(VIDEO) A YouTuber took the Tesla Cybertruck into an authorized wind tunnel to check what coefficient it has | PiataAuto.md

April 1, 2024, 4:50 p.m
PiataAuto.md editors

Tesla Cybertruck is the model that continues to eclipse everything that can be done in the USA, and the owners and those who test models offer it all kinds of new experiences, with original ideas. Now a YouTuber decided to verify the good aerodynamic coefficient claimed by Tesla and took a Cybertruck into an authorized wind tunnel, going through the whole spectacular series of tests and checks made by the engineers there. The actual result was less good than Tesla claims for its model.

When, about 4 years ago, Elon Musk promised that the Tesla Cybertruck would have an aerodynamic coefficient of 0.30 when it reached the production stage, and such a coefficient would be incredibly good for a pick-up truck. But when the model was launched at the end of 2023, the official data from Tesla already showed a coefficient of 0.34, so less good due to greater aerodynamic resistance.

And to be as clear as possible, even a coefficient of 0.34 is very good for a pick-up truck, actually. The GMC Hummer EV has 0.5 for example, so it’s kind of like a brick without any concern for the currents around it, which makes it very inefficient. The Ford F-150 Lightning is 0.44, so a bit better, but still not perfect. And the Chevrolet Silverado EV is already better in this chapter, with 0.33, so even a little better than Tesla. The most admirable figure, however, was achieved by the Rivian R1T, which has 0.30, as much as Tesla once wanted, but never achieved.

Well, the youtuber and his team went to a specialized wind tunnel, where even the cars that make it to NASCAR in the USA are tested, so it’s one of the best, which can somehow be accessed by the public and is not owned exclusively by engineering companies or manufacturers.

The problem with this wind tunnel is that it is quite narrow, and that can distort the results a bit. Usually, the tunnels used by manufacturers are larger, and thus the currents have the freedom to pass more freely past the car, without being constrained by the tunnel walls.

The Tesla Cybertruck was tested here anyway, with maximum effort from the engineers to ensure as objective conditions as possible. And these tests, with different colored vapors, actually show how well thought out Cybetruck’s design is in being aerodynamic, even if it is apparently rectangular.

The result obtained by Tesla was 0.384 in the end. By 0.044 more than the manufacturer announces, which is enough to influence the real efficiency and other parameters. But those from the wind tunnel say that the different figure obtained by them does not necessarily mean the denial of the figure claimed by Tesla, but is most likely due to different characteristics of the tunnels. However, even though there may be some margin in this variation, the difference seems a bit too large to be attributed to the shape of the tunnel alone.

But, as I said, we are talking about the most rectangular pick-up of our time, and such shapes that are also aerodynamic are not easy to create. So it’s still admirable what Tesla was able to do in terms of aerodynamics with the Cybertruck.

See it all in the video below.

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