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Looking for opinions on the 21" wheels

I have the 20" and love the Michelins. Keep them at full inflation. They are not as firm as the 21's I have experienced on loaner GTs, but strike a nice balance between the 19" and 21" for handling, I have had 20" and 21" Pirellis on previous sports sedans and suffered tire bubbles and failures multiple times... Glad that Bobby's roads in San Diego have been good to him and his 21" wheels, but our streets in L.A. are riddled with pot holes and they take their toll on Pirellis....
 
Bobby said:
I have the 21s with nearly 30,000 miles. I am on my second set of tires and couldn’t be happier. I disagree with the prior post that says it’s about visual appeal. It’s not; it’s about sportier driving. Here in San Diego I don’t worry about winter or freezing temperatures. I prefer a firmer ride with better cornering. It was an easy choice for me.
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20k miles here, and just about to change the fronts for the first time next week. Zero issues with the tires thus far, ever.

And it’s definitely not about looks. They *do* look better, but that’s incidental. I’ve launched on both and ridden them hard (I have both); I won’t launch on the 19s anymore. It’s just not as fun, because it’s harder to control (fine, but you lose traction).

The 21s handle better, plant better, stick better, etc. and CA basically never drops below 45 for any significant amount of time.

I haven’t actually put the 19s on since 2022. Considering selling them.
 
Bobby said:
I have the 21s with nearly 30,000 miles. I am on my second set of tires and couldn’t be happier. I disagree with the prior post that says it’s about visual appeal. It’s not; it’s about sportier driving. Here in San Diego I don’t worry about winter or freezing temperatures. I prefer a firmer ride with better cornering. It was an easy choice for me.
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Well, San Diego roads and weather are a far cry from those in the DC area (as you note). There's no need to disagree, per se, the contexts are simply different. I, too, don't favor the 21" wheel look, but do miss the tighter drive experience. A 19" with the road grip of the 21s -- heaven!
 
PhotoEye said:
Well, San Diego roads and weather are a far cry from those in the DC area (as you note). There's no need to disagree, per se, the contexts are simply different. I, too, don't favor the 21" wheel look, but do miss the tighter drive experience. A 19" with the road grip of the 21s -- heaven!
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For sure. If I still lived in VA or NY, I’d probably be on 19s or 20s.
 
PolarAir said:
I have an AGT with 21" wheels on order; I tried to get the wheels swapped but that's no longer something Lucid is doing. I've read a lot on this forum about the tires not holding up well to potholes, and that they're both expensive and, sometimes, unavailable. But how bad are these tires really? Can they not withstand regular road surfaces, or are they only damaged by large potholes that would probably challenge any tire? Would I be safe driving them for the summer, or should I immediately buy 19" wheels upon delivery of the car?
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I have a AGR w/ 21” wheels with 12k miles. Wheels and by default tires are my biggest complaint. Over 2 years I have already replaced 1 wheel, 3 tires and have my car in shop as we speak, while I decide between yet another wheel & 2 tires w/ side bubbles or replace all 4 with smaller wheels/bigger tires. So, over 2 yrs I will have possibly replaced 2 wheels & 5 tires. All miles are city, South FL, driving and actively avoiding pothole as best I can.
I LOVE the way 21” look and drive BUT function & annoyance of dealing with tires/wheels is getting the better of me.
I am driving a loner now w/ 20” & Michelins. A very different feeling, much smoother, less jarring bumps, still avoiding potholes and all the same roads.
 
21's here in PA. First bubble in my LM1 front passenger tire two weeks ago. No clue why and I'm annoyed! Replaced with LM2 and the ride feels a bit smoother on the one LM2. Hate the way the 19's look but I don't drive my car much from mid-November until March since I have a winter hooptie for that. Michelin makes an all-season 21" finally! I will switch to those when the time comes.
 
Got to be very vigilant at avoiding pot holes. They are great around the corners but daily driving is a rough ride. 19's are too small and quite frankly ugly. 20's seem to be a nice middle ground and ok looking.
 
CWedge411 said:
Got to be very vigilant at avoiding pot holes. They are great around the corners but daily driving is a rough ride. 19's are too small and quite frankly ugly. 20's seem to be a nice middle ground and ok looking.
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I considered swapping to the 20's but my main concern is the plastic range cover has been known to crack easily and/or just fall off.
 
CWedge411 said:
Oh you mean the shelf ornaments? lol Mine are holding up pretty good on the shelf haha, but ya I hear what you are saying.
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TeeHee!!
 
Babyrocko1908 said:
Michelin makes an all-season 21" finally! I will switch to those when the time comes.
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Do they? All I see is the Pilot Sport EV (summer) still, which doesn't even have quite the right load rating.
 
Stepping in to defend the 20s. :)
Wheels:
- 6k miles driven in mostly brutal urban SF. Not a scratch on the covers or anything coming loose. I think they look great.
Tires:
- Have had AGT loaners with 21s three times now. I much prefer the ride on the 20s. Feels frictionless, like a maglev train. Yes there are caveats because the AGT is heavier than my AWD Pure, but ride quality is ride quality.
- The handling is pretty good too, basically equivalent to the 21s for my use cases.
- One of my Pilot Sport EVs got a screw in the sidewall AND a nail in the center of the tread, and the leak was so slow that I thought it was a valve stem issue. Impressive durability of the Michelins. Zero bubbles.
 
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