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21" turbine wheels facing wrong way

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Is there any logic to the wheels facing the different direction on the passenger side of my P85? It seems to me the drivers side is more aerodynamic.
 

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Unless there are different (mirror image) molds for manufacturing left vs right wheels, it's simply not possible to have lefts and rights "face" the same direction.
I believe the prototypes did this, but it's just not a great compromise for a production car. You're limiting yourself to front-back rotation if you make the wheels directional, even if you have bi-directional tires, and you have two stock/source/produce two part numbers for every wheel. It's a cost saving move.
 
one kind of rim for all 4 positions

Unless there are different (mirror image) molds for manufacturing left vs right wheels, it's simply not possible to have lefts and rights "face" the same direction.

Let's face it, these wheels are not made for aerodynamics so it doesn't matter which way the turbine blades face. These wheels are for one thing and one thing only: Looks.

The same thing goes for wings, spoilers, splitters and other "performance enhancements" that people put on their cars. If these were aerodynamic, they would come with the original body shape.

If you need low drag, there are the aero wheels :)
 
Assuming they actually have a measurable effect at all (which I doubt), having one of them face the "wrong" way would, in theory, only enhance cooling of the brake discs. Air gets sucked in by the turbine blades on the right hand side and expelled on the left hand side, achieving a "cross flow" cooling effect. If the air got "sucked in" or "expelled" on both sides, there would be effectively less airflow because they would cancel each other out.

I fly electric RC aircraft where this principle is sometimes used. You have one airscoop facing forward and one facing rearward on the cowling, so the air flows through the motor from left to right.
 
I thought it was all about the aerodynamics with the shape of the car? It seems to me that Tesla throws money all over the place and you guys are saying they can't make a left and right side wheel? I thought the same thing about about brake cooling, but that's only for one side because it wouldn't make a difference on low setting. Hell we all hardly use the brakes anyway with Regen.

Don't get me wrong fellas...i love this car. I plan on getting my daughter oner for graduation. I drag my friend with a Farrari Spider this morning and after we got to chatting and looking at our new cars. He actually spotted it out. I was shocked to see them different. I was ready to call Tesla and say they screwed up , but i figured you guys would know.

Thanks for the feed back.
 
Oh no, the rotors are support to suck air in to cool the brakes, instead they went cheap and ordered the same wheel for both sides:(

So now we will need autopilot correction for the lateral push-pull forces working in synchrony to move the car into the ditch, or opposite traffic in RHD countries LMFAO:)

For cooling purposes it should make no difference. The amount of air flow should be identical if it is sucking or blowing, and the velocity of the air from your driving should guarantee the same cool air on either side.
 
The Roadster also had left and right hand wheels delivered stock for a while as well. But in general all non-laterally symmetric wheels will require a left and right hand version to look the same (I personally use the term "blow in"/'blow out" or "dig in"/"swept back" depending if they are fan blades or not). Not very many OEMs provide left and right side wheels as it is more expensive, and messes with tire rotations.

Also note that a single person is unable to see both the "blow in" and "blow out" wheels at the same time (mirrors or video excepted). I dislike non-laterally symmetrical wheels for this sole reason. And would not be tempted to ever buy them.


As for aerodynamics I doubt it makes much difference as wheels churn up the air so effectively. But in theory if one direction was more streamlined it should face forward when on top of the wheel. This is because the spokes will be traveling greater than the vehicle speed. And the spokes on the bottom are traveling very close to ground speed. But again the air is so churned up around wheels it probably makes no difference.
 
The "backwards" look drives me nuts - maybe I'm just too particular. I think it's too bad Tesla chose this cheap route for high-end wheels.

If you've spent this much on a car, the extra associated cost to remount the tires on the proper rims when doing a rotation shouldn't be a factor.

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What do you mean by "the 'staggered' front/rear issue" ?


Like sandpiper said, this is impossible to fix unless you had a different left/right mold.

When you combine the 'staggered' front/rear issue, it would mean all 4 wheels would be unique. Nobody does this.