Door dings and hail dents

[santana338]

Has anyone given any thought as to whether the Model S will be more or less affected by things like door dings and hail given its aluminum body panels? I guess this same question would apply to other production cars that use aluminum panels, but I don't know anything about those models and I figured some of you folks would.

Living where hail is common makes you wonder if the pano roof is a good idea or not...

 

[spatterso911]

Has anyone given any thought as to whether the Model S will be more or less affected by things like door dings and hail given its aluminum body panels? I guess this same question would apply to other production cars that use aluminum panels, but I don't know anything about those models and I figured some of you folks would.

Living where hail is common makes you wonder if the pano roof is a good idea or not...

Door dings, yes. Hail storms, no. It will be hard to avoid dings unless you are fairly conscientious, but it can be done. I have had exactly 1 door ding in 8 years because of how I choose to park my car. Pano roof is likely a laminated high strength glass. Unlike to fail in a hail storm. My LR3 is all glass roof, and is so strong, you can walk on it!


Sent from my iPad

 

[KBF]

So would you say the pano roof is stronger than the non-pano? Anyone test out walking on top of the pano's at the test drives?

 

[NigelM]

Some discussion here: More-factory-pics

 

[spatterso911]

So would you say the pano roof is stronger than the non-pano? Anyone test out walking on top of the Dr's at the test drives?

Probably equivalent, but at the expense of headroom in the non-pano version in order, most likely, to achieve the same strength and rollover performance. No footprints on my roof, please. It's a pain polishing all that glass!


Sent from my iPad

 

[VolkerP]

Cars with aluminum body panels are known to be far more susceptible to dents from hail storm than steel ones. That is, they will get dents from hail where steel takes no deformation. Roadster owners report that their CF body panels don't mind even the biggest hail.

 

[Doug_G]

Roadster owners report that their CF body panels don't mind even the biggest hail.

The first week I had my Roadster golf ball sized hail hit me while I was driving. I'd never seen hail like that before. It just bounced off the CF, but I seriously thought the windshield was going to break! Later while washing the car I noticed a miniscule little round ding in the metal T badge on the front hood.

 

[santana338]

Thanks for the info. It sounds like I need to make sure I can keep my covered parking at work then. :wink:

 

[jerry33]

Just look at the hail dents as a chance to lower the aerodynamic resistance.

 

[NigelM]

Mythbusters did it....golf-ball-aerodynamics-makes-cars-go-further-just-like-well-golf-balls/

 

[jerry33]

I wonder if Telsa would supply that as an option?

 

[VolkerP]

That would be the lacewood exterior. Can be combined with CF accents :tongue:

 

[VolkerP]

hail storm warning app

I think the best cure to hail dents is to evade hail storms. An in-car app should link up with a meteorological warning center and display hail storms in your vicinity so you can navigate away or find shelter in time.

 

[ecarfan]

I have a Model S on order and have been thinking about how to protect the car's aluminum body from door dings when I have no choice but to park next to other vehicles (which in my work is unavoidable). For my Porsche I use a magnetic hard foam bumper called the DoorShield which is simple to place and remove as needed (see DoorShield). Of course that won't work on Tesla doors! However, the Doorshield product does have an elastic strap that goes inside and around the door, so maybe that will hold it in place. I've been searching for something that might be better suited for the Tesla, and after searching this Forum I don't find any posts offering a solution. I know that some people say that there really is nothing you can effectively do to protect from door dings, but I believe using some sort of door guard will significantly reduce the likelihood of door damage.

Hail storms are a different kind of concern, but fortunately I live in a mild climate (SF Bay Area) and hail of any significant size is a very low probability event.

 

[FlasherZ]

I've had my car for 10 1/2 months now. I do treat her with respect, but I've found that my life is just a lot less stressful if I don't fret over every little ding. They're going to happen, especially on a daily driver. "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Dings..."

 

[Gizmotoy]

I've had a car with aluminum hood/roof/front fenders/front doors for about 6 years now. I was initially pretty worried about how well it would hold up, but it's been excellent. It's seen hail twice with no damage, and despite having been hit a couple times by doors, no lasting effects (buffed out). So while it may be less sturdy than steel panels, it's not exactly fragile, either.

That said, if you do get damage, paintless dent removal can be more difficult. A lot of places charge more for working on aluminum since you have to go more slowly and carefully.