Giga Windshield Wiper BAW closeup look 💧

[RVAC]

The scenario I am concerned about is at start up. Sitting with the wiper in the vertical position the windshield will have snow or leaves or other debris. The first pass of the wiper forces all of that down to the bottom of the windshield. As you start driving the airstream will force that back upwards and on to the windshield. The wiper again pushes in down to have it repeatedly tossed back on to the windshield.
If you take your first drive as a launch, then it will blow the debris off pretty fast but if you are just driving at residential speeds (15-20 mph) not much of that will be cast off.

Makes no difference, on the upstroke it would be moved to the side like a traditional wiper.

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[cvalue13]

As a truck, rear cameras will be more important in the CT than any other sedan. Size, visibility, and use cases make it incomparable between sedan and truck.

Additionally, design peculiarities of the OEM CT will make rear cameras more important than in any other OEM truck.

obvious reasons include the closed tonneau. but even with the tonneau open, the sails, turret rear window, etc., would make the central rearview “mirror” even more useless than it already is in a modern truck. (Which is why I suspect it will be a full time screen, regardless of tonneau position - even if the surfaced is mirrored when ‘off’).

less obvious, though, is the height of the door sills as relate to the side mirrors.

This design feature in an F150 is no accident:

ask anyone who ho’s hopped between an F150 and a Ram 1500, and that knock-down of the sill and side mirror height is material

by eyeball, the CT will height is more Ram than F150.

which is only to say, Tesla will have addressed all these visibility constraints through cameras

in a way far more critical than in any sedan, and likely comparative trucks

since marketed as work/4X capable, maybe they’re including camera squirters

 

[firsttruck]

Makes no difference, on the upstroke it would be moved to the side like a traditional wiper.

When vehicle is traveling at low speeds, unless the wiper has a jump ahead/over function at end of down-stroke, how is the upstroke going to push up debris that was ahead of the wiper blade during down-stroke?

 

[HaulingAss]

ya know.. it just occurred to me while driving....
Normal wipers park against the bottom of the glass.. so the first sweep up.. clears debris out away from the car <and prolly onto the windshield of the guy behind you but not my problem> with the giga-wiper parking up by the driver at the side of the windshield.. is it going to drive that same debris down towards the hood.. and if so is it going to get annoying having to clean that crud out of there?

Is that the strongest medicine you have to talk yourself out of spending money you shouldn't spend on a Cybertruck?

I'm a huge believer in saving and investing your money until you have enough money to buy new vehicles with cash and buying used vehicles until you achieve your financial goals. Eliminating interest payments will make your future financial goals easier. So I won't tell you that, by getting rid of the traditional gutter the wipers reside in, by making the hood slope seamlessly into the windshield, there are precious few places for "debris" to hide. Instead, I will tell you that flat, seamless hoods and windshields are gutter traps and when the debris clears, it will temporarily blind your vision of the road causing you to total your Cybertruck so I guess it's excellent that you saved your money!

You don't need to be a MENSA member to figure this out but if it helps you save your money, it's win/win. Those in line behind you get their Cybertruck sooner, and you can build a stronger financial future!

 

[Greshnab]

Is that the strongest medicine you have to talk yourself out of spending money you shouldn't spend on a Cybertruck?

I'm a huge believer in saving and investing your money until you have enough money to buy new vehicles with cash and buying used vehicles until you achieve your financial goals. Eliminating interest payments will make your future financial goals easier. So I won't tell you that, by getting rid of the traditional gutter the wipers reside in, by making the hood slope seamlessly into the windshield, there are precious few places for "debris" to hide. Instead, I will tell you that flat, seamless hoods and windshields are gutter traps and when the debris clears, it will temporarily blind your vision of the road causing you to total your Cybertruck so I guess it's excellent that you saved your money!

You don't need to be a MENSA member to figure this out but if it helps you save your money, it's win/win. Those in line behind you get their Cybertruck sooner, and you can build a stronger financial future!

a> you have no idea of my financing and no idea if this is money i should or shouldn't spend.. never assume 8)
no it is a basic question.. wipers have been built the same way for a VERY VERY long time.. so you have to ask when we change something like this.. why were they built that way.. and what is the implications of changing it.

I personally have NEVER seen how the cybertruck windshield and hood come together so i have no idea if you can cram leaves into that area or not.. The question occurred to me because i recently had to get under a gf's hood and clean out that area on her car and it was FULL of debris... and that is with the window wipers operating the way they normally do so it occurred to me hmm wonder how that will work...

also.. NO where did i EVER imply that i didn't think tesla had thought of this or that it would prevent me from buying one.. just that it is an interesting thought.. if you disagree you can simply move on there is no need to insult others or read into it as an assault on tesla.. they have solved a LOT of engineering issues so exampling why they change things and how they compensated for other issues can be a good thing.

 

[HaulingAss]

I personally have NEVER seen how the cybertruck windshield and hood come together so i have no idea if you can cram leaves into that area or not.. The question occurred to me because i recently had to get under a gf's hood and clean out that area on her car and it was FULL of debris... and that is with the window wipers operating the way they normally do so it occurred to me hmm wonder how that will work...

You don't have to be an automotive engineer to see that the Cybertruck's windscreen blends seamlessly into the sloping hood. There is no recess for debris to get caught in. Duh!

 

[SparkChaser]

You don't have to be an automotive engineer to see that the Cybertruck's windscreen blends seamlessly into the sloping hood. There is no recess for debris to get caught in. Duh!

I agree there is no gutter to accumulate the debris, but the slope is not as great as to have anything slide right off when parked or when pushed down by the wiper.
The debris on the windshield will be sept downward and stop below the wiper.
If your drive at residential speeds that debris will be constantly pushed down and rise up on the windscreen. At HI way speeds this would not be a problem.
This is all a minor problem, not big enough to make me change my mind on the CT.

 

[cvalue13]

if you disagree you can simply move on there is no need to insult others or read into it as an assault on tesla..

for what it’s worth, it’s his SOP

 

[RVAC]

When vehicle is traveling at low speeds, unless the wiper has a jump ahead/over function at end of down-stroke, how is the upstroke going to push up debris that was ahead of the wiper blade during down-stroke?

I get the feeling we're dreaming up non existent problems, please give me a practical example because I can't think of much that would be an issue.

 

[SparkChaser]

I get the feeling we're dreaming up non existent problems, please give me a practical example because I can't think of much that would be an issue.

see my post above.

 

[RVAC]

see my post above.

Don't see the issue. After the downstroke snow/leaves will either slide down the hood, stay put or start blowing over as speed increases.

 

[MrMoparMan]

The scenario I am concerned about is at start up. Sitting with the wiper in the vertical position the windshield will have snow or leaves or other debris. The first pass of the wiper forces all of that down to the bottom of the windshield. As you start driving the airstream will force that back upwards and on to the windshield. The wiper again pushes in down to have it repeatedly tossed back on to the windshield.
If you take your first drive as a launch, then it will blow the debris off pretty fast but if you are just driving at residential speeds (15-20 mph) not much of that will be cast off.

I have had similar curiosity when driving at any speed and intermittently using the wiper. Either using the windshield washer, or driving on a wet road when a car splashes dirty water onto the windshield. Just like you said, clearing residue by wiping down, followed by stowing vertical, the accumulated residue remains in the airstream probably blowing back up on the glass.

If it's a problem, the simple solution is to program the wiper to stow horizontal to hold back residue when used intermittently.

Looking forward to tying it out in the worst of conditions.

 

[Delusional]

At least for snow accumulating while parked, i don't see this as much of a problem.
For light snow, it's no big deal and 90 percent of the time you'll be clearing it by turning on your defroster with your phone.
For heavy snow, you have to clean it off by hand before you can think of moving.
Perhaps the real problem is at highway speed, when wiped rain and snow blows right back up.

 

[wtibbit]

I have had similar curiosity when driving at any speed and intermittently using the wiper. Either using the windshield washer, or driving on a wet road when a car splashes dirty water onto the windshield. Just like you said, clearing residue by wiping down, followed by stowing vertical, the accumulated residue remains in the airstream probably blowing back up on the glass.

If it's a problem, the simple solution is to program the wiper to stow horizontal to hold back residue when used intermittently.

Looking forward to tying it out in the worst of conditions.

Taking your "stow horizontal" idea a bit further, here is recommendation for the CT design team. I know it's wordy but I wanted it to be complete.

Issue: If the windshield wiper is stowed in the vertical position while the vehicle is parked, the first sweep of the wiper from that position will deposit the debris along the bottom edge of the windshield, where it can be blown back up the windshield obscuring vision during travel. A similar situation occurs when the wiper is operating intermittently and stowed vertically when paused.

Recommendation: Allow, as an operator selectable default, a new mode. In the new mode the wiper is stowed horizontally when the vehicle is parked and or not moving for an extended time. When the vehicle begins operation the wiper is moved to the vertical position, clearing any debris and depositing it along the outer edge of the windshield where it can be blown off during vehicle operation. When the wiper is paused as part of its intermittent operation, and the vehicle is not traveling faster that some defined slow speed, the wiper is paused in the horizontal position.

 

[PilotPete]

Issue: If the windshield wiper is stowed in the vertical position while the vehicle is parked, the first sweep of the wiper from that position will deposit the debris along the bottom edge of the windshield, where it can be blown back up the windshield obscuring vision during travel. A similar situation occurs when the wiper is operating intermittently and stowed vertically when paused.

Ok, let me argue the other way. If stowed in the horizontal position, and debris accumulates, it will accumulate on both above and below the wiper blade. Your first wipe is now dragging all that crap across your windshield, living streaks and depositing residue all over your windshield. And during the stroke, the stuff below gets pulled up behind the wiper across the windshield, obscuring your view. And on the downstroke, the original debris gets dragged behind the wiper back on the windshield. And yet, no one every really complains about it.

Truth is, the first pass of the wiper with debris often makes things worse before they get better. Without the "lip" of the standard hood, There is no reason for there to be much accumulation like that. Aero without the low pressure area where the slope of the hood angle changes to the windshield will be FAR less likely to encourage accumulation. And the constant slope will allow the front to begin the movement of the air upwards and over the windshield in general. I really don't see the issues people keep imagining with this BAW ever becoming an issue greater than what we experience today. Today's wipers aren't perfect! The BAW isn't going to be perfect. But with the design of the CT, I think we might be pleasantly surprised.

And I'm going to Rain-X the crap out of the windshield and may almost never touch the BAW.

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