So Tesla will retrofit Titanium underbody for our beloved Model S. Will you get this done, added weight, added safety, loss of range maybe and whatever else comes from it. Or will you be daring and go "commando"? Lets poll it up and see! :scared:
Originally I thought this was a full battery sized protective plate. I would NOT have gotten that put on my car. Too much change to protect against such a freak occurrence. But it appears that this is a small bar to re-orient things that might hammer the bottom of the battery pack. And a plate to take any hammering that may occur. I have no problems with this sort of add on. I'm not going out of my way to get this added by any means, but will be happy to have it. Basically a 'trip line' forward of the battery pack. Seems like a elegant solution.
my car is lowered and I routinely fear the average sleeping policeman. I'm in for the extra protection pending information from the SC on added weight.
My car is lowered as well so I am going to get the added Tank Mode option. To be honest I've never felt scared about driving the car but since it is lowered might as well have the added protection.
Got it yesterday...see info on other posts on the subject. Info from my service invoice: Concern: Bulletin: Model S | SB-14-30-002 | Underbody Shield Installation Per CustomerRequest Cause: Bulletin: Model S | SB-14-30-002 | Underbody Shield Installation Per CustomerRequest Correction: Install Underbody Shield Using Underbody Shield Kit, Modify and Install FrontUndershiel installed the under body shield kit. took on a test drive, ok. Part Qty FR BASH PLATE LWR STAMPING, 1.00TITANIUM (1037113-00-A) SKID BAR, FR SUB FRAME (1036143-00-B) 1.00 BLT,TRX,BFLG,M6-1.00x35[8.8]-P-12 2.00(1014288-00-B) SPACER, FR SUB FRAME SKID BAR 2.00(1036619-00-A) SPACER SHLDR M6x12x3+8 PLA ADH 2.00(1038838-00-A) ISOLATOR PATCH, TITANIUM STAMPING 2.00(1038621-00-A) RVT PUSH-PULL 8X18X20.0 (1006521-00-A) 2.00 WASHER 8.4x16x1.6 PLA ADH (1038837-00- 2.00A) BLT,HEX,FLG,M6-1.00x25[8.8]-09 (2007206) 2.00 BLT HF M6x1.00x18 [8.8]-D-ZnAl-W 2.00(1006529-00-A) TAPE, DBL SIDED ADHESIVE, SCUFF 4.00PLATE (1017616-00-A) FR BASH PLATE LWR EXTRUSION 1.00(1037112-00-A) 1037743-00-A (1037743-00-A) 2.00 NUT RVT RND THN M6-1.00x3 ZnNi 2.00(2007016) Pay Type: Warranty
I will get it based on JPPs comments on slight amount of weight added. I had my 12K mile service schedule for 4/9/14 already. Called today and they say they will do the plating at that visit. Unless the feedback over the next 10 days on TMC is negative.
Just checked with my SC and they have kits in and available for installation next week. Looks like Tesla rolled them out to the SCs then released. They are getting smarter about this stuff............
Anyone have any information on how long it takes them to install the kit? I'm trying to work out what the financial hit will be on Tesla as a company. If we're talking $400 in parts (titanium isn't cheap) and an hour of labor, that's $575 per car for 30K cars = over $17million dollars.
Also, I'd be interested in hearing about anyone bringing their car in for something else and successfully refusing the retrofit. Do they make you sign a waiver, for instance?
got my titanium shield today no waiver to sign no noticeable difference in driving home from DS also did 5.9 update and set the car to lower at 55 mph works great ! Also tested hill assist . Very happy with the car !!
The waiver would be if you didn't get the shield, to protect Tesla from future liability or something.
How much ground clearance do you lose by adding the kit? While it obviously adds a lot of protection it also seems like it may make it more likely to hit something.
I will have technical details early next week. I'm heading over to my local incredibly friendly SC on Monday and will probably do the install this week (depending on weight and reduction in ground clearance). WRT money spent by Tesla doing this, I look at SuperChargers and Ti shields as if they were marketing money. There was absolutely no engineering or safety driven reason to do the shields. Tesla could have paid for all the damage to every MS that ever hits something and catches on fire and still be way ahead of the game financially so there is no $ based reason to do this. It was a marketing, sales, publicity and buyer perception based move. I call it a "Publicity Stunt" with all the possible good connotations of that term and none of the bad. The Ti shields are just another example of Tesla doing things the right way instead of the easy way. BTW, from an engineering standpoint, the effectiveness of the mod is probably 90% cow catcher crusher and 10% Ti shield penetration protection if I were to guess.
Not meaning to be snarky but- Really, is that why they closed the investigation without ordering a recall? Because they thought there was a safety problem than needed to be addressed? On a more realistic note, I say no safety driven reason which is technically inaccurate. A more accurate statement would have been no reason to do it if ICE is your standard for safety as MS is far superior to ICE WRT fires. It does not seem as though Tesla's definition of right/wrong/job well done is benchmarked against ICE and thus there was a safety related reason to do it. From that perspective, I stand corrected.
As others have suggested, I think this was a wink,wink/nod,nod settlement with the NHTSA. I suspect that if Tesla had folded their arms and refused to make ANY changes, the NHTSA might have continued the investigation and/or mandated some kind of recall. It seems that they are getting smarter about cooperating with cooperative manufacturers and looking for a win/win solution. That is clearly what this is. And, yes, this is smart marketing. Elon is master of choosing to do the right thing, and making everyone believe that it is the ONLY thing to do. Bravo to he and Tesla! And finally, yes, I am getting the upgrade at a convenient time in late April. The peace of mind gained for my wife makes it all worthwhile, as well as feeling totally confident to use low suspension mode liberally.
