HOW UNPLUGGED PERFORMANCE USES SOPHISTICATED AERODYNAMICS RESEARCH TO DESIGN AND VALIDATE NEW TESLA MODEL 3 PRODUCTS
We have recently completed research and development on some exciting new aerodynamic products for the Tesla Model 3. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was leveraged to validate an add-on front lip and rear spoiler that accomplish something really challenging – more range and more downforce!
A whitepaper on the CFD study has been released to support our aerodynamic study. You can access the in-depth details of the process for free by clicking here:
- A 21% reduction in total vehicle drag and a 0.049 Cd reduction resulting from the installation of three Unplugged Performance parts (front spoiler, dual rate springs, rear spoiler). This means we’ve made the Model 3 even more aerodynamically efficient than it comes off the assembly line in Fremont!
- This substantial drag reduction lowers energy costs and increases maximum range.
- We have calculated that using the above three products in combination could result in over $1000 in energy savings over 100,000 miles of simulated driving. This is handy information when your significant other complains about you spending more money on your car!
The Unplugged Performance ethos has been always focused on the enhancement of performance driving. Important to that vision, the same three products that yielded a 21% reduction in drag also yielded substantial gains in both front and rear downforce as illustrated below.
Further, an additional configuration of the high efficiency trunk spoiler was created to adapt it into a high downforce trunk spoiler for ultimate handling performance.
Specific results per product are as follows...
UNPLUGGED PERFORMANCE FRONT LIP SPOILER
Highlights:
- 6.6% decrease in drag
- 0.015 reduction in Cd
- 35.4% improvement in front downforce
UNPLUGGED PERFORMANCE DUAL RATE LINEAR LOWERING SPRING SET – MODERATE
Highlights:
- 8.1% decrease in drag
- 0.019 reduction in Cd
UNPLUGGED PERFORMANCE HIGH EFFICIENCY REAR SPOILER
Highlights:
- 6.3% decrease in drag
- 0.015 reduction in Cd
- 83.7% improvement in rear downforce
UNPLUGGED PERFORMANCE HIGH DOWNFORCE REAR SPOILER
Highlights:
- When converting the High Efficiency Rear Spoiler to High Downforce with the added optional gurney flap, drag reduction becomes 0.1%, but rear downforce increases to 160.9% (versus a Model 3 without a rear spoiler).
- For comparison, the Tesla Performance rear spoiler was also tested and results in 2.3% drag reduction and 34.7% increase in rear downforce over a Model 3 without a rear spoiler.
This scientific data driven approach to aero tuning is pretty exciting and never done in the Tesla aftermarket! We love leading the way in innovation and this is a big step for us. If you are into details, we’ve published plenty of them!
To learn more, check out the full whitepaper, and please also share it online with other Tesla owners!
