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Well the test went poorly.
The solution that works only to coat the doorsill with a light dust in the summer is not that effective with the power of water behind it. Maybe a little less wet rocks to clean off but really, any handful is bad. Have ideas for further testing but they are not as DIY friendly.
The solution that works only to coat the doorsill with a light dust in the summer is not that effective with the power of water behind it. Maybe a little less wet rocks to clean off but really, any handful is bad. Have ideas for further testing but they are not as DIY friendly.
I'm surprised this isn't a big enough deal that Tesla would come up with a solution. It's a biggie for me that really lowers the enjoyment of the vehicle since it's very tough to get out of the car without getting some of the muck on your pants. And I live in relatively sunny California... if I were in a climate with snow and slush and long seasons of muck, I'd be extremely upset about this.
I was at Tesla MP today for other service and asked Johnny in Service, and Dave the technician. Both say that it's an issue that's well known and that unfortunately, Tesla does not intend to address it.
But I'm thinking if enough of us complain... maybe?
I was at Tesla MP today for other service and asked Johnny in Service, and Dave the technician. Both say that it's an issue that's well known and that unfortunately, Tesla does not intend to address it.
But I'm thinking if enough of us complain... maybe?
Some of you guys may not be aware that the original body design included a port behind the front wheel where the production body curves in sharply under the door. I remember one time how Martin commented to me that it improved aerodynamics. I assume they closed off that port because that would have made the problem of dirt from the tire even worse.
For those of you who are close enough to visit the Menlo Park store, check out what I mean on EP #2, the Radiant Red one, that is sitting in the showroom with a sign reading "Museum Piece". Unfortunately they changed out the beige seats it had originally.
For those of you who are close enough to visit the Menlo Park store, check out what I mean on EP #2, the Radiant Red one, that is sitting in the showroom with a sign reading "Museum Piece". Unfortunately they changed out the beige seats it had originally.
Our car #33 has a black plastic piece attached to the bottom of the door. I would not call it a seal, though, because it is not designed to come in contact with the body. I say "not designed to", but in fact the problem with it is that the end at the rear end of the door is held in place only with double-adheasive foam tape that is not sufficient to hold the piece up. As a consequence, before I realized what was happening, it has scratched the edge of the body piece at the curve from horizontal to vertical. I thought perhaps I wasn't careful enough with my shoes, but that wasn't the cause.
I was told that this piece was omitted from later cars as a cost-saving measure. Since it didn't really do its job, I guess that makes sense.
To me it looks like it was just intended to keep boulders from getting up in there, but can't keep out dust or water. I never thought about it being the receiver for a rubber seal. The problem is that it would have to be a sliding seal, not a compression seal, so as dirt collected on the rubber seal that would be likely to create scratches like the ones I mention that happen from the drooping plastic piece.
OK, here are two pictures I took of EP #2 at the Menlo Park store this evening. Sorry for the low light and the crummy iPhone 3G resolution.
As I mentioned in the earlier post, some of you guys may not be aware that the original body design included a port behind the front wheel where the production body curves in sharply under the door. I remember one time how Martin commented to me that it improved aerodynamics, which would be fine for a track car, but would cause the problem of dirty door sills to be even worse.
Cool bit of history . Thanks for sharing!
The latest version of the mod on the driver's door cuts out about 90 percent of the gravel as compared to the passenger side which you would think would be good but it's really unacceptable to have 100 rocks as bad as 100 rocks on the doorsill.
The latest version of the mod on the driver's door cuts out about 90 percent of the gravel as compared to the passenger side which you would think would be good but it's really unacceptable to have 100 rocks as bad as 100 rocks on the doorsill.
dhrivnak
Active Member
I am contemplating having a flat black coating applied (similar to pickup truck beds) on the rocker panels to protect the area. It seems like there is no way to stop the rocks.
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