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goneskiian
Active Member
chickensevil
Active Member
Was just about to come post this. Noticed it in an article as well... Now I am scratching my head as to *how* the pulled this one off. Because the only negative listed was the aerodynamics hit and not functionality.
robby
Member
Musk: "you can mount a rack to the roof via suction cups and still have one Falcon door work fine. Guaranteed up to 140 mph."
Elon Musk on Twitter:
Elon Musk on Twitter:
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
scottf200
Well-Known Member
Sweet Jesus. Suction cups to the glass. Half the roof. Or the whole thing if you give up the doors. That answers a huge question people had. There's your kayak or surfboard. Awesome. Can't wait to see the racks.
Wow that tweet is a surprise. So Elon is saying that a suction cup mounted roof rack is coming for the X?
I wonder how the car senses that the rack is in place and won't allow the Falcon Wing door to open?
I wonder how the car senses that the rack is in place and won't allow the Falcon Wing door to open?
How=with what sensors?
Maybe that's the regular sensor behavior - if obstructions are on/just on the door don't even start opening sequence?
A more seamless approach could use something like RFID, and a more manual strategy could just involve the panel.
Thank you for posting that link. I did not know about that roof rack manufacturer. Looks like what Elon posted about already exists as an aftermarket product. Perfect for mounting on top of one Falcon Wing door you just have to remember not to open that door. Problem is, people are going to forget and open the door with something mounted on it. In theory the sensors on top of the doors should prevent any damage.
Merrill
Merrill
If the FW have sensors that allow it to open in many configurations depending upon what is near them it probably would not open if there was a roof rack mounted.
His tweet made me remember that, when a I was a wee lad, our 1960 station wagon had suction-cup ski racks and - I think, suction cups for a full-top aluminum + wood luggage rack.
Dad didn't drive at 140mph, but the rubber/silicon compounds are superior to what was available then, too. Never lost a ski!
Dad didn't drive at 140mph, but the rubber/silicon compounds are superior to what was available then, too. Never lost a ski!
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
We had a similar rack, but ours had straps and hooks as well as the suction cups. The suction cups were really more about spreading the load on the roof without denting it than actually providing holding power.
From Seasuckers web page
https://www.seasucker.com/the-mount/
Here is a video of a bike rack held on only with suction cups to a race car. Perhaps the reference to 140 mph Elon referred to in his tweet.
Last edited by a moderator:
goneskiian
Active Member
I'm actually surprised they didn't lose that garmin computer on the bike at those speeds!
Could be a great option if I have to really load it up. Plan on having a 4 bike hitch mount rack as well.
Could be a great option if I have to really load it up. Plan on having a 4 bike hitch mount rack as well.
The Bowlus road chief is a good candidate for the X
Pulled with a sedan they get 22+ MPG at 70mph
Bowlus Road Chief updates 1930s classic caravan
Hi we just did a test with the Model X here is the results:
sethstein
Member
Just got my Model X this week and this is my first post.
I am sharing my experience of making surf racks work on the MX.
History: I have owned a model S for 2.5 years and had the Whisper Racks on top to carry surfboards IF there was not enough room in the car. I have kids who surf and only occasionally when we took their friends surfing did we need to use the racks.
I ordered the X a long ways back and when Elon announced that suction cups could be used as a solution, I was glad I didnt have to cancel the order. I also changed my order to a 6 seater, which slowed delivery, but the 7 seat option functioned much less than I thought it would (not folding seats like the S, which would have solved a lot)
I went down to the service center and took some measurement and even brought a board bag to get a sense of scale/ width, etc... I put the board on top of the falcon wing door - and luckily it sensed it and it didn't open. Tested a few times... (Though this week, i had a board and part of a rack just placed on top and the door DID open (panic moment) )
The width that a suction cup could fit with 1 falcon wing open is 26". The width of the Seersucker is 30"+ ( i ordered the Stand Up Paddle Board versions because for some reason I thought it was NARROWER than the Surf version... but in hindsight i would have ordered the surf version) (ps. really hard to get even an email from Sea Sucker with answers)
I have ended up modifying the rack to be more like the surf version anyways, ( 1 suction cup per corner ) because of the little contact space on the glass .... the second suction cup on the front mount intersects with a seam.
Because the rack is TOO WIDE - I am having to cut down the metal cross bar, which is two bars, which slide into each other so the rack can be extended.... but at its most compressed size, it can't fit the 26" width all in.
Attaching some pictures of the progress.
Status: next step is having the bars CUT DOWN so i can make the rack narrow enough. Photo of how much i need to hack off.
The open issue is 2 fold.
1. Will the falcon wing doors sense the rack on top?
2. The TRUNK overlap, when it opens, may be a serious issue, and will the TRUNK sense the boards (doubt it).... and in the end, THAT may be the biggest issue.
If you look at how the TRUNK opens, it opens almost to the back of the falcon wings... the rack, MAY be able to avoid it by being mounted on the cross bar BUT the boards will absolutely intersect its path...
once the bars are cut down, i will create a video of the first attempt... and hopefully nothing breaks (board)... unfortunately leaving town for a week so will have to pick up this experiment when i am back.
seth
I am sharing my experience of making surf racks work on the MX.
History: I have owned a model S for 2.5 years and had the Whisper Racks on top to carry surfboards IF there was not enough room in the car. I have kids who surf and only occasionally when we took their friends surfing did we need to use the racks.
I ordered the X a long ways back and when Elon announced that suction cups could be used as a solution, I was glad I didnt have to cancel the order. I also changed my order to a 6 seater, which slowed delivery, but the 7 seat option functioned much less than I thought it would (not folding seats like the S, which would have solved a lot)
I went down to the service center and took some measurement and even brought a board bag to get a sense of scale/ width, etc... I put the board on top of the falcon wing door - and luckily it sensed it and it didn't open. Tested a few times... (Though this week, i had a board and part of a rack just placed on top and the door DID open (panic moment) )
The width that a suction cup could fit with 1 falcon wing open is 26". The width of the Seersucker is 30"+ ( i ordered the Stand Up Paddle Board versions because for some reason I thought it was NARROWER than the Surf version... but in hindsight i would have ordered the surf version) (ps. really hard to get even an email from Sea Sucker with answers)
I have ended up modifying the rack to be more like the surf version anyways, ( 1 suction cup per corner ) because of the little contact space on the glass .... the second suction cup on the front mount intersects with a seam.
Because the rack is TOO WIDE - I am having to cut down the metal cross bar, which is two bars, which slide into each other so the rack can be extended.... but at its most compressed size, it can't fit the 26" width all in.
Attaching some pictures of the progress.
Status: next step is having the bars CUT DOWN so i can make the rack narrow enough. Photo of how much i need to hack off.
The open issue is 2 fold.
1. Will the falcon wing doors sense the rack on top?
2. The TRUNK overlap, when it opens, may be a serious issue, and will the TRUNK sense the boards (doubt it).... and in the end, THAT may be the biggest issue.
If you look at how the TRUNK opens, it opens almost to the back of the falcon wings... the rack, MAY be able to avoid it by being mounted on the cross bar BUT the boards will absolutely intersect its path...
once the bars are cut down, i will create a video of the first attempt... and hopefully nothing breaks (board)... unfortunately leaving town for a week so will have to pick up this experiment when i am back.
seth
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