So, I didnt even know this was a thing until yesterday.
They are located at the front, under the "nose" of the car. Where some aftermarket front plate holders attach. There are 2 of them, left and right. And supposedly they should be closed 90% of the time to allow for better aerodynamics while driving (hence lower Wh/Mile). Here is a video of Model S one actuating, I cant find a model 3 or Y video -
They are supposed to open when more cooling is required for the radiator behind them. One way to make them open is to do charging (not sure if low 110v 12A charge will produce enough heat or not). But they should open when the battery fan kicks in.
Now, mine are just always open. Granted I only found out about them yesterday. So I have less than 24 hours of sample size for mine. Ill keep monitoring it. Maybe it just hasnt hit a condition in which they close. But I would think they should have closed overnight when car was just idling (not charging).
I walked over to my neighbor's MY and his were open as well with the car just parked in the driveway. I walked over to another neighbor's M3 and on the M3 they were closed. It was also parked.
So same ambient temps/conditions and all 3 cars parked. M3 closed, both MY's open.
Im not sure how to force them to close. Do you know if yours actually actuate? Or are always open or closed? Always open would probably be better than always closed, since you are sacrificing range for better cooling, versus having better range but potentially making your cooling system work way harder.
Post if yours are open/closed and under what conditions. I think ambient temp may play a role since its cooling related. My ambient is 80F. (Southern California).
They are located at the front, under the "nose" of the car. Where some aftermarket front plate holders attach. There are 2 of them, left and right. And supposedly they should be closed 90% of the time to allow for better aerodynamics while driving (hence lower Wh/Mile). Here is a video of Model S one actuating, I cant find a model 3 or Y video -
They are supposed to open when more cooling is required for the radiator behind them. One way to make them open is to do charging (not sure if low 110v 12A charge will produce enough heat or not). But they should open when the battery fan kicks in.
Now, mine are just always open. Granted I only found out about them yesterday. So I have less than 24 hours of sample size for mine. Ill keep monitoring it. Maybe it just hasnt hit a condition in which they close. But I would think they should have closed overnight when car was just idling (not charging).
I walked over to my neighbor's MY and his were open as well with the car just parked in the driveway. I walked over to another neighbor's M3 and on the M3 they were closed. It was also parked.
So same ambient temps/conditions and all 3 cars parked. M3 closed, both MY's open.
Im not sure how to force them to close. Do you know if yours actually actuate? Or are always open or closed? Always open would probably be better than always closed, since you are sacrificing range for better cooling, versus having better range but potentially making your cooling system work way harder.
Post if yours are open/closed and under what conditions. I think ambient temp may play a role since its cooling related. My ambient is 80F. (Southern California).
