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Replacing the Uber Heavy wheels M3P
- Thread starter Zer0t
- Start date
jackmott
Member
So a lot of people think if they replace the heavy wheels with light ones it will make a big impact on range or acceleration, but it really doesn't. So don't change them for that reason alone. However it can be hard to find efficient tires in 20" sizes if range is a concern.
If you don't like the tiny sidewall tire why replace them with other 20" wheels? You can see in my avatar picture an M3P on 18" FastWheels EV01+, they also come in 19" and I think 20" varieties, and they are aero!
If you don't like the tiny sidewall tire why replace them with other 20" wheels? You can see in my avatar picture an M3P on 18" FastWheels EV01+, they also come in 19" and I think 20" varieties, and they are aero!
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I thought this was a bit funny myself. Moving from those low profile OEM 235/35/20's to non-OEM 235/35/20's should make a massive difference! 19"s are probably the best option without going to a really tall tire.
It seems the general consensus is that wheel weight does not effect range/efficiency in a notable manner. It may however effect steering and suspension performance, which you may or may not notice.
If your goals are increased range, consider an 18 or 19 wheel with a tire choice which is known to provide low RR. If you goals are just something you like the look of better, then it's a much more subjective decision. Note the M3P has a unique hub design which requires either a spacer or a wheel designed to accommodate it. If you like OEM-type designs, tsportdesign has a lot of choices, although they won't be the lightest/strongest (most are flow-forged). If you want something lighter and more aftermarket looking, bcforged seems to have a good reputation and does custom offsets and machining so they are directly compatible with the M3P hub.
Finally, if going aftermarket - try to figure out what offset you want and get rims which don't require spacers for you to achieve that look. It's not uncommon for folks to space out the rear wheels by 15-25mm from stock (ET35), especially if you lower the car as the stock offset starts to look really tucked in. It would suck to buy new wheels and have to run a spacer to get the look you want.
If your goals are increased range, consider an 18 or 19 wheel with a tire choice which is known to provide low RR. If you goals are just something you like the look of better, then it's a much more subjective decision. Note the M3P has a unique hub design which requires either a spacer or a wheel designed to accommodate it. If you like OEM-type designs, tsportdesign has a lot of choices, although they won't be the lightest/strongest (most are flow-forged). If you want something lighter and more aftermarket looking, bcforged seems to have a good reputation and does custom offsets and machining so they are directly compatible with the M3P hub.
Finally, if going aftermarket - try to figure out what offset you want and get rims which don't require spacers for you to achieve that look. It's not uncommon for folks to space out the rear wheels by 15-25mm from stock (ET35), especially if you lower the car as the stock offset starts to look really tucked in. It would suck to buy new wheels and have to run a spacer to get the look you want.
Although if you run a spacer, now you don't need wheels compatible with the M3P hub! (like you mentioned)
Your only two options are not a spacer or hub designed for the car FYI. Lots of Mustang rims fit, and in that case you can run a hubcentric ring to adapt to the larger center bore of the Mustang (which fits over the largest part of the M3P hub). The M3P is popular enough now that there are lots of these hubcentric rings on the market now.
The reality is that there is nothing special about wheels for a Tesla, and you can find a really nice set of much lighter, flow forged wheels for about $1K if that's all you want to spend. Just look for 114.3x5 (4.5"x5) with about a 35mm offset and a bore of at least 70.1mm. Your exact offset will be based on how you want it to look vs your rim width. 64.1mm bore rims can be run if you are willing to run a 3mm spacer.
Lindenwood
Active Member
For all the reasons you mentioned, I ordered some 17lb Enkei 18x9s and had some tall tires (255/45R18) mounted on them before I even picked up my M3P. Unfortunately, within hours of pickup, I realized these particular Enkei 18s wouldnt fit over the calipers, which I wasn’t quite willing to do.
Fortunately, It turns out:
1: The 20s don’t ride nearly as bad as I expected, even for my wife (who describes her TRD Pro 4Runner as riding like a “horse-drawn carriage.” This now includes the vehicle being lowered on coil springs.
2) The Uberturbines honestly turn heads, and grew in me as well. I have had other vehicles with aftermarket wheels and never had as many compliments as I get with the Ubers. Of note, my wife liking them was a big motivation to keep them.
3) While I am skeptical there is truly zero perceptible benefit in acceleration between different wheel sizes, the math does check that we are talking basically only a ~2% gain in effective HP by going with the lightest possible wheels and tires from the Uberturbines. That difference also occurs with a <10% change in SOC or a <10 degree (F) change in battery temp. In other words, lots of very common variables will make more of a difference than you will feel from light wheels and tires (I include tires because there is a notable difference in tire weight depending on brand and tire category).
Granted, I would have made back most of the expense selling the factory Ubers, but I think a better initial investment would be MPP Comfort Coilovers.
Fortunately, It turns out:
1: The 20s don’t ride nearly as bad as I expected, even for my wife (who describes her TRD Pro 4Runner as riding like a “horse-drawn carriage.” This now includes the vehicle being lowered on coil springs.
2) The Uberturbines honestly turn heads, and grew in me as well. I have had other vehicles with aftermarket wheels and never had as many compliments as I get with the Ubers. Of note, my wife liking them was a big motivation to keep them.
3) While I am skeptical there is truly zero perceptible benefit in acceleration between different wheel sizes, the math does check that we are talking basically only a ~2% gain in effective HP by going with the lightest possible wheels and tires from the Uberturbines. That difference also occurs with a <10% change in SOC or a <10 degree (F) change in battery temp. In other words, lots of very common variables will make more of a difference than you will feel from light wheels and tires (I include tires because there is a notable difference in tire weight depending on brand and tire category).
Granted, I would have made back most of the expense selling the factory Ubers, but I think a better initial investment would be MPP Comfort Coilovers.
Lindenwood
Active Member
I sold the wheels to a local guy trying to build up an old Eclipse, and was able to return the tires. The TPMS sensors are sitting in my garage.
jackmott
Member
The difference in acceleration is even less than the math would suggest because there appears to be an upper limit programmed into the car that limits low speed acceleration anyway.
If you have track mode, you can kind of see this on the G meter.
After a lap, you'll see the traction circle. With good tires, you're hitting 1.3 to 1.5G's in the turning and braking directions. Nice round circle if you're driving well. Except... the bottom is always flat. 0.9G no matter what you do. Good tires, rain, etc. 0.9G.
Now clearly the car is capable of way more than 0.9G acceleration. We know the tires support 1.3+ because that's what you can get braking, and that's what the Plaid accelerates at. And we know that down low, the car can just smoke the tires because that's what used to happen if you ran dyno mode on the street. So clearly it is not delivering as much performance as the motors are capable of.
NXN-P3D
Member
Lightweight wheels will have better handling and driving dynamics, but won’t help with acceleration nor range. I love my 20s and might be ok in 19, but 18 is not flattering. But it depends on what you like too.
