Tesla Model 3 19-Inch UP-RW FF Wheel and Winter Tire Package

The Smart Way to Build a Winter Set

A second set of wheels is the correct answer to winter. Everyone who has run one knows it. The friction is cost, because a dedicated winter set means buying wheels you will use for five months a year, and premium forged wheels are a serious investment to commit to seasonal duty.

The UP-RW FF exists to remove that friction. It takes the Road Warrior design, its aero-optimized disc shape and its structural philosophy, and produces it through flow-forming rather than full forging. The result reaches a considerably more accessible price while keeping the strength and efficiency that make the design worth having. For a winter set, it is arguably the smartest wheel in the lineup.

What Flow-Forming Actually Does

Flow-forming starts with a cast blank. The barrel is then spun at high speed while rollers stretch and compress the aluminum over a mandrel. That process aligns the grain structure of the metal in the barrel, which is the part of the wheel that takes the impact when you hit something.

The outcome is a barrel that is both lighter and substantially more impact-resistant than a conventional cast wheel. It is not identical to a full forging, and Unplugged Performance does not claim it is. What it is, is dramatically stronger than the cast wheels most people put into winter service, at a price that makes running a dedicated seasonal set genuinely practical.

Proof of that strength: these wheels carry a load rating suitable for the Model X, Tesla’s heaviest passenger vehicle. On a Model 3, which weighs far less, that rating represents an enormous margin, and margin is what you want going into a season defined by unexpected impacts.

Fits Every Tesla Model 3, Exact Factory 19-Inch Diameter

This package fits all Tesla Model 3 years and trims, including cars delivered on 18-, 19-, or 20-inch factory wheels. The 19×8.5 +30 fitment with a 235/40ZR19 tire matches factory 19-inch overall diameter exactly, and the 245/40ZR19 Michelin X-Ice Snow+ sits within roughly one percent of that same diameter, so either winter tire choice keeps the car reading correctly.

That matters through winter specifically. Speedometer and odometer stay accurate. Range and efficiency estimation, which depends on rolling circumference, stays calibrated. Stability control and traction control keep operating on the wheel speed assumptions they were developed around, at the time of year you most want them working correctly.

If your car came on 20-inch wheels, this package also gives you more sidewall than you had, which is a real advantage on the deteriorated pavement winter produces.

Aero-Optimized, Which Matters More in Cold Air

The UP-RW FF carries the same aero-focused disc profile that defines the Road Warrior family, a design rooted in the same philosophy that made its forged predecessor so compelling.

In CFD validation the UP-RW measured within 0.010 Cd of Tesla’s lowest-drag production wheel, the 18-inch Photon Aero Covered wheel, placing it among the most aerodynamically efficient wheels ever developed for a Tesla.

The winter relevance is direct. Cold air is denser than warm air, so aerodynamic drag at a given speed is higher in January than in July. Your range is already down from battery temperature and cabin heating. A wheel engineered for low drag is one of the few things working in your favor, and it works every mile without you doing anything.

Curb Guards and the Lifetime Structural Warranty

Replaceable curb guard rings are available for the UP-RW FF, and in winter they are less a cosmetic accessory than a practical one. Snow hides curbs. Plowed banks narrow every parking space. Contact happens. A curb guard means replacing a ring rather than refinishing a wheel.

Behind that, the wheel carries a lifetime structural warranty for the original owner. Crack a wheel and we replace it. For a wheel spending five months a year on the worst roads of the year, that guarantee is doing real work.

Tire Options for the UP-RW FF 19-Inch Wheel and Winter Tire Package

Three winter tires are offered with this package, and the two Michelin options are the ones that raise the most questions. The Michelin X-Ice Snow and the Michelin X-Ice Snow+ packages are otherwise identical: the same UP-RW FF 19×8.5 +30 flow-formed wheels, the same four TPMS sensors, and the same mount and balance labor. They differ in exactly two ways.

• The tire model. X-Ice Snow is Michelin’s established studless winter tire. X-Ice Snow+ is the newer generation of that same tire family.
• The tire size. X-Ice Snow is supplied in 235/40ZR19. X-Ice Snow+ is supplied in 245/40ZR19, a slightly wider section width that fits the 19×8.5 +30 wheel correctly and works on every Model 3 year and trim.

We recommend the X-Ice Snow+ in 245/40ZR19 as the preferred winter fitment. If you would rather run the X-Ice Snow, the 235/40ZR19 package is fully supported and is a proven setup. Either way you get a complete, ready-to-install winter set.

Michelin X-Ice Snow+ Wheel and Winter Tire Package (Recommended)

Includes:

• 4 UP-RW FF 19×8.5 +30 flow-formed wheels
• 4 Michelin X-Ice Snow+ winter tires in 245/40ZR19
• 4 TPMS sensors
• Mount and balance labor

Best for: Model 3 owners who want the newest generation of Michelin’s studless winter tire and the slightly wider 245 section width. This is the size we recommend on the UP-RW FF 19×8.5 +30 wheel. Bundle pricing applies, so the wheels, tires, TPMS, and mount and balance labor are all included in one package price.

Michelin X-Ice Snow Wheel and Winter Tire Package

Includes:

• 4 UP-RW FF 19×8.5 +30 flow-formed wheels
• 4 Michelin X-Ice Snow winter tires in 235/40ZR19
• 4 TPMS sensors
• Mount and balance labor

Best for: Model 3 owners who prefer Michelin’s established X-Ice Snow in the 235/40ZR19 size that matches factory 19-inch overall diameter exactly. Same wheels, same TPMS, same mount and balance labor as the X-Ice Snow+ package, with bundle pricing on the complete set.

Vredestein Wintrac Pro Wheel and Winter Tire Package

Includes:

• 4 UP-RW FF 19×8.5 +30 flow-formed wheels
• 4 Vredestein Wintrac Pro winter tires in 235/40ZR19
• 4 TPMS sensors
• Mount and balance labor

Best for: Model 3 owners who want a complete, properly specified winter setup at a sensible total cost. The Wintrac Pro is an ultra-high-performance winter tire built for 17-inch and larger wheels and rated to 300 km/h, which puts it well above the typical winter tire in dry grip, wet braking, and steering response while still delivering the snow capability the season requires. It also rates strongly for tread life, and on this square fitment, rotation stretches that further. If your winter is mostly cold and wet with regular snow events rather than permanent ice, this is the balanced choice.

Straightforward Installation: What to Know Before You Mount Up

A winter set gets installed and removed every year, so it is worth getting the details right the first time. Hub rings are included with every wheel, one per wheel, and we recommend using them. Hub rings fill the space between the wheel’s center bore and the vehicle hub, so the wheel is located and supported by the hub itself rather than relying on the lug nuts to find center. The result is a wheel that mounts square the first time and stays quiet at highway speed, season after season.

Before mounting, remove the factory rotor retention screw from each hub. This small screw is a factory assembly aid, and leaving it in place can prevent the wheel from seating completely flat against the hub face. It takes seconds with a hand tool. Keep the screws somewhere safe rather than discarding them, because you will want them again when your summer wheels go back on in spring. Any Tesla-experienced shop will already be familiar with this step, and our authorized installers handle it as part of a standard seasonal swap.

Why This Package Makes Financial Sense

Winter packages are usually sold on safety, which is the right argument, but the cost argument is just as strong.

Seasonal tire swaps on a single set of wheels cost mounting and balancing labor twice a year, every year, and put cumulative wear on tire beads and wheel bead seats. Your summer wheels spend five months in salt and brine, which is the worst thing that happens to a wheel finish. Running all-seasons year round wears them faster and delivers worse grip at both temperature extremes.

A dedicated winter set on flow-formed wheels ends all of that. Add square fitment that lets you rotate, a wheel with a Model X load rating, a lifetime structural warranty, and an aero profile that limits the range penalty in the coldest months, and the package returns its cost in avoided expenses while making the car meaningfully safer for close to half the year.