Things you may not have discovered about your Model S?!

[4sevens.com]

I'd like to hear more about this from Tesla Engineering. When stopped at the crest of a steep San Francisco hill, waiting on a red light, since the car has no "hill hold" feature, I find using the go-pedal to hold the car rather more practical than holding with the brake, and then jumping to the go-pedal while rolling back into the car behind me. Is this really a big no-no????????

This is a big no-no for manual and auto transmissions. However it's perfectly fine with the S. There are not transient friction components to wear out. Your'e simply putting a load on the motor to oppose gravity. The only downside is the small amount of energy consumption. If you need to stop on a hill for more than 10 seconds just use the brake or if longer just put it in park

 

[gocken2]

I have discovered that the rear view camera stays on when you open the rear trunk. It's interesting to see the camera point up.

 

[brianman]

I have discovered that the rear view camera stays on when you open the rear trunk. It's interesting to see the camera point up.

Driving with the reverse camera on and the trunk open gives an interesting new flavor of "SkyDrive".

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

Haven't tried it on a hill, but last time I tested "coasting down the speed" while reversing on flat ground I got zero regen.

ya, you need to be travelling forwards to get any regen for some reason? Do not many people drive at high speeds in reverse? What is the top speed of the S in reverse? Any one car to know:wink:

 

[brianman]

ya, you need to be travelling forwards to get any regen for some reason? Do not many people drive at high speeds in reverse? What is the top speed of the S in reverse? Any one car to know:wink:

I doubt I'll reach top speed, but I'll try some higher-than-normal speed reverse when I get back on a wide track all by myself again.

 

[boilerbots]

I have been experimenting with driving it like an electric forklift, shift into reverse while rolling forward or shift into forward while rolling backwards and use the throttle to slow down and eventually change directions. None of this is really new for electric forklifts just new to automobiles. What I found on a Ford Escape hybrid is that this technique would only work up to some limit, I think it was about 25 mph, above that it would just coast.

To answer the question about holding on a hill, there is no difference to the motor and controller holding the motor still versus rotating, torque is torque.

 

[brianman]

To answer the question about holding on a hill, there is no difference to the motor and controller holding the motor still versus rotating, torque is torque.

Makes sense. Software limits for safety are a different animal though.

 

[deonb]

To answer the question about holding on a hill, there is no difference to the motor and controller holding the motor still versus rotating, torque is torque.

The rotation could be needed to dissipate heat though.

However, FWIW, I spoke to a Tesla Service engineer in Seattle last week regarding this, and he said it's a safe practice that he also does himself.

I assume if Tesla doesn't want you to do this, they'll throw up a warning message, like the break + accelerator at the same time.

 

[boilerbots]

The rotation could be needed to dissipate heat though.

However, FWIW, I spoke to a Tesla Service engineer in Seattle last week regarding this, and he said it's a safe practice that he also does himself.

I assume if Tesla doesn't want you to do this, they'll throw up a warning message, like the break + accelerator at the same time.

Rotation is not necessary. This is an induction motor and the electrical windings are on the outside (Stator) and are liquid cooled. The rotor has copper in it but the current is induced there to generate a magnetic field in place of permanent magnets. There is heat generated but it shouldn't be much. I got a steep hill outside my house, perhaps I will go see how much power is consumed holding it there.

My question about hill holding is with regards to the parking brake. How strong does it clamp down? Will it wear over time or loose pressure. Does anyone know exactly how that system is working? Is it failsafe, as in it takes no power to apply, like a spring does it and you need power to release the system?

 

[Todd Burch]

Not sure if this one was posted, but if you're navigating to a destination and you tap the checkered flag on the map, it allows you to call your destination (if applicable). Useful if you're on your way to a restaurant, for example, and you're going to be late.

 

[jcadman22]

I took the side covers out of the frunk area to access the area behind the nose to install my toll pass. I found "P3884" hand etched into the body work; my VIN is 4005.

 

[David.Cheney]

Anybody seen a control that automatically adjusts audio level to compensate for road noise at various speeds? It's a nice (tunable) feature that (at least) BMW has had for over 10 years, and I'd bet all it takes is a software change to add that to the S

- - - Updated - - -

I was joyriding (imagine that) in my new S and stumbled across this great park. It occurred to me it would be way cool to "pin" the place on my maps.. was a bit surprised not to find that.

By the way, if anybody can point me at a "suggestions" thread I'll go post such over there... its just this is a great thread (thanks!) for such tidbits and for all I know someone will reply "got that already" ..

 

[NigelM]

Anybody seen a control that automatically adjusts audio level to compensate for road noise at various speeds?

No. It's a nice feature I had on previous cars but I haven't missed it so much on Model S as the left scroll wheel works great for volume adjustment without having to take your hands off the wheel.

 

[Volker.Berlin]

By the way, if anybody can point me at a "suggestions" thread I'll go post such over there...

Features | TeslaTap

Not the busiest site in the world, but it seems to be alive and it cannot hurt to post your suggestion there.

 

[dsm363]

By the way, if anybody can point me at a "suggestions" thread I'll go post such over there... its just this is a great thread (thanks!) for such tidbits and for all I know someone will reply "got that already" ..

Here's one
Model S Software/Firmware wishlist

 

[Nickjhowe]

What is the top speed of the S in reverse?

My car maxed out at 15mph in reverse.

 

[brianman]

My car maxed out at 15mph in reverse.

Really? I don't even need a track to test that out... Hm.

 

[Doug_G]

It was suggested that I cross-post this snippet from Model S on the Track - A Review - it's a trick for locking yourself securely in the driver's seat for track driving.

I created a driver profile called "Track", with a suitable position for track driving. I then created another profile called "Load", which pulled the seat all the way back. I got in, pressed Load, belted up, and tugged a few times on the shoulder belt until it locked. Then I leaned forward to maintain the pressure on the belt, and reached for the driver profiles and hit Track. The seat moved forward and the belt snugged up real tight. Any tighter and my eyes would have been bulging. Pretty darn good - I was really locked in place.

 

[MichaelS]

I discovered that when I pull into a parking space that has a continuous curb in front, when I pull forward and line up the bottom edge of the drivers mirror with the bottom of the curb, the front end of the car is 1 to 2 inches from the curb.

I'm 6'2" and of course seat position makes a big difference, but it works great for me.

 

[hans]

I discovered that when I pull into a parking space that has a continuous curb in front, when I pull forward and line up the bottom edge of the drivers mirror with the bottom of the curb, the front end of the car is 1 to 2 inches from the curb.

I'm 6'2" and of course seat position makes a big difference, but it works great for me.

I do something similar but using the rear view camera to watch for the white lines to appear into the field of view. Works for my particular diagonal parking situation at work.