?)

Thanks!

 

[jkirkebo]

They need to make the TPMS system store and remember two sets of wheels. Then we could just choose "Set 1" or "Set 2" in some menu. That would solve this whole problem. Should be trivial to fix?

Either that or make the TPMS programmable from the touch screen so it can be done without the tool. IMHO the best option. Make it like the system I read about somewhere else on this site: The car flashes one of the turning lights, for example front left. You then remove 5 psi or more from the tire in that corner so the car can sense which corner the sensor is at. Add back the 5 psi and the car proceeds to the next corner until all 4 are programmed. Should take no more than 2 minutes or so if you have an air compressor available.

 

[eledille]

Either that or make the TPMS programmable from the touch screen so it can be done without the tool. IMHO the best option. Make it like the system I read about somewhere else on this site: The car flashes one of the turning lights, for example front left. You then remove 5 psi or more from the tire in that corner so the car can sense which corner the sensor is at. Add back the 5 psi and the car proceeds to the next corner until all 4 are programmed. Should take no more than 2 minutes or so if you have an air compressor available.

That's a good idea, but please - dedicate 64 bytes or so of storage for two sets of wheels anyway... should cost a day or two of programming plus memory worth one cent per car.

*edit*

I've done some reading on TPMS now, and this stuff seems to be much more complicated than I thought. I would have thought that if there was a sensor near each wheel the system would be able to recognize where each in-wheel chip ID that it knows about is currently located. Why is that so difficult?

 

[jkirkebo]

I've done some reading on TPMS now, and this stuff seems to be much more complicated than I thought. I would have thought that if there was a sensor near each wheel the system would be able to recognize where each in-wheel chip ID that it knows about is currently located. Why is that so difficult?

Because there is only one receiver. So it receives the signal from all wheels simultaneously. Thus it cannot know where a specific wheel is located without programming.

 

[eledille]

Because there is only one receiver. So it receives the signal from all wheels simultaneously. Thus it cannot know where a specific wheel is located without programming.

Right. Then your suggestion is the best that can be done, I guess - much, much better than having to go to the store twice a year for virtually nothing. And tire pressure should be checked after changing wheels anyway, so it would be no more trouble than old fashioned wheels without TPMS.

Tesla, please...

 

[Tom Flyer]

Agree with both you and Doug, pricing seems reasonable.
My understanding is that the Nokians they'll offer are the studded version and that if you want no studs the option they'll offer is the Pirellis.
We'll have to wait for the official announcement for conclusive info on this. If they choose to offer non-studded Nokians would you opt for those?