Wheel size and range

[CAGCTG]

The wheel centre design has a small influence on drag but the width of the tyre has a big influence, both on drag, where it is almost exactly proportional to width, and pumping losses when wet, ditto.
The 21" tyres are around 7% wider so will have around 7% more aero drag than 20"
I didn't find 19" tyre size with a quich look but the rim is narrower so the tyre will probably be too.

I suspect a big part of Tesla's efficiency is the narrow tyres they fit.

So you would say that adding an "aero disc" on my 21" Spyder wheels would not help range on a long trip? Not that anyone makes an aero disc, I've looked, but just curious.

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[f1eng]

So you would say that adding an "aero disc" on my 21" Spyder wheels would not help range on a long trip? Not that anyone makes an aero disc, I've looked, but just curious.

I wouldn’t expect a big difference, probably less than driving style or traffic density (on free running but busy routes you get quite an aerodynamic “tow”).

Frontal area is the killer which is why narrower tyres make a bigger difference and SUVs are so dire.

 

[Boss Hogg]

The new 21” turbo aero wheels have almost same range as the 20” turbo aero. The tyre widths are the same on both. According to Porsche 1 mile less range combined, same range city.

 

[Avantgarde]

So you would say that adding an "aero disc" on my 21" Spyder wheels would not help range on a long trip? Not that anyone makes an aero disc, I've looked, but just curious.

Correct. Per the porsche range estimator, exclusive aero design 21s bring only 2 miles of additional range above 21 mission Es. Nothing impacts range as much as the tire width.

 

[Newguy]

My view:

Decision 1- Upgrade to 20 inch from 19 inch: no brainer. 200% improvement in looks, slightly more planted handling and precision in steering, 1% loss of range. (Official porsche data)

Decision 2- Upgrade to 21 inch from 20: less clear. 30-40% improvement in looks. Slightly more planted handling. 6-7% loss of range, a bit harsher ride, noticeable increase in highway noise, and very delicate to dings.

Everytime I think about Decision 2, i conclude 20 inch turbo aeros are the optimal and should be the wheel of choice for Taycan. Then I walk out and see my car with Mission E’s, i feel glad i have the suboptimal wheels.

 

[Newguy]

Glad I joined this forum and thanks to all for the helpful replies. You made my decision easy! The UK configurator (easily found in the US by Googling for the Taycan configurator UK) has different ranges depending on which wheels are selected. (To find this data, go to summary, and then range). The standard 19-inch Taycan S Aero Wheels show a range of 348 miles combined and 386 city. The same vehicle with 20-inch Taycan Turbo Aero Wheels shows range numbers of 347 and 385. (Some of the 21-inch wheels show a larger loss of range — but still not very large). To my eye, the 20-inch wheel looks a lot better than the 19-inch, and while it will cost some more cash, the cost in range won’t be noticed. I will be ordering the 20-inch Turbo Aero Wheels. Thanks again!

 

[andix]

I switched from 20" to 21" summer tires.
Was quite surprised that the difference in range is super small. While the handling difference is significant.

 

[SoccerMan94043]

Ran across this long dead thread and had some update information that might be useful for someone in the future. This video talks about the math and does it for various Tesla performance vehicles:

Short summary for Taycans is range will be impacted somewhere between 8 and 9% if driven at 75 mph, on 19" to 21" inch rims. I have to assume the wider 21" rims will be a bit worse than that. Also, since I'm sure most of us are averaging something less than 75mph and our accelerations habits are all different, so maybe it won't be as bad as that... or perhaps these two things cancel out.

So worst case 8%? I wonder what people who have actually switched see in the real world.

 

[Taycan4S_UK]

I went from 20” aero Turbo to rs spyder 21” and I did lose some range -few mile per kw. Ride comfort is the same … maybe the 21” feels better on the London roads.

 

[69Mach390]

Ran across this long dead thread and had some update information that might be useful for someone in the future. This video talks about the math and does it for various Tesla performance vehicles:

Short summary for Taycans is range will be impacted somewhere between 8 and 9% if driven at 75 mph, on 19" to 21" inch rims. I have to assume the wider 21" rims will be a bit worse than that. Also, since I'm sure most of us are averaging something less than 75mph and our accelerations habits are all different, so maybe it won't be as bad as that... or perhaps these two things cancel out.

So worst case 8%? I wonder what people who have actually switched see in the real world.

Not sure why it’s so hard to find real world tests.

About the best way to run the test would be drive two nearly identical cars on the highway with different size wheels at the same speed and same time. Like this test with 19” vs 21” that showed almost zero difference in efficiency:


At the end of the day, unless you’re regularly driving very long distances that require you to use ALL the range…… does a small difference even matter?

If your range can get you to the next charging station, not sure how it would matter being 20% of charge left or 15% when you get there.

I would say to get the wheels that you think look the best and not obsess over range.

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