Which wheel cover is most aerodynamic?

[fawad]

Which of the wheel cover design is most aerodynamic in the attached images? I understand it could be hard to guess until or unless testing is performed using all of them, but I don't have that option since I can only purchase one of them.

Personally, I am inclined towards 03.jpg since it's close to what Tesla Model 3 have.

[Daschicken]

My guess would be the suzuki one, then the honda one after that.

[Vman455]

Originally Posted by fawad

Which of the wheel cover design is most aerodynamic in the attached images? I understand it could be hard to guess until or unless testing is performed using all of them, but I don't have that option since I can only purchase one of them.

Personally, I am inclined towards 03.jpg since it's close to what Tesla Model 3 have.

It isn't hard to guess--you're going to get a slew of guesses in response to posting this. The question is: will the guesses tell you anything about which wheel cover design actually has the lowest drag on your car?

The answer to that is "no." Get the one you think looks prettiest.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by fawad

Which of the wheel cover design is most aerodynamic in the attached images? I understand it could be hard to guess until or unless testing is performed using all of them, but I don't have that option since I can only purchase one of them.

Personally, I am inclined towards 03.jpg since it's close to what Tesla Model 3 have.

1) I won't be guessing.
2) I would point out that, two of the covers would be 'unidirectional,' and would only work on one side of the vehicle, not both.
3) You'd need 'mirror-images' of them for the other side.

[fawad]

Originally Posted by Vman455

The question is: will the guesses tell you anything about which wheel cover design actually has the lowest drag on your car?

The answer to that is "no." Get the one you think looks prettiest.

Hmm interesting. So it means I should stick with the OEM wheel cover that came with the car (check attached image).
Also, does this mean the wheel cover that came with the car is best? Since, I can assume they must have tested it with the car thoroughly.

[freebeard]

Personally, I am inclined towards 03.jpg since it's close to what Tesla Model 3 have.

Hmm interesting. So it means I should stick with the OEM wheel cover that came with the car

Unless the others are free, ROI says OEM. But for most aerodynamic, none are likely.

Here's a thread on Tesla's wheel covers.

There have been posts comparing generic wheel cover types but I haven't found it yet. Here is a thread with the one IIRC was best. ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/performance-car-aero-wheel-covers



If looks are important, go with Moons.

[Vman455]

Originally Posted by fawad

Hmm interesting. So it means I should stick with the OEM wheel cover that came with the car (check attached image). Also, does this mean the wheel cover that came with the car is best? Since, I can assume they must have tested it with the car thoroughly.

Not quite; it means we can't say without test results. Since the covers you posted as options are from various manufacturers, it's safe to assume they haven't been tested by the OEM on your car (but, they may have tested similar designs; if they published a paper on the aerodynamic development of the car you can find usually find information like that in there). You could test them yourself, but with the accuracy of home testing only being in the 2-3% range, I don't think you will be able to reliably measure a difference between any of them. As freebeard says, stick with OEM or get one of the others if you like the looks better.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by fawad

Hmm interesting. So it means I should stick with the OEM wheel cover that came with the car (check attached image).
Also, does this mean the wheel cover that came with the car is best? Since, I can assume they must have tested it with the car thoroughly.

The wheel covers could have been decided by the marketing department, chosen solely on aesthetics and perceived market preference, and never subjected to any testing whatsoever.
A recent clue about wheel cover aerodynamic windage/ventilation drag efficiency comes from Mercedes-Benz, and their EQXX concept car. You'll notice the low-porosity of the covers, kind of a nod to the MOON racing convex racing covers, typically used with all land speed records by all car manufacturers since the 1950s,and higher-performance aircraft manufacturers since around 1912 ( Derperdussin Monocoque ).
Deperdussin-Racer | Aircraft |