@@timfreeman2603 I'm trying to research the 255/50R18's now, and the problem I'm encountering is almost no one makes that size, when you do find one it costs a lot more. So you have less choices and smaller price range to shop from and less negotiating power if you present quotes to another retailer for price matching.
Admirable time and effort on this! Results were about what I'd expect. I hate that car companies are seemingly using increasingly larger wheels and shorter sidewalls in the name of aesthetics. Function over form for me too.
There is another option I discovered some people going with. Use 50 series tires on the 19" wheels. You would essentially be splitting the difference. It's a slightly taller setup and slightly larger circumference. You can inflate to a lower PSI because of the higher load index.
I started studying a future purchase of a Tesla Y summer 2023. I was shocked at the winter tire prices. I found, that also 18" would be possible, much cheaper tire prices. In September, prices of both tire sizes came down to the 70 € range. Now in January 2024 255/45 R19 prices are insane. Cheapest at 132 €. 235/55 R18 is at 75 €.
I have just bought a spare set of 2021 18 inch Model 3 wheels for the express purpose of fitting them to my Model Y as soon as it turns up. The main reason is for a more comfortable ride over poor roads in my location and to use less expensive tyres. I do 65,000 to 70,000 miles per annum and the savings in tyres should Pay for the 18’ wheels with in 2 years as well as providing a more comfortable ride.
Appreciate the time you put in on this Charlie! Very unique content and informative all around. I’ve also got a SR and been wondering about this as well as if it might have a larger software limited pack than what they claim? Doesn’t make sense that they would have retooled the battery area of their assembly line just to put through a few test market SR’s. Thanks also to Continental for supporting channels like Charlie’s!
The biggest difference would be had by reducing the weight of the overall Wheel and Tire combination reduce each by 10lbs will affect the range the 20in wheels on the model 3 are 29lbs a 20lb wheel/rim would shed 36 lbs of rolling resistance if left at the same size and same exact tire. Enkie makes a 18in wheel that is even lighter around 18lbs. Get the overall package down to 35-40lbs per wheel and tire combo and you would see the biggest possible range increase.
For highway use id say the aero covers are your best bet. They’re already super light wheels and unless you plan on spending like $10k for carbon wheels the weight is negligible.
Excellent comparison but convinced me to stay with 19” wheels as benefits do not outweigh the issues and potential issues of non-standard wheels, not recommended by Tesla for MY.
I would think you would be fine if you use an 18” tire with the correct load rating. I was thinking about setting up a spare set of 18s for mine for trips but to be honest his wh/mile isn’t any better than mine running on 20s. Maybe it’s not really worth doing.
I drive my Tesla at 36psi cold, because 42psi is unbearable here in Montreal, But i'd be curious to try your set up at 36psi. Maybe this set up on a Model Y finally gives the car a premium ride quality
Thank you very much Charlie. When I got my MYLR earlier this year, a bloke on Reddit took me to the cleaners for not wanting to switch to the 18" wheels. I can now see that it might not even have been possible given the load rating requirement for the LR. Also, there seems to be a negligible difference in the range. It could also be a personal preference, but I particularly dislike the look of the 18's on the Y. It makes it look like a dinky car. I'm happy to know I'm not missing out on much! Do you know if the Continental's are foamed from the inside as well?
I just ordered a PMY to replace our 2020 LR AWD Y and will sell tye 21's and am looking at the 19s from TSportLine with the same tires you tested, but they just released some 18's with 245/50 Continentals that have my interest. Just don't want to lose any of the P's pull off the line. I wonder if the 18's will actually be faster? The 21's weigh over 66 lbs. Thoughts.
wow finally! is there a link to buy the 18 inch. how reliable is the tpms ? any improvement in road noise ? that's one of my biggest gripes with my MY. Thank you!
Summers and 21s would be nice... I live in Florida and the roads get up to 200 F in the summer and slightly less in the other 2 seasons I was wondering should I just put summers on my Mustang, Suburban, and CR-V? Since modern summer tires have better wet performance than all seasons. So seeing what summers on a Model Y would be nice.
I’ve been waiting for this review. Thanks! I finally placed an order for a MY. Even tho I’ve recommended it to many ppl, I’ve been hesitant bc of the firm and loud ride. I’m seriously considering 18”. I also have a reservation on the Ioniq 5. So I guess at this rate is which ever comes first as everything has been delayed!
I just want to say as someone who has driven across every state west of Colorado, California does not have smooth roads, we have pretty poor roads! Major highways here that cross through the highest salary areas in the country are neglected and road work and expansion projects take several years to complete
Thank you very much for your review… Have you kept the 18” on thru the winter? Curious if you still feel the same. I am having issues with my tolerance of road feel on the stock 19s and seeking any way to smooth things out. Tnx again!
Do you have the post-Nov 2022 comfort suspension? I've had Lexus owners comment on my 2023 Y's ride comfort as being excellent. One guy was like "Holy crap how is it so smooth?" Lack of engine helps, of course.
Do the 18in wheels support the weight on a model Y. I want thicker tires and think this will be a better option then buying 18in wheels off t sportline
I have the 20" tires on my Y, and the ride is very rough, especially for my backseat passengers. I've been considering going to the 18" aeros since early 2020. I'm wondering how much of a difference you would feel between the 18's and tesla's 20's!
Here is the math for different model Y tires showing the full tire height of each followed by the percentage difference. This should affect your speedometer and odometer. Original 255/45R19 28.04" 235/55R18 28.18" 0.5% 245/55R18 28.62" 2% 255/50R18 28.04" 0% 265/45R18 27.38" 2% 275/45R18 27.75" 1%
Not sure if I caught this on the video. Going from 19" to 18" wheels, does the odometer give a correct readout? Is there some sort of adjustment to be made to the cars computer?
Going to a smaller rim will change the speed reading from my experience. You can see the speed difference on a GPS or using Google maps. Using OEM wheel size and tire the speed will be spot on. Going down tire size the speed will be off by 1 or 2 mph.
Could you provide the numbers you used for axel load and other parameters that confirmed that the M3 tires are appropriate as an alternate to the standard tires on the MY?
I should have mentioned the sizes at the beginning *facepalm*. 235/55R18 vs 255/45R19. Neither have the foam, but they honestly seem quieter than the OE tires with foam inserts.
@@DailyMotor Thank you so much! Now it makes sense to me about them having about the same rolling diameter. I would love to have one tire size wider on my Model 3's 18" rims, in order to have a little bit of space to protect against curb rash.
Usually going up a load range in any given tire will provide that thicker sidewalk and the rubber rib/lip you’re referring to. That said, they’ll run a bit firmer/harsher/louder. An example of this I used to run on my Subaru were pilot sports as 4. The y speed rating has the rib vs. the v rating which does not.
One of the reasons smaller-diameter wheels get better range is that the larger the wheel, the more energy is required to get it rotating to the same speed. It's not just the reduced weight of the smaller wheels. So, the fact that you tested the highway range difference of these two wheel sizes largely missed this effect. You'd really have to do a test with city driving to capture this difference, with a lot of stop and go. Your Continental tire expert also seemed unaware of this effect, he was probably only thinking about the effect of the tire per se, and not of the wheel as a whole. The fact that Telsa reports different ranges for 19" and 20" really already tells us you should see more range with 18" wheels, because this basic physical principle doesn't plateau at 19".
Sadly the continental tech was right. I've change my tire size for my 2018 model 3 performance from 20 to 18. The range stayed the same - 282 at 100 percent. I was hoping to get back my 300 mile range. It didn't happen.
@@Tuck_Frump if you're just looking at the estimated range number in your car when you set the charge limit to 100%, that's not answering question, at least not right after you've changed the wheels. I'm not sure exactly how Tesla is getting that estimated range number, but if it's updated over time based on actual results with your car, you may see the estimated range number slowly go up over a period of a few months. I'm guessing it will, maybe post the results and let us know. Of course batteries are always losing a little range over time, which is an offsetting effect.
California road is smooth!? Lol bet you haven’t driven through SF 101. That’s a horrible horrible road. I have personal punctured my tires when driving on it. And I have friends punctured their tires as well. Not only that, many portion of road around the SF Bay Area is terrible. Although they have amended lots of them during the covid period.
![COLOMBIA vs. CHILE [4-0] | RESUMEN | ELIMINATORIAS SUDAMERICANAS | FECHA 10](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/TDjN4W3yy1k/mqdefault.jpg)
Tires sizes are 255/45R19 vs 235/55R18.
Whew, my attention deficit couldn't get thru the Continental interview to find this
was thinking going with 235 50 18 to lower 1 inch for areo dynamics and range what's your thoughts?
@@shanepipkin4041 The trip info/consumption numbers would be off, but yeah it would likely help.
255/50R18 would’ve been better?
@@timfreeman2603 I'm trying to research the 255/50R18's now, and the problem I'm encountering is almost no one makes that size, when you do find one it costs a lot more. So you have less choices and smaller price range to shop from and less negotiating power if you present quotes to another retailer for price matching.
Admirable time and effort on this! Results were about what I'd expect. I hate that car companies are seemingly using increasingly larger wheels and shorter sidewalls in the name of aesthetics. Function over form for me too.
There is another option I discovered some people going with. Use 50 series tires on the 19" wheels. You would essentially be splitting the difference. It's a slightly taller setup and slightly larger circumference. You can inflate to a lower PSI because of the higher load index.
I started studying a future purchase of a Tesla Y summer 2023. I was shocked at the winter tire prices. I found, that also 18" would be possible, much cheaper tire prices. In September, prices of both tire sizes came down to the 70 € range. Now in January 2024 255/45 R19 prices are insane. Cheapest at 132 €. 235/55 R18 is at 75 €.
I have just bought a spare set of 2021 18 inch Model 3 wheels for the express purpose of fitting them to my Model Y as soon as it turns up. The main reason is for a more comfortable ride over poor roads in my location and to use less expensive tyres. I do 65,000 to 70,000 miles per annum and the savings in tyres should Pay for the 18’ wheels with in 2 years as well as providing a more comfortable ride.
is this with the Tesla Y performance ? or long range ? i wonder if the performance has bigger calipers ?
Id like to see a efficiency test with this for all conditions
Appreciate the time you put in on this Charlie! Very unique content and informative all around. I’ve also got a SR and been wondering about this as well as if it might have a larger software limited pack than what they claim? Doesn’t make sense that they would have retooled the battery area of their assembly line just to put through a few test market SR’s. Thanks also to Continental for supporting channels like Charlie’s!
Thanks for the kind words! I assume they took the same battery pack as they use with the SR Model 3. Wishful thinking though!
Exact same pack that goes into the SR 3 so no retooling.
The biggest difference would be had by reducing the weight of the overall Wheel and Tire combination reduce each by 10lbs will affect the range the 20in wheels on the model 3 are 29lbs a 20lb wheel/rim would shed 36 lbs of rolling resistance if left at the same size and same exact tire. Enkie makes a 18in wheel that is even lighter around 18lbs. Get the overall package down to 35-40lbs per wheel and tire combo and you would see the biggest possible range increase.
For highway use id say the aero covers are your best bet. They’re already super light wheels and unless you plan on spending like $10k for carbon wheels the weight is negligible.
Excellent comparison but convinced me to stay with 19” wheels as benefits do not outweigh the issues and potential issues of non-standard wheels, not recommended by Tesla for MY.
So you mentioned weight rating. How close was that spec. Does the weight of a MY Long Range make this a dangerous swap out?
I would think you would be fine if you use an 18” tire with the correct load rating. I was thinking about setting up a spare set of 18s for mine for trips but to be honest his wh/mile isn’t any better than mine running on 20s. Maybe it’s not really worth doing.
Thanks for the detail comparison....very useful ..wanting to try this setup.
can you directly put model 3 18inch wheels onto model y withour any spacers?
I drive my Tesla at 36psi cold, because 42psi is unbearable here in Montreal, But i'd be curious to try your set up at 36psi. Maybe this set up on a Model Y finally gives the car a premium ride quality
You lose real curve handling stout sturdy vs wobbly. But perfect for winter
Thank you very much Charlie. When I got my MYLR earlier this year, a bloke on Reddit took me to the cleaners for not wanting to switch to the 18" wheels. I can now see that it might not even have been possible given the load rating requirement for the LR. Also, there seems to be a negligible difference in the range.
It could also be a personal preference, but I particularly dislike the look of the 18's on the Y. It makes it look like a dinky car. I'm happy to know I'm not missing out on much!
Do you know if the Continental's are foamed from the inside as well?
I just ordered a PMY to replace our 2020 LR AWD Y and will sell tye 21's and am looking at the 19s from TSportLine with the same tires you tested, but they just released some 18's with 245/50 Continentals that have my interest. Just don't want to lose any of the P's pull off the line. I wonder if the 18's will actually be faster? The 21's weigh over 66 lbs. Thoughts.
Thank you.
You're welcome!
I want that SVT CONTOUR at the start of the video or the one in the garage.
Tire load rating for 18inch set? XL side wall?
wow finally! is there a link to buy the 18 inch. how reliable is the tpms ? any improvement in road noise ? that's one of my biggest gripes with my MY. Thank you!
Summers and 21s would be nice... I live in Florida and the roads get up to 200 F in the summer and slightly less in the other 2 seasons I was wondering should I just put summers on my Mustang, Suburban, and CR-V? Since modern summer tires have better wet performance than all seasons. So seeing what summers on a Model Y would be nice.
I’ve been waiting for this review. Thanks!
I finally placed an order for a MY. Even tho I’ve recommended it to many ppl, I’ve been hesitant bc of the firm and loud ride. I’m seriously considering 18”. I also have a reservation on the Ioniq 5. So I guess at this rate is which ever comes first as everything has been delayed!
Depend what you want out of you car. If city only both are good if you want to road trip only TESLA supercharger
I just want to say as someone who has driven across every state west of Colorado, California does not have smooth roads, we have pretty poor roads! Major highways here that cross through the highest salary areas in the country are neglected and road work and expansion projects take several years to complete
Thank you very much for your review… Have you kept the 18” on thru the winter? Curious if you still feel the same. I am having issues with my tolerance of road feel on the stock 19s and seeking any way to smooth things out. Tnx again!
Do you have the post-Nov 2022 comfort suspension? I've had Lexus owners comment on my 2023 Y's ride comfort as being excellent. One guy was like "Holy crap how is it so smooth?" Lack of engine helps, of course.
Do the 18in wheels support the weight on a model Y. I want thicker tires and think this will be a better option then buying 18in wheels off t sportline
Only the standard range car
I have the 20" tires on my Y, and the ride is very rough, especially for my backseat passengers. I've been considering going to the 18" aeros since early 2020.
I'm wondering how much of a difference you would feel between the 18's and tesla's 20's!
I would imagine you'd notice quite a bit! It was well worth it for us.
Did you reconfigure the tire size via the touch screen?
Here is the math for different model Y tires showing the full tire height of each followed by the percentage difference. This should affect your speedometer and odometer.
Original 255/45R19 28.04"
235/55R18 28.18" 0.5%
245/55R18 28.62" 2%
255/50R18 28.04" 0%
265/45R18 27.38" 2%
275/45R18 27.75" 1%
My model y 2022 came with 21s don’t like i went 18s 265/55 all around with no problem
Did you see any difference in consumption. Thinking about doing the same to my TMY.
Not sure if I caught this on the video. Going from 19" to 18" wheels, does the odometer give a correct readout? Is there some sort of adjustment to be made to the cars computer?
Going to a smaller rim will change the speed reading from my experience. You can see the speed difference on a GPS or using Google maps. Using OEM wheel size and tire the speed will be spot on. Going down tire size the speed will be off by 1 or 2 mph.
@@Tuck_Frump rim size does not matter
@@hgodtx Yeah it does. Run over a pothole with your 15inch wheel vs 20 inch wheel, 8sshole.
@@hgodtx own a prius and go from 15inch to 18inch and watch the MPG drop, 8asshole.
I keep reading m3 wheels are not weight rated for model Y. Is that only on LR and Performance?
Correct. The standard range car was light enough to be within spec.
Can you accelerate faster with 18 VS 19?
Any stats there?
Could you provide the numbers you used for axel load and other parameters that confirmed that the M3 tires are appropriate as an alternate to the standard tires on the MY?
What speed on the highway did you use for that watt hr per mile?
72
Is there a 19" wheel/tire combo which I can switch to, which will reduce chances of curb rash and not hurt the range of my model Y?
Yes. Get the Michelin crossclimate 2 tires.
Continental does not offer curb protection like Michelin brand
I wonder how the 18 inch tires ride comparis to the newest Tesla with comfort suspension?
@@BrooklineElectric I think it's all relative. The new suspension is better, and doing the 18" swapout will make that even better.
Awesome information! What were the actual tire sizes and did both have foam inserts for quietness? Thank you so much 😊
I should have mentioned the sizes at the beginning *facepalm*. 235/55R18 vs 255/45R19. Neither have the foam, but they honestly seem quieter than the OE tires with foam inserts.
@@DailyMotor Thank you so much! Now it makes sense to me about them having about the same rolling diameter. I would love to have one tire size wider on my Model 3's 18" rims, in order to have a little bit of space to protect against curb rash.
Usually going up a load range in any given tire will provide that thicker sidewalk and the rubber rib/lip you’re referring to. That said, they’ll run a bit firmer/harsher/louder. An example of this I used to run on my Subaru were pilot sports as 4. The y speed rating has the rib vs. the v rating which does not.
@@mattfff316 Thank you Matt Sims
Wonder if you put the aero covers on the 18's if you'd get better efficiency.. one would think
We tested with aero covers on both.
what's updated on the narrow tire?
One of the reasons smaller-diameter wheels get better range is that the larger the wheel, the more energy is required to get it rotating to the same speed. It's not just the reduced weight of the smaller wheels. So, the fact that you tested the highway range difference of these two wheel sizes largely missed this effect. You'd really have to do a test with city driving to capture this difference, with a lot of stop and go. Your Continental tire expert also seemed unaware of this effect, he was probably only thinking about the effect of the tire per se, and not of the wheel as a whole. The fact that Telsa reports different ranges for 19" and 20" really already tells us you should see more range with 18" wheels, because this basic physical principle doesn't plateau at 19".
Sadly the continental tech was right. I've change my tire size for my 2018 model 3 performance from 20 to 18. The range stayed the same - 282 at 100 percent. I was hoping to get back my 300 mile range. It didn't happen.
@@Tuck_Frump if you're just looking at the estimated range number in your car when you set the charge limit to 100%, that's not answering question, at least not right after you've changed the wheels. I'm not sure exactly how Tesla is getting that estimated range number, but if it's updated over time based on actual results with your car, you may see the estimated range number slowly go up over a period of a few months. I'm guessing it will, maybe post the results and let us know. Of course batteries are always losing a little range over time, which is an offsetting effect.
@@vjockin How does a year sound? Is that a good sample size or does 365 days sound better?
What's your evidence? Circumference or 2πr?
Wait if I buy slipstream wheels from the model x can I put it in. The the model y
Those should be fine, yes.
No you can't - the bolt pattern is larger on the Model X. 5x120 instead of 5x114.3 on the Model Y.
Was efficiency measured with wheel caps?
Yes
Not one pic of the car on the ground with 18s
Literally the thumbnail
Any recommendations on the rims? Are they martian?
They’re just the standard Model 3 wheels. You can find them used or buy a new set from Tesla
@@DailyMotor interesting. Any issue with fitting? Are they 2021 model 3 version?
@@adithyachennamadhavuni6155 No issue, although the brake rotors are close in the front. I think these are from a 2019.
235 50 18 I want see range difference
I love long videos
California road is smooth!? Lol bet you haven’t driven through SF 101. That’s a horrible horrible road. I have personal punctured my tires when driving on it. And I have friends punctured their tires as well. Not only that, many portion of road around the SF Bay Area is terrible. Although they have amended lots of them during the covid period.
Ech. Round ....square. 6 lbs difference is huge not small.
2nd 🤙🏾🤙🏾🤙🏾
Where's the 0 to 60mph? SMH
First🤩🤩🤩
dude great content.... wish you the best thumbs up