# Scraping rear wheels



## Doleary

I have had a Model Y for about 2 months and have managed to scrape the rear wheels on curbs twice. I have never done this with many past cars. Is this because there is very little rear overhang or perhaps the wheels are not recessed from side of the car.?


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## FRC

Welcome to the forum, welcome to Tesla, and welcome to the wonderful world of curb rash! I doubt that very many Model 3/Y owners have avoided this irritation. Over time we learn to swing well wide of offending curbs, but it still happens on occasion. You can learn way more than you ever wanted to know about curb rash by clicking the search button at top right and entering curb rash as a thread title search.


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## garsh

It's mainly because the wheels are wider than the tires. This is done to help give sporty, precise handling. But it also means that the tire isn't wide enough to protect the wheel when you rub up against a curb.

Here are a few threads that you might find useful:

I am heartbroken... Rim damages & repairs
What rim protectors are you using?
Wider tires to prevent curb rash?


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## Ed Woodrick

There are two groups of Tesla owners. 
One that currently have wheel rash. 
The others have had the wheel rash removed or bought new wheels.


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## garsh

There are also those of us who got really, really lucky.


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## SoFlaModel3

Welcome to the Forum. Similar to you, I had literally never curbed a rim before in my life and with my Model 3 I did it fairly early. As @garsh mentioned the tires are not forgiving since they don't have a lip. Good news, rims can be repaired without too much difficulty and I bet you'll never do it again!


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## Needsdecaf

I don't think it's just the wheel / rim. I rarely have even hit curbs in past cars, but I have absolutely murdered my wheels in the Model 3. So it's not just the fact that the tire offers no rim protection, it's about hitting them in the first place. 

Someone brought this up the other day and I got to thinking about it. It's always been the rear wheels, and it's always been when I cut a corner too closely. For some reason, I have the absolute hardest time in judging the length of the Model 3. I don't know if it's how quick the steering is, the short rear overhang or what, but I just cannot for the life of me grasp where the rear end of this car is. And it by far not the longest car I've driven or owned. 

So now I drive the car around obstacles like I'm pulling a trailer. Go way wide and cut a sharp turn.


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## Quicksilver

Needsdecaf said:


> So now I drive the car around obstacles like I'm pulling a trailer. Go way wide and cut a sharp turn.


This is exactly what I do. Knock on wood, I haven't experienced curb rash. I think it has to do with the precise and quick steering on the 3. I had a friend drive my car around the block this past weekend and when taking his first right turn at an intersection, he went over the curb where the handicap ramp came down to meet the street. I cringed but told him to watch the turn and curbs 😊


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## Ed Woodrick

Needsdecaf said:


> I don't think it's just the wheel / rim. I rarely have even hit curbs in past cars, but I have absolutely murdered my wheels in the Model 3. So it's not just the fact that the tire offers no rim protection, it's about hitting them in the first place.
> 
> Someone brought this up the other day and I got to thinking about it. It's always been the rear wheels, and it's always been when I cut a corner too closely. For some reason, I have the absolute hardest time in judging the length of the Model 3. I don't know if it's how quick the steering is, the short rear overhang or what, but I just cannot for the life of me grasp where the rear end of this car is. And it by far not the longest car I've driven or owned.
> 
> So now I drive the car around obstacles like I'm pulling a trailer. Go way wide and cut a sharp turn.


Take a look at the wheels vs the tires on the Model 3. You will notice that the rim stick out past the tire.
Go to most any other car and look at the same. You'll probably notice that the tire sticks out past the rim.

So, when most other cars hit the curb, you get a little rubber rash, a Tesla get rim rash.


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## Needsdecaf

Ed Woodrick said:


> Take a look at the wheels vs the tires on the Model 3. You will notice that the rim stick out past the tire.
> Go to most any other car and look at the same. You'll probably notice that the tire sticks out past the rim.
> 
> So, when most other cars hit the curb, you get a little rubber rash, a Tesla get rim rash.


You missed my point.

i don't often, if ever, do the same thing in any other car. I almost never, ever, hit the curb with the rear wheels. Been driving 30 years and can count the number of times on probably two hands if not one. And I drive a lot. And yet, in Model 3's, I have done it at least 3 times.

Yes, the tires give no wheel protection. Most low profile tires don't, honestly. The Tesla isn't an exception, but you're probably looking at cars with taller sidewalls. Look at a comparable Audi, BMW, Lexus, etc. and you'll see the same. The point is that the contact occurs more often in this car than others.


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## teslay

Doleary said:


> I have had a Model Y for about 2 months and have managed to scrape the rear wheels on curbs twice. I have never done this with many past cars. Is this because there is very little rear overhang or perhaps the wheels are not recessed from side of the car.?


I have had the same issue with the 20" as well! We got delivery over the Thanksgiving break and right when we got home from the dealer I noticed scuffed wheels on the passenger rear wheel! And just this week I have got one on the driver wheel! I feel these are really easily scuffed and never had issue with any of my previous cars! I don't even know how to get them fixed!


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## garsh

teslay said:


> I feel these are really easily scuffed and never had issue with any of my previous cars!


You probably never owned a performance car. In most normal passenger cars, the tires stick out farther than the wheel. Then if you rub a curb, the tire gets scuffed, and nobody cares. But on Teslas, the tire has a "stretched" fit on the rim, so the wheel sticks out farther than the tire sidewall. You need to be very careful when parallel parking a Tesla to avoid scuffing the wheels.


> I don't even know how to get them fixed!


There are people who specialize in rim repair. Read through this thread for more info:

I am heartbroken... Rim damages & repairs


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## M3OC Rules

Needsdecaf said:


> It's always been the rear wheels, and it's always been when I cut a corner too closely.


Maybe it's because they pushed the front seat farther forward than most cars.


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## dmccord658

Just wondering if Tesla has a feature my wife's car has which is when she is backing out of a store parking lot and the 360 camera automatically turns on, it stays on as she is slowly making her way to the main road and dodging a few high curbs all the way. Easy to miss scraping the tires as long as it stays on. Once she's going over 15mph it automatically goes back to normal.


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## Ed Woodrick

dmccord658 said:


> Just wondering if Tesla has a feature my wife's car has which is when she is backing out of a store parking lot and the 360 camera automatically turns on, it stays on as she is slowly making her way to the main road and dodging a few high curbs all the way. Easy to miss scraping the tires as long as it stays on. Once she's going over 15mph it automatically goes back to normal.


 No, just the backup camera, although you can also turn on the side cameras


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