Are Aero Caps A Worthwhile Upgrade for Electric Vehicles? Testing the HALOBLK HALODISCS
Most modern electric vehicles ship with plastic hub caps designed to optimize the aerodynamics of the wheels. With their high efficiency conversion from energy to motion, electric vehicles are subject to a much greater impact from aerodynamics, and optimizing this for the wheels can deliver a 5–10% improvement in efficiency.
Higher efficiency translates to a lower cost per mile, saving you money with every mile you drive. This is especially impactful on long road trips where the miles add up and so do the charging costs. Aerodynamics are of particular importance above 55 miles per hour, where overcoming aerodynamic drag accounts for 50% of a vehicle’s energy consumption, as compared to 20% of the energy at city speeds.
Disclaimer: HALOBLK provided the aerocaps to the author for the purposes of this review.
With that in mind, I was excited to hear HALOBLK was coming out with a set of their HALODISCs for the Cybertruck. The stock aerocaps on my Cybertruck have taken more than their fair share of abuse, and several of them rattle like a set of cheap maracas from Temu.
The Install
Installing the HALODISC 2 Tesla Wheel Covers was a straightforward process — though, I was not the one doing the install. A centerlock hub insert pops into the existing hole in Tesla’s stock rims, which has a locking ring along the outside to tighten up the fitment. The HALODISC then slides on over the exposed threads on the hub, with a color-coded centerlock cap to hold it firmly in place.
The centerlock cap is tightened up with the included wrench, making everything nice and snug. Finally, a colored accent ring twist locks into place, covering up the centerlock system for a clean, modern look. The accent ring is color matched to the default text on the HALODISC. Though, it seems like they can customize just about anything about these if you’re willing to put in the work.
HALOBLK Efficiency
At lower speeds, the efficiency gains from the HALOBLK HALODISCS in our testing was negligible. It’s at freeway speeds where they really start to play a factor. In our testing, we saw efficiency improvements from 5–9% at highway speeds, depending on the flow of traffic, compared to our efficiency with bare rims.
If you tend to drive faster, you’ll likely see bigger efficiency improvements over rims with exposed spokes. If you’re going from the factory aerocaps that come with many EVs today to the HALOBLK HALODISCS, you’ll likely see less improvement, as the factory aerocaps attempt to accomplish the same thing.
I typically drive 70 mph, so it’s understandable my results are somewhat lower than what others are seeing. If you look at customer reviews across the internet, they’re seeing anywhere from 3–12% improvements in efficiency on the Model 3 & Y variants. That’s noticeable and impressive from something as simple as adding a cool looking hubcap.
The Value Equation
Whether purchasing a set of HALOBLK HALODISCS for the Tesla Cybertruck or another electric vehicle is worth it depends on your use case. If you’re a road warrior driving a vehicle that doesn’t currently have aerocaps and you’re looking to streamline your vehicle for better efficiency, the HALODISCS could be a great option for you. Alternatively, if you already have aerocaps on your an EV and you do mostly city driving below 55 mph, they probably won’t pay out.
Having said that, many people will likely upgrade to the HALOBLK HALODISCS just for the looks alone. They pack a modern, futuristic vibe that’s unmatched on any rims or hubcaps we’ve seen. In addition, they offer a wide range of customizations, from different prints which can be completely custom to the addition of your own custom number set and text.
For me personally, I’m excited to have them to streamline the street portion of the long road trips I enjoy taking. From there, I plan to remove them for the off-road portions of the trip so I don’t unnecessarily damage them from the rocks, trees, sticks, and the like that regularly reach out to say hi on the trail.
Overall
It’s clear aerocaps make a noticeable difference in efficiency, and it’s great to have the data to clearly say that the HALOBLK HALODISCs deliver a noticeable improvement over bare rims. That’s a huge difference and translates to not only financial savings, but also lower emissions for road traffic in cases where that’s relevant.
The real challenge for aerocaps is that not many people like the plastic look of factory wheel covers — thus, the challenge becomes finding a set that improve the look of the vehicle — and for many EV owners, including Cybertrucks, the flat HALOBLK wheel covers with their futuristic designs are an attractive option.
HALOBLK offers their HALODISC 2 wheel covers for most stock Tesla rims, with the Cybertruck wheel covers slated to launch on October 15th of this year. From more information about the all new HALODISC 2s for Cybertrucks and their other wheel covers, head over to their official website.
