Titanium undershield for Roadsters?

[augkuo]

Model S users will get this - Tesla Adds Titanium Underbody Shield and Aluminum Deflector Plates to Model S | Blog | Tesla Motors

Perhaps we should ask for it as well as it could have prevented the battery in #783 from getting damaged.

[video]https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwOlSDz1fpWJajNvLThjcF9KQmNJT1IyRGtGVFhmRnRjMHpn/edit?usp=sharing[/video]

 

[Jaff]

Very impressive indeed! :smile:

Yes, a Roadster retrofit would be fantastic!

 

[wiztecy]

Titanium is strong but it still has give and will stretch a little. I was a little worried it would still allow a gouge in the titanium plating after hitting road debris, but after watching their video tests it appears to hold up very well to abuse combined combined in this 3 shield armor design. Nice Job Tesla!

As for the Roadster, as Augie discovered, any battery pack that has any surface area to the ground is vulnerable to road debris impact and possible failure. Would be nice / reassuring to have a titanium plate and improved guard under its pack too.

 

[ecarfan]

Wow. I am blown away by the commitment Tesla has to vehicle and driver safety.

Mods: perhaps this post should be moved the the S Driving Dynamics forum?

 

[augkuo]

Wow. I am blown away by the commitment Tesla has to vehicle and driver safety.

Mods: perhaps this post should be moved the the S Driving Dynamics forum?

No this thread is getting the shield put on the roadsters as well -

 

[Doug_G]

I have renamed the thread to prevent further confusion.

 

[bart513]

How do we get Tesla to do this for our Roadsters? We are 2500 strong!!

 

[spentan]

Isn't the roadster battery pack much higher up and better protected (than a slab making up the floor of the car)

 

[Doug_G]

No, the pack extends all the way to the bottom of the car. It is however near the rear of the car, so I doubt you'd see a "piking" incident reaching the battery pack.

 

[djp]

The exposed surface area is a lot smaller than the Model S, but it also rides lower to the ground. At least one pack has been damaged by road debris, so it's a risk, although a low one.

I don't think the risk or number of cars is high enough to justify the design and retrofit. Hopefully the "something cool for Roadster owners" is something cooler than a piece of sheet metal!

 

[dhrivnak]

I think the Roadster battery is well protected. I really hope something cool is 70 amp charging at the Supercharger sites.

 

[smorgasbord]

I agree with most of the statements made so far about battery location and exposure. But, we also have to keep in mind that Model S has covered way more miles than Roadster, so statistically Roadster hasn't been proven to be safer than Model S. I also think the kind of person driving a Roadster is far different than the kind of person driving a Model S, or the general population for that matter. We know our cars are low to the ground, Model S drivers don't feel it in their pants like we do. There's also something about driving a Roadster than simply demands your attention at all times - it's one of the things that makes driving Roadster such a blast for me, even after 30K miles.

 

[augkuo]

One roadster battery punctured
At least one roadster floor pan punctured (not my car pictured - this is the front) -
could have injured the driver!

 

[pharma5]

...don't feel it in their pants like we do.

One roadster battery punctured
At least one roadster floor pan punctured (not my car pictured - this is the front) -
could have injured the driver!

The "main deflector" - keeping Kirk and Spock from getting hit in the pants at warp speed since 1966:wink::
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Navigational_deflector.

Would be good to have more shielding for Roadster.

But hope the 2014 surprise is something else...

 

[hcsharp]

The "main deflector" - keeping Kirk and Spock from getting hit in the pants at warp speed since 1966:wink::
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Navigational_deflector.

I had one of those on the front of my Roadster for a while and I have to say it was handy at removing ICE vehicles blocking charging stations. But there were unintended consequences... :smile:

 

[rugbymonk]

Have any better under panels become available?
Hi all,
I have a 2008 Roadster (#287) and the under-panel is rattling like crazy. The holes where the screws go seem to be deteriorating.
Are you aware of any products designed to strengthen and quiet that part?
It seems like some basic sheet-metal work and some well placed rubber should do the trick. Any suggestions for someone obviously not proficient technically
Thanks!

 

[wycolo]

> One roadster battery punctured [augkuo]

Really? Or is this just the bottom panel with a few inches of space above it?

What is *needed* is a new production run of standard-issue Roadster batteries.
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