Left and Right Uberturbine Wheels Are Not Mirror Images of Each Other

[spsheridan]

I recently noticed the 21” Uberturbine wheels offered on the Performance Model Y are chiral, that is they have a left-hand/right-hand directionality. Another way to think of it is a mirror image of the wheel would not look the same as the wheel itself, it would look flipped as shown below:

Uberturbine Wheel, normal

Uberturbine Wheel, flipped

In order to make the wheel “look" the same on the left vs. right side of the car, Tesla would have to make the left and right wheels mirror images of each other as shown above. By “look the same” I mean the leading edge (into the direction of rotation) of the wheel spokes is the same on the left and right sides. But it appears Tesla did not do this - the wheels are identical on the left and right sides. So the leading edge of the left wheel spokes becomes the trailing edge of the right wheel spokes and vice versa. I believe this is also true for the other Model Y wheel options (19” Gemini and 20” Induction) and possibly all Tesla wheels. Can someone please verify this?

Maybe not producing mirror-imaged wheels is a common approach for chiral designs in order to maintain simplicity and save cost. But now that I’ve noticed the asymmetry, I can’t unsee it and it’s mildly bothersome.

 

[empiredown]

Same issue. 20" Inductions...

Left Front: (front to left)

Right Front: (front to right)

 

[jmaddr]

Very few manufacturers create wheels that are side dependent.

 

[MY-Y]

Good thing the 20" wheels aren't mirror images. If they were and you did the proper rotation pattern, half of the time you'd have mismatched rims on the same side of the vehicle. If you're worried about noticing the different twist on opposite sides, imagine different twists on the same side!

This isn't an issue with the 21's since you can't rotate front cross to back.

 

[empiredown]

Nor can you with the 20's.... with the OEM tires.

ẞ

 

[spsheridan]

I think the question on whether L-R tire rotation is recommended comes down to whether the tire's tread pattern is directional and whether the tread is L-R symmetric. Are there any other factors to consider for L-R rotation?

I believe the guidance for Model Y OEM tire rotation is:

• 21" Uberturbine wheels: Pirelli P Zero 255/35-21 tires with asymmetric tread --> don't rotate L-R, don't rotate F-B (different widths)
• 20" Induction wheels: Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 255/40-20 tires with asymmetric tread --> don't rotate L-R, ok to rotate F-B
• 19" Gemini wheels: Continental ProContact RX 255/45-19 tires with symmetric tread --> ok to rotate L-R, ok to rotate F-B

Please correct the above if I've got it wrong.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Tesla may mildly consider addressing this.

 

[RoBoRaT]

I recently noticed the 21” Uberturbine wheels.....

.......By “look the same” I mean the leading edge (into the direction of rotation) of the wheel spokes is the same on the left and right sides. But it appears Tesla did not do this - the wheels are identical on the left and right sides. So the leading edge of the left wheel spokes becomes the trailing edge of the right wheel spokes and vice versa. I believe this is also true for the other Model Y wheel options (19” Gemini and 20” Induction) and possibly all Tesla wheels. Can someone please verify this?
....

None of the turbine/chiral Tesla Wheels are Directional.

The 19"/20" Model 3 Sportwheels, Model S 19" Tempest, Model S 21" Twin Turbines, Model S/X 19/20" Sliptreams, 22" Model X Onyx Black/Silver wheels are all NON-Directional wheels.

 

[Sorensen]

Old thread but I was noticing this as well on Teslas. Seems like a miss from an aero perspective, you’d want the turbine at the top of the wheel, the part moving forward against the air, to not cut into the air. On both sides of the car. Since many tires are directional it seems doable to have the wheels directional as well.

 

[DealMasterMike]

Very few manufacturers create wheels that are side dependent.

This. And if they are side dependent how are you going to rotate your wheels? The x pattern doesn’t really and the wheel direction is gonna be wrong again anyway as side dependent only works front to back and back to front.

 

[godoroja2]

I saw that too in my MYP. Is this ok? Does it cut the air like it was supposed to?

 

[EVer Hopeful]

This is not uncommon, although my Civic didn't do it

 

[mpeln66]

Old thread but I was noticing this as well on Teslas. Seems like a miss from an aero perspective, you’d want the turbine at the top of the wheel, the part moving forward against the air, to not cut into the air. On both sides of the car. Since many tires are directional it seems doable to have the wheels directional as well.

Aero isn’t just for energy savings but for less resistance when accelerating as well. I’ve timed 3.09 seconds 0-60 and 11.51 seconds in the 1/4 mile in my M3P with Uberturbines, just saying any negative impact on areo is probably negligible.

 

[KMC_307]

Why do you care? Do you often look at your car from both sides at the same time?

 

[spsheridan]

Aero isn’t just for energy savings but for less resistance when accelerating as well. I’ve timed 3.09 seconds 0-60 and 11.51 seconds in the 1/4 mile in my M3P with Uberturbines, just saying any negative impact on areo is probably negligible.

Not sure why you’re associating acceleration resistance with aero. Aerodynamic effects are a function of speed, not acceleration. At the beginning of the run when the speed is low, aero effects are negligible. Then as you build speed, aero effects become more and more of a factor.

I think acceleration benefits more from lighter wheels/tires than the aerodynamic design of the wheel. I bet you’d get a much better 0-60 time with lighter wheels than heavy Uberturbines.