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Thumper
Active Member
Thumper
Active Member
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
I guess this is the more appropriate thread for my bad photoshop wheel skirts from the aero wheel thread.
My first post (long-term occasional lurker). As a 20-year owner of various EVs, presently the owner of three i-MiEVs, three Corbin Sparrows, and a couple of EV conversions and a Gen1 Honda Insight (77mpg lifetime), my interest in the Tesla is driven strictly by the need for a long-distance vehicle (which the Insight presently satisfies, but it is not a BEV). Thus, I am a prospective new MS Tesla purchaser.
In looking at the various Tesla Configurator options I am disappointed at not seeing either aerodynamic wheels or rear wheel skirts being offered, as those would seem to me to be much-simpler and less-expensive options than a battery capacity increase for a similar percentage gain (e.g., 90 vs. 85). I was able to find after-market Moon disks for the the 19" wheels, but not rear-wheel skirts.
Question: Are there after-market wheel skirts available, recognizing that only covering the rear wheels would be practicable?
Sorry, but for me what is currently considered in-vogue aesthetically pleasing takes a back seat relative to aerodynamic efficiency.
In looking at the various Tesla Configurator options I am disappointed at not seeing either aerodynamic wheels or rear wheel skirts being offered, as those would seem to me to be much-simpler and less-expensive options than a battery capacity increase for a similar percentage gain (e.g., 90 vs. 85). I was able to find after-market Moon disks for the the 19" wheels, but not rear-wheel skirts.
Question: Are there after-market wheel skirts available, recognizing that only covering the rear wheels would be practicable?
Sorry, but for me what is currently considered in-vogue aesthetically pleasing takes a back seat relative to aerodynamic efficiency.
If there are, I've never seen any. The problem with fender skirts is not the aesthetics, it's changing a tire or putting on chains in winter or when there is the least bit of mud in the wheel well--at least the way the North American car manufacturers implemented them. As far as I know, only Citroen solved this problem, and no one has copied their method. That's why, after the first winter, you never see the skirts on cars that came with them.
I am an immense fan of skirts - including those on vehicles - but this image prompted me to share a story.I was only looking at a trailer yesterday (plugged in running its refridgerator on 3 phase) when I thought, that thing should have wheel skirts.
Mercedes creates concept to improve big rig fuel efficiency
Tesla should electrify one of these.
Do you know the air foils that Class 8 trailers (like the above) have been sporting for the past half-dozen or so years? There is ======ZERO===== percent chance they ever will show up in Alaska, as you will comprehend after reading the following tale.
A number of winters ago, the driver was returning from a brutal trip down the Dalton from Prudhoe Bay towards Anchorage. When he got to the DOT weigh station either at Fox or Talkeetna (matters not to story), the Inspector started chewing him out "@#$@# #!#!%%$^ ^$#@@!!!".
Driver responded "Yaaah, the engine's started to feel really loguey" (I don't think there exists a right way to spell that...)
Inspector spits back "YOU'RE 30,0000 POUNDS OVERWEIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The two of them walked back to his looong flatdeck trailer........and could hardly see the load, or the ground below the trailer, for all the ice build-up. It was all one solid, filthy block of hard-frozen road slush.
Inspector waived the fine, waved him on and told him to drive carefully back to home base. Can't imagine the flood inside his shop when he finally started to thaw out all that ice. At least his load wasn't about to shift!
Regardless, I love skirts. And wheel well covers. Gotta build 'em right, however.
snellenr
Member
Absolutely! I remember having to take those things off a 1972 Olds Custom Cruiser station wagon while changing a tire - the latches were located behind the skirt and would be so jammed with dirt, mud, snow, and ice that you had to lever them open with the tire iron! Afterwards, you learned to throw them in the back of the car rather than trying to get them re-latched on the roadside.
Thank you all who responded. I understand the issues with snow, ice, and mud; however, being a 12-year owner of Insights with their skirts and no issues at all, the concerns are very location-dependent. I always have the option of removing the skirts in snowy conditions. Conclusion - no aftermarket wheel skirts exist (sigh).
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