CyberGus
Not Just a Member
Effective Cd is a tricky beast. The answer to your question is basically "that depends" lol
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Launch is Imminent
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Effective Cd is a tricky beast. The answer to your question is basically "that depends" lol
CyberGus
Not Just a Member
The concept you are looking for is called "Design for Repairability". Its a very old concept that may cost automakers more upfront in designing vehicles for ease of maintenance and collision repairs during ownership cycle. This costs OEM upfront, but saves owners money down the road:
Designing for Optimum Damageability, Repairability and InsurabilityHow Repair Costs Relate to insurance Costs on JSTOR
Jack A. Ribbens, Designing for Optimum Damageability, Repairability and InsurabilityHow Repair Costs Relate to insurance Costs, SAE Transactions, Vol. 103, Section 6: JOURNAL OF PASSENGER CARS (1994), pp. 1380-1396www.jstor.org
Some OEMs do it better than others.
Tesla, arguably, does the worst job of them all in this category. As witnessed by the frequency of vehicles getting totaled from relatively minor accidents, and the resulting insurance rate premiums we pay on our EVs.
Mega-castings will push this trend further in the wrong direction.
As you consolidate individual components into larger aluminum mega-castings, and damage to those castings is likely to become terminal to the vehicle.
Currently, any damage to the battery tray in a Tesla totals the chassis. Mega-castings in the front and rear of the car (or a truck) will likely extend the same treatment to the larger proportion of the vehicle.
Mega-castings may make manufacturing cheaper, at the expense of subsequent inability to repair the damage down the road.
It is an unfortunate trade-off.
There's some media out there on the durability/repairability of the castings. It's mostly speculation though, as I've never heard of a gigacasting being replaced in a repair, and Munro could barely extract the MY castings due to the structural adhesive.
Theoretically, it's in Tesla's interest to make their cars repairable, particularly since they offer insurance. However, the repair costs I see on Wham Baam Teslacam are frequently astonishing.
lol. of course. but luggage rack wasn't part of specs for this "truck". or a standard camper topper won't work either. of course Tesla will be happy to sell you some custom ($$$) solution for that
There are more mount point down the sides of the vault. Tucking a roof pod below the peak would probably be the most aerodynamic.
Assuming that would cause more drag also assumes that the air is following the angle on the bodywork, lots of assumptions.
Looking at various videos of wind tunnel studies of car shapes, the airflow often doesn't go where you expect. Which is why teardrop shapes are often less aerodynamic than those with squared off back ends.
Like @CyberGus says - it depends. If you've got a big spare tire up there its probably better at an angle.
Buckminster
Well-Known Member
Looks like CT wraps will be a major thing:
Tesla starts selling vehicle wraps for Model 3/Y at a pricey $7.5k-8k
Tesla starts selling vehicle wraps for Model 3/Y at a pricey $7.5k-8k
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Why? Wasn't the entire point of making it cold-rolled steel that it's tougher and cheaper than paint? Now people can pay a premium to cover it up? What happened to heating the steel to get different colors?
Because some people just like wasting large amounts of money, with little functional benefit. They'll also have to replace it about every 5 years or so, spending the money yet again. If you're going to purposely buy a vehicle capable of taking a beating, it makes little sense to treat it like a collectors car.
or the less cynical view is that people maybe want something that isn't identical to every other Tesla, which is why most folks wrap their car in the first place. Most color changing wraps offer almost no paint protection capability.
I already have the material to wrap mine when it arrives, was going to wrap my Model 3, but doing the CT will be much simpler.
henderrj
Active Member
Exactly. When did it become wrong to be different from other people? We seem to hear diversity all the time, but it doesn't seem like people really want it after all!
The stainless steel looks like crap and that’s why they are offering these wraps. Knowing Tesla there will be different stainless steel panels everywhere. Some with swirls some without.
I have a friend with a construction business. When he buys a new truck for the business, he gathers his workers around, takes a sledge hammer and dents the truck, and then tells them to go make some money with it ( ie don’t waste time babying it, get on with the job). So what’s going to happen when he does this on the CT stainless 3mm steel?
Watts_Up
Well-Known Member
strider
Active Member
Well to start with, that's Aluminum. Also, I can guarantee that Airstream has better QC than Tesla.
I always liked the look of the DeLorean. I'll give Tesla then benefit of the doubt for now. Hopefully they are doing the polishing with robots and the results will be uniform. I am hoping that the patchwork panels that we have seen on the RCs were either quickly done by hand, or they are testing different techniques in the wild to see how the hold up.
CyberGus
Not Just a Member
He'll need to buy a new hammer
CyberGus
Not Just a Member
Exactly. When did it become wrong to be different from other people? We seem to hear diversity all the time, but it doesn't seem like people really want it after all!
Why can't you be unique like everybody else
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