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The quest for the ultimate efficiency.

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I have been trying to see what I can do to improve efficiency with my 2022 Model 3 Performance. I changed from the 20” Uberheavy wheels to 18” wheels with Michelin PS4S tires and that helped efficiency significantly. It was an almost 6% improvement in efficiency over stock @ 60 mph average speed.

However, I really wanted to recover the range I had lost from degradation. My Teslogic app is showing 12.3% degradation when reading the Canbus data.

Therefore, I switched to 235/45/18 Hankook iON EVO AS tires and that gave me almost 10% more gain in efficiency over the stock 20” wheels and tires in my controlled testing. However, that was with brand spanking new tires and full tread depth.

I have been able to break the tires in now and finally on my daily commute this morning I hit basically the best efficiency I think I will ever get.

Temperatures have warmed up and the battery was at the ideal 72.5 degrees F when I started. Temperatures outside have warmed up quickly so my tire pressures were a little high at 34 psi cold and 36 psi warm. There was no wind at all.

I achieved 130 wh/mi in a Model 3 Performance for 12 miles in 13 minutes. I always record my GPS average speed and it was 54.2 mph because of construction on the highway.

This is definitely the most efficient I have ever been and probably ever will achieve. The efficiency has definitely improved as these tires have worn down slightly. I will try to do my controlled testing with it again to see if I can beat the 202 wh/mi I originally got with the new tires @ 60 mph average GPS speed in my controlled testing.

We have much slower speed limits on highways in my area so that really allows the efficiency improvements of different tires to shine. The lower the speeds the bigger the rolling resistance impact is. At higher speeds rolling resistance still matters some but not nearly as much as drag coefficient does then.

I know these aren’t realistic numbers for most people that have much higher speed limits but it is interesting to see that I have pretty much negated the effects of degradation just by swapping the wheels and tires out.

I can easily average 220 wh/mi or less each month now. That should allow me well over 300 miles of range in a Model 3 Performance even with the degradation.

Ironically, I still drag race often with these All Season tires and my times are less than .1 seconds slower than they were with the lighter Michelin PS4S tires.

I even won $1,000 for winning my category at the last event so that paid for the tires.😉

We officially got 0.0 inches of snow this year so I can’t comment on their winter handling but they were great even in the chilly rains that we got. Much better than the summer only tires would have been.

If anyone can get better efficiency than this with a Model 3 Performance then definitely let us know what you did to achieve that.

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I just got a set of these ION EVO AS 235/45-18 tires installed about 250 miles ago, was running Primacy MXM4’s prior.

The Hankooks are quieter and much more comfortable than the worn Michelins, but I can’t say if they’re better than those Michelins were when they were new.

Handling is actually feeling quite a bit worse with the Hankooks. They feel like they’re WAY too soft or something. Squirmy under cornering load and I haven’t taken them anywhere near the grip limit. They just don’t inspire confidence at all on a curvy road. There is also ZERO steering feedback with them, and I had just replaced my front lower bushings with MPP bearings recently, which gave me all the steering feel I wanted with the Michelins.

So far they’re not showing me any reduction in energy usage with the same driving pattern, although it’s only been a week so this is far from definite.

I’m seriously considering taking advantage of Hankook’s 30-day trial guarantee and see if I can replace them with something else. If I could go back and redo this purchase, I’d probably try out those new Pirelli Elect tires.
Wanted to follow up on this after a few more miles. The initial squirmy feeling I noticed when these tires were freshly installed has mostly disappeared. Must have been a symptom of something on the surface of the fresh tires.

They’re definitely far quieter and more comfortable than the worn out OE spec Primacy’s I was running. Every bump feels less sharp and is less noisy, but the trade-off in steering feel remains, although I’m confident that this wouldn’t be noticed without the MPP bearings I’ve got in the front lower control arms. It’s just a bit less precise and a bit more disconnected than it was before, but it’s still better than it was with the factory bushings in place.
 
Police won’t pull you over for not having side mirrors?
Ha, ha. You are a funny guy. Police around here don't pull people over for anything less than a stolen plate. A Kia with a broken out window driven by a 13 year old. A bunch of kids hanging out the windows waving guns. Or maybe going 70 in a 25 MPH zone.

I could go on all day about more minor offenses.

They have bigger fish to fry.
 
Wanted to follow up on this after a few more miles. The initial squirmy feeling I noticed when these tires were freshly installed has mostly disappeared. Must have been a symptom of something on the surface of the fresh tires....
It is called a release agent. To more easily remove the tire from the mold during manufacturing. Slippery stuff, of course. Every shop that has put new tires on a motorcycle has warned me. "Do not drive on a wet road for the first 500 miles."
 
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Maybe the tires just needed to wear some,
Does this mean I’ll be able to get 170 wh/mile with the hankook evo all seasons?
All depends on your speed. The slower you go the more affect efficient tires have. At 80 mph efficient tires don't matter nearly as much as wind resistance. At 60 mph efficient tires start to matter more than wind resistance. Below 55 mph efficient tires really start to shine.
 
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All depends on your speed. The slower you go the more affect efficient tires have. At 80 mph efficient tires don't matter nearly as much as wind resistance. At 60 mph efficient tires start to matter more than wind resistance. Below 55 mph efficient tires really start to shine.
This is just from my everyday work commute, I probably go 60-63 mph for 60% of the trip and 40-45 mph for 40%

Oh and the Michelins are pilot sports
 
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This is just from my everyday work commute, I probably go 60-63 mph for 60% of the trip and 40-45 mph for 40%

Oh and the Michelins are pilot sports
Until you post an actual avg mph… it’s sort of hard to tell how this wh/mile should be interpreted.. my local commute, I get 155 wh/mile, sometimes lower.. that’s 7 miles, but my avg. speed is 27
 
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