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It's Tire Time!!

martinjlm

martinjlm

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Location
Detroit, Michigan
Cars
2023 Air GT (White)
Baby needs a new pair o'shoes (2 pair, actually). I think I've narrowed it down to 2.5 options.

  1. Pirelli PZero AS Plus 3 NCS Electric ($1,164 for the set)
  2. Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 ($1,168 for the set)
Option 2.5 is to go for the OE tire: Pirelli PZero AS Plus Electric ($1,532 for the set). But that's only an option if I feel I can't trust options 1 & 2. Why hand over $400 additional if I don't have to?

Anybody have any experience, good or bad, with my 1 & 2 options? Looking to make the buy before my next road trip. My current tires are right at the yellow / red mark on my tread gauge.
 
Looks like 19s.
I replaced mine in March after 37,000 miles on the OE tires. Could have waited until fall (~42,000 miles) but was afraid tire pricing would get crazy due to the war. Debated Pilot Sport AS, or OE tires but I'm cheap. Went with General G-Max AS-07, around $850 mounted and balanced, old tires disposed. So far I've travelled 2500 miles I'm happy.
 
Yes, I should have said I'm on 19", so 245/45-19 all around.
 
Discount Tire has an estimate of tire life and miles / dollar included with each tire recommendation. Useful and hilarious.

Useful:
My two options have tire life estimates of 2 years 6 months and 3 years 4 months. Miles per dollar are 127 and 171.

Hilarious:
One of the "recommendations" has a life estimate of 1 year 11 months. Another has a miles per dollar rating of 94 miles.
 
I just replaced my OEM tires after only 17k miles for the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4, $1400 in Tucson Discount Tire guaranteed 45k miles

AIr Pure 4WD 19 front, 20 rear
 
What did you get on the OE tires? Not sure I understand the miles per dollar. At $1164 and 127 miles per dollar thats 147,000 mile life. Unless its per tire, so really 32 miles per dollar for the set (and 36,750 miles).
 
I try to go with OEM, I figure their engineers are smarter than me and know what the car performs best with 🤷
 
scal_air said:
Have you considered the Hankook EV ion tires?
They are relatively new and I don't have any personal experience with them but I would consider them when I need new tires. 55K milage warranty
Click to expand...
I second the Hankooks. The Gravity comes with Hankook ION EVO SUV as stock for the smallest wheels and I love them. I liked them enough that bought them for my Model X and Volvo XC90 when it came time for replacement, coming from Michelin and Continental. The reduction in road noise is very noticeable. They are also rated as one of the best for range.
 
scal_air said:
Have you considered the Hankook EV ion tires?
They are relatively new and I don't have any personal experience with them but I would consider them when I need new tires. 55K milage warranty

Click to expand...

Saksak said:
I second the Hankooks. The Gravity comes with Hankook ION EVO SUV as stock for the smallest wheels and I love them. I liked them enough that bought them for my Model X and Volvo XC90 when it came time for replacement, coming from Michelin and Continental. The reduction in road noise is very noticeable. They are also rated as one of the best for range.
Click to expand...
Thought about the Hankook's but I've seen a number of posts in Tesla threads where people who installed them were surprised at the road noise difference compared to the OE tire. Given that and the fact that they are significantly more pricey ($1,284) than my other choices, I kinda stepped away from those.
 
martinjlm said:
Thought about the Hankook's but I've seen a number of posts in Tesla threads where people who installed them were surprised at the road noise difference compared to the OE tire. Given that and the fact that they are significantly more pricey ($1,284) than my other choices, I kinda stepped away from those.
Click to expand...
Huh, I thought that the Hankook Ion Evos were OEM for some Tesla models? Oh well, it would be interesting to see what you decide to buy.
 
socktucker said:
I try to go with OEM, I figure their engineers are smarter than me and know what the car performs best with 🤷
Click to expand...
I could tell you stories about this. Remember, I used to work at an OEM and spent time with vehicle teams working out powertrain content as they prepared vehicles for launch. The tire on the vehicle at launch was typically determined by a combination of factors and more about how they weighted each factor. Are they trying to maximize the EPA sticker number or get bragging rights for <pick your category> ? That and price will influence the tire spec. In some cases (many cases) OEMs will have a specific tread compound engineered to give them the chance to put the best foot forward.

Real world example... One of my cars is a Camaro SS. Came standard with a special compound Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric performance tire. Engineered primarily to support getting a 4.0s 0-60 for the Camaro SS. Better time than the Mustang GT 5.0. Mission accomplished. Caveat? They totally S-U-C-K in the rain and don't even think about driving when the temps drop below 40F. The special compound gets too hard to the point where it's like driving on slicks. When it was time to replace I switched to Continental ExtremeContact DWS06. Almost as good performance on dry terrain (the D), MUCH better in the rain (the W) and drivable in light snow (the S), not that I'd ever be caught dead in the Camaro in snow anyway. Most Camaro owners I know (I'm president of the local Camaro Club) have switched to either Michelin PS4S or Conti ExtremeContact DWS06
 
scal_air said:
Huh, I thought that the Hankook Ion Evos were OEM for some Tesla models? Oh well, it would be interesting to see what you decide to buy.
Click to expand...
Varies by model and wheel size. Ironically, our 2023 Model Y 20" wheels came with Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric Electric M+S. Couldn't be more different than the Eagle F1 Asymmetrics that came on the Camaro. Different tread patterns, different compound, do great in wet and snow.
 
martinjlm said:
I could tell you stories about this. Remember, I used to work at an OEM and spent time with vehicle teams working out powertrain content as they prepared vehicles for launch. The tire on the vehicle at launch was typically determined by a combination of factors and more about how they weighted each factor. Are they trying to maximize the EPA sticker number or get bragging rights for <pick your category> ? That and price will influence the tire spec. In some cases (many cases) OEMs will have a specific tread compound engineered to give them the chance to put the best foot forward.

Real world example... One of my cars is a Camaro SS. Came standard with a special compound Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric performance tire. Engineered primarily to support getting a 4.0s 0-60 for the Camaro SS. Better time than the Mustang GT 5.0. Mission accomplished. Caveat? They totally S-U-C-K in the rain and don't even think about driving when the temps drop below 40F. The special compound gets too hard to the point where it's like driving on slicks. When it was time to replace I switched to Continental ExtremeContact DWS06. Almost as good performance on dry terrain (the D), MUCH better in the rain (the W) and drivable in light snow (the S), not that I'd ever be caught dead in the Camaro in snow anyway. Most Camaro owners I know (I'm president of the local Camaro Club) have switched to either Michelin PS4S or Conti ExtremeContact DWS06
Click to expand...
DWS06 is my favorite tire.

That said, Lucid optimized the Air tires largely for handling and performance, as that was their ultimate goal with that car. Originally, the 19” and the 21” were the only available. The 19” was an all season tire optimized for range and performance, but leaning toward performance; the 21” tires was almost exclusively designed and chosen for performance.

And then there are the Sapphire track tires, but that a different story.

The Gravity has three options of varying tradeoffs, as an SUV.
 
martinjlm said:
Baby needs a new pair o'shoes (2 pair, actually). I think I've narrowed it down to 2.5 options.

  1. Pirelli PZero AS Plus 3 NCS Electric ($1,164 for the set)
  2. Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 ($1,168 for the set)
Option 2.5 is to go for the OE tire: Pirelli PZero AS Plus Electric ($1,532 for the set). But that's only an option if I feel I can't trust options 1 & 2. Why hand over $400 additional if I don't have to?

Anybody have any experience, good or bad, with my 1 & 2 options? Looking to make the buy before my next road trip. My current tires are right at the yellow / red mark on my tread gauge.
Click to expand...
I went with your option 1 about 2 months ago at a similar price point plus install charges.

At first I was regretting the choice because they were louder than the nokian winter tires I was coming from. But I had a 2026 loaner with the oem and realized that it wasn’t an issue with the option 1 Pirelli. I had developed a wind noise issue in my air. After that was rectified I’m happy with it. I felt the nokian ev tires were pretty quiet or maybe I just drove less aggressively on the winter?

I did have to get the Pirelli balanced a second time but I have no regrets.
 
scal_air said:
Huh, I thought that the Hankook Ion Evos were OEM for some Tesla models? Oh well, it would be interesting to see what you decide to buy.
Click to expand...
Just sealed the deal. Option 1, Pirelli P Zero AS Plus NCS Elect. Very similar to the P Zero AS Plus Elect that are original equipment. The NCS is to denote noise cancelling foam in the tire. I did a side-by-side spec assessment of the OE tires, the Michelin PS4S and the ones I'm buying. The PS4S are rated better for stopping distance, both dry & wet, skid control, cornering grip, and 5 - 30 mph acceleration. The Pirellis are rated better for winter driving, EV range, and tread life. They are close on ride quality with the PS4S being slightly better. The Pirelli warranty is 50k, the PS4S is 45k. The prices are $1 apart per tire, but Pirelli is providing a $100 rebate. Also, Discount Tire / Synchrony are offering a 12 month 0% for using the Discount Tire card. I love using other people's money. I just have to remember to set up 11 equal payments to make certain I avoid any interest charges.
 
martinjlm said:
Just sealed the deal. Option 1, Pirelli P Zero AS Plus NCS Elect. Very similar to the P Zero AS Plus Elect that are original equipment. The NCS is to denote noise cancelling foam in the tire. I did a side-by-side spec assessment of the OE tires, the Michelin PS4S and the ones I'm buying. The PS4S are rated better for stopping distance, both dry & wet, skid control, cornering grip, and 5 - 30 mph acceleration. The Pirellis are rated better for winter driving, EV range, and tread life. They are close on ride quality with the PS4S being slightly better. The Pirelli warranty is 50k, the PS4S is 45k. The prices are $1 apart per tire, but Pirelli is providing a $100 rebate. Also, Discount Tire / Synchrony are offering a 12 month 0% for using the Discount Tire card. I love using other people's money. I just have to remember to set up 11 equal payments to make certain I avoid any interest charges.
Click to expand...
Brilliant. And getting them at DT also gives you the tire certs. Quite a deal!
 
scal_air said:
Have you considered the Hankook EV ion tires?
They are relatively new and I don't have any personal experience with them but I would consider them when I need new tires. 55K milage warranty

Click to expand...
Have had these on my Model Y for about 30k miles now. Last much longer than the OEM tires and quieter. Very happy with them.
 
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