POLL: Regular Steering Wheel or Yoke?

Regular Steering Wheel or Yoke?


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ÆCIII

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Currently my experience tells me that round steering wheels are more ergonomically safe, meaning that you can maneuver the wheels turn-to-turn without taking your focus from the surroundings outside of the car, because your muscle memory will lay your hand where it expects the ring of the steering wheel to be - no matter how many turns you've made. I'm not talking about hand-over-hand either, because no one should ever do that as it's a recipe for loss of control. I'm just thinking about where you're maneuvering in a parking lot or residential area where you have to constantly look out for kids, people, or animals running out, while at the same time you may have to be executing a sharp turn. You'd feel bad if you hit a kid while backing into a parking place, if your focus was for an instant distracted trying to make sure your hand was landing on an irregular shape of a yoke steering wheel wouldn't you? Now those are just some initial reservations or things my experience tells me.

However, I have noticed that the Model-S Plaid yoke design is (sort-of) round too, and not harshly square like some dragster and airplane yokes are made (dragsters and airplanes mostly go in a straight line though, with very infrequent rapid sharp turns). So I would be willing to give the current Tesla yoke design a try, while keeping an open but objective mind. I might even like it, and realize the factors I think are relevant might not be as relevant as I thought. That's one thing about actuation and implementation of a situation, process, or model - you have to actually do human trials to really know how something is going to work.

I have to bring up another point though. A yoke steering wheel is not anything that was suddenly made available by recent technology from Tesla or anyone else. Whereas a touchscreen user interface could only be manufactured into vehicles within the last two decades or so, a yoke steering wheel has always been an option for really the last 120 years since cars first began appearing on roads. Nothing has stopped automakers (any of them) from offering a yoke steering wheel in vehicles all these decades. Why haven't they? Do you not think they would've at least tested yoke steering wheel configurations? Why haven't yoke steering wheels become mainstream long before now? People loved cutting-edge technology interfaces even back in the 1950s, where Chrysler Imperials, Buick Specials, and Cadillacs sported retracting electric radio antennas, push-button gear selectors for transmissions, electric windows, and the list goes on. Actually, I think the Model-S yoke steering wheel design would look 'right-at-home' in either one of these 50s cars, or even in a Corvette or 57 Thunderbird. So why weren't they even offered in them? No one can say the yoke was not even thought of, because they were already putting them in airplanes back then, and they were certainly exploring all aspects of interior styles too. Not forgetting that telescoping and tilt steering wheels were also offered in cars very early as well. So if the legacy automakers did any testing of a possible yoke steering wheel as an option, what did they find or conclude? I just don't think this is a new concept or breakthrough idea at all, but maybe one that is being revisited because it's not been mentioned for a while - sort of like a song that get's recycled and covered by a newer artist, and people think the cover artist was the first to sing that song. The yoke wheel concept has been around for decades. Why isn't it mainstream already? As great as a Tesla is, I don't think there is anything in Teslas that make a yoke wheel any more or less viable. I know some would quickly tout FSD and disagree, but at the end of the day Tesla cars are also very fun to drive. I just don't think people are ready to give that up 100% and when they want to 'take the wheel' they'll want a wheel they are comfortable with. So again I would have to try the yoke and see for myself.

One other option would be to make a morphing steering wheel, that would become a yoke if desired, or revert to a round wheel when driving in maneuver-intensive parking lots or areas. Now that would be an advance in technology too, that is probably within reach but likely would have manufacturing expenses that would not scale well.

-ÆCIII
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Ogre

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Currently my experience tells me that round steering wheels are more ergonomically safe, meaning that you can maneuver the wheels turn-to-turn without taking your focus from the surroundings outside of the car, because your muscle memory will lay your hand where it expects the ring of the steering wheel to be - no matter how many turns you've made.
So you have the Model S Plaid or some other car with a similar yoke style wheel?

Lots of opinions getting tossed around, few people who feel the yoke will be safer or more ergonomic have actually... used them for more than a few minutes. Very little seriously negative feedback from longish term Model S Plaid drivers.

Seems to me opinions on this are split.

A small minority love anything Tesla releases.
Another minority just hate the yoke with little to back their opinions other than handwaving.

The rest of us just want to know what it's actually like driving and don't have a lot of interest in the opinions of the above mentioned groups. So anyone else who opinions on this, please make sure to specify what type of car with a yoke you've driven and how long so I can file your opinion appropriately.

The only reason I popped Brownlee's opinion in here is because he's a pretty skeptical guy and shoots from the hip. Much like many here he was not a fan of the yoke.
 
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ÆCIII

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So you have the Model S Plaid or some other car with a similar yoke style wheel?
I know my post was long, but if you read the rest of my post I do state more than once I'd still like to give the yoke steering wheel a try. So no I don't have one but would of course like to own an S-Plaid. I think most of us are coming from a round steering wheel car, because they have never went mainstream before either, and so in the post I explore the questions of why not. But I try to keep an open mind until I actually try something myself (which I did state in my post). I do think those who do have a yoke in this thread would likely be saying so, but it helps to assure everyone clarifies where they're coming from experience wise.
 
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RVAC

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Fundamentally both should be offered, there's no reason not to, as it's something that can be easily handled on the assembly line unlike other optional equipment.
 

Ogre

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Fundamentally both should be offered, there's no reason not to, as it's something that can be easily handled on the assembly line unlike other optional equipment.
I agree, it would be a nice option. But Tesla doesn't tend to do many options.

You might get an interior color option, a few different wheel/ tire combos are likely. If solar is a thing that will be an option as well.

I don't see a ton beyond those few things.

Having lots of options slows down the assembly line, increases assembly line complexity, and complicates distribution. More important, it makes it more difficult to scale up production quickly which is Tesla's #1 goal.
 


SARobert

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Tesla will design a clamp on round wheel to fit over yoke for those unwilling to adapt to the benefits of the yoke. Removable by the next owner.
 

alan auerbach

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Tesla will design a clamp on round wheel to fit over yoke for those unwilling to adapt to the benefits of the yoke. Removable by the next owner.
And if Tesla doesn't, some accessory maker will. And if not, one of the subscribers to this site will. And if not, someone will post what wheel to get from a salvage yard. And if not, we'll all die from Covid anyway.
 

MEDICALJMP

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Fundamentally both should be offered, there's no reason not to, as it's something that can be easily handled on the assembly line unlike other optional equipment.
My Avalon steering wheel is round but has the leather hand holds at 8 and 4. During the last 3 weeks I trained myself to only use those areas. The first week was the most difficult to not automatically grab the top of the wheel as it being there sets an unconscious visual cue to place my hand there. I thought about applying Vaseline to that part of the wheel to act as a deterrent to putting my hands anywhere else besides the 8 and 4 yoke zones. Just the thought of putting my hand into the oily goo solved the problem quickly as every time I did put my hand on the no-hold zone I visualized the unpleasant result. I now use the act of tapping on my wheel hub where the yoke has recessed thumb buttons to turn on the turn indicators when I make turns.

My transition to yoke will be seamless.

More options slow production, increases costs for parts in production and storage as well as the enormous costs of the slower line.
 

RVAC

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I agree, it would be a nice option. But Tesla doesn't tend to do many options.

You might get an interior color option, a few different wheel/ tire combos are likely. If solar is a thing that will be an option as well.

I don't see a ton beyond those few things.

Having lots of options slows down the assembly line, increases assembly line complexity, and complicates distribution. More important, it makes it more difficult to scale up production quickly which is Tesla's #1 goal.
True, I'd like to see a paid option for a HUD but that's a pipe dream as it would considerably complicate the assembly process. However a steering wheel option adds little complexity on the line, it's akin to wheel options. In comparison offering two interior colors adds a lot more complexity.
 

ÆCIII

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I think it comes down to the context of some things Elon has said over and over, "What can you Un-Design", or "The Best Design is No Design", etc. It's definitely elegant and great, if you can eliminate a part and still retain 100% of the previous functionality and usability of a system or assembly. I think most everyone would be all for that common sense approach.

But, if you start removing some functionality or usability when making a change, you need to have a replacement or alternate method of usability at least as good or better than what you've eliminated. In the case of a yoke steering wheel, other than style and possible visibility of an instrument binnacle at times, I don't see the alternate functionality for what is getting sacrificed. The benefits of ergonomic and constant real-time control offered by a round steering wheel - to me are far more important than a style phase or instrument binnacle visibility.

In my opinion, this is why I (also) think Tesla should've put more emphasis on development of a Heads-Up-Display (HUD) anyway - because drivers should be keeping their eyes fixed (and focused) mostly on the road and outside of the car.

It's funny, but when it comes to something like streaming and video games, even (micro) latency and reaction times are somehow emphasized as super-important. So much so that Elon has started on the high-speed low orbiting mesh with thousands of satellites known as Starlink. I put to everyone that latency and reaction time is also equally important in real life, between the human driver and steering wheel control, and that even the smallest distraction trying to confirm grip on an inconsistently shaped steering wheel - will of course introduce some latency. So how much is acceptable and has anyone even actuated it in a real meaningful manner? One might say such control latency would be small, or maybe infrequent, but statistically there is still an increased danger of latency in reaction which could happen at a critical time. Of course we don't care about something that happens maybe less than ½ of a percent of the time - oh wait we do care - that's why there is so much critical attention to... (redacted per forum restrictions and you know the rest anyway).

But I think it also gets back to what the public consensus has preferred over the decades, because the yoke wheel is not new technology, nor is it any novel idea at all - the yoke has already had decades to make it's way into public acceptance and mainstream use in cars. So is there anything new now, that would make widespread adoption of the yoke steering wheel, any more significantly different today - versus all the decades it has already had to be adopted?

That's why I agree with others who say Tesla should just offer either wheel as an option. But my best preference would be some kind of quickly removeable or quickly interchangeable wheel so you could configure your car for either. This would give more people a chance to try it, and compare it in the same car. This might also increase chances of adoption by some - if Tesla is interested in that. And maybe some S-Plaid owners can jump in here too and reflect on some of their 'hands-on' yoke experience so far, because actuation with human testing is what really will tell the whole story.

-ÆCIII
 


Ogre

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True, I'd like to see a paid option for a HUD but that's a pipe dream as it would considerably complicate the assembly process. However a steering wheel option adds little complexity on the line, it's akin to wheel options. In comparison offering two interior colors adds a lot more complexity.
I think the issue with any options you add is every additional option you add increases the number of possible combinations.

Most auto companies have spec sheets that travel with the vehicle and pick parts on a per-vehicle basis. If that's the case, then you just look at the spec sheet and pop the wheel on from the wheel stack instead of the yoke stack. I don't think this is how Tesla does things at all.

At Tesla, they set up the assembly line on Monday with the pink interior and off-road tires and spend a whole week cranking out 5000 trucks identical trucks with pink interior and off-road tires. Pile those on the delivery trucks and they hit the road. When the truck is en-route to your service center of choice, you get an email that your pink/ off-road Cybertruck is ready. People with green interiors and off-road tires might get their trucks next week.

I'm making some big assumptions here, but I know Tesla has batched deliveries this way and it makes a ton of sense.

The problem is the more options you add to the mix, the more complicated and error prone this all is.
 

Ogre

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I know... it's only one more option, the option to....

... add a midgate of course, it's the single most requested mod on this forum.
... add a 500 mile dual motor config.
... lay flat front seats for overnighting.
... add door handles back for safety.
... have the tailgate optionally open sideways so getting to the under vault storage is easier.
... add rear view mirrors for trailer hauling.
... add a steering wheel instead of the yoke.
... add the option to delete the vault cover so you can make a better camper setup.
... pontoons... Amphibian Cybertruck FTW!!
... camp kitchen... Rivian has it!
... etc etc etc.

If we're playing the add an option game, I doubt the yoke versus wheel issue would even be in the top 3.
 
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alan auerbach

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I think the issue with any options you add is every additional option you add increases the number of possible combinations.

Most auto companies have spec sheets that travel with the vehicle and pick parts on a per-vehicle basis. If that's the case, then you just look at the spec sheet and pop the wheel on from the wheel stack instead of the yoke stack. I don't think this is how Tesla does things at all.

At Tesla, they set up the assembly line on Monday with the pink interior and off-road tires and spend a whole week cranking out 5000 trucks identical trucks with pink interior and off-road tires. Pile those on the delivery trucks and they hit the road. When the truck is en-route to your service center of choice, you get an email that your pink/ off-road Cybertruck is ready. People with green interiors and off-road tires might get their trucks next week.

I'm making some big assumptions here, but I know Tesla has batched deliveries this way and it makes a ton of sense.

The problem is the more options you add to the mix, the more complicated and error prone this all is.
Maybe I'm wrong but I thought offshore vehicles came in all the same, whereas with domestics you could order various combinations of options (whatever's listed as "available"), thanks to computers on the line.
 

Ogre

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Maybe I'm wrong but I thought offshore vehicles came in all the same, whereas with domestics you could order various combinations of options (whatever's listed as "available"), thanks to computers on the line.
I think even offshore there is a mix of configurations even coming off the boat. If you want a silver Tacoma with the good stereo and remote start, you get one which costs $4500 because the only ones that match have a moonroof and special TRD badging or something like that.
 
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Mikutow

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Here is the comparison of Tesla's two yokes. One is obviously the production version and the other one is the CT Prototype. The production one looks slightly better obviously, and could be something to get used to, however the prototype looks incredibly uncomfortable even though they are similar. (See Images) I have zero experience with a yoke, and 20 years of experience with a round wheel, so of course I am going to be tradition biased.

The input latency argument is a valid one. Even if your evasive steering is disrupted by a few milliseconds, its still an unnecessary disruption.

Tesla Cybertruck POLL:  Regular Steering Wheel or Yoke? Plaid Wheel.PNG


Tesla Cybertruck POLL:  Regular Steering Wheel or Yoke? CT Wheel.PNG
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