What kind of performance upgrades do you think will be available for the Slate?

[Trace26]

Without a doubt someone out there will figure out how to make a Sleeper Slate one way or another.

I might be that person.. muhaha

 

[AZFox]

I'm cautiously optimistic that a Slate could be a lot of fun to autocross.

What wheel-and-tire combination do you think wold work best on an Autocross Slate?

 

[Mac-Tyson]

Other than adding more motors or better motors, are there any aftermarket performance upgrades to add power to any ev's out there? I know Hyundai/Kia has the N series but that's from the factory. And Ford has a software upgrade to add more torque for $1000.00. But I'm thinking there's not much that can be done.

Most of the aftermarket EV Performance upgrades I've seen have been targeted at Tesla. Unplugged Performance one of the most notable companies for that. Even with a Japanese branch that supplies a racing team of Tesla's for JEVRA (Japanese Electric Vehicle Racing Associaiton). I believe they are based out of the US though.

 

[Mac-Tyson]

What wheel-and-tire combination do you think wold work best on an Autocross Slate?

I would imagine this starter pack was designed for that question: https://www.slate.auto/en/slatemaker?starterPack=lucky77

 

[AZFox]

Could dropping tire size slightly to 235/65R17 help liven things up a bit?

• Lower unsprung mass (three pounds?)
• Less rotating mass (and the weight's not as far from the hub)
• Some gearing effect (1.7 percent smaller circumference)
• Shorter sidewall (0.3 inches)

A Bonus Feature would be some extra range, at least when comparing the same tire in both sizes. Not much, probably, but some. Would need a speedo correction to determine that.

 

[AZFox]

I would imagine this starter pack was designed for that question: https://www.slate.auto/en/slatemaker?starterPack=lucky77

Slate's configurator is definitely NOT the place to find out what wheel-and-tire combination wold work best for autocross.

 

[Mac-Tyson]

Slate's configurator is definitely NOT the place to find out what wheel-and-tire combination wold work best for autocross.

Fair enough, I thought you meant from the available options on the configurator lol.

 

[Driven5]

Could dropping tire size slightly to 235/65R17 help liven things up a bit?

Taking crappy 245/65R17's off, and replacing them with similarly crappy 235/65R17's would be a significant cost for a negligible difference.

Slate's configurator is definitely NOT the place to find out what wheel-and-tire combination wold work best for autocross.

It's actually a pretty good starting point and basis for comparison. Slate isn't going to be competitive enough in any class to be worth having a dedicated set of autox wheels for, and is going to look dumb on any common performance tire size for less than 20" wheels. The 245/65R17's have a 29.5" diameter. The other sidewall sizes shown in the configurator for the 20's are all screwed up, so I've got a question in to slate about what the expected 'low profile' size will be. It shows up a little smaller than the standard tire size in the configurator. Depending on where the actual drop ends up, and based on actual size availability, I'd probably be looking in the 28-29 inch range, so that the drop still reduces fender gap at least a little too.

What wheel-and-tire combination do you think wold work best on an Autocross Slate?

So what does that that leave? If sticking to the stock size 20" wheels for Stock ('Street') class, I would probably be looking at 245/45R20, 265/40R20, or 255/40R20. If putting it on aftermarket suspension regardless of class/competitiveness and going for maximum grip (because race truck) and/or looks, then it'll depend on the wheel well capacity. Assuming it'll fit, 275/40R20 for starters. If possible, maybe even 285/35R20 or 295/35R20.

The DeDion rear shouldn't be as sensitive to it, but especially with the strut front suspension, wheel width for performance tires Is best off no narrower than the 'measured' rim width for the tire, and even better off at (or a little over) the 'maximum' rim width. So especially for stock size 20" wheels, that would also drive part of the decision on which of the sizes, probably leaning towards the 245/45R20 since it'll just be for giggles.

 

[AZFox]

Fair enough, I thought you meant from the available options on the configurator lol.

Haha, nah I'm thinking the optimal wheel size might be a size that's not on the configurator.

IMHO a performance tire needs some sidewall. At some point shorter isn't better. As a point of reference, a NASCAR tire has 12" of tread and a 5" sidewall (365/35R18, calculates to 28.1"x14.4"). Until recently NASCAR used 15" rims with 55 aspect ratio.

Maybe rear wheels can / should be wider than front wheels. Maybe the rear and front wheels should be different diameters (like a Corvette) to get best results.

 

[AZFox]

Taking crappy 245/65R17's off, and replacing them with similarly crappy 235/65R17's would be a significant cost for a negligible difference.

I was presuming the OE tire would come off either way, so the cost difference is negligible in that case.

Why ditch toe OE tire? Because based on experiences I've had, upgrading to better tires, even if they're the same size, can make a big difference.

The common-sized brand-new take-offs can be sold.

Edit: I'm not expecting the price-point alloy rims to be the bee's knees either.

 

[moondawg]

Probably all of the usual suspects:

• high flow canuter valve
• low viscosity blinker fluid
• undersized horn belt pulley

However unlikely:

• Muffler bearings

 

[Driven5]

IMHO a performance tire needs some sidewall. At some point shorter isn't better.

That hasn't actually been a thing for more than a quarter-century. Physics dictates that the (asphalt) 'performance' that comes with a 65 series sidewall, is low-performance. And beyond being slow, they'll tend to get tore-up when actually run hard. At some point there isn't enough sidewall, but everything I mention is still 4+ inches of tire.

Specially constructed bias ply slicks forced by 'tradition' do not make a good point of comparison to modern performance radials. Note that even NASCAR and F1 have (finally) gone to larger wheels with low profile tires.

Maybe rear wheels can / should be wider than front wheels. Maybe the rear and front wheels should be different diameters (like a Corvette) to get best results.

Staggered wheels and tires primarily apply to adding understeer for high-speed stability, compensating for excessive power, and/or balancing rear biased weight distributions. Slate will not fall into any of these categories.

Why ditch toe OE tire? Because based on experiences I've had, upgrading to better tires, even if they're the same size, can make a big difference.

100% support replacing crappy OE tires with better tires, but what defines 'better' will differ greatly between use cases. A better daily driver tire does not necessarily make for a better autox tire, and I have not found any suitable tires for autox of appropriate diameter on 17's.

Admittedly, at <4k pounds, I was focusing on max and ultra-high performance 'car' tires of appropriate size. For that, the best available sizes are only for 20's. If stepping down to 'sport truck' tires, there may be some acceptable 18" or 19" options too. But pretty much anything of worthwhile performance will require replacing the 17's, not just the tires that came on them... Or end up looking kind of like this:

 

[AZFox]

I wasn't suggesting 17" for autocross.
I think two topics might be getting tangled together.

o What wheel-and-tire combination is best for autocross?

I was imagining that when tread width widens aspect ratio can drop, keeping the sidewall at some optimal height. In the NASCAR example, where the tire is 14+ inches wide, the sidewall height is 5 big ol' inches.

Put another way, it seems like there would be an ideal sidewall height that wouldn't necessarily change just because the tread is wider/narrower. I'm wondering what that ideal sidewall height is. Maybe I'm overthinking it.

o Dropping the size from 245 to 235 when replacing the OE tire

Something else to consider is that a specific tire might be available in one of the sizes but not the other.

For example there are "high performance" and SUV-specific tires that are available in 235/65 that aren't available in the OE 245/65 size.

 

[Driven5]

Sorry, I was thinking those posts were related. Honestly, don't overthink it on both.

Your thoughts on aspect ratio going down as width goes up keeping sidewall height within a limited desirable range is not wrong, but there is also no singular 'ideal' value. However, the best handling (or any other category) tires are only available in sizes that work well for them.

Most people can't reliably detect a change of than ~10%. Much more important than minor dimensional differences are the characteristics of tire itself. So yes, like if a slightly different size makes opens up availability to a more desirable tire.

Either way, the tire drives the size as much as the size drives the tire.

 

[brian10x]

I planning on headers and dual exhaust. The faster you get those burnt electrons out, the faster it should be.