self made aero wheels

[David99]

I think this is great and I encourage you to keep up the effort. The hot rods and lakesters from the '50 had this look.
Fit the pans in place and take more photos - maybe I should do it myself to see.
~Larry

Thanks! My inspiration was a Model S I saw at a Supercharger that had carbon fiber disks. I couldn't find the driver, though. I did more research and the data is all pretty encouraging. After I did both front wheels I would say it's not that hard to do. Takes about an hour per wheel.

 

[woof]

It be neat to place a graphic on each pan of a nice looking wheel.

High efficiency and good looks.

 

[aronth5]

There were many cars in the in the 40's, 50's and 60's that had similar looking wheel covers. With some creativity there no reason it cannot be done really well now.

 

[richkae]

My back of the napkin idea is to have what looks like a normal 5 spoke wheel, with the spokes slightly wider than the voids.
Inside the wheel ( behind the front face ) is a ring shaped thin plate ( like a spinner ) with the same set of voids.
When the plate is aligned, the voids are present - passing through the wheel face and the plate - but when the plate is rotated 72 degrees relative to the wheel then the voids close.

A set of small springs holds the plate open, but the plates are weighted off the axis slightly such that when the wheel speed exceeds a certain threshold the springs are overpowered and the plates slide into closed position. Slow down and they automatically open again.

Of course you could have any number of spokes, and if you make the spokes significantly wider than the voids, then the angle of rotation of the plate to close the voids will be smaller. By having the wheel spokes wider than the voids, the pocket for the plate can extend through a small portion of the spoke.

Another option for the mechanism would be a set of tiny electromagnets that exert a drag force on the plates, closing them. The electromagnets could be powered by the rotation of the wheels themselves. Carefully balancing the plates means a tiny amount of force will make them change positions.

I hereby discharge this idea into the public domain. If you build a business from it, you should give me a set. If you are Tesla, and you use it, you should give me a car.

 

[ratsbew]

Awesome! Keep us posted. I just subscribed to this thread.

 

[WarpedOne]

Inside the wheel ( behind the front face ) is a ring shaped thin plate ( like a spinner ) with the same set of voids.
When the plate is aligned, the voids are present - passing through the wheel face and the plate - but when the plate is rotated 72 degrees relative to the wheel then the voids close.

A set of small springs holds the plate open, but the plates are weighted off the axis slightly such that when the wheel speed exceeds a certain threshold the springs are overpowered and the plates slide into closed position. Slow down and they automatically open again.

Of course you could have any number of spokes, and if you make the spokes significantly wider than the voids, then the angle of rotation of the plate to close the voids will be smaller. By having the wheel spokes wider than the voids, the pocket for the plate can extend through a small portion of the spoke.

Another option for the mechanism would be a set of tiny electromagnets that exert a drag force on the plates, closing them. The electromagnets could be powered by the rotation of the wheels themselves. Carefully balancing the plates means a tiny amount of force will make them change positions.

You very precisely explained my idea, thank you
What you left out is that pesky balancing problem. Rims get dirty, very dirty and that filth blocks anything and everything movable on the rim itself. You need to have at least two diametrically opposite actuator weights that are 'fixed' to the rotating plate i.e. they can only move in union to keep the rim balanced.

I have a feeling we are solving a problem that does not really exist to the extent we fear. Yes, brakes need cooling. But how much cooling and when? I say fill the rim on the outside with a full moon plate and if brake disc cooling is a problem, mount an air-duct into the wheel-mount to blow more are over disc itself from behind.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

The 17 miles gained on a full 100% charge hardly seems worth making the car look borked.

 

[richkae]

The 17 miles gained on a full 100% charge hardly seems worth making the car look borked.

That's one advantage of my complicated louvered wheel idea. Sitting still and at low speeds it looks like a normal spoked wheel.
At high speeds it is flush, but its all a blur anyway, so you can't tell.

 

[yobigd20]

it's a cool idea, until you hit a pothole and the thing goes flying off into oncoming traffic and decapitates someone.

 

[David99]

it's a cool idea, until you hit a pothole and the thing goes flying off into oncoming traffic and decapitates someone.

5 M5 x 16 mm screws are holding each disk in place. These disks are going nowhere.

 

[yobigd20]

5 M5 x 16 mm screws are holding each disk in place. These disks are going nowhere.

Yea, and truck tires should never come flying off their axles either.

 

[skilly]

The 17 miles gained on a full 100% charge hardly seems worth making the car look borked.

+++++++++++++++++++1

 

[roblab]

The 17 miles gained on a full 100% charge hardly seems worth making the car look borked.

All us Borks think that it looks really neat. And you know that 17 is our lucky number.

 

[David99]

The 17 miles gained on a full 100% charge hardly seems worth making the car look borked.

Looks is personal preference. I think it looks pretty neat. Compliments the silver paint, but I know others see it different.

Having 5% more range is pretty significant (based on the tests I read). Look over at the discussion called 'decreased rated range'. 190 pages of discussion on how many percent battery degradation everyone has and how disappointed people are when they see their range drop by a few percent. After doing some research I saw that there are two very simple things I can do to increase my rage about 10%. Inflate tires a little over recommended (while still below the max rated for the tire) and adding disk to the wheels. One costs zero, the other $100.

 

[linkster]

After doing some research I saw that there are two very simple things I can do to increase my rage about 10%. Inflate tires a little over recommended (while still below the max rated for the tire) and adding disk to the wheels.

I run 49psi on the 21 Conti's along with tweaking the alignment specs (greatly reduced camber rear AND front with toe not deviating >.05 degree at each corner). This past summer consumed 275wh/mi. at 65-70 mph. I personally, see no overheating issues of rotors nor supercharging cooling/venting problems with your pizza discs with conservative city driving and especially highway driving since our S Brembos move copious amounts of air with the triple-stepped rotor cooling vane design.

 

[David99]

Quick update:
I only have the front wheels done so far. Hopefully I will have time to do the back wheels and also have time for a controlled test. But just driving around with the two front disks I can definitely tell there is a difference. My energy consumption has gone down noticeable. How much is hard to tell. But I think it will be worth it.

 

[WarpedOne]

My energy consumption has gone down noticeable. How much is hard to tell. But I think it will be worth it.

Can you give an estimation? Is it around 2, around 5 or around 10 Wh/m?
At what average speed? Mostly highway, mostly nonHW, no HW?


85D with aerowheels could be a 300mile EPA EV. It only needs 5% more range., it needs to drop from 270 down to ~255 Wh/m.

 

[brkaus]

Looking for an update in 6.2 trip energy tracking. "Unable to reach destination, please pull over and install pizza pans".

 

[WarpedOne]

Good 3rd party 'aeros'?

Another DIY idea - perforated disc that allows for some airflow through the rim but prevents turbulence.

Those little hols might even introduce "golf ball effect".

 

[Kofi]

Would these wheels achieve the aero function and styling you're looking for? Depending on the exact specs, they'd come in around 18-20 lbs which is 33% lighter than factory 19s.