Ground Clearance with 20" or 21" Tires

[CarLover24]

I am thinking of leasing the Air with the standard 19" Tires, but I am concerned with the large hump at the top of my driveway. I currently own a Tesla M3 that has 19" tires and 5.5" Ground Clearance. It barely makes it over the hump without scraping. Does anyone own an Air with either the 20" or 21" tires and how much additional ground clearance do you get? Your responses are greatly appreciated.

 

[borski]

The 20s and 21s don’t give you much more clearance. The overall diameter is the same, it’s the wheel size and sidewall size that change.

 

[Steveinarizona]

I am thinking of leasing the Air with the standard 19" Tires, but I am concerned with the large hump at the top of my driveway. I currently own a Tesla M3 that has 19" tires and 5.5" Ground Clearance. It barely makes it over the hump without scraping. Does anyone own an Air with either the 20" or 21" tires and how much additional ground clearance do you get? Your responses are greatly appreciated.

When I go walking in my neighborhood, I see a number of folks have put ramps down to smooth out the incline. There are many like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Driveway-Sidewalk-Scooter-Wheelchair-39-4x9-8x4inch/dp/B0C8YS62ZQ/ref=sr_1_11_sspa?crid=3UTOLH39UJQO5&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.EU_e1kFxKl78t-yjejlViOe2OqhL437Pzg6A3qXD9NmQ6K19zpq_fScgC8tpP22abPB5Z8bz1IijD8YG0GOLOo_gdUIFAH4Vuu1VtmX0XafuD18tLK7Sg7MHBoNsMrjV-9ce_rzkEafH79TAOsMdclElOE3uLveQvNJdQ1pslzEGxgsdGbUPAsx-07pGLI7nEyKanodcvR9XTo-fil_Yn_KzHN1ydPMnYjiphe3dGCKl3nrPU7meWWex2b2IZBfOGnW8eRT1FQRqwji-q1uEQR-i6bYWL9TgH-ODCBvbetY.QrCzl2aATnbq432ZqWMjHo1vTUGTU8itMRnr-Pq77Fg&dib_tag=se&keywords=driveway%2Bramp&qid=1710610897&sprefix=driveway%2Bramp%2Caps%2C156&sr=8-11-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&th=1

Where I live not only are there the bumps on the driveway but there are channels on the road for drainage that can cause you to bottom out. Performance sedans, such as the Lucid, are particularly prone to this as they are designed to be close to the ground.

 

[Adnillien]

The owners manual shows a ground clearance of 126mm with 19" wheels and 136mm with 21" wheels.

 

[jlud4lad]

I am thinking of leasing the Air with the standard 19" Tires, but I am concerned with the large hump at the top of my driveway. I currently own a Tesla M3 that has 19" tires and 5.5" Ground Clearance. It barely makes it over the hump without scraping. Does anyone own an Air with either the 20" or 21" tires and how much additional ground clearance do you get? Your responses are greatly appreciated.

I have a similar issue. Tell the Sales team about this issue. They were able to drive a Lucid to. my home to see if the Lucid cleared my driveway. He tried a few angles and the car hit my driveway 3 out of 5 times. As someone mentioned above, you can get a curb ramp for your driveway.

I didn't let this be a deal breaker for me...just signed the lease this week!

Good luck

 

[CarLover24]

I have a similar issue. Tell the Sales team about this issue. They were able to drive a Lucid to. my home to see if the Lucid cleared my driveway. He tried a few angles and the car hit my driveway 3 out of 5 times. As someone mentioned above, you can get a curb ramp for your driveway.

I didn't let this be a deal breaker for me...just signed the lease this week!

Good luck

If all goes well, a salesman is going to drive an Air to my house later this week. He was not sure which tires would be on the car, so we shall see. Thanks for yourn response.

 

[CarLover24]

The owners manual shows a ground clearance of 126mm with 19" wheels and 136mm with 21" wheels.

I wonder why they quote the ground clearance in MM. Ten mm is .394 inches. I do not think that will cut it. Thanks for the information.

 

[MJAir23TheGoat]

Have 21’s on my GT ( no issues)
In fact I’m thinking of lowering to close up some wheel cap

 

[momo3605]

I wonder why they quote the ground clearance in MM. Ten mm is .394 inches. I do not think that will cut it. Thanks for the information.

Clearance is a lot actually (i have 20s). I have some steep driveways, and have had more chin scraping in my bolt than in my lucid

 

[CarLover24]

To make a long story short, James from Lucid drove an Air Touring to my house with 20" wheels and the car could not make it over the hump. The bottom of the front bumper would have hit the cement and it still had several inches more to climb. Very disappointed. I will have to wait for the Gravity.

I did do a test drive and the car is awesome. Would have ordered it right then if not for the driveway issue.

 

[jlud4lad]

To make a long story short, James from Lucid drove an Air Touring to my house with 20" wheels and the car could not make it over the hump. The bottom of the front bumper would have hit the cement and it still had several inches more to climb. Very disappointed. I will have to wait for the Gravity.

I did do a test drive and the car is awesome. Would have ordered it right then if not for the driveway issue.

Did he go straight in? When my sales driver test drove a Lucid to my house for driveway clearance, he went straight in/out and scraped the driveway. I was pretty dejected but decided months later to go ahead with an 18 month lease.
On my way home, I timidly approached my driveway and angled the approach. I was able to clear the driveway easily and after a week of driving, I still haven't scraped the car....have you tried angling the approach?

 

[MJAir23TheGoat]

What other 21 inch tire options are available other than Pirelli. I’ve been happy with the Perelli, but looking to try something else.

 

[segbrk]

What other 21 inch tire options are available other than Pirelli. I’ve been happy with the Perelli, but looking to try something else.

None that meet the required specs at the moment as far as I'm aware. There are alternatives for 19s and 20s, but not 21s.

 

[MJAir23TheGoat]

None that meet the required specs at the moment as far as I'm aware. There are alternatives for 19s and 20s, but not 21s.

Thx 4 info that’s what I thought

 

[terrycs]

None that meet the required specs at the moment as far as I'm aware. There are alternatives for 19s and 20s, but not 21s.

I'd consider Michelins:

 

[CarLover24]

Did he go straight in? When my sales driver test drove a Lucid to my house for driveway clearance, he went straight in/out and scraped the driveway. I was pretty dejected but decided months later to go ahead with an 18 month lease.
On my way home, I timidly approached my driveway and angled the approach. I was able to clear the driveway easily and after a week of driving, I still haven't scraped the car....have you tried angling the approach?

He tried going straight in, at an angle and backing into the driveway. No matter what he tried, the bumper cover would have scraped the cement most likely causing some damage. I decided to get the BMW IX on a three year lease. The range is not quite a Lucid, but it is a great driving SUV and in the short time I have owned it, it appears to have greater range than advertised. I hope that BMW will have to the Tesla Superchargers by year end.

 

[Lucken]

He tried going straight in, at an angle and backing into the driveway. No matter what he tried, the bumper cover would have scraped the cement most likely causing some damage. I decided to get the BMW IX on a three year lease. The range is not quite a Lucid, but it is a great driving SUV and in the short time I have owned it, it appears to have greater range than advertised. I hope that BMW will have to the Tesla Superchargers by year end.

BMW EVs (and German cars in general) generally exceed their EPA estimates. I’ve had the same experience with my i4.

 

[Steveinarizona]

BMW EVs (and German cars in general) generally exceed their EPA estimates. I’ve had the same experience with my i4.

Yes. BMW loves to sandbag its efficiency numbers. Where most car companies lose 15% of their HP getting the power to the wheels, BMW usually gets the stated HP at the wheels.

In my neighborhood many homeowners have put ramps on the street side of the driveway to smooth out the rise. Many out there like these (I just grabbed a link without any judgment on how good that particular model is):

Pyle Car/Truck Curb Ramps Driveway Rubber Threshold Car Curb-Side Bridges (3-Piece) PCRBDR23 - The Home Depot

Car/Truck Curb Ramps - Driveway Rubber Threshold Car Curb-Side Bridges (3-Piece). The Pyle Vehicle Curb Ramp can be used for a variety of purposes. Gives access to a lowered car auto vehicle, SUV, van,

www.homedepot.com

 

[terrycs]

The owners manual shows a ground clearance of 126mm with 19" wheels and 136mm with 21" wheels.

I have a GT-P with the 21" Aero-Sport wheels. 136mm sounds about right for most of the car. But the lowest point of the car are the wind deflectors ahead of the front tires. I guess they forgot to include them when they took measurements? ...

 

[jkndog]

The clearance is roughly the same with my Touring with 19" rims. The front tire spats (I think that is the technical term) stick down lower than the 5" clearance. They are flexible but I do not know how much abuse they can take before they come off.