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Tesla Motors Selects BorgWarner for Production of New Gearbox for Tesla Roadster

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Cool. It's nice to see that they expect production to pick up fairly soon:

"Tesla Motors starts production of 10 new Roadsters each week. Customers typically take delivery four to six weeks after production begins. The company expects production starts to ramp up to at least 20 vehicles per week within a few months and 40 per week by early 2009."
 
Press Release

SAN CARLOS, Calif. - (Business Wire) Tesla Motors Inc. has selected BorgWarner Inc. for the production of a single-speed gearbox for the Tesla Roadster and is initiating a ramped-up production rate. So far, 27 customers have taken delivery of Roadsters.
Tesla engineers developed the specifications for the new gearbox and provided them to BorgWarner. The new gearbox is an integral part of an enhanced powertrain with significant performance and efficiency improvements. The new powertrain delivers about 30% higher motor torque on a single gear ratio, and it achieves a 10% higher EPA combined range.

“Last December, when the two-speed transmission designed by a previous supplier proved not to be durable, we announced we would modify our approach,” said JB Straubel, Chief Technology Officer of Tesla Motors. “By using a more powerful inverter and an enhanced motor design, we were able to implement a single-speed gearbox and still achieve our original performance goals. In fact, the new setup is superior in almost every way.”

The new gearbox is designed for the higher peak torque levels of the new Roadster powertrain, which has increased from 286 Newton-meters (211 foot-pounds) to 380 Newton-meters (280 foot-pounds). The new powertrain achieves an EPA combined range of 244 miles on a single charge, up from Tesla’s previously announced EPA range of 221 miles.

Production of Tesla Roadsters began in March, and the first vehicles were built with an interim transmission design. Customers who own Roadsters with the interim transmission can have their powertrain upgraded free of charge.

Tesla Motors starts production of 10 new Roadsters each week. Customers typically take delivery four to six weeks after production begins. The company expects production starts to ramp up to at least 20 vehicles per week within a few months and 40 per week by early 2009.

“Successfully implementing the new gearbox in less than a year was an incredible technical challenge and huge accomplishment for Tesla’s engineers,” said Ze’ev Drori, Chief Executive Officer of Tesla Motors. “Now that we have a final powertrain design, in a matter of months there will be hundreds of Tesla Roadsters across the country. We’re heralding nothing less than a new era of the automobile.”

About Tesla Motors

Tesla Motors develops and manufactures electric vehicles with exceptional design, performance and efficiency, while conforming to all U.S. safety, environmental and durability standards. The Tesla Roadster is the only highway-capable production electric car of any kind for sale in the United States. With a 0 to 60 mph acceleration of 3.9 seconds, a 14,000 rpm redline, and the fastest top gear acceleration of any production car tested by Car & Driver magazine in 2007, the Tesla Roadster is unique in providing super car performance, zero emissions and extraordinary efficiency. For more information, visit Tesla Motors.

Tesla Motors Inc.
Rachel Konrad, +1-650-701-2664
[email protected]
 
This is not clear to me..

Does this mean the transmission is in production and that 10 cars per week start receiving this new transmission immediately..?
This article is very vague IMHO...
I believe an update directly from Tesla is in order..and should be forthcoming. Lets hope all is GO!
:rolleyes:
 

BorgWarner, huh? During the discussion of what went wrong with the previous suppliers it was brought out that the big boys wouldn't play with a little start-up like Tesla. Even now that Tesla is producing Roadsters, we're still talking small potatoes to BorgWarner.

But it was also revealed that drive train 1.5 came from development of of the WhiteStar. So... IMHO, this bodes well for the Model S. The implication, as I see it, is that BorgWarner won a contract to do all the Gearboxes for Tesla, meaning they see the Model S as a reasonable risk investment.

Pure speculation on my part, but it was the first impression I got from the article.
 
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some (slightly) new details:

Tesla shifts gears | Up to Speed | Los Angeles Times
Beginning the third week of September, new Roadsters will receive the new tranny, and in October, current Roadster owners can take their cars back for a part swap free of charge.

One person who doesn't have to wait: Tesla Chairman Elon Musk. He received the first Roadster off the line, and, Siri says, he already got the first new transmission. "He's the boss," Siry explained.

So 1.5 is slated for the third week in September (which is next week) and Elon already has 1.5. I wonder how many per week they will be producing? I think the last number we heard was 5 per week. With 1.5 in place, I expect that to go up quickly.
 
Yes, I was surprised by this announcement - I thought Ricardo was producing it for Tesla. I guess they were just used to help design it.

Same here, that's what Tom O'Leary said at Tesla LA Store when I visited (by accident) back in May '08:

Tesla Roadster
Tesla Roadster
Kyte Mobile

Can someone tell me how a new manufacturer (Borg Warner) for a new transmission design (Drivetrain 1.5) plays into the Engineering/Validation Prototype development curve? Doesn't it mean, that they have to allocate time to do this? (or are they doing this right now). Never heard any reports of the Death Valley test (back in Aug).

My view of the whole thing, is that "stress" has been transferred. The 2-speed transmission had a severe mechanical shockload, which has now manifested into a temperature stress (Drivetrain 1.5 running a motor that revs higher, requiring water cooling). Are we going to see another potential bug-a-boo, or is this going to be a successful "stress transfer ("displacement")"?

Breaking News:
The development partner for Xtrac (offroad program) scored a 1st in Class over the weekend (300 mile race), 3rd overall vehicle!! INCREDIBLE. They fought through transmission breakage last year, & successfully developed a winning package. They are looking forward to the upcoming Baja 1000 in Nov, to take home the coveted season points championship.

[ 300 mile Primm race was same location as the DARPA Grand Challenge '05 race, where S. Brin & L. Page of Google were in attendance, along with Steve Wozniak. This is Autonomous Vehicle Navigation ("robot cars"), the same area Martin did his MS Thesis @University of Illinois:

When he wasn’t breaking the law, Eberhard
spent time working on his master’s thesis
project: a robot that was essentially a giant
piece of aluminum with a wheel on each corner
that was independently steered.

Stanford won in a Red Bull sponsored VW Touareg, CMU was 2nd, Caltech DNF'd. The 2 govt. contractors who did the LIVE Iridium vehicle-tracking included YYY (800 million $$ company), whose Vice-President & Director of Research is Dr. xxx..a UIUC/EE/Artificial Intelligence PhD '94..same AoS/Area of Study as Martin & me, we're 10 yrs before '83 & '84. I did a successful project with them back in '06 with a racing friend of mine (10-time season points champion) ]

That's 1st, 3rd (podium), 1st for this year's 3 races..pretty IMPRESSIVE! The severe tranny shockloads in an offroad car are similar to that of an EV (instantaneous torque curve of an AC induction motor).

The "Proof of Concept" for a Xtrac 2-speed is pretty firmly established, so a DoE/Dept of Energy proposal for a Interdisciplinary Cooperative/Collaborative R&D Inst for Alternative Energy, has a VERY strong chance of getting funded. They like funding concrete things, with concrete validity tests. 1st target client will be TM, for a 2-speed Xtrac transmission. Or, any other EV manufacturer who wants a 2-speed.
 
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My view of the whole thing, is that "stress" has been transferred. The 2-speed transmission had a severe mechanical shockload, which has now manifested into a temperature stress (Drivetrain 1.5 running a motor that revs higher, requiring water cooling). Are we going to see another potential bug-a-boo, or is this going to be a successful "stress transfer ("displacement")"?

I certainly don't know all the ins and outs of the upgrade. (JB details it better than I ever could here: Tesla Motors - touch). I am pretty sure that they did not end up having to water cool the motor though. Water cooling was a possibility mentioned early in the design, but they managed to make it work with the existing air cooling. My layman's understanding is that most of the change involve increasing electronics efficiency. More efficient IGBTs in the Power Electronics and a more efficient motor allow for more power across a greater range removing the need for a lower gear for initial acceleration. The efficiency of going from a transmission to essentially a differential allowed for additional weight savings which helped even more.

The "Proof of Concept" for a Xtrac 2-speed is pretty firmly established

I wonder how durable the new transmission is? The Xtrac 2-speed in the early roadsters worked well too as a proof of concept... but only to 10,000 miles or so.
 
Any idea why Wired goes out of their way to put a negative spin on the Tesla?

From the article:
Early adopters got a car that did zero to 60 in 5.7 seconds -- about as fast as the Toyota Tundra pickup. Powertrain 1.5 cuts that to the promised 4.0 seconds, putting the Roadster on par with the Porsche 911 GT3.

Why the 4.0 instead of the repeatedly claimed 3.9? Why the Toyota Tundra comparison and fabrication? (Tundra does 0-60 in 7.7 if you have the 2WD model).

And then repeatedly trying to make a big deal about the nomenclature of 2.0 vs 1.5 seems very odd to me. If they wanted to write a negative article, there is much stronger material out there than this. If they were trying to write an unbiased article, why the stupid Tundra comparison?
 
Ehh... I didn't read it as negative. Just the author's poor attempt at "humor" and "style." His high school writing class probably suggested the "start with a question, end with an answer" technique in order to "tie it all together." Which is fine, but the thing with which he chose to do it (1.5/2.0) was lame. Fortunately the comments called him out on it.
 
Borg Design

I am 100% positive it is a Borg Warner design. Tesla came to Borg Warner when all of their efforts with Magna and Ricardo had failed. The Borg unit has surpassed all of their specifications.
 
For validation purposes:



ViewMedia?mgid=128496&vid=2.jpg
September 09, 2008 03:09 PM Eastern Time
Tesla Motors Selects BorgWarner for Production of New Gearbox for Tesla Roadster

Deliveries of 27 Roadsters Completed to Date, Production and Delivery of Roadsters To Accelerate With Final Powertrain Solution



SAN CARLOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tesla Motors Inc. has selected BorgWarner Inc. for the production of a single-speed gearbox for the Tesla Roadster and is initiating a ramped-up production rate. So far, 27 customers have taken delivery of Roadsters.
Tesla engineers developed the specifications for the new gearbox and provided them to BorgWarner. The new gearbox is an integral part of an enhanced powertrain with significant performance and efficiency improvements. The new powertrain delivers about 30% higher motor torque on a single gear ratio, and it achieves a 10% higher EPA combined range.
“Last December, when the two-speed transmission designed by a previous supplier proved not to be durable, we announced we would modify our approach,” said JB Straubel, Chief Technology Officer of Tesla Motors. “By using a more powerful inverter and an enhanced motor design, we were able to implement a single-speed gearbox and still achieve our original performance goals. In fact, the new setup is superior in almost every way.”
The new gearbox is designed for the higher peak torque levels of the new Roadster powertrain, which has increased from 286 Newton-meters (211 foot-pounds) to 380 Newton-meters (280 foot-pounds). The new powertrain achieves an EPA combined range of 244 miles on a single charge, up from Tesla’s previously announced EPA range of 221 miles.
Production of Tesla Roadsters began in March, and the first vehicles were built with an interim transmission design. Customers who own Roadsters with the interim transmission can have their powertrain upgraded free of charge.
Tesla Motors starts production of 10 new Roadsters each week. Customers typically take delivery four to six weeks after production begins. The company expects production starts to ramp up to at least 20 vehicles per week within a few months and 40 per week by early 2009.
“Successfully implementing the new gearbox in less than a year was an incredible technical challenge and huge accomplishment for Tesla’s engineers,” said Ze’ev Drori, Chief Executive Officer of Tesla Motors. “Now that we have a final powertrain design, in a matter of months there will be hundreds of Tesla Roadsters across the country. We’re heralding nothing less than a new era of the automobile.”


About Tesla Motors
Tesla Motors develops and manufactures electric vehicles with exceptional design, performance and efficiency, while conforming to all U.S. safety, environmental and durability standards. The Tesla Roadster is the only highway-capable production electric car of any kind for sale in the United States. With a 0 to 60 mph acceleration of 3.9 seconds, a 14,000 rpm redline, and the fastest top gear acceleration of any production car tested by Car & Driver magazine in 2007, the Tesla Roadster is unique in providing super car performance, zero emissions and extraordinary efficiency.


http://www.businesswire.com/portal/...d=news_view&newsId=20080909006494&newsLang=en