In reply to Keith Tanner :
You shouldn’t need to turn on sentry mode each time. It should be on or off with the option to disable it at home and work. If you don’t have those options you will get them with a software upgrade. The latest software also adds the rear view camera to the recordings for both dash cam and sentry mode.
Keith Tanner said:Janel pre-cooled the car before she got in after work today. She reports that she could get used to that. Honestly, the ability to run the HVAC before you get in was one of the selling points I pitched to her. Turns out "never have to visit the gas station again because I hate getting gas" was stronger.
My wife never puts gas in her car either and really likes it. The difference is a service comes by work and fills it up for her as often as she likes. There is a monthly charge, but the price per gallon is lower than the local stations. She can also pre cool or heat the cabin through the Mercedes app on her phone. That is a nice feature I wouldn’t mind having on my DD.
mattm said:In reply to Keith Tanner :
You shouldn’t need to turn on sentry mode each time. It should be on or off with the option to disable it at home and work. If you don’t have those options you will get them with a software upgrade. The latest software also adds the rear view camera to the recordings for both dash cam and sentry mode.
I mis-read the owner's manual. Thanks. I thought that seemed a little too high effort. Just turned it on because I don't really see a downside.
That's good news about the rear camera too.
I’ve made it clear to my wife already. My ‘13 Rubicon was the last (and first) new IC engine car I will buy. She’s fine with it.
GIRTHQUAKE said:In reply to Steve_Jones :
Because the franchise laws that dealerships work under prevent normal people like us from buying cars wholesale for their actual price- it's why in states like the aforementioned New York and Nebraska there is no ability to buy them. I call it out-and-out corruption; what other system works like this, where a buyer is prevented from buying a product from it's manufacturer? The closest thing I can think of is the movie industry, and even then streaming has forced some new paradigms.
And there's no control over that price, either. Where is the markup on a Fit *just* $400? Do you have a picture of an MSRP that's only $400?
Don’t even get me started on the hospital’s price structure. :-)
So here's a fun thing. According to the Elon Musk conversation on the most recent Everyday Astronaut video, the hydraulic pumps on Starship are driven by Model 3 engines. He'd like to go to direct drive in the future.
Coooooool 
Janel thanked me today for pushing her towards the new car. She was really hesitant to give up the faithful Jeep she bought 20 years ago, but she's bonded pretty strongly with the future. She also took her 6 year old nephew for a ride yesterday and he was convinced they were going to go into space.
She has run into one problem a couple of times. I turned on Autosteer so I could play with it and hadn't deactivated it yet. It's engaged by basically double-clicking the cruise control stalk. Problem is, that cruise stalk is also used to select drive. She's somehow backing up and then hitting the control twice - trying to shift through neutral, perhaps? - which makes the Autosteer throw an error because she's not moving, and then she can't get it into drive until she hits reverse again. I haven't tried to duplicate it myself but I did see her do it this morning. The solution is to either learn not to double-tap that stalk or to turn off Autosteer. We're going to do the latter anyhow, and she'll get more comfortable with the controls. She's shifted into drive less than a dozen times when I think about it. It is a side effect of trying to minimize the controls in the car, though. Having one thing try to control the transmission AND the cruise AND the autosteer does require complexity in control.
Cotton said:Keith Tanner said:Janel pre-cooled the car before she got in after work today. She reports that she could get used to that. Honestly, the ability to run the HVAC before you get in was one of the selling points I pitched to her. Turns out "never have to visit the gas station again because I hate getting gas" was stronger.
My wife never puts gas in her car either and really likes it. The difference is a service comes by work and fills it up for her as often as she likes. There is a monthly charge, but the price per gallon is lower than the local stations. She can also pre cool or heat the cabin through the Mercedes app on her phone. That is a nice feature I wouldn’t mind having on my DD.
This is an interesting service. How do they know to come fill the car, do you call them? Do they have a key to release the gas cap? If it's heating/cooling the interior, is it running the engine?
Keith Tanner said:Cotton said:Keith Tanner said:Janel pre-cooled the car before she got in after work today. She reports that she could get used to that. Honestly, the ability to run the HVAC before you get in was one of the selling points I pitched to her. Turns out "never have to visit the gas station again because I hate getting gas" was stronger.
My wife never puts gas in her car either and really likes it. The difference is a service comes by work and fills it up for her as often as she likes. There is a monthly charge, but the price per gallon is lower than the local stations. She can also pre cool or heat the cabin through the Mercedes app on her phone. That is a nice feature I wouldn’t mind having on my DD.
This is an interesting service. How do they know to come fill the car, do you call them? Do they have a key to release the gas cap? If it's heating/cooling the interior, is it running the engine?
She uses a company called Yoshi. They offer a variety of services, but she only uses the fueling and has been for a couple of years. She has it setup where they check in with her at work a couple of times per week using text and if she needs gas she says yes and tells them a general idea of where her suv is parked. As to the key, no they do not have a key. Her previous car didn’t have a locking flap, but her current one does, so generally she opens it before she locks the car for days she knows she needs gas. If she forgets they text her and she unlocks it through the app.
On the hvac, yes the engine has to be running. Hers is all gas, but it may work differently on their hybrid models.
I'm not sure if you have access to a 3D printer, but there are a number of things designed and provided on Thingiverse to tailor the ownership experience:
https://www.thingiverse.com/search?sort=relevant&q=Tesla+Model+3&type=collections
A number of center console/cubby organizers, etc.
There's also some neat stuff for Miatas but that's for another discussion (https://www.thingiverse.com/search?q=Miata )
It's not surprising that there's an overlap between 3D printing enthusiasts and Tesla owners.
So, the car has some crazy aero wheels on it. They're the standard wheels - Janel was thinking about jumping up to the 19" setup until I pointed out I could get nicer ones from Tire Rack :) And then I found out that the aero covers are just hubcaps...and the wheels underneath actually look pretty decent.
Problem is, they have raw steel lug nuts and no hub caps.
Of course, there are a bunch of easy solutions there. You can see some Amazon-sourced center caps and lut nut covers here.
We were originally thinking we'd prefer the car with the bare wheels - but I have to say, the aero covers have grown on both of us. They suit the crazy spaceship vibe of the car.
And of course, I had to take that front wheel off so I could pop a very well attached aftermarket center cap off. At least there was no chance of one coming off. Also, check this out - all four wheels have a bright sticker that lines up with the red dot on the tire. I've heard stories in the past about how this red dot has something to do with balance. Who here knows? Also, note that this car came with Michelins which is pretty nice.
Also, here's a look in the wheel well for the car nerds out there. That means everyone here :)
Yes, the wheels under the aero covers look really nice.
Keep in mind, I saw an interview with a guy that was involved in their design and they are functional. You will lose range if you take them off, how much I dont know.
Actually, those calipers look really good too!
If we do start running around with the bare wheels, I’ll probably put them back on for road trips where speeds are higher and aero has a bigger effect.
The calipers are really nice. I can see them becoming sought after in the junkyard.
The red dot is designed to be mounted by the valvestem.
I'm so conflicted about the wheel covers. I understand them to have a substantial aero improvement, but I think they're hideous and stupid looking. I'm waiting for the form follows function part of my brain to kick in...
In line with your apparent plans, it's nice that the wheels underneath look good and that around town the aero won't matter much.
Front suspension looks an awful lot like 88-00 Honda design...
jfryjfry said:The red dot is designed to be mounted by the valvestem.
But it's not in this case. There is no relationship between the dot and the valvestem, only the sticker and the valvestem.
Ah, here's what Yokohama has to say. Red dot is the point of highest radial force (I'm going to guess that's usually the belt overlap) and should be matched with the lowest point on the wheel which Tesla is marking with that yellow sticker. If you don't have that infomation, then you mount the yellow dot opposite the valve stem.
Here's a gratuitous closeup of that cool looking caliper, just because.
As for the look of the wheel covers - I didn't like them much at all before we got the car. But in person, they kinda work. Everyone I've talked to likes them and they suit the car. Pulling them off makes it more pedestrian somehow. The plan was to run without them most of the time, but I think they may become permanent. If I get a set of winters for this thing, I'll put them on something a little more traditional.
Also, this thing has big wheel studs. 129 lb torque rating, although it feels to me that they were a lot lower when I broke them free.
Keith Tanner said:
Also, this thing has big wheel studs. 129 lb torque rating, although it feels to me that they were a lot lower when I broke them free.
I wonder if that's part of the hands-off ownership idea. No need to ask customers to retorque after 100 miles if you ram 'em the hell on there with 18 ugga-duggas and make the stud big enough to take it. As we know, the average customer won't retorque and the average shop compensates by overtorquing like crazy.
RedGT said:Keith Tanner said:Also, this thing has big wheel studs. 129 lb torque rating, although it feels to me that they were a lot lower when I broke them free.I wonder if that's part of the hands-off ownership idea. No need to ask customers to retorque after 100 miles if you ram 'em the hell on there with 18 ugga-duggas and make the stud big enough to take it. As we know, the average customer won't retorque and the average shop compensates by overtorquing like crazy.
Ithink that's just how heavy cars that are able to generate a lot of acceleration in various directions are. IIRC the current gen camaro performance models spec is 140 ft-lbs.
Ransom said:I'm so conflicted about the wheel covers. I understand them to have a substantial aero improvement, but I think they're hideous and stupid looking. I'm waiting for the form follows function part of my brain to kick in...
In line with your apparent plans, it's nice that the wheels underneath look good and that around town the aero won't matter much.
I'd be okay with literally almost any amount of range decrease to not have to run the wheel covers. A coworker has one and after several months of seeing it in the parking lot every day they haven't grown on me at all. Maybe if they were a better color it would help. It is better than the model 3 aero wheels though, which while also are effective are maybe even more hideous and it's not a cover, just a basically solid wheel so they weigh a ton.
Janel offered to let me take the car to work today because otherwise she'd have to allow her 3 and 6 year old nephews to ride in the car again, and she's not quite ready to subject her pristine new car to that. Maybe next week. So here are a few notes.
- the carpet in the trunk is going to need some protection. It's the sort of mouse fur you see inside dashboards or center consoles. I'm not convinced it's going to stand up to real trunk duties over the years.
- I've mentioned that putting my fingers against the bezel of the screen makes it easier to use the various "buttons". Here's what I mean. It's a very natural movement once you figure it out. My hand is clean, that's just the early morning light :)
Here was my biggest problem with driving the car to work. The car will take audio inputs from the internets, Bluetooth or via USB. But I carry around a couple of iPod Classics - one loaded with music, one with audiobooks. They have big storage, they don't rely on data, you can control them without looking at them, their batteries last forever and their 1/8" headphone jacks mean I can use them with anything as I jump from car to car. Well, almost anything. They're too old for the Tesla to recognize them via USB and of course they don't speak Bluetooth. A $20 Bluetooth transmitter has solved that problem, so now I can listen to a 30 year old cyberpunk sci-fi novel that was originally recorded on tape that's been digitized to MP3 and is playing on a 14 year old device in a car from the future.
I think the big studs are for load capacity. They may be carried over from the Model S, but it's also a 4000 lb car. My Vanagon is the same, I think, and that's certainly not due to high performance levels ;)
Looking at that close-up of the tire I posted earlier, note that it has a cute little "ACOUSTIC" icon on it. Tire noise is going to be a major consideration on choosing rubber for these things.
So I got home last night and this happened.
No real surprise, v10.0 has been announced and is rolling out across the Teslaverse. Here's the big news for those who aren't interested in subtleties (ie, gadget blogs):
That's right, Project Binky now lives inside your Tesla. Assuming, that is, that you are hooked up to Wifi and you turn on the YouTube app. Netflix has also been added along with some new arcade game that Tesla is very excited about. The release notes say that the ability to play video while hooked up to a phone hot spot has been temporarily enabled, but I really really hope the car has to be in park as well. Otherwise there are going to be news stories about people crashing while watching movies. Well, more news stories.
More useful updates are some changes to the driving display, increased customisation of driver settings, the addition of the rear camera to sentry mode and some tweaks to the navigation interface. Also, from now on you will be told what version of the software is being installed :) I suspect there are more behind-the-scenes changes as well but that's about it for the release notes from what I remember. We'll find out this weekend if there are changes to things like the cruise control.
OTA updates are cool, but only if they're iterative and don't cause a major interface change. I'm tired of my old favorite programs and apps suddenly interacting differently with me. Yes, I'm an old man.
Speaking of sentry mode, the icon makes me laugh. That's HAL in the top row of icons, and if you turn it off his little light goes out. The next icon is the dashcam.
I'm interested in seeing how well the "summon" mode works when it's rolled out. The idea of standing in the dry foyer at the office during a rain storm and having the car meet me at the door so I don't get totally soaked has a certain appeal.
Summon requires the owner to have ponied up for the $6000 "self driving" option, so it's not going to be me testing it!
Ian F said:I'm interested in seeing how well the "summon" mode works when it's rolled out. The idea of standing in the dry foyer at the office during a rain storm and having the car meet me at the door so I don't get totally soaked has a certain appeal.
The new enhanced summon is awesome as long as you use common sense! Also, in the app you can see the route that the car will take to get you. You can modify the target location if needed. Seeing lts of videos of people tryng to summon the car across busy entrance streets to the parking lot itself. That is not a good idea.
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