Aptera Wheel Cover/Pants info and issues

[len]

They have done lots of enhancements around the wheel covers, many shared in videos I remember the size and shape change on the front covers as the most significant The length and slight twist we see in this rendering are some. (There are other cosmetic/ protective enhancements like the scuff segments of the covers too) Let’s watch as they head to the production intent!

[ray-holan]

Hi, Nathaniel. Given Aptera’s obsession with aerodynamics, I’m certain the efficiency of the wheel covers has been given careful consideration.

[curtis-cibinel]

The wheel covers were optimized in the gamma build and have been enhanced with low speed impact surface. Airflow near the body is optimized. Given the need to fit a fairly standard tire inside and have clearance to the group for real world driving they can only do so much. They cant move them forward or extend them further without impacting usability substantially (this isn’t a solar racer – still needs to be usable)

[nathaniel-stephenson]

Thanks for the replies everyone. As you all pointed out, they just can’t be that bad considering the overall drag coefficient. And looking at that render again, depending on the turn radius and Ackermann level they would very likely interfere with the fuselage in tight turns if they were any longer, wider, shaped differently, etc…

[steph]

I love the look, but ground clearance is a big problem. Road berms, flat tires, ect. are going damage the covers. May have to sacrifice some aero for reliability.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 6 months ago by  Stephen Copp.

[lawrence-b]

Having a few inches of easily removable foam that goes around the entire bottom of each wheel cover would give each person the option to have the correct amount of ground clearance depending on the road conditions. The bottom of the wheel cover would get damaged eventually, so like the front and back wheel foam protection, the bottom can also be replaced when damaged.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 6 months ago by  lawrence b.
• This reply was modified 1 year, 6 months ago by  Gabriel Kemeny.

[Greek]

Hey Lawrence, my idea is to have a bristle like substance surrounding the whole bottom of the pants to tolerate just about everything up to the point of breaking the pants themselves. Not sure how well it could match the same aerodynamics of APTERA’s has already achieved. Bristles generally can bounce back or at least moved back into place. Your solution may be more eloquent visually though…I’m just trying to think of a solution that wouldn’t need replacing parts so often. Another advantage of bristles though may allow you to almost touch the road.

[curtis-cibinel]

I’d love an option to buy a separate set of super minimal wheel covers that satisfy the legal need for lighting and wheel exposure. I typically drive on very good roads but also need to be able to make up it unpaved, washboard, gravel or muddy roads to get to hikes. Since the wheel pants are relatively easy to swap I’d love to just swap them out when getting to the transition to these roads. I may always encounter a vehicle coming down and it is sometimes dark so having illumination on the wheel pants is still needed (including legally required BTW)

[T_Soph]

idea for wheel covers

[Riley]

That would need to be a very fast acting system to react in time before hitting a pothole. I do like the idea of having the front and rear lower portions pivot inward. If instead of a sensor and actuator I would prefer the hinged lower segments move freely so that in the moment of free fall into a pothole the tire takes all the impact. It would be nice to have the rear segment automatically raise while in revers as that will be the most common point of damage with the current design.

[T_Soph]

<font style=”vertical-align: inherit;”><font style=”vertical-align: inherit;”>If your tire fall into a pothole maybe ,but if it is a speedbump or something else on the road or a ramp to a parking space , you need to raise enough the height of the fender mechanicaly (meaning the electromagnetic actuator) and is much faster than the reverse force of gravity .I don’t know the type of roads you have in USA , but here , in Greece is awful !!! S</font></font>o we need more space between the road and the lower part of the covers.

[jonah-jorgenson]

An interesting concept.

I believe the complexity, weight, added cost, and the point that Aptera is in their development cycle, would preclude it for use in a first generation production Aptera.

Once the Aptera is in the market place and there is customer feedback on the features of the vehicle, changes may be made for subsequent production Apterae.

[Pistonboy]

Does anyone know if the wheel shrouds spring loaded?

What do I mean by this? Are the shrouds held down in place by springs, but when going over a bump, they will rise up while dragging on the bump, and then return to their normal position when past the bump?

This is much better than breaking.

[curtis-cibinel]

The front wheels and wheel pants move up and down together with the same suspension action; As such the clearance inside the wheel pants wont change during driving like a normal car even with bumps. The rear wheel moves up and down inside the shroud more like you would generally expect.

[Pistonboy]

In this video at time 6:15, is an example of what I mean. I fear the shroud may drag on the bump before and especially after the wheel has cleared the bump but the shroud has not. This is not an especially large bump either.

https://youtu.be/J25JXZyMxys?t=375https://youtu.be/J25JXZyMxys?t=375

[ROMAD]

If they don’t trim the pants higher, then we owners will have to either decide how high to trim them or remove them altogether. It would be nice to see the Off-Road option installed on the Gamma or Delta to see how much higher the pants are with that option.

[jesthorbjorn]

I suspect that the question might be: are the wheel pants hard mounted to the hub or is there some allowance for movement at that point? I further suspect that they are hard mounted having seen nothing to suggest otherwise.

Let’s not forget one of the things talked up at the FCL SD event; that the bottom of the wheel pants is the foam that should be compressible along with wearing away to the extent required to clear the road surface irregularities any given driver regularly encounters. I imagine the sound of it doing so could be quite distressing though.

[HeliumHead]

Pulling into a parking space with a ‘bumper’ will risk scraping the wheel cover. I’m already planning to find car door weather stripping – or similar – to line the bottom edge of the wheel covers.

[harry-parker]

No need, they’ve already thought of that. Aptera reps. have stated they have designed the wheel pants to have “bumper” features built in.

[Stone]

I am sure that probably sooner rather than later, I would scrape the wheel pants on the curb parking. Wouldn’t it make sense and be the simplest practical solution to extend the EVA rubber now shown at the front and rear of the cover around the entire outer edge so that it is at least higher than a typical city curb? I know this will hurt the aesthetics but so does a scraped-up cover and you need to make some concessions to practicality. This would maintain the aerodynamics and not add complexity and weight.

• This reply was modified 11 months ago by  Greg Angsten.

[OkieKev]

In the current design configuration, the foam areas are shaped blocks. I don’t think that it would be suitable or even possible to form it into a thin wall of foam and replacing the lower fiberglass portion of the wheel pant. Unless you are speaking of an overlay of the fiberglass side wall of the wheel pant. If that is the case, you could find some material yourself and glue it to the lower portion of the wheel pant’s outer wall.

[Mike-Mars]

A thin foam layer would probably delaminate the first time it encounters a kerb.

TBH despite being fairly clumsy, I am still most concerned about other drivers in a car park. In my part of the world, car parking spots are fairly narrow (1.8M wide for on-street parking, 2.3-2.4M wide for car parks, standard garage doors here are about 2.1M).

[Biker]

Posted on the socials last night:

We’re about ready to unveil a never-before-seen Aptera feature 🔧

Stay tuned for more 🎥

[craig-merrow]

I like the teaser shot, looking forward to learning more!

[Kamakiri]

What I think the teaser is showing us will be the outer spat functioning like a door for access to the wheel for changing. That’s what I see based on the seals, latch and what looks like a spring bar/clip mechanism. Looking forward to the reveal. Good times.

[Tom]

That’s my guess, too. Why else would the be showing the exposed front wheel? But, who knows… maybe they’ll surprise us!

[ray-holan]

The latest video released by Aptera shows the spats/wheel covers/ fairings/whatever swinging up to give you clear unobstructed access to the wheel and tire. Sweet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmnThNp0654

[ROMAD]

Hmmm, I wonder if after swiveling up, you can just pull off the cover? If so, how secure is the latch?

[Greek]

Awesomely clever!

[craig-merrow]

That is really neat! I wonder how they will handle access to the rear wheel?

[curtis-cibinel]

Unclear but the release could be this button potentially.

[UnidentifiedDrivingObject]

To me, it looks like the cyclops single headlight on/off button.

[curtis-cibinel]

Unclear from the video if the pants open automatically or the button is just the release and you need to manually lift it (it shouldn’t be that heavy). Unfortunately these kinds of animations make people think Aptera can do a model X style automatic door / pant dance and I really doubt that is the case. To be cost effective Aptera needs to be strategic about every bit of complexity they add.

PS: Ton of nice details like the speakers, vents, fluid, emergency exit handle, license plate ball, etc to be noted. Great UI layout.

[UnidentifiedDrivingObject]

Holy crap. My prayers were answered by Aptera 🙏 (easier access to Schrader valve stems). So the wheel pant housing is semi fixed. The lateral side cover, can just flip slide open almost clam-like, albeit vertically. One reason why I initially pre ordered, the slimmer/lifted profile ORK wheel pants (exposed lower tire wall & wheel lip with exposed Schraders; without opening the clam lid). I could revert back to these stock wheel pants. However, the lower lateral side of the stock right front wheel pant will still incur curb rashes (I can bet $$ on it hahah), while parallel parking. Still not enough clearance.

I can see it now…aftermarket see-thru wheel pant clam lid covers. 😄

[curtis-cibinel]

Tailosive identified the icon in the top left of the Ui as carplay. That is also significant<div>

Things to note: carplay icon, 1 wiper, rear ultrasonic, wiper fluid in door jam, and giant waterbottle

</div>

• This reply was modified 5 months, 3 weeks ago by  Curtis Cibinel. Reason: Added other observations

[UnidentifiedDrivingObject]

Carplay..Yes. I thought initially this updated render video would include the (2) red emergency door release latches (immediately below A pillar footwell side wall). It was shown on one of the interior renders, in our order page.

[ROMAD]

It does at 0:23 to 0:25 (it looks orange-ish)

[ROMAD]

Part 4 of Jason Hill & Steve from AOC review “review” discusses the wheel pants. Also Jason says an In Air 2 is in the works and will cover the rear wheel.

[craig-merrow]

Cool! Still waiting to how they will handle the rear wheel access for removal.