Roadster - new options

[richkae]

I would bet they are doing it because they have a huge cost with all the service centers and roving rangers, upgrades will give them something to do and keep the shops busy reducing their over all cost...

There won't likely be a new Roadster til 2016 at the earliest. That is 7 years for some of us. In the sports car world, the itch comes a lot faster than 7 years.
With other cars, you trade it in and get the newer and hotter model. That would mean switching back to an ICE because you have no other choice. I won't do that.

I will buy some of the upgrades, how many depends on how much they are and what I get. There isn't likely to be any aftermarket source for these upgrades because the barrier to entry is high and the market is small ( except the brakes, that wouldn't be that hard ).
It could be a combination of making us happy, and realizing we are a captive market with money to spend.

From a completely different point of view: I am sure there are people at Tesla who love the Roadster like we do - and business model be damned - they want it to be the best it can be!

 

[WarpedOne]

I wonder if they are doing all of this to keep their Roadster engineering group busy until the Roadster 3.0 comes out in a few years.

There is not a single cause but many that put together make sense:
- TM stated many times that Roadster owners really are investors that made everything possible
- Roadster owners will be even greater supporters if they will not have to live with lesser tech (in light of newer developments and engineering)
- much of the base engineering was already done developing Model S
- selling the upgrades would cover a tiny bit of these development costs
- TM already done something similar in the start by retrofitting single-speed gearboxes
- ...

On the other hand I cannot figure out one single reason why not do it except that developing cost would be (much?) higher than max possible income.

 

[strider]

Agreed... a sub 3 second 0-60 will have an enormous impact on mainstream car fans.

I just don't see how they can do that w/ the amount of rubber they have on the rear wheels. The Veyron, Lambo, and GTR are 4WD and the Viper/Corvettes have much higher rubber size/weight ratio than the Roadster. I would imagine the current Roadster Sport is pushing the limits of grip. More power doesn't matter if you can't get it to the ground.

 

[vfx]

I just don't see how they can do that w/ the amount of rubber they have on the rear wheels. The Veyron, Lambo, and GTR are 4WD and the Viper/Corvettes have much higher rubber size/weight ratio than the Roadster. I would imagine the current Roadster Sport is pushing the limits of grip. More power doesn't matter if you can't get it to the ground.

Martin used to say the car was traction limited. Should be interesting to see what they come up with.

 

[ChadS]

Studded tires, baby.

 

[Alan]

I just don't see how they can do that w/ the amount of rubber they have on the rear wheels. The Veyron, Lambo, and GTR are 4WD and the Viper/Corvettes have much higher rubber size/weight ratio than the Roadster. I would imagine the current Roadster Sport is pushing the limits of grip. More power doesn't matter if you can't get it to the ground.

Unfortunately just fitting fatter rear tyres / tires (spelling depends which side of the pond you come from) does not help as much as you might think.

If you double the area of rubber in contact with the road then you also half the mass per given area which eliminates much of the benefit. Add to that the heavier weight of bigger wheels / tyres (unsprung mass) and the benefits are small.

Going to 4wd of course helps but that seems unlikely as an upgrade. What would help the Roadster is more power further up the rev range - it does not feel like it is troubling the traction control as much when going above 30mph.

Of course less mass would also help (force = mass x acceleration). Consider the Ariel Atom, that does 0 to 60 in 2.8 seconds with less power on the same size tyres as the Roadster. Weight wise it tops the scales at little more than the Roadsters battery pack (1350 lb for the whole car vs 1000 lb for the battery pack). OK it does this by eliminating a few creature comforts such as bodywork and a windscreen but it does show that a lighter battery pack with the same capacity / power delivery could have good effects on acceleration and handling.

As Colin Chapman, founder of Lotus used to say "Simplify, then add lightness."

 

[Eberhard]

215kW / 1300kg = 17m/s = 60km/h Up to this speed acceleration is limited by the gravitation. its all physic. w=1/2 m*v² at 100km/h = 27,78m/s = 500KJ

 

[strider]

Unfortunately just fitting fatter rear tyres / tires (spelling depends which side of the pond you come from) does not help as much as you might think.

If you double the area of rubber in contact with the road then you also half the mass per given area which eliminates much of the benefit. Add to that the heavier weight of bigger wheels / tyres (unsprung mass) and the benefits are small.

I'm not saying larger tires are a panacea but if the car is currently traction-limited, adding more power won't help. You either need more traction or less weight. A wider tire will give the car more purchase (up to a point) as you get rearward weight transfer during acceleration that will help. In fact the extra unsprung mass of the larger wheels and tires will help.

But as you are alluding there is no free lunch. Larger wheels and tires will affect suspension and handling to the downside. So you have to decide what you want more. A quick-handling car or a drag racer. It's all about compromises...

Perhaps the answer to your wish would be to add a more powerful motor/PEM and change the final drive ratio. They could then improve acceleration at higher speeds without sacrificing the low-end.

 

[vfx]

Talking with Tesla people the other day I heard there is going to be a slow rollout of these upgrades. Some in the next two months, others are end of year.

Upgrades include CF bits, 2.5 front end, radio, suspension, brakes, and gearing +firmware for sub 3 sec speeds. Kevin may indeed be somewhat satiated.

 

[bonnie]

It speaks volumes that, while in the midst of the Model S launch, Tesla continues to value and respond to Roadster owners.

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

Kevin may indeed be somewhat satiated.

It's a start :smile:

 

[dsm363]

How will they add gearing? Would that be a transmission upgrade or possibly something cheaper?

 

[TEG]

Rumors / news of particular upcoming upgrades are starting to leak out, but it is still 'unofficial' and not 100% specific.
So, I don't think you will get 'final answers' to detailed questions like that.
Some of these 'upgrades' are reported to be fairly radical, and likely very expensive.
I would imagine things like entire motor / pem / gearbox swapout kind of upgrades. Not just 'tack ons'.

 

[brianman]

It speaks volumes that, while in the midst of the Model S launch, Tesla continues to value and respond to Roadster owners.

Agreed. It bodes well for how S will be treated during X launch, X during Bluestar launch, etc.

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

Agreed. It bodes well for how S will be treated during X launch, X during Bluestar launch, etc.

IMO it's critical that we keep 'refreshing' these cars... it's amazing how many options are appearing that allow you to build a car with sub-3 second 0-60 and 150mph top speed.... I know that's not for everyone but I don't want Tesla to lose ground in the sports car arena.

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

Some of these 'upgrades' are reported to be fairly radical, and likely very expensive.

Agreed... but IMO anyone who owns a Roadster is 'wealthy' by most of the worlds standards so why not give them the choice to spend more money with Tesla :smile:

 

[hcsharp]

Talking with Tesla people the other day I heard there is going to be a slow rollout of these upgrades. Some in the next two months, others are end of year.

Upgrades include CF bits, 2.5 front end, radio, suspension, brakes, and gearing +firmware for sub 3 sec speeds. Kevin may indeed be somewhat satiated.

On a scale of 1-10, what level of confidence would you give to the source of this information?

 

[W.Petefish]

On a scale of 1-10, what level of confidence would you give to the source of this information?

1 but knowing vfx, probably a 5.

 

[vfx]

1 but knowing vfx, probably a 5.

I'd give it an 8.

Oh and a roof rack, whatever that is.

 

[eeenmachine]

Was at Costa Mesa getting my headlamps upgraded and heard talk of a clearcoat carbon fiber full body replacement that was going to run around $100k. The person who had saw it said the weave matches across every single body panel.