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Increasing suspension travel and/or lifting (was: Model 3 Offroaders!)
441 - 460 of 471 Posts
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Quick update - I contacted Martian wheels and they got back to me almost immediately. We can pre-order a set of 18x7.5" MW03 wheels at any time but they are $500 a piece so $2500 for a full set with spare plus shipping.
They also recommend their 18x8" MW05s which would fit the tires we're looking at. $640 each. Or maybe there's a cheaper heavier option?
martianwheels.com
They also recommend their 18x8" MW05s which would fit the tires we're looking at. $640 each. Or maybe there's a cheaper heavier option?
18x8.0
Sold Individually - Select Quantity 4 For a Complete Set Specifications: Applications: Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model Y (All, Including Performance) Sizes: 18x8" Offset: +25 Bolt Pattern (PCD): 5x114.3 Center Bore: 64.1 Construction: Forged Weight: 19lbs Load Rating: 1,609 lbs (730 KG) Recommended...
martianwheels.com
Using "Will they fit" (the website) Alloy Wheel & Tyre Fitment Calculator. Offset, Tyre Stretch and Speedo Error | Will They Fit
for your proposed setup vs a known working setup:
225/50R18 on 18x7.5 ET+30
vs
245/40R19 on 19x8.5 ET+40
I can see that your setup is shorter and narrower and seats flush/as far out as the other setup but doesn't reach as far inside, so yeah this clears upper knuckle just fine:
What gives me a pause is that despite the visual picture looking that way, the diameter is bigger and let me tell you .. 245/40R19 is 'tight' just under the upper knuckle, if your setup is taller it might be an issue however your setup is definitely narrower so as long as its "dodging" the knuckle or shifting it ever to towards the edge of the tire ... could totally be okay
So I went ahead and checked it against another known setup:
255/45R18 on 18x9.0 et+30mm, which has diameter of 27.03"
So yeah, your setup will work.
Just remember that when you get really close to max fit, a particular brand of tires could have tires that have slightly taller or shorter threads and that could cause you to rub or not rub (but also, over time tires wear out so if its 'just so' at the beginning it could be perfect a short-while after)
But in this case I really think that it would work.
Word of caution about martial wheels... yes they pick up the phone real quick and sometimes even slap you with free $100 discount for calling them BUT they once advised me with incorrect information regarding fitment as to push their in-stock product vs my desired size product, and I would take their manufacturing claims with grain of salt (imo its just a front to aliexpress, which is still solid in that you don't have to wait around [for standard sizes] for months and you can reach out to them with any issue vs working directly vs a factory in china but its definitely not up to same quality as some other (more expensive) brands, and being able to get costume size has its benefits too)
another aspect to this:
same size tires mounted on 9.0" with wheel vs 8.5" vs 8.0" vs 7.5" will not be same height, wider wheel stretches the tire somewhat, flatting it at the center, most tires accept wide range of wheel size (ex, 7.0"-10.0")
Just make sure it has the right load rating and the right speed rating
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Picked it up today. Got a free upgrade to a better control panel. But still waiting for the Korean kit stuck in customs since Christmas...
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Had to drive 114 km today to get that damn parcel from the customs depot in person! What an incredible act of bureaucracy! 
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To interrupt the dull winter break, here are some TeslaCam videos of my last offroad test drive in Germany's largest forest (southern "Lüneburger Heide"). It's the only forest area I know of in Germany, where roads like this are not closed for public motor vehicles:
(Unfortunately the bad video quality of the front and rear camera makes the road look to be in a much better condition than in reality. Only the up and down movement makes you realize the bumpiness of the surface. In fact I wasn't able to drive that particular road a few years ago after my very first lift by slightly larger tires [235 55 18] due to a lack of ground clearance.)
(Unfortunately the bad video quality of the front and rear camera makes the road look to be in a much better condition than in reality. Only the up and down movement makes you realize the bumpiness of the surface. In fact I wasn't able to drive that particular road a few years ago after my very first lift by slightly larger tires [235 55 18] due to a lack of ground clearance.)
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Since the awesome rocksliders with integrated step fabricated by GHP aren't allowed in Germany (again), my new metal worker contact refused to build a copy.
I started to wonder about their pros and cons in general:
A definite con is that they start to touch obstacles way before the rocker would, so they limit clearance.
One thing I'm unsure about is how much sturdiness they actually add! Do you know anything about the sturdiness of the stock rockers? I saw this video that shows a massive alu bar inside the rocker. But that seems to serve as a battery protection against side impacts like at traffic accidents. There seems to be no extra protection in ground direction. However, I'm quite sure the rockers are more sturdy than on a similar heavy ICE car because the 1000 lbs battery is attached to them.
Still no news regarding the bullbar... I only know, that it's illegal in Germany (again), because the front bumper of passenger vehicles must be soft to protect pedestrians. But you know what: All other vehicles can have a hard front bumper. Especially the big trucks driving around with massive bull bar frames around huge sturdy grids:
![]()
These things look like they could really take the impact of hitting a bull at highway speeds! But these trucks could likewise hit a pedestrian at a junction or in city traffic. So what's the logic? Is it because the truck drivers are much more likely to not realize hitting a pedestrian and thus killing them anyway? German vehicle registration laws are so unbelievably ****ed up!
I started to wonder about their pros and cons in general:
A definite con is that they start to touch obstacles way before the rocker would, so they limit clearance.
One thing I'm unsure about is how much sturdiness they actually add! Do you know anything about the sturdiness of the stock rockers? I saw this video that shows a massive alu bar inside the rocker. But that seems to serve as a battery protection against side impacts like at traffic accidents. There seems to be no extra protection in ground direction. However, I'm quite sure the rockers are more sturdy than on a similar heavy ICE car because the 1000 lbs battery is attached to them.
Still no news regarding the bullbar... I only know, that it's illegal in Germany (again), because the front bumper of passenger vehicles must be soft to protect pedestrians. But you know what: All other vehicles can have a hard front bumper. Especially the big trucks driving around with massive bull bar frames around huge sturdy grids:
These things look like they could really take the impact of hitting a bull at highway speeds! But these trucks could likewise hit a pedestrian at a junction or in city traffic. So what's the logic? Is it because the truck drivers are much more likely to not realize hitting a pedestrian and thus killing them anyway? German vehicle registration laws are so unbelievably ****ed up!
Like I said the other time, you really got to get a GoPro and mount it upside down from sunroof and maybe add some video clips of it mounted outside your car, that lumberjack dirt road looks real nice, also if you can station your camera on a stand somewhere and then drive towards it over the bigger ups/downs sections of the road it would be nice to see, odds are you are passing sections that no other Model 3 can pass, that's something
Go back to the metal guy with measurements of exactly what is it that you want to build, if asked for purpose (well, the American answer is "none of your god damn business, now take the money and do the job"...) just tell him its for art piece you want to hang on your wallSince the awesome rocksliders with integrated step fabricated by GHP aren't allowed in Germany (again), my new metal worker contact refused to build a copy.
I started to wonder about their pros and cons in general:
A definite con is that they start to touch obstacles way before the rocker would, so they limit clearance.
One thing I'm unsure about is how much sturdiness they actually add! Do you know anything about the sturdiness of the stock rockers? I saw this video that shows a massive alu bar inside the rocker. But that seems to serve as a battery protection against side impacts like at traffic accidents. There seems to be no extra protection in ground direction. However, I'm quite sure the rockers are more sturdy than on a similar heavy ICE car because the 1000 lbs battery is attached to them.
Still no news regarding the bullbar... I only know, that it's illegal in Germany (again), because the front bumper of passenger vehicles must be soft to protect pedestrians. But you know what: All other vehicles can have a hard front bumper. Especially the big trucks driving around with massive bull bar frames around huge sturdy grids. These things look like they could really take the impact of hitting a bull at highway speeds! But these trucks could likewise hit a pedestrian at a junction or in city traffic. So what's the logic? Is it because the truck drivers are much more likely to not realize hitting a pedestrian and thus killing them anyway? German vehicle registration laws are so unbelievably ****ed up!
And yes this does reduce clearance, the idea is that if you end up sitting on a rock... your car will slide on it rather than get beached on it (stuck) and that if anything was to get damaged it will be it rather than your car
If you need inspiration for trail armor/full skid plate ... take a look here: Trail Armor Full Skid Plate with Integrated Slider Nerfs for Polaris General 1000 | 1000 XP
Its for Polaris General 1000 which is a side by side ATV (as oppose to regular ATV, two people can sit front row):
2023 Polaris GENERAL 1000 Rec SxS
The 2023 GENERAL 1000 is the industry’s premier adventure side-by-side, offering class-leading performance with an ultra-responsive 100 horsepower engine, sport performance chassis, and true on-demand AWD.
www.polaris.com
2023 Polaris RZR Pro R SxS
The 2023 2-seat RZR Pro R and 4-seat RZR Pro R 4 side by side leads the industry in every way performance is measured, featuring all-new MaxLink suspension and the biggest factory engine in a SxS.
www.polaris.com
Their highest-end EV offering is not that amazing at 45miles of range ... 2023 Polaris RANGER XP Kinetic UTV feels like a few years down the line we will probably see more capable variant emerges
What is your dirt road use case, is this a way to your house or part of your commute between house to work? in theory ... you could tow a polaris, park your tesla and go on dirt road, then when you come back mount up and go home?
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I thought you were joking — at least a bit... I don't want to spend money on semi-professional camera equipment currently. Actually I still have a non-waterproof HD action camera that I once used as a scenic dash cam on my RV trips through Canada. But I have no clue where it is now. If I find it, I will mount it on the roof like you suggested.
It's really a pity that the dash cam of the M3 is so bad. It's blurry and it's nearly wrong-color, so I can identify a TeslaCam video on YouTube within fractions of a second. And it doesn't have sound, but that doesn't bother me personally. The TeslaCam is so far behind current HD dashcams.
But I don't want to add a second camera system to my car like some M3 owners already did. It must look awfully cramped with cams and cables inside — especially in a super tidy designed M3.Actually every M3 can pass these roads, but not without damage.
Unfortunately I can't get the measurements from GHP, so he would have to take them on my car...
Yes, that's clear. But for me the main question is, whether the stock rockers are able to do that job, at least to some degree. I guess they are.
Germany is very densely populated. Nobody ever needs to leave the paved surfaces to reach their destination. It's just an interest. I know my offroad test area from the time I studied there on the smallest campus of Germany. I bought a brand new subcompact 4x4 car shortly after moving there and drove it just everywhere it was still able to go. That's when I got infected by the infamous offroad virus. I even went to offroad parks with that car, although it was completely stock with only 165 mm ground clearance. It was so much fun! That's nearly 20 years ago now. Unfortunately I have to drive at least three hours to get to that area nowadays. So I'm sadly very seldom there anymore.
There's also a short legal-to-drive "trail" (also a kind of dirt road, but it's actually a gravel road that was never maintained and hence got heavily cross-rutted by rain-water) very close to where I live now (center of Germany). I was talking about this trail some time ago (regarding my high speed offroad test).
I want to have a capable worldwide overlanding vehicle to tow a travel trailer. An ATV just takes up a lot of space and weight and is only capable of driving offroad. That just doesn't fit my plans. Many expedition vehicles have an ATV as a dinghy, but that are big trucks. I need to stay low with weight and air resistance. The solar roof turned out to be bad enough for energy consumption. (Yesterday I realized on TeslaFi that I now have the same highway consumption with speed limiter set to 150 that I had before all my mods going up to 245 km/h! And that started to annoy me concerning the ever increasing electricity costs here!)
FYI I added a picture of a typical European truck front in my previous post.
I think there’s either new camera in 2023 models or it is heavily rumored / leaked that this is part of what hardware 4 is getting
one that does it all? Currently R1S in the near future Cybertruck…that said .. and I’m sure it’s of no help, model y has stock +1.1” and can accept 255/55R18, second revision model 3 aero wheel fit on non-performance variants and for performance there’s other wheels such as Method 502.
If you are sticking with model 3 and find air suspension that can go higher up than OEM.. that would be idle, but even regular coilovers can be adjusted (2 under hood, two in trunk behind soft wall on side) and can be set to either 1” above oem, oem or 1” below oem so in theory next eeek you could have MPP comfort adjustable coilovers installed, before heading out of your house you could spend 15min lowering car 1” below oem, get reduced air dra, drive your 3 hours to off road site, spend 15min easing car to 1” above oem and go have fun
okay so you need a second guy, pay someone to do measurements on the car, if pressed you can claim to want to bring a TUV product to market and will first get paperwork done then start your small side gig
Then go to a second guy and have them build it but don’t tell them what is it for / just as a sample not for actual use / art
Divide and conquer, no?
wanted the go pro (you can get cheap used ones) mounted upside down from the sunroof inside the car so we can see your true view plus screen, Aldo’s oem shots form outside are nice to have)
Search used market .. I bet one form couple years ago could go for cheap esp if it’s a little dinged up
I have seen so where a guy that had 15 solar panels stacked up on the tow hitch behind the car 🚗|||||| they were connected one via too one via bottom and so on so that they can be all layer flat, first and last one had metal frame so it won’t fly off. He then added an inverter in the area under trunk plus mobile charger and made a whole on the rear bumper to route cable, this allowed him to charge while parked without leaving anything east for taking away .. he parks all day in sun and makes up his daily commute and then some like that (range wise), he has video on youtube but I can’t find it at the moment
If this is the extent of your off-roading, that trail, and you can already do it today, doesn’t sound like it’s necessary to make those kind of changes, are there other locations you wish to go to, and can’t?
one that does it all? Currently R1S in the near future Cybertruck…that said .. and I’m sure it’s of no help, model y has stock +1.1” and can accept 255/55R18, second revision model 3 aero wheel fit on non-performance variants and for performance there’s other wheels such as Method 502.
If you are sticking with model 3 and find air suspension that can go higher up than OEM.. that would be idle, but even regular coilovers can be adjusted (2 under hood, two in trunk behind soft wall on side) and can be set to either 1” above oem, oem or 1” below oem so in theory next eeek you could have MPP comfort adjustable coilovers installed, before heading out of your house you could spend 15min lowering car 1” below oem, get reduced air dra, drive your 3 hours to off road site, spend 15min easing car to 1” above oem and go have fun
okay so you need a second guy, pay someone to do measurements on the car, if pressed you can claim to want to bring a TUV product to market and will first get paperwork done then start your small side gig
Then go to a second guy and have them build it but don’t tell them what is it for / just as a sample not for actual use / art
Divide and conquer, no?
wanted the go pro (you can get cheap used ones) mounted upside down from the sunroof inside the car so we can see your true view plus screen, Aldo’s oem shots form outside are nice to have)
Search used market .. I bet one form couple years ago could go for cheap esp if it’s a little dinged up
I have seen so where a guy that had 15 solar panels stacked up on the tow hitch behind the car 🚗|||||| they were connected one via too one via bottom and so on so that they can be all layer flat, first and last one had metal frame so it won’t fly off. He then added an inverter in the area under trunk plus mobile charger and made a whole on the rear bumper to route cable, this allowed him to charge while parked without leaving anything east for taking away .. he parks all day in sun and makes up his daily commute and then some like that (range wise), he has video on youtube but I can’t find it at the moment
If this is the extent of your off-roading, that trail, and you can already do it today, doesn’t sound like it’s necessary to make those kind of changes, are there other locations you wish to go to, and can’t?
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Never heard of better cameras here in Europe so far. But if I can get it, when Tesla Service Centers eventually swap from V3 to V4 in a few years, I won't say no...
My plan is to stick with my current 2/2019 M3 for at least seven, but better ten years.
Well, I have the Air Lift now. Not installed yet, but that's just a matter of time... And I doubt a 1" drop would make any difference in consumption with my current setup.
Even if I could trick someone into building me a copy of the GHP rocksliders, the problem of illegality remains. I think it's just not worth spending a lot of money ($700+?) on such a metal work that has more disadvantages for me than advantages.
Who's Aldo?
That solar panel idea sounds very similar to what I plan to do in the future for overlanding. I decided to buy the panels shortly before I start, because there's quite some evolution in this sector currently and I want to have the best area to power ratio for the best price to power ratio.
That trail in the videos is just a benchmark. It kinda became obsolete now for my current car, after I did the test captured on video. But there is much more to test offroad capabilities for free in that area. I plan to go there again after my front is finally equipped with a winch, so I don't have to worry about getting stuck, if things go south.
The other trail here at home just serves as a benchmark for the suspension. A few days ago I drove it at "chilled rally pace" with the lightly loaded trailer and it nearly tipped once. So the suspension of the car is already a lot better than the trailer's, but still far from the smoothness of an offroad suspension. That's one thing that's still on my list.
Then there's a test trail of mine in Andalusia, that I drove in summer. It's an extremely steep gravel/sand/rock surface trail that has even deeper ruts. (similar to the easiest parts of Rubicon) I had the 255 55 18 on and only once scraped the ground with the plate under the frunk. So it even passed that test. But I drove very carefully.
What I didn't try so far is real offroad driving. I mean just driving through the environment without following any sort of track for two-track vehicles. (nearly impossible in Germany) That's something that usually only the real offroaders are capable of and the risk of damaging the front bumper on a Tesla is very high (see TeslaBjörn, the Thai from Norway offroading his X a few years ago), because you just can't see the obstacles right in front.
That's why I'm interested in something like a bull bar, protecting the front and pushing light obstacles away. But since it's also illegal here AND the only seller is so slow at marketing it AND it will be crazy expensive to import it AND the metal worker would take not much less for a copy ... I'm unsure, whether I will ever buy one or just install the winch without one (which would look much worse, I guess).
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km/h — mph
150 — 93
245 — 152
(same consumption, see above)
150 — 93
245 — 152
(same consumption, see above)
Sadly there will be no retrofit of V4 hardware for V3 cars.
V2.5 cars and V2 cars got V3 because:
1) it was designed from ground up to be compatible
2) there was so few V2/V2.5 hardware cars that retorift made some kind of sense
3) V2/V2.5 was not 'good enough' for current level of FSD thus if you bought FSD you couldn't really get FSD without upgrading to V3 hardware thus Tesla 'had' to give it to you (to some for free to some for $2k initially and later for $1k depending on country/area) otherwise they sold you something you cant use (an empty promise)
4) upgrade from V2/V2.5 to V3 was just a computer, V4 is computer + new higher res cameras, one thing Tesla never does is swap out all cameras, some of them are easy (front blinker) but some of them are total **** show (one under windshield requires windshield replacement... do you imagine now days with nearly 2 million model 3/y ... Tesla offering all of them new cameras + windshields + computers and the labor that it would take to do the swap for every single one of them?
- in Tesla's eyes you can do FSD with V3, with V4 you will simply be able to do 'better FSD' - acts quicker, smoother with less errors
It would require court ruling to get them to throw any bones to people with hardware 3, odds are it will be to "free FSD when trading-in your current tesla for new tesla", slightly less likely - ability to remove FSD from your car for refund of the price it was at the time you bought it, but most likly: none of that, bought FSD? have V3? ... thats it, you paid and you got, done and done, I would not count on ANYTHING happening, no V4, no discount, no carry over of FSD to new car, nothing.
Solid plan, my 2nd car r/n is from year 2000, not sure if my 2002 M3 will last 23 years but odds are much sooner than that there will be something compelling enough for me to want to upgrade.
Currently (and mainly thanks to no Stalks and Yoke) I have reservation for R1S as my 2nd car's replacment, I also kind of really actually do need at least six seats, I also have reservation for Cybertruck and there's some chance I'll replace my Model 3 with it ... I can even have some use for the bed on say semi monthly bases so its not all waste, but pracitcily speaking my garage at home is not long enough for the cybertruck so I'm not sure how am I going to charge at home (home face an ally, not street, can't block ally with truck as its against city code and it will get towed + fined... don't want to get new house for a truck lol)
it makes a bigger difference the faster you move, at 100km/h its probably 5% advantage, at 150kmg it might be ~15% advantage
Like I wrote, if you aren't hitting anything right now and have no plans to rock crawl, no point, maybe a stealth version, only 4mm thick but covers whole bottom of car, makes sense, doesn't lose much clearance and is much stronger than current bottom + is technically cheaper to replace (battery is $14,000 for part+labor here, also if you rapture coolant line off road you are so out of luck, car gets disabled instantly and now you look to tow it from off road location + new battery cost...)
My phone auto corrected, hard, on that one, suppose to be "also some shots form outside" refering to camera mounted on the outside of the car as well as standing somewhere facing the road so we can see your car drives towards it.
Found the videos:
1)
Just remember to stay out of water, if water gets into one of your circuit boards under frunk or pyrofues under 2nd row seats ... you will need an x-tesla repair person that doesn't go by the book and some used parts from wrecked teslas to get the car going again and with how much things are 'by the book' in your area I doubt that will happen
I had a fantasy once about creating a steel replica of the OEM bumper and powdercoating it white .... onlookers wouldn't know but it could plow... but again, too expensive
Also, eh, electric Unimog could be a fun toy (has portal axles from factor and insanely large tires, plus crew cab can be sort of a camper's dream, just pair it with 820kWh battery and you can even ignore the fact that it looks like a feral dumpster on wheels...
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Interesting info. Didn't know about that. I got the V3 swap for free because I paid $6000 for FSD when purchasing the car.
I think FSD is an empty promise in general! It never worked here in Europe! AP even became increasingly useless over time! It just keeps blaring at you to grap the wheel and then shuts off after a few minutes despite grabbing the wheel until AP is deactivated because you turned it to much... **** this ****! I feel I just wasted that $6000. Tesla should refund the FSD purchase price or at least for the time it didn't work! So upgrading the hardware a second time is the least they owe me! 🤬
Even in the US AP is falling behind: Ford’s BlueCruise Ousts GM’s Super Cruise as CR’s Top-Rated Active Driving Assistance System - Consumer Reports
That may be true for a stock Tesla, but certainly not for my M3, suffering from the solar roof, large AT tires and fender flares...
Such a bottom protection plate would be even legal here.
But at the current metal costs here, I won't bother... It would be a lot of added weight, too. The stock plate seems quite sturdy to me in that GHP video! I mean on that compacted snow bank the rock sliders didn't take much pressure off the "belly". I may purchase the coolant line protector by TSportline, though... But why should the car be disabled by a ripped coolant line? It should switch to creap mode or the like, but not completely switch off the drivetrain!I already have the plate under the frunk replaced by a metal version.
Awesome build! He put a lot of money in his project. It has a lot less drag than my solution while creating ten times the energy.
Water seems to be of little risk for a stock M3 while driving. I saw several videos where Teslas nearly started to float. Only know of GHP bricking their M3 by water, but that thing is far from stock in the front!
Great idea for apparently staying legal here!
But unfortunately a single piece manufacturing would be stupidly expensive. Certainly a lot more than importing the bullbar from the US and paying fines for it.
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Are you allowed to mount solar on the hood and the roof glass? Is that legal?Interesting info. Didn't know about that. I got the V3 swap for free because I paid $6000 for FSD when purchasing the car.
I think FSD is an empty promise in general! It never worked here in Europe! AP even became increasingly useless over time! It just keeps blaring at you to grap the wheel and then shuts off after a few minutes despite grabbing the wheel until AP is deactivated because you turned it to much... ** this **! I feel I just wasted that $6000. Tesla should refund the FSD purchase price or at least for the time it didn't work! So upgrading the hardware a second time is the least they owe me! 🤬
Even in the US AP is falling behind: Ford’s BlueCruise Ousts GM’s Super Cruise as CR’s Top-Rated Active Driving Assistance System - Consumer Reports
That may be true for a stock Tesla, but certainly not for my M3, suffering from the solar roof, large AT tires and fender flares...
Such a bottom protection plate would be even legal here.
I already have the plate under the frunk replaced by a metal version.
Awesome build! He put a lot of money in his project. It has a lot less drag than my solution while creating ten times the energy.
Water seems to be of little risk for a stock M3 while driving. I saw several videos where Teslas nearly started to float. Only know of GHP bricking their M3 by water, but that thing is far from stock in the front!
Great idea for apparently staying legal here!
Like this:
Toyota Land Cruiser 80 Series/Lexus LX450 VSS System™ - 90 Watt Hood Solar Panel | Out of Stock - Pre-Order for February Shipment
The Cascadia 4x4 VSS System is the world's first vehicle specific hood solar panel system. This particular model is designed to fit the 80 series Toyota Land Cruiser & LX450. Generating 90W of clean solar energy to keep your truck's battery topped up when the engine isn't running. Perfect for...
www.cascadia4x4.com
Or is your only option to put it on a roof rack? That has to be legal, right?
Like this: Prinsu Roof Rack Modular Solar System - 45 Watts | In Stock and Shipping!
I have FSD and have been on the FSD beta for awhile now (six months), without the FSD beta its just EAP (enhance auto pilot) which I use daily via phone to move car out of tight parking spot (can't even open doors as its too narrow) which is handy, in today's offering that is (EAP) the $6000 option. I find that the FSD beta does better job centering lanes in highway, it still slows down too abruptly when traffic slows down, it waits too long and then applies too much break and not enough regain, I dont like it for that but when I have 50+ miles open road straight drive (california...) I tend to use it, but I'm always 'on top of it' as imo at any point it could try to end my life haha, still, I find the job of nannying it easier than driving in terms of mental load and how tired it makes me feel after 2hr + drive (feels like 30min with FSD lane centering)
For in-city driving it can work if I need it due to say... dying, but unless if thats the case no way I let it drive, I watched in horror as it did a 90 degree turn across yellow line into an elevated parking lot, it took it way too fast, too fast to turn and too fast speed, really don't like it, and roundabouts are also iffy, the unprotected left turn is impressive honestly but there's just like a hundred things I hate about the way it drives that I just don't do it, also LA area is probably too intense for it in terms of how people drive here.. maybe in a small town it would work better.
Would I have paid $15k today for it? hell no
Would I have paid the same $6k that I did back in the day but only for EAP? honestly, yes but I wont be super happy about it, I don't use navigate with auto pilot, I just keep it in one lane and if a change is needed I usually do it myself, the only real feature I use here is roll car back/forward with phone
If tesla let you move FSD from one car to another.... I would maybe think $15k today is good deal but with it not being able to be moved and with people snapping out of the illusion that its going to actaully be amazing sometime soon .. when you sell used the buyer is like "thats nice" not like "oh thats amazing deal" so you aren't even getting that money back fully...
I hope more companies get better and better adaptive cruise control so that some parts of EAP become standard (the moving the car from phone part too), I tried summoning car once in empty parking lot, yeah I don't have that much faith in it not to hit something or someone nor does it go at normal human pace ... just ... yeah I'd pay $6k but I much rather get subset of that for free and not pay for it at all
TBH Tesla pulled 4D amazing chess move:
disallow purchase at end of lease of model 3, claim its for robo taxi fleet, so with introductory date of 2018 that means 2021 robo taxi -> create pressure to buy FSD
raise price by a ton, both car and FSD -> indicate they have confidence in robo taxi
get them back from costumers after 3 years -> sell them as used for almost same price they could have 3 years prior thanks to price rise, and anyone buying FSD on them its 2nd time you sold FSD for the same car...
.. but wait it gets better: if they sell it at $70k (with taxes) then competition say "okay, we have ICE we want to transition to EV, this is what people are willing to pay ($70k) lets build cars for that budget).... also probably low key lie about margin (its much bigger than claimed)
then pull rug under competition and bring back down to earth the prices, still higher than intro price but now just under competition so you end up in situation like
VW ID4 2/3 the range, 1/4 the speed $2k more expensive than tesla + no NA access to super charger, who would buy this now? and its easier to raise prices than lower... so VW is screwed...
then use huge profits to scale up production more, further bring down price, maybe get more cars into mega casting and stractual battery pack, have battery production too... allowing to further reduce price... might as well end up with all other car makers dead after tesla moves into more vehicle categories (mini vans? vans? cyberSUV? a slightly smaller truck later, also smaller cyberSUV...) if they can offer more range/speed/safety/better charging at same or lower price than everyone else ... you can hate elon all you want but you would still buy it
No, the less aerodynamic starting point you have the lower 'fast speed' you need to start enjoying from improvments to aerodynamics, your roof mounted solar air-break means you probably see better gain from lowering car - that said, probably better to copy-cat what the guy did with his solar solution, less drag and more solar +++ notice how he has deploy mode vs travel mode, you should consider the same, if you stick to your current type solution maybe consider putting it in a roof mounted aero-storage box (thul?) to reduce drag while travel
That coolant protector is cheap, just $89 so yeah just go for itSuch a bottom protection plate would be even legal here.
I already have the plate under the frunk replaced by a metal version.
the "why" part doesn't matter, I'm just saying what it does if the front of the pack's cooling line gets cut the car is disabled instantly, if the pack at time of impact is too hot then it dies, if you already have replaced the front skid plate with metal one then you should be good on that front.
Honestly the tsportline product isn't super needed as its going to be rather hard to get impact there but for $89 i prefer the peace of mind
I don't think its THAT expensive of a project: regular bike mount (of the shelf) + metal parts from home depot, just the battery buffer that he uses is a little price and the inverter but he gets a lot for it - he charges in empty parking lot in the far corner and this setup means he doesn't pay a cent for his car's driving range, depending on your local rate that could be enough to break even after few years (here supercharger session during peak hours can be $30, do that once a week and you are looking at ~$1500/year)
In most of those videos you see them during the act and not after, remember that GHP went slow through the water once and was fine, then went second time faster 'just for fun' and caused wave that was taller, then he still managed to drive out, car was yelling at him but still working, only when he tried to restart it the car died, he could have potentionally drove home with it as is, many mistakes due to lack of knowledge but take away is that this is what water crossing can do, I stand by my recommendation of 'just dont'
Yes but have you considered lowering your standard? if done via cast ... the front of it can be very thin, and then you can add some reinforcement behind the scenes, depends how much of a DIY you want to do. If you just want to pay someone else to do it then yeah I can see the cost adding up... otherwise if you can source a spare plastic front bumper from a junk yard .. and a boat load of clay... you could pour your own metal into it and get at least half of the way there before giving it to someone for enhancing the look towards replicate stateGreat idea for apparently staying legal here!
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Yes. Yes. Wow, you have everything just a click away in the US.Are you allowed to mount solar on the hood and the roof glass? Is that legal?
Like this:
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The Cascadia 4x4 VSS System is the world's first vehicle specific hood solar panel system. This particular model is designed to fit the 80 series Toyota Land Cruiser & LX450. Generating 90W of clean solar energy to keep your truck's battery topped up when the engine isn't running. Perfect for...www.cascadia4x4.com
No, not the only option. It's very close to legal in Germany IMHO. Only problem may be the wires that connect the rack to the car, because the rack is legal as long as it's "removable".
Just add removable waterproof wire connectors?
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