Cooper SE Wheel Options

Discussion in 'Cooper SE' started by indiejayy, May 27, 2022.

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  1. indiejayy

    indiejayy New Member

    With so many wheel options available for Cooper SE, (especially more on the Iconic trim) which one has the best range and which one has the worst? Any opinions?

    After research, the smaller the rim, the more range you get because a) it's lighter b) bigger wall/less drag.. then I'm see the mini electric power spoke 17" is larger but lighter and better for range.. The 17" roulette seems to be on the heavy side.. Anyone tried the Scissor, Tentacle, or Rail 17"s and have an opinion?

    Not much info on range based on wheel choice online like others have (BMW, Tesla, etc).
     
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  3. Carsten Haase

    Carsten Haase Well-Known Member

    We tend to get a bit off topic on this forum so searching is hard lol but we have discussed this a bit here and probably other places too:
    https://www.insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/range-efficiency-under-various-conditions-cargo.11491/#post-143032

    You're on the right track with the smaller wheel but the real reason smaller is better is that they're typically more closed off (thanks to the larger tire sidewall). A 17" wheel that's very closed off could be better than a 16" that's very open
     
  4. indiejayy

    indiejayy New Member

    Thanks that is very useful. I’ve ordered mine with roulettes since my first choice - revolite is no longer available and seemed to be the winner on the other thread. The next option was 16’ victory spokes which does not seem as aerodynamic. Did anyone try out the other 17’s apart from roulette or power spoke?
     
  5. Puppethead

    Puppethead Well-Known Member

    I believe the 16" Spectre Grey Revolite and 17" Power Spoke are the most efficient wheel choices. Both are closed off and very light. MINI does use those as the default wheels for the SE, so that's a good indicator they're the best choice. I actually use both (17" summer, 16" winter), and my range is exceptional.
     
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  6. BackPack

    BackPack Member

    Interesting discussion and I understand why it comes up. For me personally, this wasn’t even a consideration when I picked my wheels. I picked the wheels I thought looked best on an Island Blue car. I went with the rail spoke 2 tone wheels.
     
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  8. david9999999

    david9999999 Member

    This is a question I also have struggled with a bit. My car came with the 16” revolite which I plan to use for the winter. I spent a long time looking for an “aero” 17” wheel for the summer (not a fan of the OEM options). I really couldn’t find anything, so I said the hell with it and bought the wheel I think looks best, OZ Superturismo. I’d like to do some testing to see what impact my wheel choice has on the range.

    Of the original wheels, it seems pretty clear that the power spoke would be most aerodynamic. If anyone has found a nice aftermarket 17” replacement, let us know!
     
  9. Carsten Haase

    Carsten Haase Well-Known Member

    I can't isolate the change in width, tire compound, and wheel design but my efficiency with the superturismos is not great (down to 3.7mi/kWh from 4.7mi/kWh). I think most of the efficiency loss was tire compound but based on the pdf in the link I posted above, they should be quite inefficient because of how open they are
     
  10. david9999999

    david9999999 Member

    Wow, that’s a big hit! Very thorough info in that pdf as well. I’ll let the forum know how my efficiency changes with the new wheels. I’d love to eventually find a 17” wheel that looks good and has the aero we want.
     
  11. Carsten Haase

    Carsten Haase Well-Known Member

    The results from the testing MichaelC did a while ago showed that rubber is likely responsible for most of that loss so I'll be curious what your efficiency drop is and what tires you end up with.

    I've been thinking about some sort of aero cover for the OZ wheels to reduce open area for longer trips (something like the ones on the Mission R) but want to figure out a better way to evaluate the improvement (possibly trying some coast down testing)
     
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  13. Puppethead

    Puppethead Well-Known Member

    I've mentioned this before, but EVs should bring back wheel spats.

    [​IMG]
     
  14. Carsten Haase

    Carsten Haase Well-Known Member

    I found this PDF about the Model S aero informative but also a good reminder just how counterintuitive aerodynamics can be.

    Excerpt:
    At the rear, shielding the spokes at their maximum radius rather than near the center will reduce mixing caused by the spokes, since the central portion of the spokes will have a lower translational velocity as compared with the outer section. This will lessen the positive interaction between the wakes of the vehicle and rear wheels, leading to lower base pressure and higher drag.

    Basically, the turbulence caused by the rear wheels can actually be a good thing! They also mentioned something about a fully covered wheel increasing the pressure on the inside of the wheel which also increased total drag. Wheel spats could do the same thing and actually hurt vs help.
     

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  15. teslarati97

    teslarati97 Well-Known Member

    I think the 2022+ bumper revision with the air curtains lessens the difference between wheel options. With 17" Pirelli Cinturato P7 summer RFTs on black tentacle spokes I can still achieve 5mi/kWh.
     
  16. Puppethead

    Puppethead Well-Known Member

    Unless they completely eliminate drag on the wheels, any benefit from the air curtains would apply to all wheels so lighter/more aerodynamic wheels will improve too, maybe up to 6 mi/kWh! :)
     
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  17. SameGuy

    SameGuy Well-Known Member Subscriber

    YUL
    Are these Star Spoke 539 wheels? 17 x 6.5J.

    59F73F61-6BDF-4665-86EB-2C7FDCD36DEE.jpeg

    I found a set of three local to me, clean, with OE TPMS sensors, for $150 Canadian (~$115 US). Would they be worth grabbing, in the hopes of finding a fourth at a reasonable price down the road?
     
  18. chrunck

    chrunck Well-Known Member

    Sounds like a pretty good deal to me. I don't think I've ever seen those before.
     
  19. SameGuy

    SameGuy Well-Known Member Subscriber

    YUL
    They’re et -39, I think off a JCW Countryman. I’ll call the seller tomorrow — after I’ve searched for others of the same type, to get an idea how much that missing one might cost. Might do like @insightman and store the fancy Power Spokes.
     
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  20. MichaelC

    MichaelC Well-Known Member

    Yes, those appear to be the Star Spoke 539 winter wheels for F60 JCW Countryman. They should mount up to the SE, but are half an inch narrower than the stock wheels.
     
    SameGuy likes this.
  21. SameGuy

    SameGuy Well-Known Member Subscriber

    YUL
    I texted the seller, it’s a commercial outfit. The ad is unclear and they’re asking $150 per rim. Nope.
     

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