A nice set of wheels can really transform the look of a car. At the same time, expensive wheels can be stressful to live with, as stone chips and curb hits take their toll. To that end, Unplugged Performance has built a new wheel it believes can better take the hits of real-life driving, and it’s marketing it to a certain class of driver.
The wheel in question is called the UP Forged Road Warrior. It’s currently offered for the Tesla Model Y and Model 3, and is intended to equip the Tesla Cybercab in future for use in the Robotaxi fleet. The company is calling this “the world’s first indestructible wheel.” It’s backing that claim up with a life time warranty. “Break it and it’s replaced for free,” notes the ad copy.
It’s a bold claim, and an unusual one at that. While wheel manufacturers compete on things like weight and durability, few specifically market their wheels as “indestructible,” or being able to shrug off potholes and curb hits. To this end, the wheels have a couple of innovative design features that specifically suit them to surviving rough treatment.
As you might expect, the wheels are a forged design—a manner of producing the wheels which allows for greater strength than simpler casting processes. They’re apparently made out of aerospace grade 6061-T6 aluminum, which sounds pretty good, and Unplugged Performance states they also have the highest load rating out of any Tesla aftermarket wheel out there. The wheels are designed to suit the standard tires fitted by Tesla, though the wheels are slightly narrower than the OEM rims. The company notes this provides a little extra protection, since the sidewall bulges out a little more. This means it’s more likely you might just clip a curb with the rubber tire, rather than the rim itself.
The best bit, though? The wheels feature a replaceable curb guard, also manufactured out of aluminum. This is effectively a metal ring that sits over the wheel itself, taking the brunt of the damage when the wheel hits or scrapes along a curb. The company demonstrates this with an amusing video in which the wheels are intentionally slammed into the curb.
It’s painful to watch, but it’s a vote of confidence in a key feature of the product. The curb guard appears to be a metal trim ring that sticks on top of the rim itself, and can be replaced without removing the tires. This is in contrast to rim protection solutions like AlloyGators, which can require deflating the tires or even refitting them to install properly. Replacement curb guards cost $80 for a pack of two, so it doesn’t cost too much to refresh your rims after a hit or seven.
The company also took measures to make the wheels as aerodynamically efficient as possible, choosing Tesla’s 18″ Aero wheels as their benchmark. According to the company’s wind tunnel testing, the 20″ Road Warrior wheel recorded a drag coefficent of 0.273. That’s almost as good as Tesla’s regular 18″ wheel (0.272), while comparable to the Tesla 18″ with Aero cover at 0.263.
The only thing that strikes a little weird is the company’s insistence on marketing these wheels for Cybercab/Robotaxi use. “A first-of-its-kind forged wheel built for the future of autonomous mobility and the Tesla Cybercab and Robotaxi fleet,” reads the company press release. It’s hardly a vote of confidence in Tesla’s self-driving technology.
Now, one wouldn’t imagine that these autonomous vehicles would be smashing into curbs on the regular. Nor is it obvious why they would specifically need an especially strong wheel. Apparently, though, that’s exactly the line of thinking over at Unplugged Performance.
The Road Warrior wheels don’t come cheap, but that’s pretty typical for forged aftermarket wheels. A set of 19″ rims will set you back $2,775, or $2,995 for the 20″ version. However, if you’ve got a 2026 Model Y, for a limited time, the company will give you a $1,000 rebate if you trade in your OEM wheels.
Overall, the Road Warrior wheel is a moderately interesting product marketed in a strange way. If they were sold merely as the toughest Tesla aftermarket wheels out there, we’d get it. We’re not particularly sure why they are so perfect for Robotaxi use, though, other than the fact that those vehicles will probably be racking up a lot of miles. Still, if you’ve got a fleet of Model 3s or Model Ys that are really racking up the miles, and your drivers are always slamming them into curbs, you might find these wheels particularly appealing. Particularly with that warranty on offer.
Image credits: Unplugged Performance
Aside from the perhaps foolish connection with Tesla, these seem like a great idea.
Forged T6 is pretty stout stuff for the weight.
They’re either perfect for Robotaxis, or for Floridian Tesla drivers.
Instead of getting these wheels, just get a set of cheap steelies in the smallest size that will fit over the brakes and then get tires with some actual sidewall.
Right? Steel is the answer here.
Seems there’s a cheaper way to go with better aero
https://www.tesery.com/products/tesla-model-3-highland-y-aero-wheel-covers-masked-rider-sticker
Pet peeve:
God, I wish “aerospace aluminum” as a marketing claim would die a miserable and painful death. Virtually nobody using the term is buying using any spec from Boeing, Airbus, etc. that exceeds the regular spec for 6061-T6 or 2024-T3. Probably two-thirds of the parts I have designed for production tooling were out of those two alloys. 6061-T6 is standard structural plate.
See also “billet aluminum.” Hello mister bike accessories company, it’s fine if you want to say that your fancy clutch pedal is machined rather than cast, but I know you are not buying aluminum billets from a foundry and breaking them down yourself. Billets are like 2x6x8 feet and weigh more than your integrity, and they travel by rail. You’re possibly buying standard commercial rod or sheet stock from extruding or rolling mills, or much more likely from a metals distributor since you don’t have close to the order volume to contact a mill.
As a machinist, I wholeheartedly agree. But, aerospace grade material sound great.
Not as great as “medical grade”.
Or “military grade”
*cringe!*
ughhhh yes. And “mil-spec.” For people not familiar: any engineering or product specification (including if it comes from the military) specifies the minimum thing that can be delivered, and should be linked to the thing’s function (even if that function is appearance). A mil spec could call out something of lower strength, for example, than what you are used to buying, depending on how that particular military need that prompted that spec matches up with consumer marketplace needs.
tAcTiCaL GrAdE for ma Prepper shed.
AAAAaaaaAAAAaaaAAAAAAAA
“ I wish “aerospace aluminum” as a marketing claim would die a miserable and painful death”
Ok… how about “military grade aluminum” instead?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkkJ_1q4geI
To be a bit pedantic: What kinda bike has a billet clutch pedal? I know some dudes with suicide shifters that have one, but they’re a loooooong way from billet.
That said I agree with your points.
Quite true, my mistake. Clutch handgrip, shift pedal/peg. Right? Or left, I believe. I don’t ride.
Do they make these with spinners?
Might this be the first time an aftermarket wheel company did wind tunnel testing? I am honestly impressed they did that.
They would never pay this much for them, but it would take a year’s worth of taxi duty in Manhattan for me to begin to believe the “indestructible” part.