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What did you do to your Tesla Model 3 today?
- Thread starter Medved_77
- Start date
Glan gluaisne
Active Member
Because WD40 is not an effective long term lubricant, it is a water dispersant (hence the "WD"). It has very poor lubricating properties, and they only come from the carrier (which is kerosene, I believe) before that evaporates.
Thanks @Medved_77 and @Glan gluaisne.
I asked because I applied regular WD40 to mine for the first time last week after reading threads here about handles sticking in the frost and reading the Tesla DIY tip about it for the Model 3. It did make the handle action smoother.
I can understand why something more hydrophobic might be more effective in the longer term. I wonder why Tesla don’t suggest the silicone lubricant instead.
I asked because I applied regular WD40 to mine for the first time last week after reading threads here about handles sticking in the frost and reading the Tesla DIY tip about it for the Model 3. It did make the handle action smoother.
I can understand why something more hydrophobic might be more effective in the longer term. I wonder why Tesla don’t suggest the silicone lubricant instead.
Glan gluaisne
Active Member
My choice would be to use a white or clear motorcycle chain lubricant. These are a very thick clear or white grease, dissolved in a thin solvent carrier, so when sprayed on (the cans have a long nozzle usually) the lubricant penetrates deeply around any pivot, then the carrier evaporates, leaving a long-lasting film of grease behind.
Standard WD40 is actually noted for not being a particularly good lubricant. It has does have some minimal lubricating qualities but is primarily a good water dispersant. Though in some situations it can leave a greasy layer that can hold onto dirt I haven't found this to be a problem with the Model 3 handles (I sprayed them with standard WD40 once last winter and haven't touched them since ... they're operating perfectly). I think with the handles being inset there isn't too much goes in there other than water. If my handles had been dry I would definitely consider the silicone version because that provides lubrication and waterproofing ... but it's not specifically a water dispersant (not listed on the WD website in the water dispersants category despite the "WD" branding in its name). In the constant wet last winter there was no hope of getting the handles fully dry inside before the next big freeze so conventional WD40 did the job.
Glan gluaisne
Active Member
As above, and before, WD40 was never intended to be a lubricant, the only very slight lubricating properties come from the solvent carrier used, which is, I believe, kerosene. The stuff was invented as a water dispersant and corrosion inhibitor. It has slightly worse lubricity than diesel fuel, so pretty rubbish, really. The water dispersant residue that it leaves behind is also a lousy lubricant, but it is very good at attracting dirt and dust, creating what amount to a find grinding paste.
The myth about WD40 being an effective lubricant seems to have originally arisen from the racing cycle crowd, who started using it as chain cleaner. It is a pretty good cleaning agent, primarily from the kerosene solvent it uses, that's pretty good at washing out dirt. Racing bikes run their chains practically dry, as although grease would reduce chain and sprocket wear, it would also add a bit of drag, increasing losses. The fact that chains and sprockets will wear out faster when run with next to no lubricant isn't important when they only have to last a couple of hundred miles before being replaced.
What's needed for things like hinge pins is a tenacious high pressure lubricant, that can penetrate deeply around the hinge pins and bushes, but then form a gel, that both stays firmly in place and also seal the hinge up, so water cannot easily get it. Because a thick, gel-like, lubricant doesn't move around, any dirt that collects on it's surface is less likely to be transported down towards the bearing surfaces, in much the same way as it keeps out water.
The myth about WD40 being an effective lubricant seems to have originally arisen from the racing cycle crowd, who started using it as chain cleaner. It is a pretty good cleaning agent, primarily from the kerosene solvent it uses, that's pretty good at washing out dirt. Racing bikes run their chains practically dry, as although grease would reduce chain and sprocket wear, it would also add a bit of drag, increasing losses. The fact that chains and sprockets will wear out faster when run with next to no lubricant isn't important when they only have to last a couple of hundred miles before being replaced.
What's needed for things like hinge pins is a tenacious high pressure lubricant, that can penetrate deeply around the hinge pins and bushes, but then form a gel, that both stays firmly in place and also seal the hinge up, so water cannot easily get it. Because a thick, gel-like, lubricant doesn't move around, any dirt that collects on it's surface is less likely to be transported down towards the bearing surfaces, in much the same way as it keeps out water.
True. I don't know the detail of the handle pivots but I wouldn't be surprised if they have nylon bushes and minimal requirement for supplementary lubrication, in which case that ability to keep the water out would be the biggest benefit.
What did I do today?
Fitted my front and rear Thinkware F800 dashcams. The Tesla one is not proving reliable, with it disappearing on a daily basis since I got the car on Thursday, and needing the card formatting each time to bring it back. Plus having to hit the horn or the on screen button to save a clip is stupid.
Cable runs were pretty straight forward up the a-pillars, and I powered using the standard 12v socket in the cubby. It won’t do try parking mode like this, but I’ve found the 12v is powered if I leave Sentry turned on, so that’ll do to keep the cameras running. Not the most efficient use of power, but it’ll do for most of my parking situations. No good for week long stays at the station, but even Sentry would kill the battery doing that.
Fitted my front and rear Thinkware F800 dashcams. The Tesla one is not proving reliable, with it disappearing on a daily basis since I got the car on Thursday, and needing the card formatting each time to bring it back. Plus having to hit the horn or the on screen button to save a clip is stupid.
Cable runs were pretty straight forward up the a-pillars, and I powered using the standard 12v socket in the cubby. It won’t do try parking mode like this, but I’ve found the 12v is powered if I leave Sentry turned on, so that’ll do to keep the cameras running. Not the most efficient use of power, but it’ll do for most of my parking situations. No good for week long stays at the station, but even Sentry would kill the battery doing that.
Agree. Dead easy and quick but do read the reviews of the struts you buy. Many of them (mainly the cheap ones from China) are not reliable and stop working quickly. I bought mine 2 months ago and they still work but after 10-15 cycles they now open the boot 5 times slower than initially. And as you will read in the reviews, expect to use some extra strength to close the trunk.
I reported the same issue to the SC and the car got pushed 48.12.1 and it fixed itself. As for the dash cam, I've been looking at putting one in to supplement the built in stuff. How did you route the power cable out of the center console from the 12v socket cleanly?
Hmm, I installed that software version on Saturday. We’ll see if it does sort it.
Regarding the cabling... The ‘leather’ trim on the side of the console just pulls off. Start at the back and work gently towards the front. Then loosen off the chrome trim by undoing the torx bolts. Once done, you can take the cable out the back corner of the cubby, under the chrome trim, and then run it forwards under the leather trim towards the glove box. Go right to the back of the dash under the glovebox and tuck it up under the panel there and come across to the door. Then the a pillar cover just prises off, working from the top down, as does the black panel directly under it. Cable up from the side of the glove box, under the black panel, then up the a-pillar, making sure it’s behind the airbag. Across the top of the screen and done.
I took a lot from this video, the key difference being the leather trim on the console doesn’t come off completely in the 2021 car.
For the rear camera I came down the a pillar on the other side, and ran the cable under the plastic trim at the bottom of the doors. I don’t like going along the roofline as in the video, as I’d prefer not to risk anything interfering with the side curtain airbags.
Thanks, I've already had some of that black trim off, haven't got the chrome off yet. I'll try when it comes back from the SC. I want to try and run a cable for my phone on a dash mount too while I'm there. Having trouble using the front USB C as it keeps kicking my phone into giving data transfer notifications which is just annoying.
Ferris the Cat
Member
Drove through the snow to drop my wife at her Wattbike class.
Then parked up outside Greggs to wait an hour for her and grompfed a bacon butty while watching Harry's Garage.
Answered two strangers who knocked on the window to ask how it handled in the snow....and had a second bacon sandwich.
The dual motor was excellent in fresh Shropshire snow and the one pedal makes light work of braking. Overall, impressed.
Then parked up outside Greggs to wait an hour for her and grompfed a bacon butty while watching Harry's Garage.
Answered two strangers who knocked on the window to ask how it handled in the snow....and had a second bacon sandwich.
The dual motor was excellent in fresh Shropshire snow and the one pedal makes light work of braking. Overall, impressed.
