gearchruncher
Well-Known Member
True, but you said what would make it more efficient is lightweight 18" wheels. I just don't want people going and focusing on wheel weight or size if their goal is higher efficiency, given the wheel is the least important part of that equation.It doesn’t really matter what makes the difference in efficiency as long as it makes the car more efficient.
Just curious why you are so certain it won’t improve performance? There are plenty of tests using smaller lighter wheels and tires that show improvement in performance.
I expect it to get me about .1 seconds 0-60 mph and .2 seconds in the 1/4 mile. .1 seconds would get me under 3.0 seconds for 0-60 mph with rollout subtracted. .2 seconds would get me down to 11.2 for the 1/4 mile. If that happens I would consider those worthwhile improvements.
Physics.
A M3P with a driver weighs about 4,450 lbs. To get this to 60 MPH requires at least 725,000J of energy for the mass of the car, plus another 2,000J for the rotating wheel/tires per corner. Add a bit for air drag, let's say 750,000J to get to 60 MPH.
750,000J over 3.0 seconds is 250,000 J/s (aka 250Kw). A pretty reasonable average for what a M3P can put out between 0-60 MPH.
So let's take 250Kw and ask if you apply it for 2.9s, how many J you get. It's 725,000. 25K less.
But wait... The WHOLE 50lb stock tire/wheel assembly is only ~16Kj when you factor in 4 wheels in both rotational and kinetic energy.
That's right, you need to literally get to negative weight on the wheels/tires to reduce from 3.0 to 2.9.
Those videos above? They change the tire diameter also. You can see it so clearly on the Y. If what you want is 0-60, a shorter tire will help, but it will eventually hurt you at higher speeds in the 1/4.
This has been tested and discussed before:
lightweight wheels model 3 performance 0-60 testing
Anyone have any draggy testing for light weight wheels with the M3P? If so, would you mind posting the weight of the wheels and the draggy results? Trying to see if it is worth it to spend $2k on wheels.
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