Wade pit! Cybertruck in water fording test at Giga Factory [Aug 18]

[Rutrow]

The point is you can only wade as deep as there is enough weight to hold your car down onto the ground in the water. The only way to wade "deeper is to have a heavier vehicle with less floatation. You'd have to open the doors and flood the interior otherwise.

With ICE vehicles wading depth was harder the achieve that with electric, in particular you at least needed a snorkel for the engine air intake, so the engine could still breath while it was submersed. EVxs are easier to make submersible so also easier to make into a boat.

"Tons of Tech" ?

After they load the tons of software, there's no WAY the CyberTruck could float. ?

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[wtibbit]

Lower all suspension, close the valve so the flat wheels strut cannot get air, inflate others. Not very hard.

Or, in case Idjessee's idea can't work for some reason.

Maybe some Tesla engineer thought of this and made it work....

A: You have a flat.
B: Adjust the suspension to max ride height, place the provided jack-stand prop under the car with its base positioned so the prop is vertical. Set the top of the prop in the jack-stand point located in the upper control arm just outboard of the control are to body bushing. Then,
C: Adjust the suspension to minimum height, lowering the body and therefore putting a downward force on the body end of the control arm, causing the control arm to pivot about the jack-stand point, thereby raising the wheel with the flat off the ground.

Here's a really awful sketch of the idea...

 

[Crissa]

Or you happen to be on a slope/hill… ouch!

The truck knows the slope. How else could it self-level for camping/loading?

-Crissa

 

[ldjessee]

I have seen those inflatable bag ‘jacks’ go badly, so would probably use air or electricity to power a manual jack… can be used without power or air, but also has traditional mechanical locks so hopefully it does not hurt someone.

 

[PilotPete]

The truck knows the slope. How else could it self-level for camping/loading?

-Crissa

Ok, Let’s run with that…

is the flat on the lower part? The CT may know the slope, but that doesn’t mean it can lift a lower tire and still balance. What about an uphill tire? No room left to lift it?

 

[cvalue13]

Lower all suspension, close the valve so the flat wheels strut cannot get air, inflate others. Not very hard.

in your scenario the deflated arm just hangs limp, so will stay on the ground

but that inactive arm does jack up more easily

Land Rover owners been doing this for decades

 

[flowerlandfilms]

Another reason to have electronic locks, so that people can't open them when it's afloat. Windows only...which activates the bilge pump hiding behind the frunk. That's what I'm assuming takes up all the space there!!

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/aaed05d1-fd5a-446a-b677-8f305d1a53b1

 

[ldjessee]

in your scenario the deflated arm just hangs limp, so will stay on the ground

but that inactive arm does jack up more easily

Land Rover owners been doing this for decades

Uh, how will the air shock extend, if it cannot draw air into it? Maybe I am wrong in thinking how they work, but I assumed a vacuum would hold up the tire, wheel, suspension components, etc...

If it was not strong enough to keep them up, how would it resist or slow down the rate of travel / air pressure when it hit a bump, etc?

Either I have it very wrong how these work, or you do... Hopefully someone with a Model X or S can tell us how those work... (yes, probably not exactly the same, but probably closer than other setups).

 

[wtibbit]

Uh, how will the air shock extend, if it cannot draw air into it? Maybe I am wrong in thinking how they work, but I assumed a vacuum would hold up the tire, wheel, suspension components, etc...

If it was not strong enough to keep them up, how would it resist or slow down the rate of travel / air pressure when it hit a bump, etc?

Either I have it very wrong how these work, or you do... Hopefully someone with a Model X or S can tell us how those work... (yes, probably not exactly the same, but probably closer than other setups).

Road and Track Magazine released this article describing how air suspensions work. It's a well-done You Tube video. This has all the details you're likely to need.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/videos/a29555/what-is-air-suspension-how-does-it-work/

Here is the short answer: the "springs" in the system are basically "balloons" that are compressed (just like a coil or leaf spring) when the wheel encounters a bump, the compressed "balloon" applies a force to the axle to return it to its previous position after the bump. It simply replaces the spring. The ballon is pressurized by a pump to different pressures to provide different ride heights. In a very simplistic view the air spring behaves like traditional helical compression spring with a variable spring "strength". There is no vacuum involved.

 

[ldjessee]

Road and Track Magazine released this article describing how air suspensions work. It's a well-done You Tube video. This has all the details you're likely to need.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/videos/a29555/what-is-air-suspension-how-does-it-work/

Here is the short answer: the "springs" in the system are basically "balloons" that are compressed (just like a coil or leaf spring) when the wheel encounters a bump, the compressed "balloon" applies a force to the axle to return it to its previous position after the bump. It simply replaces the spring. The ballon is pressurized by a pump to different pressures to provide different ride heights. In a very simplistic view the air spring behaves like traditional helical compression spring with a variable spring "strength". There is no vacuum involved.

I appreciate the link, it was informative...

But I do not think that is how the air suspension on the Model S and X work.

Tesla's website: https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/modelx/en_us/GUID-F1B6801A-8946-41AD-8CF9-7A963CDA38E4.html

From that, I would think that act as a air strut and not just air 'springs'. I say that because it can not only adjust ride height, but also stiffness of that ride height. That means controlling how fast the air can flow into and out of the air strut.

I am of course speculating from what I have read and my experience with hydraulic and a limited exposure to pneumatic systems, but I am no expert on air suspension. As such, I acknowledge I could be wrong and would be happy to be pointed to material that would let me know this.

I looked for a diagram of the Model S & X air strut, but did not find such. It does not look like the bag kind nor the overlap kind Engineering Explained discussed in the video you shared...
but maybe it is just disguised? ?‍

 

[cvalue13]

I looked for a diagram of the Model S & X air strut, but did not find such. It does not look like the bag kind nor the overlap kind Engineering Explained discussed in the video you shared...
but maybe it is just disguised? ?‍

no clue about S & X

but based only on the assumption the CT will need a system that can be the weak link in payload stats, it’ll have a truck-type system such as the ram with 4-corner air, or to a lesser extent the Land Rover (at least in terms of payload role).

 

[Crissa]

Ok, Let’s run with that…

is the flat on the lower part? The CT may know the slope, but that doesn’t mean it can lift a lower tire and still balance. What about an uphill tire? No room left to lift it?

This is a basic calculation that my HS calculator could do.

You know, without graphing.

-Crissa

 

[ldjessee]

no clue about S & X

but based only on the assumption the CT will need a system that can be the weak link in payload stats, it’ll have a truck-type system such as the ram with 4-corner air, or to a lesser extent the Land Rover (at least in terms of payload role).

To paraphrase what I think you said was 'it has to be like the others, that is the way it is always done'...

Just because that is the way it WAS done does not mean that is the way Tesla will do it.. but sometimes it takes a while to invent a better mouse trap, so maybe it is exactly like other trucks.

 

[cvalue13]

To paraphrase what I think you said was 'it has to be like the others, that is the way it is always done'...

Just because that is the way it WAS done does not mean that is the way Tesla will do it.. but sometimes it takes a while to invent a better mouse trap, so maybe it is exactly like other trucks.

thanks for the vote of confidence!

But in addition to that poor assumption, I’m also a *smidge* biased by:

• the photos of the suspension
• that Tesla is constraining costs
• that Tesla probably isn’t simultaneously uninterested a spare tire but is interested revolutionizing air suspension to accommodate @ldjessee’s desire to change tires without a jack
• I’m making no guarantees, only pointing out what seems the most likely outcome

but hey, some people think the CT will be everything to everybody, so

 

[PilotPete]

This is a basic calculation that my HS calculator could do.

You know, without graphing.

-Crissa

I bet you could. Even though we haven’t discussed a single number, like the slope angle. And even though we don’t know anything about the CT weight, or the CG (not just F/R or L/F but vertical as well.) I’m sure you could. After all, you are the smartest person here, maybe on all of the internet. So sorry I wasted your time with such mundane and pedestrian concepts and ideas. I will try to never do that again.

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