Exact benefit of 19" wheels

[1.21GW]

This is a bit of a technical deep dive (warning) but if you are interested to know how much efficiency and power difference there is between 19" Tempest and 21" Arachnids, this will show it.

 

[McQ14]

Excellent video. Thanks for posting it.

 

[Eugene G.]

Quite useful information, thank you

 

[1.21GW]

The difference between the wheels should be pretty similar for the LR version as well.

I’m not sure of the wheel widths on the LR though. Are they narrower than the Plaid?

 

[beatle]

While it's always good to have a good explanation of the numbers and how they translate to power and range, I wish there was more detail as to how their road load is calculated, and how things like wheel offset, wheel/tire weight, contact patch, and tire construction affect the road load. I know that is a lot of variables to handle, but it would be nice to understand what to expect if changing one of them when putting on different tires and/or wheels.

 

[Blue Stuff]

The difference between the wheels should be pretty similar for the LR version as well.

I’m not sure of the wheel widths on the LR though. Are they narrower than the Plaid?

From the manual the specs are the same between the LR and Plaid.

 

[JimmyB]

Fascinating - thanks. Fits with the approx 16% improvement I saw switching from 21" to 19" and more energy-efficient rubber.

 

[1.21GW]

While it's always good to have a good explanation of the numbers and how they translate to power and range, I wish there was more detail as to how their road load is calculated, and how things like wheel offset, wheel/tire weight, contact patch, and tire construction affect the road load. I know that is a lot of variables to handle, but it would be nice to understand what to expect if changing one of them when putting on different tires and/or wheels.

This is exactly why Tesla has a lot of engineers However, the simple answer is that most aftermarket wheels/tires will increase the road load in an effort to extract the best traction. The tire companies and automotive OEMs don't offer enough information for us to do the exact calculations, but I'm sure someone with a lot of time on their hands could build a vehicle dynamics simulation model that would be close.