So I just finished reading this entire thread and what I didn’t find is any cold hard data that says smaller diameter AND lighter weight wheels reduce acceleration time.
I am going to change that. I have 18” T Sportline wheels coming on Friday. I am buying these wheels mostly because potholes are so bad on my commute that I just don’t want to bend one of the UberExpensive wheels.
I am going with 235/45/18 Michelin PS4S tires instead of the stock Pirelli 235/35/20 PZ4 Tesla tires.
I have taken my 2022 Model 3 Performance to the track 4 times already and I have 3 tracks around me. I have time slips and dragy results for every run I did with the car in the stock configuration.
Luckily each track has a supercharger within 11 miles of it. I typically can get to the track with 97%+ charge.
I have the scan my Tesla app but it is the Apple version so it doesn’t appear to be configurable like the Android version. Maybe someone can give me tips on how to customize that version?
My plan is to put the 18” wheels on the car and take it to the track several times over the next few weeks. I will also plan to lug the stock 20” PZ4 wheels and tires with me to do back to back testing on the exact same surface at the track.
That probably isn’t necessary because I already have so much data for the stock wheels and tires but I know some people will say the test isn’t valid unless it is a true back to back.
I may remove seats but I will do it for both wheel tests if I do.
My expectations are that I could see up to a .1 second gain 0-60 mph and in the 1/4 mile. I want to prove what happens either way.
If I achieve a .1 second faster time in the 1/4 mile I would be the fastest model 3 Performance on Dragy so I understand this expectation may be unrealistic.
If there is no improvement at all then I want to demonstrate that once and for all.
Would this test settle the argument? Is there anything specific you want to see in the test that I have not mentioned?
I also plan on doing efficiency testing. I have a ton of data collected for the stock configuration already. I have been as low as 163 Wh/mi for a sustained ~60 mph average with the 20” UberHeavy wheels. It will be tough to improve on that.
I have the ability to do a rolling dyno as well. I can capture all of the KW and Torque figures throughout the entire 1/4 mile run and through braking.