cptnslo
Member
I’ve never seen so many grown adults argue over the shape of a steering wheel and try to tell others that they’re unsafe drivers. Jesus 
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First Drive with a Steering Wheel on a Model S
- Thread starter PR0FESSOR
- Start date
SilentFlight
Member
AKA "habits". It also took more than 3 weeks for people to learn to drive a car with a wheel in the first place, so...
It also seems like some people who drive pretty intensely for a living prefer it. So it's not all black and white.
sleepydoc
Well-Known Member
The uses and needs of professional drivers (e.g. F1 cars) are totally different from the average motorist so you really can't compare the two.
F1 steering wheels also have something like 240° total rotation, while the S is more like 828 (2.3 turns lock to lock).
Also notice that F1 yoke is centered, while the pivot point on the S/X is offset (basically would be centered if it had the upper portion of the wheel). Just makes the whole thing feel awkward.
SilentFlight
Member
The picture I added is not a F1 car, but I hear you. "Feeling awkward" is a subjective, personal reaction, it is about you, not about the thing. Having to speak in public also makes most people feel awkward, but that doesn't mean public speaking is wrong. The reason for these never ending discussions is that this is subjective, and people have different habits and preferences. That doesn't make either preference the "right" one or better than the other. There is no need to convince anyone. The only question that matters is, which one is better for you?
zoomer0056
Active Member
I mean I'm trying to be diplomatic, but no I don't think it's subjective with regards to having the pivot point on your only means of controlling the direction of the car to being off center. I think it's straight up moronic.
People have uneventful drives on cars that look like this every day. Doesn't mean it's good design. Yoke has about the same energy.
zoomer0056
Active Member
Nice day today after 3 days of rain, beautiful. Now if I could get those damn leaf blowers to take a break, it would also be peaceful.
zoomer0056
Active Member
The yoke is not a round wheel ( of course, humor me here). But the pivot point is exactly in the center of the circle that's created by rotating the yoke. Most people complain about the top missing from the yoke. First time (for me) hearing about a pivot point complaint.
sleepydoc
Well-Known Member
Well, the point around which something rotates is the center of a circle by definition!
All pivot points are the center of a circle. It's just that this particular circle is not centered at the center of the yoke, which makes grabbing it during maneuvers less predictable. For driving to the grocery store? Not necessarily a problem. For doing performance driving? Potentially a big problem.
drunkenbuda
Member
Facts! The Yoke is part of the Model S signature. I love it and will not change.
zoomer0056
Active Member
Ok, but I can not relate to this. Two years and 16,000 miles and my yoke has not changed. Its very predictable.
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SilentFlight
Member
Just for perspective, here are a few more things that were described the same way when they were introduced:
- the car ("Horses are here to stay, the automobile is just a fad")
- touch screens ("Who would want to type on a piece of glass? So awkward...")
- eBooks ("There is nothing like ink on paper. No one wants to read from a screen")
- Wikipedia ("Everyone knows that a mass will only create crap content. You need professional writers and editors to produce anything worth reading")
... and so on. Given that the future of the car is driverless (however long that will take), I guess cutting the wheel in half (which will probably only be an optional extra in future cars, only to be used in emergencies, like a spare tire), seems like a step in the right direction for me.
Almost any change is first met with the opinion of the majority that "I like the old one, the new one feels weird, why change it?". Name any object that has been superseded by something much better and you will find people who will swear by it and still wouldn't use anything else (mechanical watches, fax machines, vinyl records...). It's subjective taste and preferences. I wouldn't call vinyl LPs moronic, even though they can only be played a few times and quality deteriorates every time they are played, they scratch and pop, super-high maintenance, yet still produce sound that is inferior to high end digitalized music... but some people love them. Let them be, and let yoke people enjoy their yokes too. Everything is subjective.
sleepydoc
Well-Known Member
And I could provide a list of “fabulous” ideas that turned out to be a bust. Arguing for an item’s worth based on how other items have been received is no argument at all.
There have been numerous objective arguments against the yoke. As far as I can tell, the two arguments for it are that it compensates for Tesla’s bad design, allowing better viewing of the dashboard, and “well I got used to it and I like it so it must be good.” Hardly compelling arguments. There are a few people who liked Howard the Duck, too, but it’s still an awful movie.
zoomer0056
Active Member
Here are some ideas that did not make it
25 WTF Vintage Inventions That Never Took Off
From baby cages to glowing tires to bicycle roller skates, these weird inventions of decades past simply never made a splash.
allthatsinteresting.com
SilentFlight
Member
I think the point you are missing is that the yoke is actually in use today, and some people actually like it. Obviously not the majority, which should be no surprise (it is a change, and it requires learning new habits and those things have never been popular with the masses), but given that there are many people who actually paid for getting their wheel replaced with a yoke, there is a market for it.
You can pick any product that is actually being sold, used and loved by a minority and say it is "bad" but seriously, who are you trying to convince? Products that are only loved by a minority are not "bad" products, they are called niche products.
And don't forget that you are driving a Tesla that most ICE car drivers think, even today, is a ridiculous, impractical product (attested by the fact that ICE cars still outsell electric cars 6:1). And they have strong arguments why electric cars are a bad choice and no one should buy one. So you are part of a minority that the majority disagrees with, arguing that within that minority, the majority that you belong to is more right than the minority that prefers a yoke. Oh, the irony
I actually don't get why people feel the need to criticize other people's choices. No one forced me to buy a yoke. I paid for one and I love it, would never go back to a wheel. Can I do that? Is that okay?
You can. But everyone will rightfully question your intelligence
People don’t dislike the yoke because it’s “new and different”. They dislike it because it’s a dumb product that brings no advantages and many disadvantages.
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I think the point was not where the wheel rotated .. by definition it's the center. It's that when you grip the yoke there is not a way to hold it with a diameter line (through the center of rotation) that aligns with your hands. They are, in fact, both BELOW that line. and that places them at a position which creates a minimum amount of wheel movement before you need to reposition your hands unlike (say) a "10 to 2" position that give you a LOT of rotation before you need to move your hands. That isnt an argument about familiarity, it's about handling the car in an emergency when you need to take fast evasive action. I think it's tough to argue that reducing the wheel turn angle before you need to move your hands is a safer design. Sure it looks sexy (it does) and its fun to drive day-to-day (I'm sure it is) .. it's just potentially dangerous.
