And another misconception is that assuming that completely covering the wheels always drops drag:
The relevant peer-reviewed engineering papers I refer to in the book include:
- Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden (Investigation of Aerodynamic Resistance of Rotating Wheels on Passenger Cars)
- SAE paper 2007-01-1047 (The Influence of Rotating Wheels on Total Road Load)
- SAE paper 2011-01-0165 (Influences of Different Front and Rear Wheel Designs on Aerodynamic Drag of a Sedan Type Passenger Car)
- SAE 2012-01-0178 (The Aerodynamic Development of the Tesla Model S - Part 2: Wheel Design Optimization)
- SAE 2004-01-1307 (Numerical Simulations of a Car Underbody: Effect of Front-Wheel Deflectors)