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Comment by tlb | Hacker News Reader

I've got nearly 20,000 miles on mine. One thing I just discovered is that the tires, 21" super-soft compound high-performance Michelins, only last 20,000 miles and cost $2900 to replace. This works out to $0.145 / mile, which is 3x more per mile than electricity costs me. And about what you would spend on gas for a 25 MPG car.

I didn't really buy it for the savings, though.

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You could easily switch to a high (but not quite extreme) performance tire like Continental ExtremeContact DW in the stock 245/35R21 size, which would run you only a little over $1000/set for a much better cost per mile without compromising performance to a high degree.

Or you could switch (maybe another Tesla owner would trade) down to a rim size with a more reasonable sidewall profile. I frankly don't understand the trend towards lower and lower profiles for street cars. The improved cornering characteristics are offset by the substantially harsher ride and propensity towards rim damage, and on the performance Tesla I believe even 19" wheels will easily clear the brakes.

I highly recommend Continental's ExtremeContacts. I'm on my second pair on my 5 series* and I think my dad has used them on multiple vehicles as well.

*My 530 isn't nearly as fast as the Model S, but it is a stick and I tend to drive in a spirited manner, yada yada yada...

Seconded. I had these on both of my 5 series and they were great.

I fully agree, especially on an SUV or truck low profile tires are a joke. The Ride on most Sport SUVs is stiffened up already to try to correct for the higher center of gravity.

Buying another set of high-cost low-life performance tires isn't a requirement of any Model S trims, is it? You could replace them with some ordinary all-season tires when the included ones wear out?

They're an unusual size, and you want the run-flat version since there's no spare, so the cheapest option seems to be about $2000 / set. Anyway, I like the ridiculous acceleration (3.7 seconds 0-60 MPH quoted) you get with the very soft compound.

Man, you don't want run flats on a fast car. Get an AAA membership and relax.

Run flats are trash.

Did it come as a surprise to you? Low profile tires are notorious for fast wear. When I test drove a Model S, the rep explained the differences between the 21" and the standard 19" tires, including the shorter lifespan.

The Model S is particularly heavy even for a large sedan, which combined with a lot of torque will result in extremely rapid tire wear even for a performance car.

The profile of the tires has almost nothing to do with wear. The treadwear (softness/stickiness) of the tire's rubber compound combined with alignment and driving style is what governs tire wear.

If anything, lower profile tires will actually wear less when driven aggressively as the sidewalls are less prone to folding (causing outer edge feathering) when cornering.

I don't know if this is correct, but if it is, thanks for the wonderful explanation of the mechanics behind it.

The biggest thing the Model S has against it for tire wear (both the 21' and the 19') is the 2° negative camber on the rear wheels when in standard suspension. While that is very useful for improved handling and preventing possible oversteer (especially likely given the huge amount of instant torque), it is hell on the tires.

P.S. While I'm an owner, I'm not that much of a car nut, and I am simply regurgitating the information shared by other owners who are car nuts. :)

"High Performance" anything tends to mean doesn't last too long and more expensive when it breaks. I'm sure the 19" standard tires are a little better on both counts.

Tires affect a vehicle's performance more than any other component. It's worth buying good ones. A shame more people don't put the thought and money in.

Can't you now replace the tires with cheaper ones?

Why buy a very expensive, high performance car and use cheap tires ?

Because electric cars tend to be high performance as a side-effect of the tech used.

Personally, I am more interested in the car because of the gas savings. I won't buy the Tesla S to test it on the nurburgring.

Because the owner of the car was lamenting the price of replacement tires. Why would you not point out cheaper alternatives?

About $2K worst case for a set of 4 21" according to Tire Rack.

http://tinyurl.com/n577bbc

Are those the rears? How long do you expect them to last?! I'd think of 20,000 miles as a reasonable lifespan. I'd always been under the impression that "only" didn't start until 10,000 miles ;)

When you're not buying racing tires, it's not uncommon to find tires that last 50 or 70k miles. Those are the lifespans I expect in my tires. If I were using tires on a track, of course, those numbers would change since I would be buying track tires.

Could you go with a nice, but not ridiculously expensive, set? I had a blast on Dunlop Direzzi Z1's for about 20k miles before they wore out, and a set was closer to $600. Awful in the rain, though.

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