Aero or Sport wheels

[JeffK]

That's because consumer sports cars - not vehicles built specifically for competition and nothing else - are about bling. Look at competition vehicles - Nascar, F1, etc - if you want to see what vehicles designed for performance and not bling look like.

So choose bling if that's what you want. But don't kid yourself that it's about performance. You're messing up range, charge speed, comfort, noise, wear, acceleration and braking for bling.

Racing tires are completely different compound then what you're going to find on the stock 18 in tires.

 

[FlatSix911]

Worse range, fewer miles per minute charging, worse comfort, more noise, worse wear, worse straightline acceleration and braking....

Do yourself a favour and pull up an image of, say, a nascar vehicle and look at the size of the wheels on it relative to the size of the tires. If you want performance, you want a small wheel with big sidewalls on the tire. It also happens that small wheels give you more range and faster charging speeds (mph per kW).

Nascar and Technology ... there's an oxymoron

 

[KarenRei]

Nascar and Technology ... there's an oxymoron

F1 rims are even smaller than Nascar - 13" vs. 15". F1 actually debated going to 18", but decided that 13" was superior.

Big rims are about bling. Don't kid yourself that they're "performance".

 

[KarenRei]

Racing tires are completely different compound then what you're going to find on the stock 18 in tires.

And? That doesn't change anything about why smaller rims are better for everything listed above. Example: braking and acceleration are better with smaller rims / bigger sidewalls because you set up a standing wave in the tire, creating a much broader grip patch. The wider the sidewalls, the bigger the patch.

 

[JeffK]

F1 rims are even smaller than Nascar - 13" vs. 15". F1 actually debated going to 18", but decided that 13" was superior.

Big rims are about bling. Don't kid yourself that they're "performance".

It's about handling especially when you don't have the aerodynamical grip of an F1 car.

 

[FlatSix911]

F1 rims are even smaller than Nascar - 13" vs. 15". F1 actually debated going to 18", but decided that 13" was superior. Big rims are about bling. Don't kid yourself that they're "performance".

Agreed ... just had to take a shot at Nascar for fun

 

[Sonny Daze]

That's because consumer sports cars - not vehicles built specifically for competition and nothing else - are about bling. The same reason they put big grilles on them (most grilles today are cosmetic, cooling air comes from underneath) - for bling that stupid buyers mistakenly think relates to performance.

Look at competition vehicles - Nascar, F1, etc - if you want to see what vehicles designed for performance and not bling look like.

So choose bling if that's what you want. But don't kid yourself that it's about performance. You're messing up range, charge speed, comfort, noise, wear, acceleration and braking for bling.

You're comparing purpose built racing tires to those available to the general public.

 

[KarenRei]

It's about handling especially when you don't have the aerodynamical grip of an F1 car.

If you want grip, you want, as described previously, smaller rims, because it's sidewall deformation that broadens the grip patch in acceleration and braking. The extra deflection allowed for by tires with a greater sidewall length also absorbs vibration better (comfort, noise) and allows the tire to give more against obstructions (wear). The aero aspects have already been well discussed, and their effects on range (2-5%) and correspondingly charge rate / trip times, etc. And even in cornering, the wider rims only improve cornering feel (there's less lateral "bending" to the tires due to the shorter sidewall), not nearly as much on actual cornering ability. Larger rims generally have more unsprung weight, which is a handling no-no all around (the wheel becomes less responsive to the surface because it takes a bigger force to move it)

Large rims are used because people want to "look baller". That's it.

 

[lepton]

It's about handling especially when you don't have the aerodynamical grip of an F1 car.

Both the 18" and the 19" are 235's, no? And the 18" are 45 sidewall and the 19" are 40 sidewall? Is your claim that the reduced sidewall height will lead to an appreciable increase in handling performance?

 

[Justmurr]

I was always envisioning upgrading the wheels for looks and performance...
But I'm on board with the aeros and saving the $1500 for something else - definitely getting red so there's that
I will try the covers and see if they can grow on me - my gut is to remove them - the naked wheels are acceptable looks wise for this slightly shallow future owner but I'll give them a try.
It was reading this forum over the past year or so that helped me realize the better choice for wheels is to go standard and maybe accessorize later with an after market set for summers.

 

[JeffK]

19 in the summer 18 in the winter.

 

[JeffK]

Is your claim that the reduced sidewall height will lead to an appreciable increase in handling performance?

Yes

 

[KarenRei]

19 in the summer 18 in the winter.

Is that supposed to be supporting your argument? The video you linked said that the larger rims performed much worse cornering in rain (were only better cornering on dry roads), were noisier, and less comfortable. They didn't address acceleration, braking, aerodynamics, or wear, but spoiler alert.... (yeah, you know what the answers to those are - large rims lose in every category)

 

[JeffK]

Is that supposed to be supporting your argument? The video you linked said that the larger rims performed much worse cornering in rain (were only better cornering on dry roads), were noisier, and less comfortable. They didn't address acceleration, braking, aerodynamics, or wear, but spoiler alert.... (yeah, you know what the answers to those are - large rims lose in every category)

He'd take the 19 in. in the dry...
Personally I'd only drive in a sporty fashion when it's dry out no matter what tires I had.

Like many people, I'll probably have 18s with snow tires and 19s for the summer.

 

[KarenRei]

He'd take the 19 in. in the dry...
Personally I'd only drive in a sporty fashion when it's dry out no matter what tires I had.

Out of the literally dozen-plus categories for measuring how tires perform, large rims perform better in literally only one of them. In every other category their performance is poor.

But, since you want your bling, naturally you latch onto that one.

 

[JeffK]

Out of the literally dozen-plus categories for measuring how tires perform, large rims perform better in literally only one of them. In every other category their performance is poor.

But, since you want your bling, naturally you latch onto that one.

You can google the handling vs wheel size if you like. No need to take my word for it.

 

[S'toon]

OK. Thinking about it, you folks saying they're covers are probably correct.

I didn't like the aeros at first, but they've grown on me. I kind of like the final iteration.

 

[eSpiritIV]

Aero just because the cost of all other options are making my choices limited now. Hell AWD probably not in the budget anymore if they continue to follow the $5000 cost difference like the Model S has.

 

[Zaphod]

Because they patented a solid wheel, not a cover.

They patented the face design of the wheel. It is a design patent. It is not a patent of the actual physical wheel.

 

[Marsnaut]

As hard as I try, I'm not a fan of the aero wheels. Since it is the cheaper option, I'll likely just take off the cover.