Wheels Specs - Bolt Pattern / Offset? Tire Size Change Via App?

[5ohbrad]

You asked a good question. Unfortunately there's no way the answer will turn out to be true.

Presumably the Slate Truck, being an EV, was range-tested while equipped with stock-sized "EV tires" that have been engineered for low rolling resistance.

Tire rolling resistance affects range severely. According to the EPA (so it must be true! ) rolling resistance can account for up to 23% of lost energy efficiency in EVs. Tire manufacturers claim that "EV" tires can reduce rolling resistance by 10-20%.

All-Terrain tires are inherently heavier. The extra weight is "rotating mass". Extra rotating mass also lowers range. For reference, one pound of rotating weight is considered equivalent to about three to ten pounds of static weight.

Increasing tire diameter also has a gearing effect that negatively affects range, performance, ride quality, and parts wear-and-tear. More about that is in this post.

My wishful thinking is that they were seeking 150 miles of range with the 32” tires which would obviously indicate a much higher range on standard tires. We will have to wait and see.

 

[AZFox]

My wishful thinking is that they were seeking 150 miles of range with the 32” tires which would obviously indicate a much higher range on standard tires. We will have to wait and see.

The agents' tendency is to be optimistically encouraging, sometimes to a fault.

My wishful thinking was that I could install light and narrow All-Terrain tires on 16-inch wheels. The first two times I asked, they said "yes". The third time I was very specific about whether the 16-inch wheel would fit. It won't.

I turns out that swapping to different tires can influence range tremendously. The agent probably isn't aware of that.

 

[AZFox]

Wow, educational for me. Efficiency over style 😁

"There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch."
--Milton Friedman

If efficiency is your bag, All-Terrain tires aren't for you.

 

[AZFox]

All-Terrain are mostly decorative on the Slate Truck because the chassis will be too stiff and the suspension travel will be too short for doing any serious off-roading.

Something to note:
The All-Terrain tires Slate Auto has been showing us are not 32-inch tires. They're 31-inchers.

Even if 32s somehow fit, they trade away far too much IMHO.

Information about an "actual 32-inch" tire size that fits on 17-inch wheels is in this post and it's comparison-visualized in this post.

235/75R17 (30.9" x 9.3") appears to be the "Goldilocks" All-Terrain tire size because

• it's not super heavy
• it's not especially wide (helps with rolling resistance)
• It's only slightly taller than the stock tire (+0.4" diameter)
• It's available in an appropriate Load Range

If that size doesn't require the Lift Kit it's all the better.

Comparison screenshots for 245/75s are in this post.

 

[JoeBlow-Kokomo]

In particular I'd like to know if a 16" wheel can be fitted.

A 16" wheel is lighter than a 17 and provides 1/2" more sidewall height.

I looked up my likely tire choice. It weighs two pounds less in 235/85R16 compared to 235/80R17 (44 pounds vs. 46 pounds). Lowering un-sprung weight by installing a lighter tire and wheel with a taller sidewall provides advantages, including an efficiency advantage.

Lighter because it's skinnier.................. that's not a positive...........

 

[thespacecowboy]

Lighter because it's skinnier.................. that's not a positive...........

In the images in the post you quoted you can see that both a 16" wheel with a 235 tire and a 17" wheel with a 235 tire share the same width, 9.3". Assuming that you're using a wheel that's the same width between the two sizes, and the tires are the same width, neither is skinnier. It's just a smaller diameter wheel. In this case the tradeoff is that the 16" wheel/tire combo would be a tenth of an inch shorter overall which equates to 2 more revolutions per mile, which is practically nothing, but is technically more wear on the motor/drivetrain, but that may be made up for in the weight savings in the smaller wheel and the lighter tire.

 

[thespacecowboy]

Has anyone been able to get any specs on the stock wheels? Interested in bolt pattern, width, and offset. Curious to see if there are any lighter weight 17'' wheels out there that may fit.

 

[KevinRS]

Has anyone been able to get any specs on the stock wheels? Interested in bolt pattern, width, and offset. Curious to see if there are any lighter weight 17'' wheels out there that may fit.

No, wheel/bolt pattern haven't been released, even if someone has measured on a prototype, it was a prototype.

 

[Ronnie]

I have always run AT tires on my pickups, far less tire failures, but a bit rougher ride. Is it likely the stock Slate tires will be specail EV tires and are those "weak" and prone to failure in anything but strictly on highway use with no load? I am not going to be rock crawling wirh it, but gravel roads, mild off road, and boat ramps.

 

[cadblu]

Has anyone been able to get any specs on the stock wheels? Interested in bolt pattern, width, and offset. Curious to see if there are any lighter weight 17'' wheels out there that may fit.

I cannot verify accuracy, but checkout this closeup of the stock steel wheel I located on social media. It’s stamped 17*8-25 mm. Which I believe translates to a wheel diameter of 17 inches, 8 inches width, and offset of 25mm. Does this help?

 

[Shrink36s]

Wildly speculative without actual specs.
One of the most common sizes is 5 x 114.3 (5 x 4.5). One could surmise since Slate prefers off-the-shelf, a more common size is what they chose. However, I wouldn’t go buying wheels until specs are released.

 

[kvermeer]

I cannot verify accuracy, but checkout this closeup of the stock steel wheel I located on social media. It’s stamped 17.8-25 millimeters. Which I believe translates to a wheel diameter of 17.8 inches and offset of 25mm.

Nice find, but no, it's stamped 17x8.0_25 which means diameter 17, width 8, 25mm offset.

It's also stamped fifteen52, which is an aftermarket manufacturer that makes those rims in 5x120, 5x130, and 5x150:

https://fifteen52.com/products/analog-hd-asphalt-black?variant=41203780190274

I'd wager that they'd cut a custom product with a bolt circle of 5x114.5 if an OEM asked nicely.

So those look like steelies but are actually aluminum, which is interesting. I love the look of the steel wheels, but you might get slightly better range with lighter aluminum rims.... Those are a little out of my price range at MSRP but at least they exist!