Aero wheels

[richkae]

And almost instant brake fade and failure due to disk/pads overheating.

I frequently go days without using the brakes on the Roadster - except to hold me at the stop light.
The regen does all the braking. I went down a 7 mile grade of 7-8% and the car regen'ed 125 Wh/mile the whole way. I wasn't anywhere near max regen - there was plenty of regen there to handle a much steeper slope.
I wouldn't put the covers on to drive on the racetrack, but I'm not worried about brake fade driving around town, even if I panic stop over and over again.

 

[NielsChr]

Why not just do a perfectly flat rim with a mag picture printed on it? Most would probably never notice unless you got really close.

I vote for this solution , It could even be more easy to clean as well

 

[W.Petefish]

But the regen on the Model S won't be as strong as on the Roadster.

I think it will be stronger, but not feel as strong because of the weight difference.

 

[JRP3]

May depend on which battery pack you get. The larger one could take more regen, the smaller one might be limited since you'd be pushing a higher C rate into the cells with the smaller pack. Unless the C rates of the new cells are higher than the old ones, then it might not matter. My guess is they are about the same as it's hard to increase both specific energy density and C rates at the same time.

 

[Lloyd]

This is sort of related, but I had a problem with the 19" wheels that I saw at the October event, and that are shown in the design studio. The spokes on the wheels extend outside of the protection of the tire. In my opinion a very poor design that will result in curb damaged weels very soon after purchase. I called one monitor in charge of that section and pointed it out to him by putting a straight edge along the outside of the tire. The spokes of the wheel came out of the protection of the tire by more than 1/3 inch. I hope they change the design of these wheels before they are released.

 

[WarpedOne]

You have a link to this 19" offenders?

 

[jcstp]

This is sort of related, but I had a problem with the 19" wheels that I saw at the October event, and that are shown in the design studio. The spokes on the wheels extend outside of the protection of the tire. In my opinion a very poor design that will result in curb damaged weels very soon after purchase. I called one monitor in charge of that section and pointed it out to him by putting a straight edge along the outside of the tire. The spokes of the wheel came out of the protection of the tire by more than 1/3 inch. I hope they change the design of these wheels before they are released.

Guess the expansion will ad to drag too! Plus the big space between the spokes are not promoting aerodinamics either I think!

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

How's this for 320-mile wheels?!

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/12/tech/innovation/in-wheel-motor/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

 

[vfx]

How's this for 320-mile wheels?!

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/12/tech/innovation/in-wheel-motor/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

SIM Drive hopes its four-seat sedan will go into production in 2013.

SIM Drive says the price will depend on how many it makes, but if the car ends up being mass produced, customers can expect to pay around ¥2.5 million ($32,000).​

About the time we will be looking at the Model X. Funny to think of Tesla as the big manufacturer here.

 

[Waverider]

wow that's an ugly car

 

[VolkerP]

 

[AnOutsider]

Well, they actually don't look bad in the end. No cost option too!

 

[Trnsl8r]

Well, they actually don't look bad in the end. No cost option too!

No cost? If you have the base model they are $1500.

 

[AnOutsider]

woops, sorry, I had the signature panel open and was looking in the signature sport vs normal sport columns. It's $1500 for base car, free for all others.

*edit* The fact page now acknowledges the wheels as well:

Aerodynamic 19” wheels are designed to reduce wind resistance. Disc-like in shape, they channel air along the sides of the vehicle and can add up to 5% range during highway driving.

5% on the 300 mile pack = 315 miles ideal.

 

[jcstp]

Well, they actually don't look bad in the end.

View attachment 3735

Indeed, but in my mind there is room for improvement designwise!
They are not the pretiest of the world!

 

[Doug_G]

Indeed, but in my mind there is room for improvement designwise!
They are not the pretiest of the world!

I suspect they look even worse in person, with the "spokes" just being printed on a flat disk. But they probably look okay from a distance.

It is what it is... you can't make a flat disk look sexy. If you want the maximum possible efficiency, you're gonna have to compromise. If.

I wouldn't touch them, personally; I want the brakes to have some air flow for cooling. And if you really need just a little more range, well, slow down a little or stop and get a top-up. And really, how often is that gonna be necessary???

 

[Mycroft]

I agree Doug. I don't care for the printed disks myself and I'll probably be buying the standard 19" wheels for my Winter driving.

 

[jcstp]

I suspect they look even worse in person, with the "spokes" just being printed on a flat disk. But they probably look okay from a distance.

If the spokes are just printed on the flat disk, I think just the flat disk without the printed spokes would look nicer!

But I agree, if you don't like, choose other rims! ;-

 

[ckessel]

What I find interesting is if these types of rims really help, why don't we seem them on long haul ICE cars? Specifically trucks? Granted, it's not a huge market compared to the overall auto market, but a 5% improvement in gas mileage would be a big deal on those types of vehicles.

 

[Doug_G]

What I find interesting is if these types of rims really help, why don't we seem them on long haul ICE cars? Specifically trucks? Granted, it's not a huge market compared to the overall auto market, but a 5% improvement in gas mileage would be a big deal on those types of vehicles.

Sure, but it won't improve an ICE vehicle very much. The drive train is only 20% efficient, so the net gain is going to be about 1%.