[Capital EV]

I've always admired when companies made the effort to equip their EVs with aerodynamic, fuel saving wheels. Here are a few examples that come to mind, Mercedes B Class, VW e-Golf, Hyundai Soul EV, and Tesla Model 3. For those unaware, wheels with thin spokes and huge air voids are great for keeping brakes cool, but cause unnecessary air turbulence. And unless you're racing on a track, EVs don't need the extra brake cooling. In fact, some of us don't use our brakes enough to keep the rust off of them.

The Bolt EV's wheels have large voids which show the rusty brake rotors and calipers. Brakes are not sexy and I don't need to see them every time I approach the car. They have an unusual 105 mm bolt circle so trying to use any of the above 'aero' wheels will not work. However, there is hope. A Canadian company called Fast Wheels, now has specially designed lightweight 'aero' wheels available for the Bolt EV in the original 17" or minus sized 16" versions available. It is called the EV01(+). Problem is, they are only available in Canada and with trucking suspended at the border right now, air freight charges are estimated at $350 Canadian. So as soon as ground freight resumes, I'm ordering a set. https://www.canadawheels.ca/fast-wheels/ev01-plus/titanium

 

[EV Engineering]

I have set of on 5th picture outstanding quality and clear coating still waiting for better weather before I will get them on my Bolt

 

[dougwmtn58]

Interesting,
That link as clicked goes to facebook, you need to copy the text and paste to a new tab,
When you get there, all of the wheels are out of stock, so.... ???

 

[drdiesel1]

Those style wheel covers on the Tesla can be removed to expose the alloy mags.

 

[Capital EV]

Those style wheel covers on the Tesla can be removed to expose the alloy mags.

Yes, and some people are silly enough to do so.

 

[wesley]

I've seen those wheels being talked about before. Search shows EV01 being mentioned back in 2019.

EV01(+) Wheels for Chevy Bolt

It looks like a Canadian aftermarket wheel company called Fast Wheels is making an Aero Wheel for EVs. There was a post on insideevs a while back about testing they were doing on the Model 3: https://insideevs.com/news/368042/video-tesla-model-3-ev01-wheel-testing-efficiency/ It looks like they...

www.chevybolt.org

The problem is that I haven't seen proper efficiency measurements compared to the stock Bolt wheels.

 

[cruise_carter]

Fast Wheels | Canada’s Leading Direct Fit, Performance Alloy Wheels

fastco.ca

 

[shocker]

Guessing this is one of those mods that has an infinite payback period. Let's say it's worth 3 percent efficiency gain, that would save me..... 2 bucks a month.
Agree the Tesla looks much better with the covers off. I would do that immediately.

 

[MisterJJ]

Guessing this is one of those mods that has an infinite payback period. Let's say it's worth 3 percent efficiency gain, that would save me..... 2 bucks a month.

You'd break even on your investment in about 40 years.

 

[PLP]

Covers yes, for maybe 30 or 40 USD.
Aero wheels - forget about it. Unless someone takes mine back for direct replacement.

Not worth the gain.

 

[EV Engineering]

Guessing this is one of those mods that has an infinite payback period. Let's say it's worth 3 percent efficiency gain, that would save me..... 2 bucks a month.
Agree the Tesla looks much better with the covers off. I would do that immediately.

Any investment over 1k on wheels imported from Canada and used on EV will take very long time to get paid off. But my sole intention was to have more efficient wheels for summer and use stock for winter. And regarding getting plastic covers on and of ... they definitely change how they look..but look is not what I'm after.... I'm looking for more aerodynamic wheels.

 

[EV Engineering]

I will try to make one once I have them on .... still on winter tires and stock wheels.

I've seen those wheels being talked about before. Search shows EV01 being mentioned back in 2019.

EV01(+) Wheels for Chevy Bolt

It looks like a Canadian aftermarket wheel company called Fast Wheels is making an Aero Wheel for EVs. There was a post on insideevs a while back about testing they were doing on the Model 3: https://insideevs.com/news/368042/video-tesla-model-3-ev01-wheel-testing-efficiency/ It looks like they...

www.chevybolt.org

The problem is that I haven't seen proper efficiency measurements compared to the stock Bolt wheels.

 

[Packard V8]

In fact, some of us don't use our brakes enough to keep the rust off of them. . . . . The Bolt EV's wheels have large voids which show the rusty brake rotors and calipers.

Thoughts:

We always use L mode, go weeks without touching the brake pedal and after four years in the frozen-ass-end-of-nowhere with magnesium chloride snow melt liquid applied to our streets, our rotors are still shiny. No rusty rotors or calipers here or on the few other Bolts I've seen at rest.

Aero wheels can give a slight improvement in range, but only at highway speeds. Those of us who drive few highway miles would never see a payback.

The Tesla aero wheels are beyond butt-ugly; JMHO, but I wouldn't take them as a gift.

jack vines

 

[jdunmyer]

Anyone have an idea of just how much efficiency would be gained by those "aero" wheels? Seems like if it was significant, GM would have them as OEM..??

 

[GJETSON]

Anyone have an idea of just how much efficiency would be gained by those "aero" wheels? Seems like if it was significant, GM would have them as OEM..??

They had clear plastic inserts in the spoke openings on the concept vehicle. They dropped it for the production Bolt. They were shooting for "good enough for the money", not "the best at any price."

 

[PLP]

Aero wheels can give a slight improvement in range, but only at highway speeds. Those of us who drive few highway miles would never see a payback.

and that's the key here - you may gain 3-5% if you race over 70 mph.
For lower speeds - makes no difference if not even worse due to higher mass.

 

[Tim]

For those unaware, wheels with thin spokes and huge air voids are great for keeping brakes cool, but cause unnecessary air turbulence

Why do the wheels in the photos you attached have any voids at all?

 

[AHughes]

One thing you need to be aware of. After market wheels are tested to SAE standards that are not nearly as stringent as OEM standards (If I remember correctly GM doesn't allow any cracks during the first bogie or 100,000 cycles cornering and 1,000,000 cycles radial and have to meet specific weibull failure results at extended cycles). SAE allows up to 1/4" cracks at 1 bogie with no extended cycle testing required. The number 1 complaint about aftermarket wheels is cracks (or at least it was back when I was doing wheel design back in the 90s for the OEMs).

 

[EV Engineering]

One thing you need to be aware of. After market wheels are tested to SAE standards that are not nearly as stringent as OEM standards (If I remember correctly GM doesn't allow any cracks during the first bogie or 100,000 cycles cornering and 1,000,000 cycles radial and have to meet specific weibull failure results at extended cycles). SAE allows up to 1/4" cracks at 1 bogie with no extended cycle testing required. The number 1 complaint about aftermarket wheels is cracks (or at least it was back when I was doing wheel design back in the 90s for the OEMs).

Most of the aftermarket aluminum wheels are poor quality because US has no law like other countries in EU to meet minimum quality requirements. But there are aftermarket wheels that are way better than any OEM .....but they are not cheap.... usually much lighter and 2-3 times more strong.
My Dad has set of fast wheels on Tesla Y and they are way more strong than Tesla OEM.....Some companies don't mind to share test results if you ask nicely. And companies that make wheels for 4-5000+ heavy EV can't make sacrifice on rigidity on the wheels..... One huge lawsuit and they are gone.
But anyone who is on the market for heavy EV for aftermarket wheels....make sure you are buying reputable companies that make safety and quality #1 . They are not cheap but like tires it is what you pay for.

 

[AHughes]

Most of the aftermarket aluminum wheels are poor quality because US has no law like other countries in EU to meet minimum quality requirements. But there are aftermarket wheels that are way better than any OEM .....but they are not cheap.... usually much lighter and 2-3 times more strong.
My Dad has set of fast wheels on Tesla Y and they are way more strong than Tesla OEM.....Some companies don't mind to share test results if you ask nicely. And companies that make wheels for 4-5000+ heavy EV can't make sacrifice on rigidity on the wheels..... One huge lawsuit and they are gone.
But anyone who is on the market for heavy EV for aftermarket wheels....make sure you are buying reputable companies that make safety and quality #1 . They are not cheap but like tires it is what you pay for.

US laws governing wheels are defined by FMVSS & DOT which do require SAE testing at a minimum. European testing is defined by ETRTO and utilizes the same test methods but has slightly more stringent pass/fail criteria. ETRTO doesn't allow the 1/4" fractures that SAE allows (key point here: both only require visual inspection under normal lighting). Most OEM wheel testing requires no fracture under a black light while using a fluorescent dye penetrant. You would be surprised at the number of fractures that are not visible under normal lighting that show up when you use dye penetrant.

Yes, you can get high quality wheels in the aftermarket just like when buying anything else. You just have to be aware that depending on the manufacturer they may not be made to the same performance standards. Also, manufacturers in the US at least are required to provide information on what loads wheels were tested to (specifically the GAWR ratings that are used to determine actual test loads). Oh, and speaking of test loads most OEMs test to higher loads than required. The equations they use to convert the GAWR to a radial or corner loads results in higher actual test loads (if I remember correctly Ford was roughly 15% higher than ETRTO and SAE)

Also, rigidity does not equal better. In fact, on average stiffer wheels are MORE likely to develop cracks that result in premature failure than a well designed flexible wheel. That seems counter intuitive but it's all about allowing the stress to distribute over as large of an area as possible by allowing flexing to occur away from the stress concentration points (back of wheel close to the nose of the windows near the hub for cornering and on the back of the wheel near the corners where the spoke transitions into the rim at the edge of the windows).