Wheels Are More Complex Than Ever. Here's Why

[mkg3]

"A wheel and a tire together can affect roughly 10 percent of the overall aero count of a vehicle,"

Interesting read (3~5 min).
https://www.motor1.com/features/755041/wheels-more-complex-heres-why/

Sponsored

 

[Donald Stanfield]

I was surprised it was as high as 10% of the total aero. That’s significant.

 

[beatle]

That seems rather steep. FWIW, the aero covers on a Model 3 increase range by 3%. That's notable, but I'd be curious to know how that efficiency change translates into overall drag.

 

[usulio]

I was surprised it was as high as 10% of the total aero. That’s significant.

Kinda makes sense because wheels and tires make up some % of the surface area of the vehicle, maybe not 10%, but could be more than 5%, and they're spinning around.

On the other hand, the 10% number doesn't mean much on its own. For example if the most efficient possible wheel drops that 10% to 9%, then it doesn't matter much. Not saying that's the case.

But it would be great to have some objective way of knowing how efficient different wheels are and if it actually makes a difference at all. Companies can claim anything but it's very hard to know as a layman customer.

 

[S.Mueller]

The weight of the wheel/tire combo will also have a direct correlation to efficiency as it’s rotational weight. It’s not all about “aerodynamics“.

Sponsored