Even small changes significantly affect the electric car’s performance, and the trend with large rims is a disservice to the environment. IN a video counts Engineering Explained on how much you can influence energy consumption and thus range by choosing an easy-rolling tire, a smaller rim and a narrower tire.

They compared the range of Tesla’s Model 3 Performance, Model S Performance and Model X Performance with 18- to 22-inch wheels at a theoretical speed of 120 km / h.

Model 18 had an 18-inch range of 484 km, as well as 457 km with 19 inches and 421 km with 20 inches. In other words, the difference between the largest and smallest choice corresponded to a range of 63 kilometers.

Model S covered 548 km with 19 inches and about 506 km with 21 inches, which gives a difference of 42 km difference. A Model X with 20 inch rims covered 476 km and with 22 inches the range dropped to 434 km, which corresponds to an equal difference: 42 km.

When it comes to calculating rolling resistance, Engineering Explained is based on a rolling resistance coefficient of 0.015 compared to the most efficient tires that can crawl down to 0.005. For a car with a weight of 1,800 kg that drives 320 km, the better tire gives an energy consumption of 7.85 kWh with the best tire against 24 kWh with the worse tire.

Wider tires not only contribute to increased friction – the front tire’s wind deflection under the car affects the aerodynamics. Engineering Explained compared two widths of 205 and 305 mm, respectively, and an estimated ground clearance of 150 mm. Regarding the area exposed, the difference is only 0.015 square meters per front tire – 0.03 together. If you drive 320 km at 120 km / h, the energy consumption is 37.6 kWh and 34.1 kWh respectively. There is thus a difference of 3.5 kWh between the two only with regard to the aerodynamic properties of the front tires.