How many days does it take ...

Heh. I drove an Elise daily for 8 years, and the Roadster daily for the last year or so. It's always awkward (I'm 6'3"), whether the top is on or off - the best you can hope for is a nonchalant "I *mean't* to fall into my seat" look.

After driving a 1995 Tahoe, a 2005 Wrangler with a 6" Lift and 35" tires, then a 2009 Tahoe...

Getting in/out of my Model S was... interesting. I'm sure I looked {PC term for mentally challenged without being offensive}.

I would either fall IN to, or out OF the car, or my legs didn't know where to go, or I'd hit my head on the side of the car. Something really not possible in a Tahoe.

Some days I think I'm still not used to it. I'm am coming around to the whole 'sports car' thing. Which says a lot for a die-hard SUV guy... (who will be buying a Model X) lol

There's definitely an effortless technique for getting in / out of the Roadster which I found that works perfectly for me. I'm 6' tall. Key is using the sill as a pivot point where the majority of your weight pivots off that axis. This is for both getting in / out. Now once you perfected and found that, you need to perfect it with the other / passenger side. I let a fellow Roadster owner take mine for a spin, hence being in the passenger side and it was like starting all over again! Its also a very odd / weird feeling being a passenger in your own Roadster.

Getting in/out of my S is hard enough. getting in/out of the Roadster would be even more... fun for me...

If anyone has one I can test drive... I'm free

wiztecy said:

hence being in the passenger side and it was like starting all over again! Its also a very odd / weird feeling being a passenger in your own Roadster.

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YES! That's so true. I've figured it out well enough on the driver's side but it still can be a bit awkward after 2+ years. I'm only 5' 8" so my leg doesn't reach the ground when I bend my knee over the door sill. I use the steering wheel for leverage. I was in the passenger side the other day, and getting out I felt lost. It was a most ungraceful exit.

MileHighMotoring said:

How many days does it take to get used entering and exiting a Roadster? Ten days. It's finally not feeling like an awkward, uncomfortable, hilarious event I hope people aren't secretly filming and putting online :biggrin:

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You know all those TV shows where the guys driver fancy cars? Next time you see one, notice that they show the guy opening the oor and then cut to him closing the door. You never see anyone actually getting in our out. Because it's always awkward.

I put one foot in the car, then bend so my rear and head go in at the same time, and bring in the other leg as I sit (i.e. fall) into the seat.

Seems appropriate to link to this oldie, but goodie here:

Tesla Quicktip: How to get in - YouTube

Getting in is easy, gravity takes care of that. Getting out took several weeks before it didn't feel really awkward. (Cue the crowd of people saying "look at that old, fat guy trying to climb out of that little car".) Proud to say I can now manage to get out with a drink in one hand, an Ipad with a phone balanced on top of it in the other hand. But getting out of the passenger side is still as awkward as ever. Hopefully I'm not delegated to that seat often enough to ever acquire that skill.

I have one theory about if you just get in and drop, over time I feel the seat will have that indentation from all the weight/stress on it. Also its a thump on your whole body too. Another bonus of the CF sills is that it allows your hand to plant firm without slipping, but when you slide across it its rather smooth and clean. But let it be known that if you have the stock non-CF sills, if you didn't address the issues that make them crack (uneven lip underneath) you will crack them like I did if you do put weight on them over time.

Some helpful videos:

I think it was one of the astronauts who said it of the early spacecraft, "You don't get into it, you put it on".

As mentioned, getting in is easy. I'm all of 5'4", and it's a simple, smooth, step / turn / sit operation, as long as the seat is pushed back. Getting out is harder, basically turning and stepping out towards the back of the car. I try not to put too much weight on the door itself, just because it's so long (lever action).

The only times I have a problem is when I can't open the door far enough to keep it from slamming shut on my leg as I'm transitioning in or out. Given how long the door is, that happens a lot more than I'd like. A spring would really be a nice addition, making it a bit more balanced.

One follow-up question... Do most drivers move the driver seat forward and back with every exit / entry? I exit with the seat all the way back, and move it all the way forward to drive, and I'm wondering about flex breaks in the seat wiring...

I'm at the "size limit" for the Roadster (I feel); I'm 6'1" and about 275lbs... Getting in and out took me about 2 weeks to get comfortable with and it became relatively smooth after that. Always feel like a putz and if you aren't paying attention or "try a new method" it results in "issues"...

Big difference between top on vs off too of course, with it off its very simple to just step in and sit down.

One thing the Lotus Elise guys will do is to replace the steering wheel with one which has a quick release, this gives you a much larger space to get in... But you lose airbag on driver's side...

Once "in" the Roadster is really comfortable, unless the passenger is as big as I am, then you will sit within inches of bumping shoulders (if both driver and passenger are "big" I mean)... Fortunately my wife is less than half my size/weight, so we fit together without any trouble!!!

gregd said:

One follow-up question... Do most drivers move the driver seat forward and back with every exit / entry? I exit with the seat all the way back, and move it all the way forward to drive, and I'm wondering about flex breaks in the seat wiring...

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No. But I think this question is really targeted towards shorter drivers than taller ones since you're 5'4" and I'm 6'.

I've been driving a Roadster for six years, and I'd always gotten in by sitting down and then bending my knees and lifting my feet over the sill.

This worked wonderfully until someone slid into my left knee while I was playing softball in August. My friends took me to the ER, and someone else drove my Roadster there. I came out of the ER with crutches and a knee immobilizer, and no way to get home but the Roadster (or begging my friends, which I didn't really want to do).

The problem is that the size of the opening in the door is smaller than the length from my hip to my heel with a straight leg. It just was not going to go in.

Eventually, I figured it out. I sat down in the driver's seat with my legs sticking straight (and I do mean straight) out. I then used my hands to lift myself over into the passenger's seat. I swung both legs into the correct position, and then lifted myself back across the center console to the driver's seat. Reverse this to get out. The real challenge is not damaging the not-designed-to-be-sat-upon center console.

I managed to do it for the month or so it took to get through the knee surgery and get my bending back enough to get in the normal way.

So...it is possible, but really not much fun.

Also as a side-note, interesting enough.... I was able to connect my eyebrow with the top front corner of the Roadster's window one day while in a rush slipping into the Roadster. Put a little gash and broke the skin. Each time I get in the Roadster I always put my hand lightly over that window corner so that won't happen again. Its not nice when you do meet. So be careful and aware, mostly when you're in a rush (where shortcuts and mistakes are made).

I'm 5'10" , 68 years old and have a bit of a lower back problem. My technique caters to my back. Right foot in, grab steering wheel, turn body perpendicular to the car (totally), bend at the waist, go as far down as possible with left leg ( I did go to the gym and beef up my left quad for this), slide into car without clunking into seat! If I enter car without turning perpendicular to car by back muscles on the right side lets me know my technique was faulty. I drive the car every day........ Even for numerous in and out errands.
The other reason I developed this "roll into a little ball" technique is my Visio Clear top has a very poorly glued rubber strip window seal that rips off of the top if you keep rubbing across it. My goal is to slide into car without touching the rubber molding.

shrink said:

Seems appropriate to link to this oldie, but goodie here:

Tesla Quicktip: How to get in - YouTube

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This video helped me enormously back when I bought my Roadster..You can enter /exit like a pro in no time!