My garage door rails and the opener sits a little above 7', the falcon wing door has automatically opened and stopped in the chicken wing position during my test drive with other Model X. I wonder if it would be beneficial for me to put some extra stuff under the railing to ensure the sensor will always read the railings? What do you guys think?
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Garage door railing protection against falcon wing door
- Thread starter mattack4000
- Start date
-
- Tags
- Model X
Yinn
Active Member
Not always, I've had mine hit on more than one occasion.
Yes, it's beneficial as per above. I actually went a little extreme and redid my garage door rails completely. I moved to a high-lift garage door to permanently ensure I would never have to worry about hitting it. I only did the bay that houses the X, so I actually put foam outside the rails of the adjacent bay just in case as well.
jelloslug
Active Member
Let me qualify my answer.
With the GPS option, your X can by default only partially open your doors when in your garage. Its a little more difficult to open and close, but seems to do the trick. Going to the effort of completely renovating my garage entry as the alternative didn't make sense for me. That said, my OCD may kick in at some point....
GOPJEW
Member
In preparation for my new X I simply cut up an old pool noodle and glued the foam to the bottom of the rails "just in case"...
Yinn
Active Member
Hence why I said I went a little extreme. It's a couple hundred in parts, maybe $800 if you pay someone else to do it. So it's not absolutely horrendous. It took the better part of my Saturday.
I originally didn't worry about it as my sensors were picking it up. I did not use the always open selection, so it only partially opened almost always. But parked in certain spots it didn't detect anything and would hit the rails. It wasn't a huge concern when it was just the rails as it wouldn't leave a mark, but a larger concern when it hit the bracing for the rails, which did leave a mark.
FarmerDave
Member
Nice installation, but isn't the connector rod in the middle where the FWDs can't possibly hit it?
aesculus
Still Trying to Figure This All Out
I love this term. Permission to use it?
My car is usually parked a bit off-center from the rail, but normally it's not a problem.
However, when my in-laws were visiting last summer, I over-rid the FWD to open fully in the garage (to make it easier for them to get in) and I didn't notice it pressing into that padded rod, so much so that it actually bent it slightly.
I don't think I sustained any damage since I also have XPel on the doors. There is a mark on the XPel and when I get it replaced I expect the paint to be perfect.
My FWD* has opened successfully in my garage probably 300 times, but it has been unsuccessful twice. The first time there was a firmware issue and the sensors didn't detect anything outside the door. The most recent time, the door sensors appear** to be detecting at least some obstacles, such as a person just outside the door. However, the door has opened into the metal rod that sticks down from the rail.
While installing pipe insulation is a great idea and something I will be doing, something that still worries me is that the door opening into the pipe-insulated metal rod that sticks down can still put unnecessary pressure on the garage door track itself and risks damaging the rail/mechanism/garage-door. (That concern is in addition to the concern that repeated rubbing against pipe insulation would damage the paint and/or clearcoat finish on the car; the paint-damage issue is probably not a meaningful one if one assumes that the FWD will fail to stop short of the pipe-insulated rail only a couple times per year.)
Has anyone placed a FWD sensor-opaque object at the height of the rail so the door more reliably detects the rail?
*Main FWD on the driver's side. Since I park close to the wall on the passenger's side, I have my kids enter/exit via the driver's side FWD.
**I say 'appear' because the car is still in the shop, and I haven't gotten a diagnosis from the service center yet.
While installing pipe insulation is a great idea and something I will be doing, something that still worries me is that the door opening into the pipe-insulated metal rod that sticks down can still put unnecessary pressure on the garage door track itself and risks damaging the rail/mechanism/garage-door. (That concern is in addition to the concern that repeated rubbing against pipe insulation would damage the paint and/or clearcoat finish on the car; the paint-damage issue is probably not a meaningful one if one assumes that the FWD will fail to stop short of the pipe-insulated rail only a couple times per year.)
Has anyone placed a FWD sensor-opaque object at the height of the rail so the door more reliably detects the rail?
*Main FWD on the driver's side. Since I park close to the wall on the passenger's side, I have my kids enter/exit via the driver's side FWD.
**I say 'appear' because the car is still in the shop, and I haven't gotten a diagnosis from the service center yet.
Some garages have more headroom, so have a high lift system installed, like this one: High Lift Garage Door Conversion. They just change out the tracks and use your existing door. Then there's no chance of collision.
Yinn
Active Member
The rod you're referring to, is that the same as piece that's hitting your door in the picture? If so, that's called a drawbar - specifically an adjustable J bar is what you have. You seem to have a really long one for some reason, which is unnecessary given you have low headroom. You can shorten that up significantly by purchasing a shorter one to get a couple more inches.
Garage Door Opener Operator Arms
I can't tell if you have a chain or belt drive, but either way that rail is pretty sturdy and doesn't typically take on much damage. If it's a commercial installed opener it would be a 1 piece bar and a 2 piece for a DIY opener, and that does allow another wear point. What could also happen is that bolts around the draw bar or going into your door would wear and open up.
We had a similar problem a while back in one of our garage bays, and actually ended up scraping the rear liftgate of our minivan with the drawbar. I decided to rip the entire opener out and installed a Liftmaster 3900 Jackshaft opener. This eliminated that center bar altogether and gave me a bunch more clearance.
The picture below gives you a good view of the differences. You dont have to have a high lift to do this; your opener would just sit to the side instead of having a center bar.
The right bay on the picture above could also solve part of your problem, but you don't have too much room up there.
Depends on your area. As low as $500, as high as $2000. I did mine myself, it wasn't too difficult of a conversion; but I have installed doors and openers on my own before. Most that quote above $1000 USD includes the opener which runs $200-$300 by itself.
You guys are saying the car can work and then one day it won't? Scary!
I have been lucky enough, I have less openings than you guys do and the car had done its job every time. Matter of fact, my car open nicer than the 2016 X I rented. The rental only opened a tiny bit.
I do have an issue with the passenger side door keep wacking my car. When I open the door, it will open slightly. I try to open a little wider to get in, it then would swing the door open and wack my car..
I have been lucky enough, I have less openings than you guys do and the car had done its job every time. Matter of fact, my car open nicer than the 2016 X I rented. The rental only opened a tiny bit.
I do have an issue with the passenger side door keep wacking my car. When I open the door, it will open slightly. I try to open a little wider to get in, it then would swing the door open and wack my car..
Yinn,
Thanks...super helpful info. It turns out that a side-mounted garage opener doesn't work in my garage, because there isn't enough side-to-side space next to the shaft on either end. Otherwise that would rock.
I raised the drive unit a little over 2 inches, since it's unnecessarily low and that will add more clearance. I agree that the adjustable J bar is unnecessarily long, so thanks for naming it (so I know what piece to replace and add more room).
Cheers,
MonkeyTOGA
Thanks...super helpful info. It turns out that a side-mounted garage opener doesn't work in my garage, because there isn't enough side-to-side space next to the shaft on either end. Otherwise that would rock.
I raised the drive unit a little over 2 inches, since it's unnecessarily low and that will add more clearance. I agree that the adjustable J bar is unnecessarily long, so thanks for naming it (so I know what piece to replace and add more room).
Cheers,
MonkeyTOGA
Destiny1701
22’ M3LR ‘DrkNite’/ 22’ MYP BliueRocket
I have the opposite issue. My door won’t open all the way making it consistently difficult for kids to get in. The door can open all the way manually as there is enough room but the sensor kicks in too early.
Help! Where is that former ‘open all the way at this location’ button?!
Help! Where is that former ‘open all the way at this location’ button?!
Seattle Tom
Member
I wrapped foam insulation around the railing, but the FWD has never failed to detect it. I think the software has become more adept at using the sensors to detect obstacles over time. I’ve noticed a difference just from my time with the X (last June til now).
That said, the risk is to the FWD and not the garage in my opinion. Once it hits something, it beeps loudly and “rewinds” slightly - so I doubt it would be enough force to move the railing out of position and damage the garage door.
It’s funny how a few bucks of foam insulation can make you feel safer though. Worth it!
That said, the risk is to the FWD and not the garage in my opinion. Once it hits something, it beeps loudly and “rewinds” slightly - so I doubt it would be enough force to move the railing out of position and damage the garage door.
It’s funny how a few bucks of foam insulation can make you feel safer though. Worth it!
