Cooper SE Wheel Options

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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).
 
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/comm...r-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
 
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?
 
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.
 
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.
 
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!
 
david9999999 said:
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!
Click to expand...

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
 
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.
 
david9999999 said:
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.
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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)
 
Carsten Haase said:
I've been thinking about some sort of aero cover for the OZ wheels to reduce open area for longer trips
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I've mentioned this before, but EVs should bring back wheel spats.

608e97d94a8eaa59249ce8e2458fc8ba.jpg
 
Puppethead said:
I've mentioned this before, but EVs should bring back wheel spats.

608e97d94a8eaa59249ce8e2458fc8ba.jpg
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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.
 

Attachments

Puppethead said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
teslarati97 said:
I think the 2022+ bumper revision with the air curtains lessens the difference between wheel options.
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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! :)
 
Are these Star Spoke 539 wheels? 17 x 6.5J.

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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?
 
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.
 
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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