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Falcon-wing doors in snow

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Gulwing Doors & Snow Cover

Hi folks,

I have searched and I am not seeing anyone talk about what happens if the top of the car is covered in snow or it's raining and you open the Gullwings. Any ideas?

Also what about winter gear or a skibox? can this be accommodated some how?

Thanks
TF
 
1. If the car is covered in snow, you really should remove the snow before opening the back doors. This can be done as easily as hitting the pre-heat button on your phone half an hour before needing to use the car, and then quickly brushing off the remaining snow.
2. If it's snowing or raining, and there's no wind, the falcon wing doors will shield the occupants from getting wet. If it's windy, however, it's unavoidable that the occupants will get some snow/rain on them.
3. Skibox doesn't look like it will be possible. But some sort of solution utilizing the tow hitch for transporting skis has been hinted at. (Or rather - promised.)
 
Hi folks,

I have searched and I am not seeing anyone talk about what happens if the top of the car is covered in snow or it's raining and you open the Gullwings. Any ideas?

Also what about winter gear or a skibox? can this be accommodated some how?

Thanks
TF

Welcome to TMC!

With preheating I'm sure this snow covered roof won't be a big deal. I believe Tesla has a solution for stowing skis, we just don't have the details yet. If I were to speculate its a going to be sometime attached to the tow hitch. At the same time this will have minimal effect on the aerodynamics.

1. If the car is covered in snow, you really should remove the snow before opening the back doors. This can be done as easily as hitting the pre-heat button on your phone half an hour before needing to use the car, and then quickly brushing off the remaining snow.
2. If it's snowing or raining, and there's no wind, the falcon wing doors will shield the occupants from getting wet. If it's windy, however, it's unavoidable that the occupants will get some snow/rain on them.
3. Skibox doesn't look like it will be possible. But some sort of solution utilizing the tow hitch for transporting skis has been hinted at. (Or rather - promised.)

+1

Its illegal in some places to not clear your vehicle. Understandable, its very dangerous to leave snow on it only to later fly off into the way of the vehicle behind you or slide onto your own windshield. Having the snow brush stowed in the frunk or trunk for easy access to clear before you use the rear doors like any other vehicle in winter should come naturally, IMHO.
 
Lots of things we don't know.

I suspect the car has a fairly large overlap between the inner and outer seals, which would reduce the tendency of snow or rain to fall inside. (As in, the portion of the roof that lifts up is say 36", but the opening on the indie is only 32", leaving a two inch overlap on each side - numbers out of thin air to illustrate the point.)

Also, they showed us that the car has a hinge at the outside of the roof in addition to the standard gullwing one at the center. It seems like everyone is assuming that hinge exists solely for the reason they've shown, to swing the lower door inwards to allow it to open more vertically in smaller parking spaces.

What if that hinge can move outwards, as well?

The door might have to move vertically just a bit to clear the latch, but then the side wall section could be articulated up at the outboard hinge while leaving the roof section more or less flat - this would provide overhead protection for rain/snow, and allow the use of a roof rack - at the cost of needing a fair amount of space to the side to open the door that way.

I'm expecting to see power articulation at both joints and some flexibility in both directions at the outer joint, and possibly ultrasonic sensors in the door looking up and sideways to ensure adequate clearance and control the door's opening pattern.
Walter
 
Hi folks,

I have searched and I am not seeing anyone talk about what happens if the top of the car is covered in snow or it's raining and you open the Gullwings. Any ideas?

Also what about winter gear or a skibox? can this be accommodated some how?

Thanks
TF

This has been discussed fairly extensively. Perhaps your failure to find the discussions are due to searching for "gullwing" doors, when Tesla (and those on this forum) refer to them as "falcon wing" doors, due to their double-hinged, articulated design.
 
Hi folks,

I have searched and I am not seeing anyone talk about what happens if the top of the car is covered in snow or it's raining and you open the Gullwings. Any ideas?

It's one of the first threads on the Model X forum. Model X Falcon Doors

I think we've probably discussed every possible scenario .. snow, bike riders, wind, sleet, dogs, etc. Happy reading!

Screen Shot 2015-03-01 at 10.47.21 AM.png
 
Last edited:
It's one of the first threads on the Model X forum. Model X Falcon Doors

I think we've probably discussed every possible scenario .. snow, bike riders, wind, sleet, dogs, etc. Happy reading!

View attachment 73767

The "Insane Snow" mode flaps the falcon wing doors frantically until snow is shed. You may want to take a step back early iterations had the door proximity sensors turned off which got the feature the 'uppercut' nickname.
 
3. Skibox doesn't look like it will be possible. But some sort of solution utilizing the tow hitch for transporting skis has been hinted at. (Or rather - promised.)
No need to wait for something official from Tesla that has been "hinted at or promised". Yakama (and, presumably, others) have had hitch racks for, literally, decades. I have a Yakama one I bought used with bike and ski carriers 10+ years ago. It was probably a good 10 years old when I bought it.

Hitch Bike Racks | Yakima

Although I still prefer a ski box over roof or hitch racks to keep crap out of my bindings.
 
SNOW REMOVAL on the ROOF?

What happens when you get 2+ inches of snow and you need to gain access to the rear seats? Will all that snow drop into the car??? Does that mean you have to CLEAN the ROOF off first before opening the FWD?
 
<sarcasm>Yes you have to clean off the snow! Can you imagine such a thing! Crazy if you ask me.

With all the cars I've own to this day I've never cleared the snow and never once has a single snowflake fallen in to the car as the door opens.</sarcasm>
 
Even in cars with regular doors if there's 2 inches of snow and you try to open a door without cleaning it off snow will still fall in. Also, in my state (PA) it's illegal to drive with snow on the roof anyway. I would imagine other states have similar laws.
 
I have a friend who got hit in the face on the highway by a chunk of ice that flew off of a truck in front of him. Mangled his face (badly).Fortunately, his wife was able to take control of the car from the passenger seat because it knocked him out. Everyone should clean the snow off of their roof regardless. They held a fundraiser to help pay for the reconstructive surgery that he needed.

Plus, you'll want to keep that panoramic view on the Model X so there's your motivation to clean it off.
 
I have never opened a car with any amount of snow on it without brushing the snow off first. Even in standard doors, doing so would result in tons of snow inside the car, on the door panel (electronic controls, armrest, etc) and on the seat! I am not worried about this in the Model X. I already do it.
 
Typically in a regular car, you have to clean the roof before opening or you get chunks falling in (at least this was my experience in a Subaru in Montana). So I always would brush off the driver's side door, get the car started and then grab the scrapper. Then I'd go to town removing the snow. If you don't remove snow on the hood it will at some point come flying up and blind you for a bit. More dangerously, snow on the roof can slide forward when you stop and you end up with the windshield covered and it is too heavy for the wipers.

So, having falcon wing doors only changes how much work you have to do before people can get into the car, but doesn't change the overall amount of work you have to do before you are ready to drive.

Amazon.com: Hopkins 532 Mallory 26 Snow Brush with Foam Grip (Colors may vary): Automotive