How easy is it to get a flat on 20's?

[Tay Tay]

For 21's in NE US it's just a question of when, not if. What about 20's?

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[Charlie]

I have had good luck with the 20s on my 4S+. I hit one pothole that was so bad that it make the air strut on that side fail, but it didn't hurt the tire or rim. Just a good bump and then when I got home, the strut had a slow leak and collapsed. I was surprised not to have a flat tire after that bump. I have summer tires on the car (only drive it in the summer)

 

[Deleted member 6348]

Nonsense. Tire size has almost nothing to do with it. These are all low profile tires by any measure.

Don’t drive on the shoulder or median. Avoid potholes. Don’t run over stuff.

 

[Mike in CA]

For 21's in NE US it's just a question of when, not if. What about 20's?

I just ruined a front tire on my 4S with 21" Mission E wheels so, at least in my case, you're right about the "when, not if" part, even here in CA. Fortunately, the rim wasn't damaged.

The 21's come with 35F/30R profile tires while the 20's come with a 45F/40R profile so you have a little more sidewall protection as far as the wheel is concerned but I don't know if that translates to very much better tire survivability. Maybe some.

 

[Tay Tay]

Nonsense. Tire size has almost nothing to do with it. These are all low profile tires by any measure.

Don’t drive on the shoulder or median. Avoid potholes. Don’t run over stuff.

Actually 19" is 55 front so not low profile by any measure.

In NY they have seams going across the entire highway that are enough to pop/bubble a 21". There is no avoiding. They repeat over and over again, you are probably safe if you drive the whole way at 45 mph, but who wants to do that?

 

[Tay Tay]

I have had good luck with the 20s on my 4S+. I hit one pothole that was so bad that it make the air strut on that side fail, but it didn't hurt the tire or rim. Just a good bump and then when I got home, the strut had a slow leak and collapsed. I was surprised not to have a flat tire after that bump. I have summer tires on the car (only drive it in the summer)

Sorry about your air suspension, but that does sound very encouraging. Which tire model was it? Thanks.

 

[Deleted member 6348]

Actually 19" is 55 front so not low profile by any measure.

In NY they have seams going across the entire highway that are enough to pop/bubble a 21". There is no avoiding. They repeat over and over again, you are probably safe if you drive the whole way at 45 mph, but who wants to do that?

I put 35k miles on my 992 across 18 states and numerous cities. No flats on my 20/21s. My Alfa has 30 and 25 profile tires on 18/19 wheels. 18k miles and no flats.

Wheel rim size does not make flats or bent wheels inevitable. Avoiding potholes is altogether more important.

 

[Charlie]

Sorry about your air suspension, but that does sound very encouraging. Which tire model was it? Thanks.

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 that came with my 2020 4S. The air suspension held up, but collapsed in the garage when the pump wasn't keeping it full of air. It would pump it up when I started the car, but I didn't want to hurt the pump, so it was trailered to the dealer for the repair with no other damage

 

[Tay Tay]

I put 35k miles on my 992 across 18 states and numerous cities. No flats on my 20/21s. My Alfa has 30 and 25 profile tires on 18/19 wheels. 18k miles and no flats.

Wheel rim size does not make flats or bent wheels inevitable. Avoiding potholes is altogether more important.

A 992 weights 1,600 pounds less than a Taycan (plus the weight is in the back). I don't know which Alfa you have but if it's the 4C that's more than a ton difference. I know many people with Taycans on 21's who've had to replace their tires, including one person who's coincidentally had a 911 and 4c and never complained about those.
Sorry if I'm mistaken, but as far as I can tell from your post history, you don't even have your car yet. So it's a bit weird for you to be making proclamations about how reliable the 21's are based on your experience with other, very different, cars.

 

[Deleted member 6348]

A 992 weights 1,600 pounds less than a Taycan (plus the weight is in the back). I don't know which Alfa you have but if it's the 4C that's more than a ton difference. I know many people with Taycans on 21's who've had to replace their tires, including one person who's coincidentally had a 911 and 4c and never complained about those.
Sorry if I'm mistaken, but as far as I can tell from your post history, you don't even have your car yet. So it's a bit weird for you to be making proclamations about how reliable the 21's are based on your experience with other, very different, cars.

I have driven and owned enough cars that having 21” wheels isn’t some kind of boogeyman spec.

With regards to Taycan specifically, I put 430 miles on a Taycan 4S loaner with Mission E wheels. I managed not to bend them during my time with the car.

 

[YWGT3]

I've had several flats along with wheel damage with 21" rims on Bay Area freeways. From my experience, the sidewall protection from the tires outfitted on the 20"s (Michelin Pilot Sport 4 s tires with Sport Aero wheels) provide enough sidewall cushioning and resiliency, when factoring in the weight of a 2.5 ton BEV, to withstand the punishment from our neglected roadways.

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