I looked into this a long time ago, and it was likely they were getting around 2-3 miles of extra range from it.
I’d say it’s less important now, than it was back then when batteries weren’t as good.
Comment on New Rules Could Force Tesla to Redesign Its Door Handles. That’s Harder Than It Sounds
echodot@feddit.uk 1 day agoUnless you’re planning to drive your car around at about 150 miles per hour I don’t imagine that the aerodynamicism of door handles really comes into account. Especially since you’ve still got wing mirrors, wipers, and aerials on the car.
NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 20 hours ago
LyD@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
It comes into play much sooner than that when you’re designing for maximum range on an electric vehicle.
frank@sopuli.xyz 1 day ago
Source on that? Hobbiest aerodynamics nerd and big into F1 (and did a lot of liquid system design engineering in a previous job). Genuinely curious!
My gut feel is that a half kilo of unsprung weight (those ridiculous wheels), tighter fenders, or a bit of tail teardropping would go so much further than anything door-handle-wise. It’s certainly helping promote flow attachment, but you’ve got poor flow rates there because of the wing mirrors anywa
LyD@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
I’m talking out of my ass. I’m big into (mostly sim) racing myself, but I have no formal training or experience. You probably know way more about it than me!
If you’re a racing nerd then you know how strong the suckage can be. My car uses premium fuel and I get about 7L/100km on the highway. That adds up on long trips, so I try to save fuel when I can. I’ve tried drafting behind transport trucks. Even at only 90 kmph, I was able to get that number down to 5L/100km.
Electric vehicles have a lot of design features to cut down on aerodynamic and mechanical drag. Special hub caps, no grilles, low drag tires, etc. for the purpose of helping their main problem and selling point: the vehicle’s range on a single charge. I assumed the flush door handles were just another design feature for reducing aerodynamic drag, where every little bit counts.
Again, this is all out of my ass. I am well aware that aerodynamics are far far more complex than “smooth = better”, and that most cars are probably already designed so the door handles aren’t a problem. Maybe the door handles make no difference and having them flush is just optics for Tesla.
reptar@lemmy.world 18 hours ago
Kudos for your humility, but you just said that you have no idea the magnitude.
I didn’t mean to discount your awareness of the margins of optimization. It’s quite a thing moving the needle in an established market (not to mention the money and years of R&D). But this ain’t it
frank@sopuli.xyz 1 day ago
Ah cool! After i raced irl for like a decade I sim raced for a while. It was super fun! I’d like to get back into it someday. It’s a lot better on the wallet and body than IRL stuff (especially motorcycles).
I think it helps, but it probably is more of a selling point and aesthetic than an actual help on the (agreed) biggest selling point number.
It’s one of those decisions that someone up top probably made and has these kinds of stupid consequences of moving fast and breaking shit. I wouldn’t be upset if it had to go to a normal one