Sorry to hear that. While I by no means had a smooth process, I did not have that issue. Ordered last august, installed this may.
Respectfully, I believe the consideration should be a [same size] wheel "with" aero caps vs. One "without" aero caps. Correct me pls if I am wrong..m
The 21s and the 19s WITH tires installed are the same diameter/circumference. 19s have a taller sidewall to “makeup” for the 2 inch difference in wheel diameter.
AGAIN, NOT guaranteeing I am right, but I believe the largest variable here ref aero caps, vs no aero caps is aerodynamics. There are additional very small parts of the equation.
No doubt some Plaid 19” orders switched to 21s, but I think the Plaid buyer would generally be more 21” than LR buyers. One, because they clearly aren’t trying to maximize range, also they are more performance oriented, so the 21” take would naturally be higher.
I had a nice conversation with the good folks at TSportline. They do not have the 19's out just yet, but hope to have several options by the December, possibly earlier.
I expect aerodynamic drag from the open 21" rims is the main detractor vs the smooth flat surface of the pedal car hubcaps I am getting ! Even the weight not so much as the range of the car is never stated with how many occupants (or fat boys like me) are in it....
Aero must play a huge role, else the need for such ugly caps at all. Function > Form.
Sir, I suspect you are spot on; BTW, I'm glad I'm NOT the only "fat boy" here!!
Ohhh! Got it, that makes sense, didn't think about the tire sidewall differences. That said, we still have the weight difference that can explain the range diff. Complete guess, but I'd bet the weight difference is the bigger factor driving lower efficiency than any aero diffs due to wheel geometry.
Their 20" wheels are currently $5,700.00 so it's going to be some trick to produce 19's for, what, less than half that? I had this same conversation with Martian Wheels who are trying to have something out by the end of the year and I gently reminded them that the end of the year will be too late for people who need to buy a second set of wheels/tires for winter driving. The Michelin summer tires are only formulated for temperatures down to 45 degrees F.
Exact same thing happened to me. Waited about six months for Tesla Solar to start work on my solar roof, and before they began was presented with a $42k contract vs. the $28k in their initial estimate. Also power production dropped 30%. I swear if I had t had such a good experience with my prior Model S I’d have walked from my current order months ago. Shady as hell business practices from every company under the Tesla umbrella.
I think the rotational mass of more unsprung weight as well as less attention (in this specific case) to aerodynamics of each wheel are bigger contributors.
Yes. Tentative delivery this Friday.
These are the ones I ordered in matte black.
vossenwheels.com
Here's one observation that makes me think aero isn't as big of a factor as weight: if you look at the Model 3 order page, the 18'' aero wheels look a whole lot different than the 19'' sport wheels, but range does not change when switching between the two. Weight is similar, with the aero 23lbs and the sport 25lbs. Also the moment of inertia difference going from 18 to 19 is smaller than going from 19 to 21 as moment is proportional to radius squared.
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