Essential upgrades - all year car

A small 12V heat fan on the floor
is a good investment
I bought one to mine it was a 150W and cost 149 skr (approx $18)

Iy fitt nice in the down on the floor in the consol

OVMS module, to allow you to remotely monitor and track the vehicle, as well as giving you remote control over locking/unlocking, charging, etc...via Android/iPhone.

Absolutely essential.

I also think a dashcam is worth the investment, especially if you're going to drive the car in bad weather. Avoids all kinds of "No, YOU hit ME" arguments if something happens.

I'm not sure if they use salt on the roads in the winter over there, but salt will quickly eat the plating off the suspension arms. You will have a very rusty undercarriage within a few months. Not something I would advise on such a rare car.

Paint Armor or X-Pel the entire car (including under the doors and the sills). We did the Paint Armor just after we bought our car (2011) and have had no regrets. Also add weather stripping to the bottom of the doors to keep the road crap from the sills. Maybe a snow dam around the rear fans. We plan on applying Dynamat under the carpet for sound proofing and to keep the footwell warm in the winter.

m0rph said:

http://www.reallylightstuff.com/products/extendview-mirrors-tm-for-elise-exige

Click to expand...

I've been wanting that - wonder if we could setup a group buy?

Ditch the crappy stock brake pads and upgrade them with Carbo-Tech's or equivalent.

That's some list

I see you live in Denmark. You don't need the Nema 14-50 adapter here in Europe, look for a good type2 charger.
I have a super portable (!) charger that can deliver 240V 64A: http://www.crohm.ch/index.php/compo...78-ladestationen/73-evse1m63-ladestation.html



The hardtop comes for a fraction of that price if you don't buy a Tesla one.
The wheels can be much cheaper, after all they're just winters. Buy the non-forged set or go aftermarket. There's some threads about that around here.

m0rph said:

That's some list

I see you live in Denmark. You don't need the Nema 14-50 adapter here in Europe, look for a good type2 charger.
I have a super portable (!) charger that can deliver 240V 64A: http://www.crohm.ch/index.php/compo...78-ladestationen/73-evse1m63-ladestation.html

View attachment 108501

The hardtop comes for a fraction of that price if you don't buy a Tesla one.
The wheels can be much cheaper, after all they're just winters. Buy the non-forged set or go aftermarket. There's some threads about that around here.

Click to expand...

Good morning Morph

Your super portable charger looks good to me. But which cable do you use to plug it to the roadster? Any picture of the roadster charging using it ?

Thanks

Asbjornwm said:

So in conclusion, what I should be looking for is:
...

Click to expand...

->Xenon headlights - 2600 $ (Tesla)
An alternative is to install or have installed an HID retrofit kit into your existing Halogens, but you'll have some time down if you don't do it yourself. Its a little bit of a task since you have to split the headlight assembly. But its only a fraction of the cost. I went with the TRS kit that was around $300 or so. This includes everything, ballasts, wiring, and the glass low beam HID projectors. You can also at minimum install just the HID bulbs in the existing Halogen glass projectors. However you won't get the best results such as changing out to the glass HID projectors since they have different focus and light dispersion as a result. But anything is better than the dangerous halogen lighting. But if you have the money, go with the Tesla HID because you can't go wrong other than it cost quite a bit more.

->Hardtop - 5000 $ (Tesla)
An alternative is to purchase the Visium glasstop / clear hardtop. Its around $2600 (US) and brings you as close to topless as you can get. You can read more in the forum as well as see pics on this.

->HPWC and NEMA 14-50 adapter - 2000 $ (Tesla)
There's aftermarket chargers you can buy that work just as well or better than Tesla's. The older ClipperCreek style chargers are tanks and bullet proof.

->Brake upgrade - 300 $ (Carbotech AX6)
If you're driving in cold conditions and the majority of your driving is below 50F in temps, I highly suggest getting the CarboTech Bobcat pad compound. Reason being is that the AX6 compound is skating the edge of a track based pad. And with that it needs 'some' heat to achieve optimal performance, the AX6 has working temps for typical spring/fall/summer driving. Temps in Santa Cruz where I live don't drop below 50's all too much in the winter, so they work fantastic for me. However if you're doing a great portion of driving below 50F then I'd consider the Bobcat. Possibly someone on the forum running the AX6 and also Bobcat possibly in cold climates can chime in on how they bite in lower temperature conditions.

hands down > THIS can-jnr direct to Type2 converter for charging in Europe.
(I have its older brother can to J1772 so need a cable too - this new version is better !!) Europe Roadster adapter to Typ2-connector for use 43kW-charger - Page 5

But carbotech brakes should be No1 mod (for safety). (there are other alternative pads but not as extensively tested on Roadsters as these).

Lights
: the standard main beams are good - its the dipped beams that are weak - I simply used uprated 'superbright' bulbs which help big time - but if you drive a lot of country lanes at night go for all the light you can get. I'm adding Hidden in grill LED driving lights for a bit more light too.

As for Hard top - I effectively swapped my tesla hardtop for the visium clear top. I love the fighter plane cockpit effect in winter (in summer its soft top off as much as possible - a UK thing - as sun can be elusive). Tip: seal the joins where the visium meets the car at the front and back with black tape - invisible and makes the top much quieter - but not quite as quiet or warm as the triple skinned Tesla hardtop ...I sold mine this as, a designer, I didn't like the aesthetics [nerd ? ;-) ] and it paid for the visium.

OVMS - essential for remote observation, charging and other conveniences.

I added a DAB radio converter (hidden under dash - transmits on FM) as the 1 radio program I listen to in UK (R4) is weak and with carbon bodywork, the roadster doesn't have the best radio reception.

An old Ipod works well with the inbuilt radio ( and fits neatly in the space below the handbrake.

To hold the phone, I find the kenu is THE best holder it fits on Airvent without much clutter.

Finally anything to stop the roadsters cooling fans from vacuuming up all the dirt leaves and cr*p on the road - here's what I did, (others have tried other solutions). I find this works perfectly and has no effect on cooling as it keeps high airflow: > Roadster Rear Blower Maintenance - Page 6

Rolf68 said:

Good morning Morph

Your super portable charger looks good to me. But which cable do you use to plug it to the roadster? Any picture of the roadster charging using it ?

Thanks

Click to expand...

Hi,

My cable was custom made by Henry Sharp, I'm not sure he still makes those.
His "Can SR" with a type 2 male to female cable (rated minimum 64A) would be even better.

Thanks for the answer + pictures m0rph

I'll contack mr. Sharp shortly to get one of those "can".

Have a nice day

wiztecy said:

->Xenon headlights - 2600 $ (Tesla)
An alternative is to install or have installed an HID retrofit kit into your existing Halogens, but you'll have some time down if you don't do it yourself. Its a little bit of a task since you have to split the headlight assembly. But its only a fraction of the cost. I went with the TRS kit that was around $300 or so. This includes everything, ballasts, wiring, and the glass low beam HID projectors. You can also at minimum install just the HID bulbs in the existing Halogen glass projectors. However you won't get the best results such as changing out to the glass HID projectors since they have different focus and light dispersion as a result. But anything is better than the dangerous halogen lighting. But if you have the money, go with the Tesla HID because you can't go wrong other than it cost quite a bit more.

Click to expand...

I installed the HID lights for say $35, they were quite reasonable. It took a few hours and you do NOT have to split the light. You just mount from the rear as a normal headlight bulb. But it is hard to get to that rear on the drivers side.

I never really venture far from home in the Roadster but if you plan to you're going to want these!

https://sites.google.com/site/thecantesla2j1772/

I will second these:
ExtendView Mirrors (TM) - Really Light Stuff

They improve visibility dramatically.