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bluefuego
Member
Nice! How large would you say the hail was? I am guessing nothing more than quarter size? We have had some ferocious hail storms here in MO in the last few years - golf ball, baseball, softball sizes - I sure do hope that my MS never has to drive/sit through one.
I was too busy trying to keep focused on the taillights in front of me, as that's all I could see through the pouring rain accompanying the hail, but I'm sure it was smaller than that. Actually my wife's Mercedes was parked outside in Austin where the hail hit an hour later, and she has a few dime-size dings in the hood and trunk. Haven't used painless dent repair before but might try it this time.
If the Model S body panels are made of aluminum, and I believe they are, your car is more prone to dings and dents than cars with steel body panels. Please don't be misled by the fact that you did not see any hail dents. That does not mean that the Model S is somehow more resilient. It is, in fact, less so.
EarlyAdopter
Active Member
That's true, but only if you compare steel and aluminum panels of the same thickness. An aluminum alloy panel 1.44 times the thickness of a steel panel will have the same dent resistance, according to this site:
So the real question is, how much thicker are the aluminum panels on a Model S vs standard automotive steel panels on other cars. Anyone ever measured both?
bluefuego
Member
I can imagine... I just saw a truck the other day (which I am guessing would have been totaled by insurance) that had huge dimples - I am guessing he got his with some golf ball to tennis ball size hail. I know quite a few people that have had their cars totaled out after a few of these storms. *fingers crossed* that I can find sheltered parking when necessary.
AustinPowers
Total Smeghead
I remember a while ago, a holding area where VW parks thousands of its cars ready for shipment was hit by a hailstorm, severely damaging around 17.000 brand new cars!
Good thing Tesla is located in California
Good thing Tesla is located in California
Canuck
Well-Known Member
I think the reason for using aluminum over steel is to save on weight. If so, then it must be safe to assume that the panels would be the same thickness as the steel panels on standard cars.
To have the same strength as steel, with a flat sheet, the aluminum must be thicker. Tubing must either be larger diameter (most typical) and/or thicker.
The rear tub (hidden by rear bumper) is soft alum easily pounded to new shape with a hammer. But couldn't the exterior body panels be somewhat stiffer alum? A body shop that has worked on MSs would know. If I lived in Kansas I might carry a roll of carpet just in case.
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bluefuego
Member
I'm not going to say commenting on this thread jinxed me - but the part of St. Louis that my lovely red was parked in just got hit by marble sized hail. Unfortunately I was in the middle of a tennis match (indoors) and could do nothing in time. After it stopped raining and I looked at the car and it looked ok... but drying it off a bit certainly showed off my new dimples. very very very sad.... :cursing:
EarlyAdopter
Active Member
Oh no! That sucks.
Well, maybe your range will increase a little now.
Mythbusters: Dimpled Car MiniMyth : Video : Discovery Channel
bluefuego
Member
AustinPowers
Total Smeghead
Oh no, please no. Keep TMC a FB-free zone. Enough of the web has been conquered already by that leviathan of personal data abuse.
But about the original topic: wasn't there an experiment by a Japanese car company (can't remember which one) a while back with a test vehicle that had dimples all over on purpose to test exactly the aforementioned golfball/better CV phenomenon? I remember seeing an article about that, but can't seem to find it any more.
Update: as it turns out, one can now even get that as a wrap:
zcx_rapidwrap | ZDRAX Supreme Surface Technologies
Disclaimer: I have no connection to that company whatsoever and make no financial or other gain in any way by posting that link.
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bluefuego
Member
no no and more no!!!
There are more storms today (tornado this morning!) - totally taking hubby's car out for errands (even though it is an ICE).
You do know there's a little star in the bottom left of a post that allows you to give the poster rep?
(You can't just keep repping the same person though, so I owe VolkerP two LOL reps.)
Liz G
P03056
Thank goodness my work has a parking garage. My hubby had to take the Subaru today and leave his Tesla at home. Decision has definitely been made to keep the Subaru for him to use on stormy days.
Yup. Just trying to express my appreciation for a comment in a new and different way that's greater than 2 characters so the forum accepts my post ... don't really want a like button.
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