My Baby is in Transit; How do I get ready!?

[chriSharek]

I'm 7-10 days from delivery and I'm dying. I ordered this thing almost a year ago and through some grace of God, I was able to delay delivery and even upgrade to the 90D (from the 85D I originally ordered).

What do I need at home to be ready for her? I've got my delivery checklist ready - thank you Nick Howe!

My HPWC is installed and with a flick of a breaker it's ready to go.

What else!?

 

[EdA]

Decide if you're doing a wrap or tint and get that scheduled (mine went from the delivery truck to the wrap installer).
Order some of the nifty accessories [sorry for not providing forum links] (Wheel Cap T's, bag hooks, LED bulbs for the
rear license plate [still needed?], USB right angle's, flat repair kit [avoid slime IMO], hand wash solution/accessories, etc.]
There are plenty of other higher end accessories: CF touches, lighted T (front and rear), etc.

/Ed

PS: And of course obsess endlessly on the forum...

 

[chriSharek]

Thanks Eda. Funny you mention some of that. I did order a small USB thumbdrive and I'm gathering my songs ready to dump them onto the shortened thumb. I did order the LED license plate lights, but those now come standard so I installed them on a buddy's signature for him.

Keep thinking though - those are other good thoughts! I like the flat tire repair kit. What's a bag hook? LIke a coat rack hook?

 

[Cyclone]

Deep breaths Chris! An exciting day that I remember all too fondly. Just remember to have someone take you and have them leave. You'll be putting miles on before you get home!

 

[ArtInCT]

Chris:
Seems like you have the power set up well. Good Going.
Down in FLA I imagine you will be hand washing? I do this myself & I suspect you will to from previous posts...
I use a two bucket system with a foam gun, mitts and micro fibre with leaf blower to get the water off.
How is your hose and nozzle? I have the Griots hose and their fine nozzle... can't be beat.
I also use Gilmore quick disconnects in brass which make changing nozzle to foam gun really easy.

Is the garage cleared for the WIDE S?
The doors need room to open and the car is longer than my Volvo XC60 and wider too. Go figure.
So get the garage areas cleared out of stuff on the sides....

I would get yourself a nice horsehair brush like a shoe buffing brush. And here is the reason. If you have the Alcantara dash
then using a soft brush keeps it uni-grained... it acts like suede and folks just love to touch it.

I have NOT tried to clean the inside of the front windshield yet. However, I have been eyeballing this "feature" and well.... it looks very far away at the bottom of the windshield. You may want one of those windshield extender things to help reach.
I really do not know what they are called but I have one from my Crossfire which was also a PItA to clean. Have seen these at Pep Boys, AutoZone etc.

Check out your WiFi signal in the garage to make sure you have a good signal for the car to access the WiFi.

Set up a little notebook or pad to write down things like torque settings on lug nuts, software versions, and other
items you want to remember. BTW, the lug nuts are 21mm.

So that is enough metal diarrhea I suppose.... should keep you busy...

 

[chriSharek]

Thanks everyone. Great suggestions and ideas. I've got the normal stuff - RainX for the Pano, no fog for the inside of the front windsheild, 2 bucket washing system - and Art, I thought I was the only crazy one that uses the leaf blower to dry my Volt (or Tesla) after blowing off the driveway.

Other good suggestions though - including the brush for the alcantara . . .

 

[EdA]

Thanks Eda. Funny you mention some of that. I did order a small USB thumbdrive and I'm gathering my songs ready to dump them onto the shortened thumb. I did order the LED license plate lights, but those now come standard so I installed them on a buddy's signature for him.

Keep thinking though - those are other good thoughts! I like the flat tire repair kit. What's a bag hook? LIke a coat rack hook?

Finally found the thread...

Want some bag hooks in the back?


This thread may also have some other ideas:

Compiling a must-have accessories list

 

[chriSharek]

Thanks again. I'm just dying over here . . . can't explain how excited I finally am. This has been a long time coming for me.

Here's a pic of me in an EV1 back in 1998 dreaming of an electric car . . . my girlfriend took this and is now my wife for 17 years!

 

[EdA]

Intense!!!

 

[chriSharek]

How about music? What are the best songs I need to have downloaded and ready to go on my thumbdrive?!

 

[EdA]

There's another thread for that but:

"Tesla Girls", "Electricity" by OMD
"Are Friends Electric?" by Gary Numan
"Autobahn" by Kraftwerk
"I'm Set Free" (from gas!!!!) by the Velvet Underground
and about 1000 others...

There are threads for this question too...

 

[Fanatic1]

Decide if you're doing a wrap or tint and get that scheduled (mine went from the delivery truck to the wrap installer).
Order some of the nifty accessories [sorry for not providing forum links] (Wheel Cap T's, bag hooks, LED bulbs for the
rear license plate [still needed?], USB right angle's, flat repair kit [avoid slime IMO], hand wash solution/accessories, etc.]
There are plenty of other higher end accessories: CF touches, lighted T (front and rear), etc.

/Ed

PS: And of course obsess endlessly on the forum...

Great list! Why avoid slime? I just got some...

 

[EdA]

Slime can damage the TPMS...

 

[Fanatic1]

Slime can damage the TPMS...

Got it. Doesn't the Tesla branded one also potentially damage the TPMS? So just call the Rangers?

 

[EdA]

Nope, a number of us have gotten this one.

Tire Repair Kit with 12-Volt Air Compressor - Griot's Garage

 

[Fanatic1]

Nope, a number of us have gotten this one.

Tire Repair Kit with 12-Volt Air Compressor - Griot's Garage

Yes. Thanks. I saw that. The slime kit has an air compressor of course too. I think you can remove the slime canister and just use the compressor. Got the repair kit also with the reamer and the plugs. Bought a set of wire cutters and pliers too. Hope never to need it but of course it's just for emergencies. I've had a few flat tires and most of the time the screw that seem to cause the majority of them allows for a slow leak enough to get the car to a tire place. Just wanted to have options... Thanks for all the advice!

Where do people get new tires? Any tire place? Just go to Tesla service center?

 

[EdA]

I have been using a local specialty tire center mostly because the service center is about 20+ more minutes away.

 

[Fanatic1]

Oh and don't forget to check which electricity rate plan is best for your usage. In Northern California, there are several options. I think most people are on a tiered rate which is based on the amount of usage, bumping up your rate $/kWh after you reach a certain amount every month. Tier rates appear to be the most expensive at least with my usage behavior. The next better rate for my was the E6 Smartrate which I had switched to initially. E6 has lower rates but during certain peak days I think it was 12 days a year, PG&E will charge peak rates if I recall correctly. We try not to use much during peak but after a couple of months it seemed kind of expensive and the rate estimator showed that the new EV-A rate was the best and I was going to save another $30-50 a month. It's completely based on time of day use. $0.11 per kWh from 11pm-7am on weekdays and 11pm-3pm on weekends. Goes up from there with peak rates and partial peak rates. Just set your charge time appropriately. Hope that helps.

 

[Fanatic1]

I have been using a local specialty tire center mostly because the service center is about 20+ more minutes away.

Cool. Good to know we don't have to bring it in to Tesla for everything!

 

[chriSharek]

Oh and don't forget to check which electricity rate plan is best for your usage. In Northern California, there are several options. I think most people are on a tiered rate which is based on the amount of usage, bumping up your rate $/kWh after you reach a certain amount every month. Tier rates appear to be the most expensive at least with my usage behavior. The next better rate for my was the E6 Smartrate which I had switched to initially. E6 has lower rates but during certain peak days I think it was 12 days a year, PG&E will charge peak rates if I recall correctly. We try not to use much during peak but after a couple of months it seemed kind of expensive and the rate estimator showed that the new EV-A rate was the best and I was going to save another $30-50 a month. It's completely based on time of day use. $0.11 per kWh from 11pm-7am on weekdays and 11pm-3pm on weekends. Goes up from there with peak rates and partial peak rates. Just set your charge time appropriately. Hope that helps.

I wish Florida had time of rate plans . . . they don't. We only got smart meters about 2 years ago. I don't think they have any plans to go to the time of rate use any time soon. Our rates are already pretty low compared to other parts of the country. I guess that's the benefit of having FPL be a Florida Founded Energy provider! (Next Era Energy outside of FL)