Talk me out of/into 19" tires

[DeaneG]

I have the 19's, and they aren't exciting or pretty. But there have been many times I've been glad to have them. I'd rather look at the 20's though. The Air's 21's remind me too much of the rubber-band tires on my old Maserati. They would crash and bang over any road imperfection. I replaced them with slightly larger tires, a relief.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

That's a 245/35/R21 with 45 psi ... to prevent sidewall damage do not exceed 10 mph. when using high-performance tires.

 

[borski]

View attachment 28629
That's a 245/35/R21 with 45 psi ... to prevent sidewall damage do not exceed 10 mph. when using high-performance tires.

Oh please.

 

[petergottlieb]

Wait--the 19s squeal?? Hell no.

So, if I put it in sprint mode and corner hard under full acceleration (which I will neither confirm nor deny doing in my suburban setting) I can get just a bit of a bounce/chirp from them. Traction control is still on, so I might get more with that off, but they will hit their grip limit, even in my Pure if you try hard enough.

 

[borski]

So, if I put it in sprint mode and corner hard under full acceleration (which I will neither confirm nor deny doing in my suburban setting) I can get just a bit of a bounce/chirp from them. Traction control is still on, so I might get more with that off, but they will hit their grip limit, even in my Pure if you try hard enough.

This. On the highway, they’re quiet. At their limits, they make it known you found those limits. The 21s, thus far, have just planted the whole way through.

 

[Pragmatic]

The 21s, thus far, have just planted the whole way through.

Until the snowbelt pothole takes them out.

 

[Phoenix]

I live in NYC. What size would you guys recommend most for me?

I was thinking whenever I'm able to get a Grand Touring, I would go for the 20" because it's a nice compromise between the 19" and the 21", but I also have to deal with the winters and the potholes, etc. living here in NYC, so I want to take all of that into consideration, while also having it look nice as well.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

This. On the highway, they’re quiet. At their limits, they make it known you found those limits. The 21s, thus far, have just planted the whole way through.

I'm so happy with the 21" summer rubber. It's a pain to do the bi-annual swap but I get to inspect the wheels/tires/suspension/brakes and that brings me joy. Also, if you are in SPRINT mode and don't have summer rubber = the car is "dumbing down" for you. (unless you've fired the nanny)
The Lucid nanny is Verstappen-trained!

I was able, on the 19" A/S, to get the Air sideways (unintended) on lose gravel and slope change but the nanny corrected before I could. Nice.
This was right after I got the car. I used this excuse (wife was scared - me too) to get a set of summer 21". I blamed the tires. She believes me.

 

[borski]

I live in NYC. What size would you guys recommend most for me?

I was thinking whenever I'm able to get a Grand Touring, I would go for the 20" because it's a nice compromise between the 19" and the 21", but I also have to deal with the winters and the potholes, etc. living here in NYC, so I want to take all of that into consideration, while also having it look nice as well.

The 19s. The cold winters alone mean you shouldn’t have the 20s or 21s without a spare set - they are summer tires and not safe for below 40-45F.

The 19s ship with All Season tires.

So unless you want two sets, you shouldn’t get the 20s or 21s.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

I hope I did not discourage ordering the car with the 19" A/S tires.
This is the preferred Lucid ultra high performance tire.
The snow tire is what Lucid gives to race against two-seater, purpose-built, high-performance, true sport cars:

can you imagine what the Lucid Air is like with equal rubber ? Accrua -- night night.

 

[JohnEDee]

I had 21s on my first leased Tesla Model S and they were a nightmare; small potholes actually cracked two of my factory rims at different times (although they were apparently cast rims rather than forged, which is unforgivable on such a high-end vehicle). I got 19s on my second lease and have been very happy with them, much more forgiving of the Pennsylvania potholes. True, they don't look as cool, but I don't like the trade-offs of 21s, at least not around here.

It's cool that Lucid offers 20s, perhaps a nice compromise. I'm hoping that the 20s will hopefully handle potholes better (with higher-quality rims and more sidewall), offer the performance advantages of a lower-profile tire, and not steal as much range. I like to drive pretty fast and I appreciate the better handling; I recall that my good old '96 Supra had 20s and I never had an issue with potholes and loved the handling.

I have to make a decision toward the end of 2025 when my Tesla lease runs out, and so I'm looking forward to someone with 20s giving their experience. I expect them to be markedly different than the 21s that a lot of people are talking about in this thread, and combining "20/21" doesn't seem fair to the 20s.