Tesla appears to have changed its Model 3 18″ tire supplier to Hankook, as several owners have reported receiving their new cars this week with Hankook Kingergy GT tires instead of the typical Michelin Primacy MXM4.
The change was first spotted by wheel and tire expert and fellow Canadian Ian Pavelko (@IanPavelko), who shared photos of the new tires on a Model 3 delivered this week. Pavelko tells us the car was delivered in Montreal, and was the Rear-Wheel Drive variant.
https://twitter.com/IanPavelko/status/1537150975089291266
We have also been able to confirm the new tires have appeared on other deliveries this week, including this Model 3 Long Range that was delivered to one of our readers in Calgary on Wednesday.
As Pavelko points out in his tweet, the biggest difference between the two tires is the Load Index, which is the maximum weight a tire can support when properly inflated. The previous Michelin tires had a Load Index 98 XL, while the new Hankook tires are 94 L, indicating that the higher Load Index was not necessary, something that Pavelko has been saying for a number of years.
However, based on customer reviews of the two tires on TireRack.com, the new tires might be a bit of a downgrade. Out of 535 reviews the Michelin Primacy MXM4 has as an average rating of 4.025 out of 5, while the Hankook Kinergy GT has a rating of 3.03 out of 5, but based on 171 reviews.
The main complaints about the Hankook tire appears to be about its low tread life, which is supposed to last for 70,000 miles (112,000km). However, based on the reviews they appear to last for about half that distance. Another frequent complaint when reading the reviews is high road noise, something which would be amplified on a Tesla which has no engine to mask the road noise.
If you have taken delivery of a Model 3 with these new tires, let us know in the comments below what you think of them so far in the comments below..
