4 Aesthetic & Soundproofing Exterior Upgrades for Model Y
There are a ton of Teslas on the coasts of the US. And because they all look the same, Tesla owners love customizing their cars. Additionally, they absolutely hate wind noise.
Here are some aesthetic and functional accessories to make your Model Y unique and quieter.
Efficiency
EV owners are obsessed with efficiency. A spoiler reduces drag by “smoothing” the air behind the car. Less drag means higher efficiency.
This is one of the reasons why the Model Y Performance has a carbon fiber spoiler on top of the trunk! For other trims, a spoiler can be easily added.
When I added my spoiler to my car, I saw a 3.96% in efficiency. In other words, installing my spoiler added 10 miles of range to my car. My experimental result is inline with Unplugged Performance’s independent aerodynamic study’s results.
While Unplugged Performance’s study and my results are with Model 3, the efficiency improvement should be very similar for Model Y.
The carbon fiber spoiler¹ looks really nice and is extremely simple to install. The tool-less installation takes less than 10 minutes.
Chrome Delete
I personally like the look of a “chrome delete” on modern cars. These satin black decals remove the chrome on the hood & trunk Tesla logos, and the wheels. And they look great, match the “chrome delete” around the windows, side mirrors, side repeater cameras, door handles very well.
I love this kit because it comes with everything that you need to do the install. The step by step instructions are very clear, and just in case you make a mistake, they give you an extra set of decals.
Mud Flaps
Tesla’s paint is relatively soft when compared to other automakers. So it seems to scratch easier.
Because the sides of the car wrap “underneath” the car, a lot of dirt and mud gets kicked up onto the doors by the tires. These mud flaps¹ help a lot with this. They also won’t scrape on the ground like the mud flaps directly from Tesla. I like that they’re discreet and don’t impact the visuals of the car.
Making Model Y Quieter
EV drivers hate noise. Wind noise is air howling at you. And tire/road noise is an equally annoying hum.
The gaps in the door panels cause a lot of wind noise because there are a lot of panel gaps (basically 3 gaps per door). This door seal kit¹ reduces wind noise caused by those gaps with rubber weather stripping. It’s also inexpensive and it can be installed in about 30 minutes.
From LivingTesla experimenting, this door seal kit¹ should reduce noise by 2 to 4 dB at highway speeds.
And as an added benefit, these seals also keep the door sills clean (dirt/mud kicked up by the front wheels can’t enter the door panel gaps).
Summary/TL;DR
- Carbon fiber spoiler¹ that increases efficiency & range and also looks really great.
- Satin black chrome delete kit¹ to remove the chrome around the car.
- Mud flaps¹ to keep your car cleaner and to help protect the fragile paint.
Reducing Noise
Further Reading?
If you enjoyed this article, consider checking out these articles going over other categories of accessories!
- Interior Accessories:
If you’ve never experienced a Tesla, check out the things I learned driving a Tesla Model 3 Performance:
Or see what my commute is like as a Silicon Valley Engineer with a Tesla Model 3:
If you’d like to get your very own Tesla, you can get 1,000 miles of FREE Supercharger miles if you use my referral link! https://ts.la/matthew18238
Footnotes
[1]: Disclosure: I may make a commission if you use this link.
