Spare nose cone arrived today

[stevezzzz]

Artsci, that's a great look.

Anybody know if the new one-piece nosecone is a drop-in replacement for the two-piece version that came on early VINs like mine?

 

[Frankc]

Wow. Great work. You've just turned the least favorite part of the car in my favorite part. What a great project to focus on while we continue to wait for RED.

A couple of specific questions:

1). Did they sand or finish the raw material before applying the wrap?
2). Did the wrap conform to the slots for the chrome parts, or was it cut?
3). Have you tested the wrap material in any of your wash / finishing experiments?

 

[artsci]

Artsci, that's a great look.

Anybody know if the new one-piece nosecone is a drop-in replacement for the two-piece version that came on early VINs like mine?

All of the connections seem to be the same, so probably it will fit.

- - - Updated - - -

Wow. Great work. You've just turned the least favorite part of the car in my favorite part. What a great project to focus on while we continue to wait for RED.

A couple of specific questions:

1). Did they sand or finish the raw material before applying the wrap?
2). Did the wrap conform to the slots for the chrome parts, or was it cut?
3). Have you tested the wrap material in any of your wash / finishing experiments?

No sanding. The the logo and chrome piece came separately with the nose cone (three separate pieces in all) and were installed after the wrap was applied. This makes it much easier for the installer.

 

[pete8314]

Looks great.

For the laser shifters, how are you keeping them in place? I see the extra layer of something around the shifters on the inside of the cone, but they don't look substantial enough to hold them tight, or to allow for the fine-tuning on the alignment. I know you've planned for this, I just can't quite see how it would work!

Really tidy work, did you just use a Dremmel to make the openings for the shifters? It's still something I'd consider for mine, though the shifters that come with the 9500ci have a slightly different form factor, so I'm not sure they'll look quite as good.

 

[artsci]

Looks great.

For the laser shifters, how are you keeping them in place? I see the extra layer of something around the shifters on the inside of the cone, but they don't look substantial enough to hold them tight, or to allow for the fine-tuning on the alignment. I know you've planned for this, I just can't quite see how it would work!

Really tidy work, did you just use a Dremmel to make the openings for the shifters? It's still something I'd consider for mine, though the shifters that come with the 9500ci have a slightly different form factor, so I'm not sure they'll look quite as good.

You're right. I glued in a layer of 3/16 styrene in the back to make a tighter fit. The nose cone plastic is about 1/8 thick and with the styrene layer there's enough material to hold the shifters in place.

I cut the slots in two basic steps. First I cut two holes for each shifter with a Forstner bit with the same diameter as the curved ends of the shifter. Then with a razor knife I cut straight slots connecting the two holes. When the center piece was broken out I then hand filed and used a Dremel with a small drum sander bit for a tight fit -- actually a slight force fit. To get this fit I had to be very careful in this last stage to not remove too much material.

The shifters fit very tightly in place, but I can still adjust them. Once the nose cone is installed on the car and the shifters have been perfectly aligned I will glue them in place from the back. Then they'll be permanently anchored.

 

[Lyon]

@artsci: I'd LOVE to see a pic of the new nose on the car. Also, what wrap did you use? I like how it looks. I've been considering having mine wrapped but I would like to see it on the car, first.

Edit: have you gotten your car yet?

 

[PopSmith]

Picked up the wrapped nose cone last night and added the Blinder sensors.

Wow. That looks fantastic! :love:

 

[artsci]

@artsci: I'd LOVE to see a pic of the new nose on the car. Also, what wrap did you use? I like how it looks. I've been considering having mine wrapped but I would like to see it on the car, first.

Edit: have you gotten your car yet?

Haven't received my car yet but expect it within 30 days. The wrap is 3M Scotchprint 1080 Carbon Fiber Vinyl Flex Wrap Black CF12. The nose cone will go on my Model S as soon as possible after its delivered.

 

[Laurent]

Once the nose cone is installed on the car and the shifters have been perfectly aligned I will glue them in place from the back.

Nice work Artsci. The Blinders look nice and flush with the nose in your pictures but keep in mind that they'll need to be rotated by about 20 degrees in order to be level. They will likely stick out as a result.

 

[artsci]

Nice work Artsci. The Blinders look nice and flush with the nose in your pictures but keep in mind that they'll need to be rotated by about 20 degrees in order to be level. They will likely stick out as a result.

View attachment 19477

I'm very aware of that, but I can't do the final alignment until I have the car and the nose cone is attached to it. Otherwise it's just guessing, which is not good.

 

[neroden]

$350. Not bad in my opinion.

That is *exceptionally* cheap for a nose cone. I'm going to worry a lot less about damaging it.

 

[mknox]

FWIW, I just left the Toronto SC. They were unpacking a huge parts shipment (including my replacement UMC) and had a bunch of replacement nose cones. I asked if that many people had damaged their front ends and was told no, they were just for inventory.

 

[wormhole]

How did you order it?

 

[William13]

I just had a Prius back into me while I was honking my horn. A bus was behind me. The Prius had a grin on the bumper. Nothing showed on my bumper. . Not a scratch. I do have XPel Ultimate installed.

 

[mrose17]

could you tell me what process you followed to order a spare? i'm not having much luck in that department.

many thanks!