
It is also easily adjustable to accommodate different applications, such as bikes and roof boxes made possible by the availability of T slots on its aluminum crossbars.įurther, the model 3 roof rack was designed not to compromise the car’s range, aerodynamics, and negligible interior noise. The roof rack for model 3 merges with the car well and is easily installed. After the launch of the rack, sales for skis, boxes and bikes roof racks have posted impressive sales. True to expectation, Tesla developed a roof rack for model 3, slightly a year of its launch. This demonstrated the same could be done for the Model 3. Tesla had previously successfully developed a roof rack for its model S, which also had a glass roof.

The glass roof on model 3 presented a challenge as there was no easy way of attaching a roof rack without compromising safety standards. However, from research, a significant number of model 3 buyers expressed their desire for additional space for accessories, for example, bikes, roof boxes, et cetera. The fact that it came with a glass roof further complicated the development of a suitable one. However, when this car was launched, it did not have a roof rack. You can even term them as ‘trendy cars.’ The Tesla Model 3 is one such car that has hit the market with a boom. He wouldn’t recommend that everyone turn their roof box around even if it improves efficiency.Today Tesla cars are in high demand. Other than that, Hearst also explained that the aerodynamic performance of the box can affect different cars in different ways and increase turbulence and noise. After all, the car has the pointed part in front, and the box should match the car. One of them is the aesthetics p eople buy products that look the way they expect. Jason Hearst at NTNU explains to Norway’s TU: So why are roof-box makers not recommending that they be installed like that?Īerodynamics researcher R.

You can think of the wings of an airplane or a raindrop. The shape is definitely more aerodynamic. The Model 3 owner says that his car gets the same range as if the roof rack is installed without the box if the box is installed with the larger side forward. When the roof box is installed the way it is recommended by the manufacturer (right image above), it reduces the range by about 16%. He conducted some tests to see how it impacts efficiency, and the results are surprising.įritzson says that the roof rack alone impacts efficiency by about 3.6%. Peter Fritzson, a Tesla Sweden Club member, decided to turn his roof box around at the suggestion of his neighbor who is an aerodynamic performance expert:

Now a Tesla Model 3 owner in Sweden has made a simple discovery with his roof-rack box that increases the efficiency quite a bit. Some owners have been testing how a roof rack and a roof-rack box affect the efficiency and range of the Model 3, which is inevitable. The product has been so popular that it has sold out on several occasions. More than a year later, Tesla finally launched the roof rack as a $450 aftermarket product on its shop website. That said, we knew it was possible since Tesla designed one for the Model S with a glass roof, and a Model 3 prototype was spotted with a roof rack in 2017.
#Tesla model 3 roof rack install#
With Model 3’s glass roof, there wasn’t a clear way to safely install a roof rack to transport things like bikes or skis. A Tesla Model 3 owner figured out that his electric car is much more efficient with a roof-rack box gets if he flips the box around.
