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Why all the hate for the Aero wheels?
- Thread starter ElectricKiwi
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- Model 3
dgpcolorado
high altitude member
I find the aero wheel covers very ugly but if I get the 3 I will get them and use them. Efficiency is way more important than looks to me.
Stolz25, you're a person after my own heart
Good to know I'm not the only one who cringes when they see customers take a design that engineers slaved over to get the weight and drag down on - a couple hundred grams here, a tenth of a percent of the Cd there... - and then the customer just obliterates both for "bling" Form follows function. And in my experience, the more you know about the engineering behind something, the more beautiful the "functional" solutions seem. Even though a lot of people panned its looks, for example, to me, Aptera was stunningly gorgeous. Like what you'd get if you put a car in a CFD simulator tied to a genetic algorithm and let it run for months on end. What you'd get if nature made wheeled vehicles. Interestingly enough, a lot of the people I found who really liked its looks were aircraft people. Aircraft forms have always been a lot more heavily dictated by physics than "stylists".
T34ME
Active Member
I own hundreds of things that are "cheap and plastic", in fact I am posting on one now!
And anyone who lives in a country that brews Foster's Lager should be very careful of calling something cheap and plastic!
Zaphod
Galaxy President (former)
Theoretically I guess they could be slightly more efficient as they would be solid disc as opposed to slotted opening, but maybe not. Maybe the slots help create pressure differential and aid airflow over them. Just total speculation. If the moons are more efficient, probably falls within error tolerance of measurements it would be so small a difference.
As far as better looking, that is totally subjective. I find the aero wheel covers better looking. I'm not a fan of the moon covers.
Stolz25, you're a person after my own heart
Form follows function. And in my experience, the more you know about the engineering behind something, the more beautiful the "functional" solutions seem. Even though a lot of people panned its looks, for example, to me, Aptera was stunningly gorgeous. Like what you'd get if you put a car in a CFD simulator tied to a genetic algorithm and let it run for months on end. What you'd get if nature made wheeled vehicles. Interestingly enough, a lot of the people I found who really liked its looks were aircraft people. Aircraft forms have always been a lot more heavily dictated by physics than "stylists".
The aircraft/"form-is-function" contingent can rationalize this as they wish for its energy-saving benefit, but, in that area of familiarity, this A-10 "Warthog" of wheels/covers is what it is:
Everyone has their own reasons for purchase, whether a Tesla or any other car, and they are not all the same, and they are not necessarily to save every possible erg. But, none are more or less respectable than the others and physicists are not a more noble breed than designers (whether their professional title in condescending quotes or not)...to each their own. In that spirit, no comment on the appearance of Aptera!
T34ME
Active Member
Ahhh, another conspiracy theorist I see. If you go to Model3Tracker you will see that out of 7k+ reservationists surveyed, 85% are opting for the standard 18" wheels , like them or not. You have the option of either removing the "cheap plastic hard caps" or purchase aftermarket rims. Have some fun customizing your car to make it unique.
I do not care for the open grain wood trim on the dash and I will be doing something different. I am spending my energy looking for a vendor (which I have found) rather than being negative and looking forward to customizing my car to reflect my personality (which will include customized aero covers).
"Conspiracy theorist" - Okay .... that's fair ....... I over stated my thought.
Actually ... I am undecided and will make no further comment about the aeros until after I see the wheels.
I'm sympathetic to what was said about engineers spending effort to create a functional design. I am an architect, and accept the "form following function" philosophy. But I am a visual sort of guy, and would argue that you can have great engineering designs that are attractive .... but great engineering does not always result in an attractive vehicle. Example: The 2016-2017 Toyota Prius. I believe it is an absolutely brilliant engineering product, significantly surpassing the third generation (2010 - 2015) .... but gawd it's goofy looking.
Actually ... I am undecided and will make no further comment about the aeros until after I see the wheels.
I'm sympathetic to what was said about engineers spending effort to create a functional design. I am an architect, and accept the "form following function" philosophy. But I am a visual sort of guy, and would argue that you can have great engineering designs that are attractive .... but great engineering does not always result in an attractive vehicle. Example: The 2016-2017 Toyota Prius. I believe it is an absolutely brilliant engineering product, significantly surpassing the third generation (2010 - 2015) .... but gawd it's goofy looking.
Actually, that's a great example of just the opposite. The goofy stuff are just that - goofy. On purpose. The "bent rear window" doesn't help aerodynamics - if anything, it hurts it. That goofy unibrow / moustache / sunglasses rear light assembly? Same thing. Putting the front lights on the extreme corners is anti-functional - it puts them at greater risk of damage. Etc. The Prius Prime's drag coefficient is 0.25, versus the Model 3's 0.23 - not that sleek in comparison. Most of the Prime's energy consumption improvements come from its reduced cross section (it's a 4-seater, not a 5-seater).
Toyota discovered long ago that the "quirky" looks of the original Prius had transformed into a style statement, a way to scream "I'm driving a green car!". They've dialed up the knob with each successive release, and turned it up to 11 with the Prime.
Does that lipstick improve the pig's range?
Exactly. If I drove 20k miles per year, or had a long daily commute, I might be more interested in the 3% improvement in 'mileage'. But since I drive <10k miles/yr, with a short commute, I'd rather have better looking wheels.
I will definitely take a long look at the 18's without covers before I decide to upgrade to the 19's.
When I first saw the aero wheels, I disliked it. After a few more pictures circling around the web and the caps come off. I started to like it and especially it's a darker color. I mainly going with aero wheels due to the color along with silver paint I decided with and later on may decide to go aftermarket wheels to be different from other 3s on the road - customization and use that $1500 towards it instead. When the center "T" cap and lug nuts caps are available I will get those and take the aero covers off to have a different look to it.
You don't put hard caps on a luxury car full stop!!!!!! Hard caps are what the cheapest cars in the world use! because plain steel rims with some hard plastic is cheaper than alloys. It does not look premium the same as hard plastic looks and feels cheap in a cabin of a car. Who wants a peace of cheap looking hard plastic stuck to there nice alloy wheels ? not me. I once Owned a base model 2005 mazd3. It had plastic hard caps. I hit the gutter slightly and the plastic cracked a bit on the edge then I lost it. The Mazda dealer wanted about $100 to replace it. So I went to the auto parts store to buy diffent looking nasty ones for $30.
My question is as they are very easy to break hitting a curve how much will they be to replace? +$100 each maybe? And why did they not just design the alloys like the ero plastic hard caps ?as that would of looked more premium.
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I'd think the weight and cost would be prohibitive.
First - you have to assume this was looked at, it's a simple solution to a complaint many have had.
Second - they did design a wheel that is being used by the car, so they didn't save much, if any money there.
As I said earlier, this is a fairing. Metal fairings are heavy and crappy, and if you made the outside as thin as you'd need to in order to get the weight down your concern about damage would quadrupole. Instead of replacing a broken cover you have to replace a $400 bent wheel.
Zaphod
Galaxy President (former)
Who ever said the Model 3 was a luxury car? Tesla sure has never called it that.
Nikxice
Active Member
It appears the Aero wheel covers are a snap to remove or put back in place. I think when when the Model 3 is in motion they look pretty cool. Sure to get some thumbs up when rolling down the highway.
Removing Tesla Model 3 Aero Wheel Covers - How-To Video
Removing Tesla Model 3 Aero Wheel Covers - How-To Video
It's priced similarly to cars from luxury brands such as BMW 3 Series, Audi A4. It has been described repeatedly as compared to the 3 Series, segmented as a luxury car. You think the name, Model 3, is a coincidence after two other Teslas using alphas? In our market research at my work, we use over/under $40kUSD as the discriminator of luxury/mass market.
You can call them "luxury brands", but the name for the Model 3's class is "compact midrange sedan". Same with the 3-series, same with the A4, etc. Not luxury sedan. Model S's class is "luxury sedan" (Tesla says "full-size luxury sedan", although it's been argued it should actually be "midsize luxury sedan").
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