Replacement Tires for 19" wheels

[charlesoris]

Hi all, I went to a local Firestone store to perform an alignment on just mounted Continental DWS06 + purchased on Tirerack. The store manager quoted a higher rate for Tesla since there is more work for them to do. They were able to correct all parameters except for RH front tire camber/caster. The store manager claimed that the front upper control arms are not adjustable.

Tesla service manual has a section dedicated to the alignment of Model Y. It shows the necessary steps to adjust the FUCAs camber/caster by loosing four bolts and pushing on the assembly to align it.
Other users claim that FUCA camber/caster are not adjustable unless you replace them with adjustable ones.

Thoughts?

 

[Sweed269]

Something is wrong with your front end. caster and camber are out of wack.

 

[FatherTo1]

Hi all, I went to a local Firestone store to perform an alignment on just mounted Continental DWS06 + purchased on Tirerack. The store manager quoted a higher rate for Tesla since there is more work for them to do. They were able to correct all parameters except for RH front tire camber/caster. The store manager claimed that the front upper control arms are not adjustable.
View attachment 1044422
Tesla service manual has a section dedicated to the alignment of Model Y. It shows the necessary steps to adjust the FUCAs camber/caster by loosing four bolts and pushing on the assembly to align it.
Other users claim that FUCA camber/caster are not adjustable unless you replace them with adjustable ones.

Thoughts?

The previous alignment shop I used in August 2022 also said the same thing, something like "we'd have to bend something to fix the fronts". Odd as they're a well-reviewed and reputable alignment shop and did my Model S before without issue.

Part of me regrets getting an alignment on the Y in 2022. Nothing was really wrong but I read I should do an alignment with new tires, so I did. Interestingly, I developed uneven wear and the car would pull to the side only after the alignment. Prior to that the tires tracked straight and had even wear from the factory. Ride quality even felt better from factory before the first alignment shop touched it.

Model Y is on the lift at Firestone as I type this. Let's see if they also run into issues adjusting the fronts -- will report back.

 

[FatherTo1]

Firestone finished in about an hour without any issues:

 

[charlesoris]

Firestone finished in about an hour without any issues:

View attachment 1044810

Glad to hear. Mine RH front camber/caster was misaligned based on before measurements. Anyhow, I made a service appointment with Tesla tomorrow.

 

[FatherTo1]

Not sure if it's just my imagination but the car seems to be riding smoother and quieter after the alignment. Definitely not imagined is the higher speed I'm able to carry through turns and curves. There is this stretch of road on the way home from Firestone that I've traversed hundreds of times in the Model Y and I'm 5-7 MPH faster through the curves after the alignment. Not only that but the car feels flatter through the turns now.

Too early to made a verdict on any efficiency improvement as the way home was a lot of downhill, but I'll know for sure after I pick up my daughter from school this afternoon. I am very familiar with the amount of energy used on that roundtrip commute. I am pretty happy based on just the handling improvement!

 

[FatherTo1]

Glad to hear. Mine RH front camber/caster was misaligned based on before measurements. Anyhow, I made a service appointment with Tesla tomorrow.

Oh, that's right. My fronts just happened to be in spec, according to both America's Tire and Firestone's measurements. It would've been interesting if my fronts were off to see if Firestone could correct it.

If my fronts were still in alignment, then I wonder why America's Tire said all four tires had excessive inside wear. They were not making it up. I measured it myself at home and the insides indeed have less tread than the outside half of each tire.

 

[MattM24]

Oh, that's right. My fronts just happened to be in spec, according to both America's Tire and Firestone's measurements. It would've been interesting if my fronts were off to see if Firestone could correct it.

If my fronts were still in alignment, then I wonder why America's Tire said all four tires had excessive inside wear. They were not making it up. I measured it myself at home and the insides indeed have less tread than the outside half of each tire.

It’s the toe being out that caused the wear and it’s not in your head. Alignments make a big difference.

 

[charlesoris]

I went to the newly opened SC in Thousand Oaks, CA. They completed the alignment and I had a chance to speak with the service manager regarding the overall alignment figures and the procedure used to correct front camber and caster. They did their best to get to the spec values, but could complete not resolve camber angle due to limitation of the upper control arm.
The other issue is that Tesla's "Before" values and Firestone's "After" value did not completely matched. See below for Tesla's printout, and the above post for Firestone's "Before/After" values.

 

[FatherTo1]

It’s the toe being out that caused the wear and it’s not in your head. Alignments make a big difference.

After a few days of driving the same commute I've noticed a consistent 5-6 Wh/m (2.5%) improvement in efficiency after the alignment. The real joy comes from better body control through turns. The Y just stays flatter and more glued to the road now through curves and twists. The alignment corrections make the DWS06+ shine.

 

[SlvrDragon50]

Were these alignments being done on the stock suspension setup or did you replace parts? Planning to switch to 18 or 19" wheels so wanting to figure if I need to replace other parts too.

 

[Noflash]

Late to this thread. Are these alignments all on non-performance trims? I was under the impression you couldn't align MYP rears without aftermarket camber arms.

 

[Jigglypuff]

I don't think you can run 18s with the MYP front brakes. Most people lifting are oversizing on 18s.

 

[Sweed269]

New MYL and MYP use the same brakes front and rear. They are just red and the rear has a bolt on cover

 

[SlvrDragon50]

Late to this thread. Are these alignments all on non-performance trims? I was under the impression you couldn't align MYP rears without aftermarket camber arms.

This is what I thought as well.

 

[Big Dog]

I went to the newly opened SC in Thousand Oaks, CA. They completed the alignment and I had a chance to speak with the service manager regarding the overall alignment figures and the procedure used to correct front camber and caster. They did their best to get to the spec values, but could complete not resolve camber angle due to limitation of the upper control arm.
The other issue is that Tesla's "Before" values and Firestone's "After" value did not completely matched. See below for Tesla's printout, and the above post for Firestone's "Before/After" values.View attachment 1045252

Did the Manager have a solution, or is being permanently out-of-spec ok? If they had just sold a car with those numbers under warranty, would they fix it for free and how?

 

[charlesoris]

Did the Manager have a solution, or is being permanently out-of-spec ok? If they had just sold a car with those numbers under warranty, would they fix it for free and how?

The manager stated that they maxed out on ability to align the upper control arm, and -0.8 degree camber was on a borderline within spec. (See FatherTo1 post where -0.8 degree is within spec). Any further attempts would require disassembling the tower assembly and lower links.

I mentioned that I am leaving on a 7,000-mile trip and concerned about handling and tire wear. His response was not worry, and have a nice trip. I did not want to engage in warranty related repairs after his response.

 

[QtownTaxiGreg]

further attempts would require disassembling the tower assembly

Isn't that just how it's done???

 

[FatherTo1]

Were these alignments being done on the stock suspension setup or did you replace parts? Planning to switch to 18 or 19" wheels so wanting to figure if I need to replace other parts too.

Late to this thread. Are these alignments all on non-performance trims? I was under the impression you couldn't align MYP rears without aftermarket camber arms.

Our MYLR is all stock on 19" Geminis.

 

[FatherTo1]

We went down to San Francisco for an early Mother's Day celebration and averaged 262 Wh/m for 141 miles when we arrived. This is an even more significant efficiency improvement than city driving, and I didn't even have the aero covers on!

Before the alignment I typically average 266 Wh/m at 65 MPH on flat freeway, but today it sat around 254 Wh/m at 65 MPH.