Rims to increase range?

[xponents]

He's European. They use commas instead of periods, which is common around the world. We Americans continue to be heathens using a different system than anyone else.

Fahrenheit...

 

[TheNewAero_Alexander]

It works great! What do you think?

 

[Dog poop]

View attachment 9429
It works great! What do you think?

Looks sweet!

 

[TheNewAero_Alexander]

Thanks. I will try to become a supporting vendor and make a discount for the forum. Stay tuned.

 

[creair]

The wheels have given the car the meaty look compared to previous 21's. Just love the bulk in the middle and honestly haven't noticed any drop in efficiency ( mine has always been around 2.9)

 

[TheNewAero_Alexander]

This is how it looks in Glossy Titanium

 

[TheNewAero_Alexander]

This is actually quite interesting. When Lucid did a record run without the speed limited and reached 235 MPH / 378 km/h they had custom made aerowheels because what defines the top speed it when the total friction equals the total sustainable power output of the drive train. And since it's almost all about the aero drag they try to make it as low as possible. It increase by the square of the speed.

 

[TheNewAero_Alexander]

A great in depth discussion about our wheel and how Tesla has approached wheel design over the years. Also mentioning the Lucid. If you have an hour to spare this weekend

 

[creair]

Here's my observation, I doubt it's my driving changes or traffic but I went from 2.8-2.9 to a constant 3.1-3.2 recently even doing a 3.4. I recently did a 175mile day trip and still had 130 miles left. Usually it would be less than a 100 miles. That's with the Aero Wheels. 175 miles was 60/40 highway and backroads

 

[Keith_SF]

Here's my observation, I doubt it's my driving changes or traffic but I went from 2.8-2.9 to a constant 3.1-3.2 recently even doing a 3.4. I recently did a 175mile day trip and still had 130 miles left. Usually it would be less than a 100 miles. That's with the Aero Wheels. 175 miles was 60/40 highway and backroads

Same tires on the aero wheels as your original stock 21's?

 

[Keith_SF]

I'm not 100% sure that it is the diameter of the wheel that affects EV range as much as it is the type of tire, including its contact patch size and "stickiness."

I think you're spot on, the Rolling Resistance of a tire is the biggest effect, at least according to this seemingly insightful article. Often the difference is due to the big wheels having stickier tires than the small wheels.

Why Wheels And Tires Make Such A Huge Difference To An EV's Range And A Gas Car's MPG - The Autopian

Hello fellow Autopians, and welcome to another edition of Ask An Engineer. This time, we are going to answer a question sent to me by Thomas who asked me why the 2023 Honda Accord Hybrid EX-L gets an estimated 51 mpg in the city while the other Hybrids (Sport, Sport-L, and Touring) only get 46 […]

www.theautopian.com

"The difference in range due to tires is evident at Tesla as well. The base Model S with 19″ tires has an EPA range of 405 miles while the range with the larger 21″ wheels is 375 miles. The difference is that the 19″ tires are all-season low RR tires while the 21″ers are high performance summer tires with more rolling resistance."

Granted, larger diameter wheels will consume more power to increase their rotational speed (they are essentially bigger flywheels), however with an EV we can get most of that power back via regen braking, so this portion if the equation should be much less of an impact for EV vs ICE cars.

 

[TheNewAero_Alexander]

Same tires on the aero wheels as your original stock 21's?

Yes he swapped them. So the rim is the only difference. The upper part of the wheel has twice the speed through the air as the body of the car has, that is the reason the rim design has a big impact. Twice the speed is 4x drag. Reason why Tesla, Lucid and practically every car manufacturer started with more covered wheels (especially the part closer to the tire) when they launch EVs and plugins. Even though they are heavier they are better in efficiency.

 

[Keith_SF]

Yes he swapped them. So the rim is the only difference. The upper part of the wheel has twice the speed through the air as the body of the car has, that is the reason the rim design has a big impact. Twice the speed is 4x drag. Reason why Tesla, Lucid and practically every car manufacturer started with more covered wheels (especially the part closer to the tire) when they launch EVs and plugins. Even though they are heavier they are better in efficiency.

Makes sense. Smart to keep the tires constant. Per prev post I don't think EV is disadvantaged by heavy wheels as much as ICE since we tend to recover the extra kinetic energy back into the battery rather than losing it to brake heat.

Curious if there is any felt impact to ride quality. The Lucid's magnetic shocks are pretty amazing so perhaps it wouldn't be felt.

Where are the wheels manufactured?

 

[TheNewAero_Alexander]

They are manufactured in Italy by a family owned company called Fondmetal. They are our manufacturing partner. We make the carbon disc for the new wheel in Sweden. A subcontractor to Koenigsegg.

 

[TheNewAero_Alexander]