Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Poll: Aero covers - will you use them?

Do you plan to use the M3 aero covers?

  • Always

    Votes: 107 37.5%
  • Only on long trips

    Votes: 92 32.3%
  • While I'll be getting 18" wheels, I never plan to use the covers.

    Votes: 23 8.1%
  • I won't be getting 18" wheels.

    Votes: 31 10.9%
  • Unsure

    Votes: 32 11.2%

  • Total voters
    285
This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Look again. Halfway between the two lines (100 and 150) would be 125, its well under halfway.
Aero as 50% of total losses at 110 kph (68 mph) is ballpark. Think of it this way:

We know from the drag equation that at 110 kph (68 mph) the Aero losses are 9 kW
If total power at 110 kph is 18 kW and usable battery of the LR Model 3 is 78 kWh, range is 295 miles. That is reasonable.
Then it follows that Aero losses are 50% of total power requirements.
 
Last edited:
I will have the covers removed at the store when I pick up the car. Then drive home with them in the trunk. At home I will burn them in a bonfire while having a Jameson or two. They will never make a rotation on my car.
Oooooo! Please photograph the entire ordeal, and if possible, what the hubs look like when disassembled... better yet... send me those hubs instead of torching them, and I will send you some jameson!! I have a little project I'm working on.... :)
 
Oooooo! Please photograph the entire ordeal, and if possible, what the hubs look like when disassembled... better yet... send me those hubs instead of torching them, and I will send you some jameson!! I have a little project I'm working on.... :)

I can't send those covers to anyone as that would be akin to spreading a virus, which is not the way to treat your fellow human. Thanks for the offer but I can procure my own Jameson. Aerodynamic efficiency is a very good goal, but it is down on the list compared to seeing my car in the driveway and having it put a smile on my face. Hopefully, Tesla will see the error of it's ways before they build mine and offer a wheel that is both efficient and doesn't look like it should be on a mining cart. Why can't we smile and drive a long way at the same time?
 
Hopefully, Tesla will see the error of it's ways before they build mine and offer a wheel that is both efficient and doesn't look like it should be on a mining cart. Why can't we smile and drive a long way at the same time?

Yes, step 1, change the laws of physics.... ;)

That's sort of like saying, "Why can't my car look like a brick and still have low aero drag?"

If you can't stand aerodynamic shapes, that's your problem. Physics is what it is. If you want low aero loss on your wheels, you need your rims to be having as little effect on the slipstream as possible (aka, be as flat as possible), not whirling it around with pointless decor.
 
Why did Musk and von Holzhausen both get cars with the premium wheels and forsake the lower drag 18’s? Because they wanted to show the car to it’s best advantage, and drag be damned. That’s must be right-drag be damned. Drag was apparently not very important to them when it came to having the car they were happy to look at. Great looks for more money. I just want very nice looks, but it should come standard on a $49,000 car.
 
Great looks for more money. I just want very nice looks, but it should come standard on a $49,000 car.
Like the Lincoln Mkt? :D
2010-lincoln-mkt-photo-254069-s-450x274.jpg
2010-lincoln-mkt-photo-249573-s-450x274.jpg
 
Picture of a car whose AERO is fully decided by "function over form", my sweet Smart ED (soon the be traded for a newer Smart ED with even worse AERO). All this talk for 1% better efficiency reminds me of people who fail to understand that it costs $2/100km to drive electric, so saving 1% is less than pennies, it's the definition of "not worth my time".


abed1582b37b2c15088a97b52f1138cc


My plan : sell the default wheels and go with the 19" aftermarket grey turbines I put on our Tesla S ($200 Canadian per rim, that's like $130 in real money!) Ref : Smart ED and CPO Tesla S85 in Toronto
teslaspring2017-jpg.230447
 
Um... Smarts aren't actually very aerodynamic... at least the Cd on the original ForTwo was 0,35, which is really bad. Being so short makes it very hard for them to get a good drag coefficient. Now, the quite low frontal area lowers the CdA (by lowering A), but still, they're nothing incredible when it comes to drag. And A is not the parameter you want to lower, because lowering A means sacrificing interior space.

To put into perspective how bad its drag coefficient is - the Tesla Model S 75D (higher drag coefficient, larger area, and less efficient motor than the Model 3) is EPA rated for 33kWh/mi - only 2kWh/mi more than the tiny Smart Fortwo Electric (31 kWh/mi). Almost every popular EV in the US today except for MS and MX have better EPA ratings than the Fortwo electric. Bolt is 28 kWh/mi. Leaf is 30 kWh/mi. Ioniq is 25 kWh/mi. Etc.

Secondly, as have been pointed out many times, saving money on your power bill is the least of reasons to improve efficiency. Improved efficiency means more range and/or smaller (cheaper) batteries (and the knock-on effects of reduced weight), a higher top speed (where not software limited; easier to hit the limited speed regardless), faster charge charging (in terms of mph / kph), fewer cycles, and more importantly, less deep daily cycles.

And yes, it also saves you a small amount of money directly on your power bill, but that's probably the least important aspect of the above.

To put a dollar figure on just the range aspect: the difference in drag between the 18" aeros and 19" "sport" wheels is reported to be 10%, which means about a 7% difference in range. A 41% difference in range (LR vs. SR) costs $9k. So the range aspect comes in at a value of $1540 - 4,5% of the entire vehicle's MSRP. That's just range we're talking about - how do you value other things - say, faster charging (distance per unit time connected)?
 
Last edited:
I'll use them at least until I have to take the wheels off the car for the first time. They may get left off at that point as I tend to be lazy. Unless I notice a large difference in power used I will leave them off at that point. My daily commute is ~170 miles so more reason for me to leave them on if they really save that much.
 
Why did Musk and von Holzhausen both get cars with the premium wheels and forsake the lower drag 18’s? Because they wanted to show the car to it’s best advantage, and drag be damned. That’s must be right-drag be damned. Drag was apparently not very important to them when it came to having the car they were happy to look at. Great looks for more money. I just want very nice looks, but it should come standard on a $49,000 car.
Looks like the lovechild of a PT Cruiser and a first-gen Volt. ;)
Looks like a pontiac aztec and an inbred lotto winner made a baby...
 
I don't find the covers as objectionable as the appearance of the rim being too wide for the tire. With or without the rim.
At first I thought it may have been the camera angle, but I am now convinced the tire has an unpleasant shape.

That causes me to wonder about purchasing an after-market rim? In that case, it really doesn't matter how the aero cover looks.

I know some really like the 18" wheels and covers .... I'm leaning towards it being an aesthetic flaw.