Model 3 RC sightings

[SageBrush]

I'd be really impressed if Tesla was able to beat the absolute efficiency of the Bolt. The bolt is a tiny little car, every time I park next to one in my Leaf, the Leaf looks huge. The permanent magnet motor type of the Bolt gives it another efficiency advantage that would be hard to overcome.

Kudos to Tesla if they can do it, but I'm skeptical. I think they'd need to exceed whatever bolts use-able battery capacity is in order to do it.

-Jim

If the Model 3 Cd is 0.21, that gives it a 47% advantage in Aero if in combination the Model 3 frontal areas is about 7% less. At 110 kph that is a 165 N advantage, or about 42 wh/km

 

[nikeykid]

another white RC spotted in San Jose

 

[Foxhound199]

Alright, I am sold on the bigger wheels.

 

[wdolson]

That makes little sense. Why would a 60kWh Model 3 have less range than a Bolt?

I bet my money on base 60kWh with 238+ mile range.

The Model 3 is a much larger car and is probably heavier. The Model 3 will likely get better range at highway speed because it's more aerodynamic, but around town the weight is the major factor and the Bolt has the advantage there.

 

[juanmedina]

The Model 3 is a much larger car and is probably heavier. The Model 3 will likely get better range at highway speed because it's more aerodynamic, but around town the weight is the major factor and the Bolt has the advantage there.

How about the efficiency of the invertor and the motor?

 

[anonim1979]

How about the efficiency of the invertor and the motor?

Bolt's permanent magnets motor is more efficient in the city (low speeds, start/stop as regenerative braking works to a 0 speed), worse than Tesla's inductive at the highway.

 

[mongo]

Here's my nostrawrongus prediction...

...snip...
And then performance version will be immediately available in two wheel drive by using the new S motor.
...snip...
Behold nostrawrongus has spoken.

Humm, I'm thinking the new S motor is the 3 motor....
Full inverter redesign, building block for the semi, expand across all platforms...
Maybe

 

[KarenRei]

Preferences change overtime. My guess is that aero wheels are going to become very popular over the next 10 years or so. I am rather stunned at how good this new version looks, seriously considering them. I used to love the diamond spokes on Trans-ams and later BMWs, then spinners where big and of course those spokes and white walls in the 70s. Beauty is in the eye and all. If caring about the environment is S3XY then aero wheels will be sexy. Especially if they are just covers that can snap on and off. I will 100% buy whatever wheels that work with that.

Indeed. I find aerodynamics extremely attractive, and thus have trouble understanding people who don't. For example, when GM unveiled the Volt prototype:

https://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2011/10/bob-lutz-volt-004.jpg

Everyone oohed and aahed over it, and then got mad when they changed it. I winched when I saw it; it's an aerodynamic nightmare. It's like what a six year old would think "streamlined" meant. The needlessly oversized/elongated front end, oversized wheels, the stupid grille, the totally wrong taper, etc. Meanwhile, I found the Aptera 2e to be drop-dead gorgeous:

aptera - Google leit

But lots of people made fun of it. I swear, I don't understand my fellow humans...

Regardless, though, styles change. That "chopped" look was "the" style at the time. Not as popular now. We've gotten used to the smooth curves of modern cars and look back at the boxy cars of the 70s and 80s with disdain. As regulations and need for increasing range keep increasing the need for streamlining, and our ability to better streamline vehicles increases, "streamlined" will become the baseline style trend.

 

[TEG]

Moved some posts discussing wheel sizes to here:
Reasons for Wheel Size

 

[powertoold]

The Model 3 is a much larger car and is probably heavier. The Model 3 will likely get better range at highway speed because it's more aerodynamic, but around town the weight is the major factor and the Bolt has the advantage there.

Bolt is 3600 pounds.

Model S 60kWh (which is actually 75kWh) is around 4500 pounds.

Model 3 is probably around 15% less than Model S 60kWh, so about 3800 pounds.

So it's not that much a difference in terms of weight. The Model 3 also has a huge aero advantage.

 

[3s-a-charm]

another white RC spotted in San Jose

Not sure if this has already been discussed (or if this exists in my own Tesla...?) but is there a separate slim breaklight in the tail-light cluster that reflects regent breaking separately from actual break use?

 

[WarpedOne]

Yes.

 

[MP3Mike]

Not sure if this has already been discussed (or if this exists in my own Tesla...?) but is there a separate slim breaklight in the tail-light cluster that reflects regent breaking separately from actual break use?

As far as I know no. The regulations say that the brake lights have to be activated for regen; so I don't think they could use separate lights for regen vs. you actually pressing the brake pedal.

 

[JeffK]

From the perspective of a driver behind you, it doesn't matter which you are using... point is you are slowing down. There's no need to indicate these separately.

 

[Zaphod]

Not sure if this has already been discussed (or if this exists in my own Tesla...?) but is there a separate slim breaklight in the tail-light cluster that reflects regent breaking separately from actual break use?

When you are braking, one does not want to break things...

 

[TEG]

Not sure if this has already been discussed (or if this exists in my own Tesla...?) but is there a separate slim breaklight in the tail-light cluster that reflects regent breaking separately from actual break use?

My understanding is:
#1: Regen braking can activate the brake lights. (In other words, you don't necessarily have to be pushing on the brake pedal for them to come on.)
#2: There is only one mode of brake lighting... The "slim brakelight" is THE brake light. The CHIMSEL (center brake light in the back window) also comes on at the same time. It is a bit hard to see in that video but it looks like it came on as well.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Bolt is 3600 pounds.

Model S 60kWh (which is actually 75kWh) is around 4500 pounds.

Model 3 is probably around 15% less than Model S 60kWh, so about 3800 pounds.

So it's not that much a difference in terms of weight. The Model 3 also has a huge aero advantage.

The EPA combined number is more city biased both because it is 55% city 45% highway, but also because the average highway speeds are slow for the test cycle (which negates most of the aero advantage of the Model 3).

The motor type of the Bolt will likely be more more efficient at city speeds, and the FWD and front weight bias may also lead to slightly more effective regen (which helps city numbers again).

But these factors I don't suspect will necessarily mean a 60kWh usable Model 3 will have less EPA combined range than a 60kWh usable Bolt.

The biggest factor is that the Bolt is 60kWh usable, but Tesla may use old convention and a "60kWh" pack may only have 57-58kwh usable.

 

[nikeykid]

holy moley midnight silver: Dark gray model 3 • r/teslamotors

 

[lunitiks]

Sweet

 

[anonim1979]

More pictures are in this thread:
Most likely the configuration I'd order. Maybe even 2.

Edit. Hope QwiksilverA4 won' mind, I'm linking them here too for easy viewing.