Tesla Model Y wheel size and its impact on 0-60 acceleration

Joey Klender

By

Posted on March 25, 2020

With the Tesla Model Y just beginning first deliveries a few weeks ago, owners are getting their first tastes of how the new all-electric crossover performs. Brian Jenkins from YouTube channel i1Tesla took his experiments a few steps further and recorded the Model Y Performance 0-60 MPH acceleration time based on the factory 21″ Uberturbine wheel size and several aftermarket wheel options.

Brian brought his Model Y Performance to a research center known as NCCAR in Northhampton County, North Carolina, to test acceleration rates from 0-60 MPH. The tests were performed with the 21″ Uberturbine wheels that come standard with the Model Y’s optional performance upgrade, 19″ TSW wheels from EVtuning.com, and 18″ MWO3 Forged rims from Martian Wheels.

The Uberturbine front wheels weigh 64.8 pounds, with the slightly wider rear wheels weighing 68.6 pounds with the tires attached according to a wheel weight test performed by Brian at the NCCAR facility. Meanwhile, the 19″ TSW wheels weigh 47.6 pounds with a tire and 23 pounds on their own. The 18″ Martian MWO3 Forged wheels weigh 40.7 pounds with a tire installed onto the rim. Martian’s website states the rim weighs only 17.3 pounds without a tire attached to them.

The first runs of the vehicle were with the 21″ Uberturbine rims. Brian ran four times with these wheels on the vehicle, utilizing two runs to test its normal 0-60 MPH time, one run using Tesla’s Slip Start feature, and one run using the Model Y’s Off-Road setting. The tests were performed with a battery charge of between 82% and 74%. A Dragy GPS recorded the times.

Tesla Model Y 0-60 mph with 21″ Tesla Uberturbine Wheels (68.6 pounds with tire)

  • Run 1 – Normal: 0-60 MPH in 3.77 seconds
  • Run 2 – Normal: 0-60 MPH in 5.74 seconds
  • Run 3 – Slip Start: 0-60 MPH in 3.81 seconds
  • Run 4 – Off-Road: 0-60 MPH in 3.83 seconds

The next two runs were performed with both the 19″ TSW and 18″ MWO3 Wheels. Because of the lighter weight, the runs with these tires were noticeably faster.

Tesla Model Y 0-60 mph with 19″ TSW Wheels (47.6 pounds with tire, 23 pounds without tire)

  • Run 1 – Normal: 0-60 MPH in 3.45 seconds

Tesla Model Y 0-60 mph with 18″ Martian MWO3 Forged Wheels (40.7 pounds with tire, 17.3 pounds without tire)

  • Run 1 – Normal: 0-60 MPH in 3.42 seconds

The lighter and smaller TSW wheels shaved .29 seconds off of the Tesla Uberturbine wheels, but the even smaller and lighter 18″ Martian rims managed to trim almost a third of a second off of the quarter-mile time with a .32 second faster 0-60 time.

The size of the wheel also affects the range of the vehicle. The EPA’s current rating of the Model Y Performance states the car offers 315 miles of range, when paired with the 19″ Gemini wheels, and 280 miles of range with the larger and heavier 21″ Uberturbine wheels.

Comparisons of the Model 3’s different rim sizes affect the range as well, where the 20″ wheels give 299 miles, 19″ wheels offer 304 miles, and 18″ will give the driver 322 miles of driving range.

We’ve embedded Brian’s video below, which shows how Model Y’s 0-60 MPH acceleration varies by wheel and tire sizing.

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Tesla Model Y wheel size and its impact on 0-60 acceleration

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Tesla Cybertruck comes to life as a 1980s Transformer in this comic artist commission

Gene

Posted on March 22, 2020

Devout Transformers and Tesla fan Youseph (Yoshi) Tanha is adding a Cybertruck to his growing collection of Tesla-inspired Transformer robots, in comic book form.

Cohost to the TransMissions podcast and fan-fiction writer for Transformers: REANIMATED, the Washington-based Dad, has made a living by sharing his passion-fueled knowledge of the popular American animated robot television series from the 1980s.

“I’m an old school G1 Transformers fan. (G1 is how a person refers to the original Transformers toys, cartoon, animated movie, and comic books of the 80s.)” Yoshi tells me when we first connected.

Like many of us, the passion sparked in his younger years. As a kid, Yoshi spent most of his time collecting action figures, VHS Tapes, posters, comic books, and anything that would fit within his maturing and fantastical world of Autobots and Decepticons, including his Optimus Prime cookie jar.

Yoshi’s fandom for G1 Transformers, and later Tesla, would manifest itself into something much more profound over time.

In the months following CEO Elon Musk’s debut of the dystopian Tesla Cybertruck, Yoshi reached out to famed comic artist Casey Coller and asked if he would be able to bring the Cybertruck to life as a first-generation Autobot. Afterall, Coller is arguably best known as the illustrator for the official TRANSFORMERS series and can seemingly marry any concept to a G1 Transformer.

Coller agreed, and ‘Shatter’ was born.

The name Shatter, a play on Tesla Cybertruck’s “armored glass” demonstration, is like all transformers and has an internal repairing system, according to Yoshi. “He has an Electro Shock Cannon on his right shoulder used to immobilize and bring down Deceptions.”

And like all Autobots, its name defines its character. Shatter “wears its name with honor and, like Tesla, can learn from mistakes,” Yoshi tells me.

To learn more about the process of commissioning a Comic Artist to create a personalized comic book on an official blank, check out my past interview with Yoshi.

Below are Yoshi’s TRANSFORMERS comic series that found inspiration from a Tesla Roadster, Model S, Model X, Cybertruck, and even the Tesla Semi.

Tesla Cybertruck Transformers Comic (Credit: Artist/Casey Coller, Yoshi)
Tesla Cybertruck Transformers Comic (Credit: Artist/Casey Coller, Yoshi)

Tesla Model S Transformers Comic (Credit: Artist/Dan_Khanna, Yoshi)

Tesla Model X Transformers Comic (Credit: Artist/Brendan-Cahill, Yoshi)

Tesla Model X Transformers Comic (Credit: Artist/Alix Milne, Yoshi)

Tesla Roadster Transformers Comic (Credit: Artist/Josh, Yoshi)

Tesla Cybertruck comes to life as a 1980s Transformer in this comic artist commission

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Tesla Model Y owner crushes advertised 0-60 mph time in real-world test

Gene

Posted on March 21, 2020

Real-world 0-60 mph acceleration tests of the Tesla Model Y Performance are proving that the all-electric crossover is quicker than what the company advertises.

Tesla claims in its online configurator for the Model Y that the dual-motor Performance variant can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. This is the case for both the Model Y Performance with 19″ Gemini wheels as well as the Model Y with Performance Upgrade package that includes larger brakes and 21″ Uberturbine wheels.

However, in a series of real-world Model Y 0 to 60 mph acceleration tests conducted by Erik of the DÆrik Youtube channel, Tesla’s newest 5-seater crossover managed to stop the clocks at a lightning-quick 3.30 seconds.

Tesla Model Y with Performance Upgrade Acceleration Testing

Using a Racelogic VBOX Sport device, Erik performed three 0-60 mph acceleration tests of his new Model Y with Performance Upgrade. With a 90% battery state of charge and tire pressure set at 40 psi, Erik registered the following 0-60 mph acceleration times:

Run 1

  • 0-60 mph: 3.30 seconds
  • 0-100 mph: 8.12 seconds
  • 30-70 mph: 2.72 seconds
  • 50-70 mph: 1.53 seconds

Run 2

  • 0-60 mph: 3.43 seconds
  • 0-100 mph: 8.19 seconds
  • 30-70 mph: 2.72 seconds
  • 50-70 mph: 1.55 seconds

Run 3

  • 0-60 mph: 3.40 seconds
  • 0-100 mph: 8.15 seconds
  • 30-70 mph: 2.77 seconds
  • 50-70 mph: 1.53 seconds

Erik managed to knock out an impressive 0-60 mph time of 3.30 seconds in his Model Y Performance, which is a solid two-tenths quicker than what Tesla publishes on its online configurator. That puts the acceleration for Model Y Performance nearly on par with the acceleration of its smaller sibling, Model 3 Performance, which Tesla advertises to have a 0-60 mph time of 3.2 seconds.

Taking an average of all three runs performed by Erik and Model Y Performance registers a 0-60 mph time of 3.376 seconds, or nearly twice as quick as other SUV/Crossovers in its size category. By comparison, the Mercedes GLC300 SUV that stacks up in size would lose by more than 2 seconds when drag racing Model Y from a standstill to 60mph.

The better-than-expected results obtained by Erik isn’t too surprising considering Tesla’s penchant to underestimate the performance figures of its vehicles. Without including any presumed over-the-air software updates to unlock more power and hardware improvements, the Model Y stands as a performance beast that’s fitting of Tesla’s DNA.

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Tesla Model Y owner crushes advertised 0-60 mph time in real-world test

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