Thoughts on Yoke from Plaid owner

[strider]

For those who considered the yoke stupid, what does it say to those who spent over $100K for a vehicle with this stupid design? Don't they know what they are buying?

I held off on ordering my MX Plaid until I saw that there were aftermarket wheel options available. I would not have bought my Plaid if there were not options. So I went into the purchased knowing I was going to through another $1,200 at the car to replace the yoke.

 

[SDRick]

I held off on ordering my MX Plaid until I saw that there were aftermarket wheel options available. I would not have bought my Plaid if there were not options. So I went into the purchased knowing I was going to through another $1,200 at the car to replace the yoke.

Congratulations!

It is great that you have an option to convert but I would give the yoke a little time. It will seem a bit odd the first day or two and then still take some time to get comfortable.

It certainly is not as much of a challenge as say learning a manual transmission, and sometimes people even prefer those and do not want to change.

Obviously, YMMV

 

[strider]

Congratulations!

It is great that you have an option to convert but I would give the yoke a little time. It will seem a bit odd the first day or two and then still take some time to get comfortable.

It certainly is not as much of a challenge as say learning a manual transmission, and sometimes people even prefer those and do not want to change.

Obviously, YMMV

My Mileage Did Vary. I knew the yoke was going to be a joke and ordered a Hansshow wheel a few weeks before my Plaid arrived. The Hansshow wheel arrived a week after taking delivery. I drove the car for 9 days before I switched. I disliked the yoke every time I used it. Could I have adapted to it? Sure. But I have other things to which I would rather devote my time and mental energy that actually make my life better. There is simply not a single benefit to the yoke. It is different purely for the sake of being different. Visibility is not improved (the top of the wheel crosses my vision there the speaker grill is - there is zero loss of forward visibility). The Hansshow wheel is narrower than the yoke so the wheel actually improves visibility of the center screen. You can hold the wheel at 9 and 3 just like the yoke so no benefit there. Then if you're talking about tight/parking lot maneuvering, being able to grab a wheel at any point without looking is a benefit to the wheel and is lost with the yoke. Again, can you adapt to this? Sure. But why?

This entire thread is "You'll get used to it" or "I like it." It is fine to like something just because you like it but I have yet to see an actual benefit of having a yoke over a wheel.

 

[DaBean]

The only thing I would change is to swap the wipers and horn buttons.

 

[Pcm888usa]

Congratulations!

It is great that you have an option to convert but I would give the yoke a little time. It will seem a bit odd the first day or two and then still take some time to get comfortable.

It certainly is not as much of a challenge as say learning a manual transmission, and sometimes people even prefer those and do not want to change.

Obviously, YMMV

I agree. I put a little sticky bumper above the wiper button so that I won't accidentally turn it on. I still can if I need to by putting my finger below it and press. The yoke is not that bad.

 

[Plaid to Mod 3]

I held off on ordering my MX Plaid until I saw that there were aftermarket wheel options available. I would not have bought my Plaid if there were not options. So I went into the purchased knowing I was going to through another $1,200 at the car to replace the yoke.

Look very closely at your options and I think you'll realize that most of them are not even a true symmetrical circle.

 

[Plaid to Mod 3]

Ah, just because someone paid a lot of money doesn’t mean they paid attention to every single detail before buying.

I paid a combined $200K for my cars. I am not planning to buy an S because it has the yoke. That’s the main reason.

I wish I had been more critical and discerning before my purchase that's for sure congratulations to you

 

[strider]

Look very closely at your options and I think you'll realize that most of them are not even a true symmetrical circle.

Not sure what your point is. I agree that some of the options are only wheels in the very loosest sense of the term. However I only need a single good option. I am a big fan of the Hansshow wheel. It is not a perfect circle but this trend towards a flattened bottom has been proliferating across the industry for a very long time. The OEM wheel on my 2006 Corvette was not have a perfect circle and neither was the OEM wheel on my 2022 Volvo XC40 Recharge.

 

[Plaid to Mod 3]

Look very closely at your options and I think you'll realize that most of them are not even a true symmetrical circle.

Even the ones that look like they're completely circular if you watch videos of somebody turning them quickly you'll realize that even those ones are not a true symmetrical 360° circle. Unacceptable in my opinion to be messing around with stuff like this

 

[Unclepaul]

I believe the yoke is just a first step to eliminate the circular steering system altogether.
Soon the Yoke will be designed to motor/nest into the instrument pane, opening up that entire space if front of the driver.
Then will come a single joy stick to handle acceleration, braking, and turning.

 

[Plaid to Mod 3]

Not sure what your point is. This trend has been proliferating across the industry for a very long time. My 2006 Corvette did not have a perfect circle and neither did my 2022 Volvo XC40 Recharge.

Well now you're depending on an aftermarket company that probably has very little engineering and scientific expertise to really develop a steering wheel that's going to be the best fit in the most situations from a safety standpoint. This is the kind of stuff that I was unwilling to deal with with the model S. I want the original manufacturer to develop a proper steering wheel that takes into account scientific and ergonomic factors from an engineering team that works That's proven to work with the rest of the operating system. I think it's unacceptable for Tesla to expect people to go aftermarket they're steering wheels.

 

[Plaid to Mod 3]

I believe the yoke is just a first step to eliminate the circular steering system altogether.
Soon the Yoke will be designed to motor/nest into the instrument pane, opening up that entire space if front of the driver.
Then will come a single joy stick to handle acceleration, braking, and turning.

Not sure about this. The better you can manually operate the car, the better you're going to have take over capabilities when the car is on automated systems. For instance, with my model 3 I actually use autopilot a lot more willingly because I know I can assume control of the car and operate the car in a moment's notice. I cannot say the same with the yoke. The yoke was harder to operate to begin with therefore it was harder to use autopilot and the automated systems because I did not have the takeover capabilities that I do with the steering wheel.

Besides, I think that there is some enjoyment and actually manually operating your car from time to time. I'm not sure that that's ever going to completely go away that people want to do that or have the ability to do that

 

[strider]

Well now you're depending on an aftermarket company that probably has very little engineering and scientific expertise to really develop a steering wheel that's going to be the best fit in the most situations from a safety standpoint. This is the kind of stuff that I was unwilling to deal with with the model S. I want the original manufacturer to develop a proper steering wheel that takes into account scientific and ergonomic factors from an engineering team that works That's proven to work with the rest of the operating system. I think it's unacceptable for Tesla to expect people to go aftermarket they're steering wheels.

I realize that you are having a good time stirring the pot and getting everyone all riled up. But you need to understand that Elon and Tesla do not care at all what you think. I have been a Tesla customer for 12 years now - you can trust me on this. Elon and Tesla will create and deliver whatever it is that they think is cool and you can take it or leave it. They do not expect you to go aftermarket. They expect you to love whatever they create because they are always the coolest people in the room.

Further, I question why on one hand you think that the yoke (created by the OEM) is terrible but then simultaneously only want a wheel that is designed by the OEM. They can screw up a yoke but can't screw up a wheel? I only have experience with the Hansshow wheel but in that case, they use an OEM yoke as the base and you move your electronics over. So it is LITERALLY OEM. They just cut off the bottom bit and build a ring of carbon fiber to make a wheel. Cars have had steering wheels for over 100 years. There's nothing difficult about making one.

If you have spent any time in any sort of competitive sport or recreation, you would know that there is a rich aftermarket for people that want to improve on what the OEMs have done. I don't care if you're racing cars, motorcycles, boats, guns, airplanes, or even people, there are aftermarket parts available to tune the experience to the participant and make them as competitive as possible. In every one of these cases the products are being used in a more demanding setting than they would outside of competition. In those cases the aftermarket products are typically better engineered than OEM. OEMs have to meet cost targets - the aftermarket is free to engineer to whatever price people will pay.

You surely saw pictures of the MS on the website with the yoke. I saw that (MX in my case) and immediately thought that the yoke could be a problem. I then started doing research on aftermarket options. Once I found that a few were available I knew that if I hated the yoke I could change it out. I then went forward with my purchase.

I'm truly sorry that you lost $40k on this deal. But I also believe that you acted irrationally and dumped your car without investigating ways to make it work for you. Would it have taken some time? Sure. But only you can decide what your time is worth. If the time it would have taken wasn't worth the $40k, that was your decision, not ours or even Tesla's. Heck you could have purchased one of every aftermarket wheel option to find the one you liked best and still been money ahead and had a faster/better car than a Model 3. Instead you punished Tesla by buying a Plaid, dumping it at a loss, and then buying a Model 3. I'm sure they learned their lesson there!

 

[Wol747]

>>They expect you to love whatever they create because they are always the coolest people in the room.<<
In a nutshell, there’s the problem. A car manufacturer isn’t something like a video game or TV maker - it’s putting a lethal chunk of metal onto roads that have evolved from the horse and cart era, though the Model T and into fast efficient EVs.
There is a market for those who want “cool” - whatever that is in reality - but other EV makers understand, better IMO, what is required in a mature environment.

 

[Silicon Desert]

My Mileage Did Vary. I knew the yoke was going to be a joke and ordered a Hansshow wheel a few weeks before my Plaid arrived. The Hansshow wheel arrived a week after taking delivery. I drove the car for 9 days before I switched. I disliked the yoke every time I used it. Could I have adapted to it? Sure. But I have other things to which I would rather devote my time and mental energy that actually make my life better. There is simply not a single benefit to the yoke. It is different purely for the sake of being different. Visibility is not improved (the top of the wheel crosses my vision there the speaker grill is - there is zero loss of forward visibility). The Hansshow wheel is narrower than the yoke so the wheel actually improves visibility of the center screen. You can hold the wheel at 9 and 3 just like the yoke so no benefit there. Then if you're talking about tight/parking lot maneuvering, being able to grab a wheel at any point without looking is a benefit to the wheel and is lost with the yoke. Again, can you adapt to this? Sure. But why?

This entire thread is "You'll get used to it" or "I like it." It is fine to like something just because you like it but I have yet to see an actual benefit of having a yoke over a wheel.

So it is a personal thing. It would surprise you to hear me say that I swapped out my steering wheel on a 69 Nova over 50 years ago and replaced it with a yoke

 

[_Redshift_]

I believe the yoke is just a first step to eliminate the circular steering system altogether.
Soon the Yoke will be designed to motor/nest into the instrument pane, opening up that entire space if front of the driver.
Then will come a single joy stick to handle acceleration, braking, and turning.

You really are Elon’s uncle.

 

[DayTrippin]

So it is a personal thing. It would surprise you to hear me say that I swapped out my steering wheel on a 69 Nova over 50 years ago and replaced it with a yoke

Not it wouldn't. I had some on my drag cars. Not an issue there. Steering ratio took into account the wheel and I was in a world of deep doo doo if I needed more than about 20-30 degrees of steering lock.

 

[Murtaya]

I know, I know--

• I'm incapable of accepting genius and revolutionary interface changes like the yoke
• I'm setting myself up to kill myself by making it possible to hold the steering device at 10 & 2
• I'm going to die because I can't clearly see the gauge cluster or the road in front of me
• I'm a shorter

BUT, I went and installed an adult wheel.

It feels like a new car...and often too good to be true (at least until I reach for the turn signal stalk). If I didn't take driving so seriously and had small hands, I'd probably be in the yoke lover's thread, but I just couldn't do it. Maybe if I had given the yoke another week, but I was sick of waiting to "get used to it". I really want to enjoy driving this car as much as possible, and this went a long way.

The car would still have been much better with the Model 3's wheel and stalks, but whatev. It's fine for a beater.

 

[Hayseed_MS]

I know, I know--

• I'm incapable of accepting genius and revolutionary interface changes like the yoke
• I'm setting myself up to kill myself by making it possible to hold the steering device at 10 & 2
• I'm going to die because I can't clearly see the gauge cluster or the road in front of me
• I'm a shorter

BUT, I went and installed an adult wheel.

It feels like a new car...and often too good to be true (at least until I reach for the turn signal stalk). If I didn't take driving so seriously and had small hands, I'd probably be in the yoke lover's thread, but I just couldn't do it. Maybe if I had given the yoke another week, but I was sick of waiting to "get used to it". I really want to enjoy driving this car as much as possible, and this went a long way.

View attachment 834094

The car would still have been much better with the Model 3's wheel and stalks, but whatev. It's fine for a beater.

As much as I disagree with you on the yoke (good v evil), I am personally happy for you. That is a good looking wheel and most importantly, you have a car that you enjoy driving.

ETA: you are wrong about the yoke

 

[ZipByICE]

Where is the damn steering wheel!? But look at the unobstructed view.
BTW, all cars in this row are electric, about a dozen or so. (Trigger warning) you are looking at Betamax or HD DVD, better technology hardly ever wins.