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strider
Active Member
I'm not sure the wheels are "directional" as in they are designed to only rotate in one direction (there would be arrows forged into the rim itself - I haven't checked this) but they are directional in that they are not symmetrical and so they should all be pointed the same way for aesthetic purposes.
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That's what they look like, on one side of the car they go forwards, on the other, backwards. I'll leave it open as to which is which!
Sounds like you might have gotten two sets of lefts or two sets of rights!
I think the usual mounting has them with the top of the blade pointed forwards (ahead of the bottom).
Notice how both sides of this car have the wheels "chopping" towards the direction of travel:
There was an old picture of VP13 long ago where people comment that the old style forged wheels seemed to be mounted backwards (wrong side wheel.)
Perhaps later in production they stopped trying so hard to get the correct side wheel on each car?
directional wheels
doug said:directional wheelsVP13
Flickr Photo Download: Tesla in Half Moon Bay
Oddly enough, looks like the wheels are on backwards. I think we normally see the wheels oriented so that the spokes are angled towards the direction of forward motion, not away from it as we see here.
Old style Left vs Right directional wheels:
Apparently some cars were delivered with all lefts or all rights so not everyone got the advertised orientation.
Apparently some cars were delivered with all lefts or all rights so not everyone got the advertised orientation.
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Mix/match directions:
(Is there a "correct" orientation? It seems early cars usually had the spokes leaning center outwards towards the direction of rotation, and later cars the other way around, but then we have plenty of exceptions.)
(Is there a "correct" orientation? It seems early cars usually had the spokes leaning center outwards towards the direction of rotation, and later cars the other way around, but then we have plenty of exceptions.)
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NigelM
Recovering Member
All of the pics here: Roadster Image Gallery and here: Roadster Features and Specifications have the blades on the forged aluminum wheels sloping backwards.
On a personal preference note - That's how mine are and I like them better like that.
On a personal preference note - That's how mine are and I like them better like that.
For the 2.5s... But it was the other way around for the 1.5s...
1.5:
2.5:
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NigelM
Recovering Member
Did the 1.5 ever suffer from brakes overheating? I know that's a crazy thought but in a race car that would be the obvious reason to change the "fan" direction.
On my 1.5 (mid 400s VIN) the right and left wheels are the same. I asked a representative at the Los Angles store about this last Fall (after the car was over a year old) and was told that the early cars had different left and right wheels, but Tesla started using the same wheels on both sides.
By the way there are a number of makes and models of vehicles which do have different right and left wheels, such as the early 1990s Lexus LS400. On the Lexus, the wheel is marked R or L.
By the way there are a number of makes and models of vehicles which do have different right and left wheels, such as the early 1990s Lexus LS400. On the Lexus, the wheel is marked R or L.
strider
Active Member
When I first saw EP1 at what was then Tesla HQ (before the 2006 unveiling), Martin Eberhard remarked that since the wheels were all being machined individually, it was the same cost whether the wheels were the same or different designs. The difference is aesthetic only, not functional.
SByer
'08 #383
Darn you! Much like the chroma up-sampling bug that affected all early DVD players and you didn't notice until you knew, now I know two of my wheels are wrong! Ugh! Can't un-see!
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