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Effect of Tire/Wheel Choice on Gravity Range

037 said:
Happen to glance at tire pressure?
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Interesting thought. We have the mid-size wheels on one Gravity and the largest wheels on the other. I check the tire pressure every couple of weeks on both and set it to 43 psi. There is a bit less tire noise from the mid-size Michelin Primacy Tourings — a tire that gets high ratings for low noise — but it’s pretty had to detect a difference in ride quality. However, our roads are generally pretty smooth with almost no potholes.

I should add that tire noise is about the only noise you hear in the Gravity. It is a remarkably quiet vehicle.
 
Saksak said:
Small (Hankook) vs. medium (Michelin Primacy Tour) wheels/tires make a noticeable ride quality difference.

My Gravity is in the shop and I lucked out with a loaner Gravity. After five minutes riding in the loaner, my daughter asked, “Why does this Gravity feel heavier? I like ours better.“ After thinking for a moment, I translated that to a harsher ride and responded, “I think it may be the tires.”

After we got to our destination, I checked the tires and, sure enough, the wheels/tires were different. The loaner had the medium wheels while ours had the small wheels (both have the dynamic handling package). I purposely chose the small wheels for range, comfort, noise, pothole damage resistance, and replacement cost.

I was quite surprised my daughter noticed enough of a ride quality difference to ask about it. I barely noticed - only after she pointed it out.
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The wheel size and ride is much more noticeable in the back in the 2nd and 3rd rows. I have ridden in all seats of my Gravity while others have driven. But this was also still superior riding to all the other competitors in the back rows. Tire pressures I also notice as well the differences. The Hankooks at least show quite an increase in pressure from cold to highway once they get heat in them, I was surprised. But it may also be a feature to help reduce highway rolling resistance, usually the car shows 45-46 psi after about 20 mins of sustained 70mph driving.
 
037 said:
Happen to glance at tire pressure?
Click to expand...
Good point. Tire pressure was too high on the loaner: 46 psi cold (50 psi on my drive). That would have created a harsher ride than normal. I’ll have to see what it feels like at the proper 42 psi.
 
hmp10 said:
Nothing that I've yet noticed on the straight, flat roads we drive in Florida and on the interstate road trips we've taken so far out of state. My guess is there would be a difference on some of the roads in the Blue Ridge we're going to be traveling in late May.

My primary interest in the largest wheels was to get the new Pirelli PZ5s for their wet handling and braking performance, something especially relevant on Florida roads. I love the Continental DW series for this reason and kept an eye out to see if they were coming out with the sizes for the mid-size Gravity wheels. But they had not by the time I had to lock in the wheel choice for the later Gravity.
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It's post "late May", so is there more information about the relative handling of the large and mid-size wheels on winding mountain roads?

I just placed an order for a GGT with the mid-size wheels. I believe I test drove only cars with the largest wheels so I'm wondering how much of that experience I'll be missing out on...
 
flarbear said:
It's post "late May", so is there more information about the relative handling of the large and mid-size wheels on winding mountain roads?

I just placed an order for a GGT with the mid-size wheels. I believe I test drove only cars with the largest wheels so I'm wondering how much of that experience I'll be missing out on...
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My experience with mid size wheel is a loaner I had for a week. Compared to my vehicle with 22” aftermarket all season tires, it was like stopping on mud, just kept sliding and I was only doing 30mph at the time.

I have since got a summer set on the large wheel and upgraded to Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetric 6 and they are pretty damn amazing, good upgrade over stock summer tire at half the cost.

Stock tires are compromised due to all
The efficiency and sound deadening, not to say any upgrade will make them go opposite direction 100%. I made my choices and very happy with result for my use case, Porsche level handling and braking.
 
037 said:
My experience with mid size wheel is a loaner I had for a week. Compared to my vehicle with 22” aftermarket all season tires, it was like stopping on mud, just kept sliding and I was only doing 30mph at the time.

I have since got a summer set on the large wheel and upgraded to Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetric 6 and they are pretty damn amazing, good upgrade over stock summer tire at half the cost.

Stock tires are compromised due to all
The efficiency and sound deadening, not to say any upgrade will make them go opposite direction 100%. I made my choices and very happy with result for my use case, Porsche level handling and braking.
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As a counterpoint, we’ve had both the largest wheels and the midsize wheels. The largest OEM tires had better braking and handling, but they were summer tires. The middle wheels are perfectly fine, and have no issues braking, in our experience.

It definitely does not feel like stopping on mud. And we have literally never slid in the gravity except intentionally.

(Saying this not to dismiss @037’s experience but to provide another)
 
borski said:
As a counterpoint, we’ve had both the largest wheels and the midsize wheels. The largest OEM tires had better braking and handling, but they were summer tires. The middle wheels are perfectly fine, and have no issues braking, in our experience.

It definitely does not feel like stopping on mud. And we have literally never slid in the gravity except intentionally.

(Saying this not to dismiss @037’s experience but to provide another)
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To add more detail, I’m not talking regular braking where regen does all the work, I am talking about in a hurry hard stomping, for the middle wheel.
 
037 said:
To add more detail, I’m not talking regular braking where regen does all the work, I am talking about in a hurry hard stomping, for the middle wheel.
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I was too. Hard stops, at speed. It’s still an all season tire on a heavy car, so it’s not going to brake as well as a summer tire.

But, to your point, 90% of the time you do not use the brakes in actual driving, since regen does most of the work. I rarely actually have to hit the brake. Nowadays I mostly do this to scrape rust off the rotors, heh.

But when testing it, or in an emergency (which has happened more than once), I had no issues with the stopping distance, braking speed, or stickiness. There was no slide or skid, and no wheel spin.

YMMV.
 
borski said:
I was too. Hard stops, at speed. It’s still an all season tire on a heavy car, so it’s not going to brake as well as a summer tire.

But, to your point, 90% of the time you do not use the brakes in actual driving, since regen does most of the work. I rarely actually have to hit the brake. Nowadays I mostly do this to scrape rust off the rotors, heh.

But when testing it, or in an emergency (which has happened more than once), I had no issues with the stopping distance, braking speed, or stickiness. There was no slide or skid, and no wheel spin.

YMMV.
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My main point of reference at the time was the Michelin All Season 4 tire from the ultra high performance isle in same size as stock, 22” all around. Hard stomp from 30-0. I guess it all depends on the reference/comparison tire you are going up against.
 
We have two Gravity Dream Editions, one on the 22/23" Pirelli PZ5 summers and one on the 21/22" Michelin Primacy all-seasons.

Both sets of tires handle and brake more than adequately in any normal driving situation you will encounter on either wet or dry roads, including occasional panic braking.

The only difference I can find in vehicle dynamics is that the Pirellis grip so ferociously under hard acceleration that the torque reduction by the traction control system doesn't kick in until later than it does on the Michelins, and the car gets very noticeable torque steering -- something another Dream owner recently reported on the forum and which I have discussed with the Lucid chassis team. (This may derive from the fact that the Dream uses a more powerful front motor than the GT.)

The Michelins, though, are a bit quieter on the road, with several tire reviewers tagging the Michelin Primacies as one of the quietest tires in production. They also ride a bit softer than the Pirellis, but the difference is marginal to the point that it is never a reason for choosing one car over the other for an errand or a trip.
 
This is why there are a million tire brands, sizes, treads, compounds, etc. The perfect tire that is best in class for every category doesn’t exist. It all depends on how you drive, in what conditions, and what your personal priorities are.

EV-specific tires are a relatively new thing, as EV’s don’t have engine noise to drown out tire road noise and are heavy. These days, I prioritize range, quiet, and comfort for everyday driving, as that road noise is very noticeable.

Stopping distance (grip) is critical for the track. In everyday driving, defensive driving is even more critical. Don’t get me wrong - I’m not saying tires don’t matter and it’s worth investing in good tires. Summer vs. winter vs. all-season and driving conditions matter way more than tire size.
 
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I'm driving PZ4s on my Polestar 3, though in 265/40r22 and 295/35r22 sizes, and they drive like I'm on rails. The P3 probably has a lower center of gravity (one of the reasons it's too hard for me to get in and out of). They are also available in Gravity mid-size sizes as well.
 
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