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Originally Posted by nemo
It would seem that any reduction in drag would be vehicle and wheel well dependent... ...It could come down to needing to design a tire for each vehicle and wheel combination.
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You may be right, but I tend to think gains would be available on just about any car. The SIZE of the gains it what would likely be be the variable. Overall I can't see a great deal of benefit coming from this, but I CAN see a huge new opportunity for tire manufacturers to market these "innovations". The Hankook tire looks like something people would like based on asthetics, even though the added material thickness would add weight to the tire and reduce city fuel economy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nemo
Wonder if it would be more efficient to design the effect in to the rim?
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Look at the wheels on the Koenigsegg Agera R. The spokes are like fan blades and are unique to both sides of the car so the "fan" effect would push air out. I bet this has something to do with aero as they are not particularly attractive wheels to look at. I wondered the same thing about the Tesla Model S, but on further inspection it seems they went with the same wheel left and right… likely a cost cutting measure. Aero wheels do have merit.
EDIT: Here's an article that supports some of what's been sait in this thread:
http://www.atzonline.com/index.php;d...loc=3/id=15997