Windshield Wiper Ideas - Let's Help Tesla!

[Luke42]

They could put a retractable pocket it the upper portion of the frunk stainless panel just below the glass that pops up or rotated up and the wiper is concealed inside it. This would be a waterproofing conundrum for sure but it would be one solution and it would definitely work.

One can easily mount the windshield wipers on a pocket at the bottom of the windshield and safely out of the slipstream.

Like this:

It looks to me like the different angles of the hood and the windshield work together to create some aerodynamic slack right over the windshield wiper pocket.

It would cost a couple of extra polygons, but millions of vehicles have solved the windshield wiper problem this way over multiple decades, and it works great!

But the tradeoff is that the the slab-fronted look of the Cybertruck goes away.

My ideal vehicle is an electric minivan with 7500lb+ tow rating. But it's hard to market that vehicle, so I'm not holding my breath. So, pickup it is!

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[anionic1]

One can easily mount the windshield wipers on a pocket at the bottom of the windshield and safely out of the slipstream.

Like this:

It looks to me like the different angles of the hood and the windshield work together to create some aerodynamic slack right over the windshield wiper pocket.

It would cost a couple of extra polygons, but millions of vehicles have solved the windshield wiper problem this way over multiple decades, and it works great!

But the tradeoff is that the the slab-fronted look of the Cybertruck goes away.

My ideal vehicle is an electric minivan with 7500lb+ tow rating. But it's hard to market that vehicle, so I'm not holding my breath. So, pickup it is!

My ideal vehicle is an electric version of this, but we take what we can get. I am sure we will start to see people getting their hands on the semi and doing pretty cool conversions.

 

[jerhenderson]

They could put a retractable pocket it the upper portion of the frunk stainless panel just below the glass that pops up or rotated up and the wiper is concealed inside it. This would be a waterproofing conundrum for sure but it would be one solution and it would dfinitely work.

They could put a retractable pocket it the upper portion of the frunk stainless panel just below the glass that pops up or rotated up and the wiper is concealed inside it. This would be a waterproofing conundrum for sure but it would be one solution and it would definitely work.

not for anywhere that gets real winter ! anything that pops up or rotates out in Northern Canada will be frozen solid until May.

 

[martinsky]

Innovation by default is not necessarily improvement. All you are telling me is that Tesla made a lot of good design choices and that justifies the compromise they had to make for one bad one (BAW). That very well MAY be true but it should not be confused with BAW being an ideal design.



Where did you get this from? As others have mentioned above, wiper could be hidden horizontally without disturbing the overall shape and airflow (at least not more than BAW).

I also challenge the idea that ugly is automatically more functional. I could buy the idea that ugly is more manly in which case CT being beautiful would be more of challenge to the status quo.

The BAW is a fully functional wiper, what's the design issue with that? Nothing about the Cybertruck was designed primarily for the looks.

Also to hide the wiper horizontally requires somewhere to hide it. Adding that space incurs a lot of extra cost for marginal improvement to drag reduction. You would either need to have a section of the hood that opens up or have the hood shaped with the complex curves which is the traditional design.

I do find it weird that people can accept all of the unique non-traditional design elements of the Cybertruck but cannot move past the look of a fully functional windshield wiper.

 

[Trucky]

lol what? a compressed air blower? where do you live?



the BAW is great!

Yes, to test the compressed air idea all you have to do is wait til it rains and gun it!

 

[kev12345]

My ideal vehicle is an electric minivan with 7500lb+ tow rating. But it's hard to market that vehicle, so I'm not holding my breath. So, pickup it is!

pretty sure that's what sits under the wrap!

 

[Diehard]

The BAW is a fully functional wiper, what's the design issue with that? Nothing about the Cybertruck was designed primarily for the looks.

Also to hide the wiper horizontally requires somewhere to hide it. Adding that space incurs a lot of extra cost for marginal improvement to drag reduction. You would either need to have a section of the hood that opens up or have the hood shaped with the complex curves which is the traditional design.

I do find it weird that people can accept all of the unique non-traditional design elements of the Cybertruck but cannot move past the look of a fully functional windshield wiper.

If you don’t have problem with it’s look and over all efficiency, range and noise end up being Ok, it is really not that big of a deal.

But I do have a problem with the look. It really bugs me. Don’t get me wrong, I am no stranger to driving ugly trucks. My previous truck didn’t look that good and my current one does not win any beauty contests either. In fact I have not met many trucks, I consider good looking. When I bought my trucks, the look was under the con list but pros were enough justification for me to buy them. With CT, surprisingly the look ended up under the pro list until the BOW and the mirror arrived. This still will not be the determining factor for me but I am just disappointed I had to move the look item to the con list. Who knows, it may grow on me.

 

[anionic1]

not for anywhere that gets real winter ! anything that pops up or rotates out in Northern Canada will be frozen solid until May

Do your normal wipers work in that condition?

 

[jerhenderson]

Do your normal wipers work in that condition?

nothing that pops up or rotates out, but cleaning the ice trough that builds up around them would seize any concealed area from December to April.

 

[martinsky]

One can easily mount the windshield wipers on a pocket at the bottom of the windshield and safely out of the slipstream.

Like this:

It looks to me like the different angles of the hood and the windshield work together to create some aerodynamic slack right over the windshield wiper pocket.

It would cost a couple of extra polygons, but millions of vehicles have solved the windshield wiper problem this way over multiple decades, and it works great!

But the tradeoff is that the the slab-fronted look of the Cybertruck goes away.

My ideal vehicle is an electric minivan with 7500lb+ tow rating. But it's hard to market that vehicle, so I'm not holding my breath. So, pickup it is!

If you consider that the Rivian R1T has a 180kWh battery that gives 400 miles of range, how can Tesla do 500 miles of range with a 185kWh battery? Of course there are several reasons, more efficient motors, maybe less total weight and almost definitely, less air resistance.

Aside from the cost of having to dedicate a press to stamp out complex hood shapes, it is likely that having the hood and the windshield on the same uninterrupted plane is more aerodynamic than the more traditional hood pocket shown above.

We would need someone to run this through a wind tunnel or at least an accurate computer model to really show the difference.

What I do know is that lowering the air resistance on an EV means you get more range for the same amount of battery. And as we know range is the biggest constraint on EVs, so it makes sense for manufacturers to design the smoothest possible airflow over the vehicles.

 

[jerhenderson]

Yes, to test the compressed air idea all you have to do is wait til it rains and gun it!

strange then how when I drive in the rain my windshield isn't clear hahaha

 

[Ogre]

The intended motivation is often an improvement in at least one respect for at least one individual (often a group). The outcome could be perceived as negative by a larger group (less powerful or less consequential). Whether it is accepted as an inovation by the first group or rejected by the second has no impact on if infact was a new way of doing something. The only thing all innovations have in common is being new. At least that is how Oxford sees it. For example a new design could be motivated by increasing profit margin and reducing operating cost for the company. It may succeed in doing that and the CEO and stockholders see it as improvement. However it may reduce functionality and increase repair cost/insurance for the owners that may be larger in numbers than stockholders. Atomic bomb was certainly an innovation but improvement? is debatable depending on if you are a politician or some poor sap living in Hiroshima. BOW certainly looks like an innovation to me. I have not seen another truck with anything like it. I am still not sure how it will keep my windshield clean in the rain better than anything I have had in the past.

I just grabbed an ice cream sandwich and innovated it into my belly.

 

[Cybertruck Hawaii]

Okay, I was hoping the Tesla engineers could come up with an acceptable design on their own, but it looks like they need our help. I would propose a compressed air system that shoots air up and over the windshield. The unit could utilize the heat pump to warm the air when necessary. Please post your ideas on this thread, these guys need some HELP!!!

Compressed air makes too much noise.

 

[Cybertruck Hawaii]

Who needs wipers to drive on Mars?

 

[charliemagpie]

Can I pre order Mars number plates now ?

I would !!!!!

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