SaveARim

Rim protectors for a Model Y or Model 3

Tesla publishes the factory wheel diameters. A rim protector still has to match the wheel on your car. We haven't fitted one, and a listing that names a Tesla wheel is not a fit check.

What diameters does Tesla list?

The current US Model Y owner's manual lists factory wheels at 18, 19, 20, and 21 inches. The six-seat 19 and 20 inch rows, and the 21 inch Performance row, are wider in the rear. The diameter stays the same front and rear. The matching tires include 235/55R18, 255/45R19, 255/40R20, and 255/35R21 in front with 275/35R21 in the rear.

The current US Model 3 owner's manual lists 18 x 8.5J, 19 x 8.5J, and a 20 inch pair: 20 x 9.0J in front and 20 x 10.0J in the rear. The tires are 235/45R18, 235/40R19, and 235/35R20 in front with 275/30R20 in the rear. Tesla says the number after R is the wheel diameter in inches, and that pressures belong on the label in the driver's door, not on a general chart.

Those tables are the factory sizes in that manual. A car from another year, or another market, can differ. Read the sidewall and the door label, then match that inch number. Find your wheel size walks through the marking. Wheel names such as Induction or Helix are on listings. They are not column headings in these two manuals.

Does AlloyGator name a Tesla wheel?

AlloyGator's French compatibility page says the ring fits aluminum wheels from 12 to 24 inches, and not steel wheels. It also says a few protruding rims need a check, and it names the Model 3 Performance Überturbine among them. The kit includes a test tab, 60 mm by 15 mm. You slide the green end between the tire and the rim edge. Green still visible, or only as far as the black line, is their compatible mark. If the edge reaches the red, they say it is not compatible.

Their UK fitting page starts with that same idea: use the suitability gauge, then read the size on the sidewall. The install deflates the tire, taps the ring in with a mallet, and asks you to check the pressures an hour later. That is their procedure, not a Tesla procedure. Tesla's manual tells you where to jack the car. It doesn't mention rim protectors.

What do owners say?

On Tesla Motors Club, Asad1087 wrote on 23 July 2018 about silver AlloyGators on a Model 3 with 19 inch Sport wheels. After light rash on the front passenger rim, the install "involves jacking up or lifting the car and slightly deflating the tires." The rings "are hammered in with a rubber mallet." He had them installed. He didn't do it himself.

In the same thread, xy46 wrote about a set on a P85D: they had "performed flawlessly" for almost four years, "and still look great and no curb rash at all despite rubbing against the curb more times than I can count."

In a later thread, Ant M3 wrote the other way: "I had the alloy gators fitted and they're not great … they end up looking terrible and often start to fall out. I honestly wouldn't bother with them again." Those are three owners. They are not a test we ran.

Tesla-fit listings · 18 inch · 19 inch · 20 inch · 21 inch · AlloyGator · Does a rim protector fit a Tesla? · Do rim protectors work? · AlloyGator, Rimblades, or All-Fit?

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