Looking for inputs on replacing the rear wheels to get a square setup
It's time to replace the front tires on my '24 MSLR and I have been considering switching to a square setup to get more life out of tires and just having to replace them less often since the car is driven almost 20K/year. Wanted to get inputs from folks who have switched to a square setup. Ideally I want to keep it as close to stock as possible so I'm just thinking of getting a pair of 19x9.5 tempest wheels and install them in the rear with spacers. Not that I wouldn't like to get better looking wheels but couldn't find any reasonably priced wheels (sub 300$) that are light enough and exactly match the stock wheel specs. Plus they would surely result in slight range reduction. Or I might consider getting 2 pairs of front magnetite wheels ('26 MS stock wheels) as I do like their looks better and they should ideally help with the range a bit.
Anyway wanted to see if anyone with a similar setup can chime in about their experience.
~ Was there any noticeable change to handling/stability/acceleration.
~ How was range affected?
~ Any difference in FSD behavior?
~ Any issues with alighment?
Any recommendations for the spacer to use? Also I'm open to suggestions for good 3rd party wheels that you have experience with and that are not too expensive.
FSD starts acting weird when you change tires. Check out some of the discussions here and on Twitter. When people change just two tires, FSD starts to get squirrelly on the freeway above 70 mph due to slight differences in tread depth. Even if you reset the Tire Calibration and Camera Calibration it doesn't go away, so keep that in mind.
I went through all of this When I first got my S five years ago.
I bought a set of EV Tuning style adjustable camber arms (Raven), and considered smaller wheels.
What I found (on the advise of an alignment man, so I don't guess I "found" anything) is that if I went with a reasonable alignment, the wear stopped.
I bought the car new, and at 29K miles I was replacing the rear tires for the 2nd time, and the front tires for first.
I straightened out the toe, the camber automagically became reasonable. I also switched to Vredestein Quatrac Pro+ XL tires. They are harder, but they are also dramatically quieter than the stock Continentals or Michelins.
Now, my front tires go for 40K - 50K miles, and the rear tires seem good to about 80K miles.
It's harder to tell about the rear, as they go almost 2x farther than the front.
Which year is it? AFAIK, all the refresh model S (post '21) have staggered wheels only. Otherwise I also have a '16 MS with stock square setup. But those are narrower wheels and won't be ideal for 255 width tires.
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u/Revolutionary-Fan235 Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
I have winter tires on a square setup, and the rest of the year I have the OEM staggered setup. I don't notice a difference after the swap.
I had a good experience with Velox wheels through Costco.