Air suspension and tire in/deflation from cab

[BuzzMega]

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[strongsafety31]

I hope the cab controlled tire inflation-deflation is an available option. I worked in Saudi....an extreme case I know.....and if our Humvees would have had this option it would have saved countless hours. Also hope the wall behind the back seats can be lowered to increase cargo space. This will be the most badass truck on the planet when it arrives regardless.

 

[strongsafety31]

I worked in Saudi. We had Hummers.....without the cab controlled tire inflation option, bc we were told it was a maintenance issue. If Tesla has developed a reliable system, it would be awesome bc having to get out and inflate or deflate tires in sandstorms, ice storms (Iraqi border), rain storms, etc. is time consuming and uncomfortable. If you go mudding, conditions are usually bad to begin with and remaining in the cab is a better option.

 

[HaulingAss]

Have you ever had a vehicle with this? the complexity it adds to the hubs?

I am not a fan. There is an air compressor and just a few minutes airing up each tire. Not a big deal.

I totally agree. Besides the complexity added to the hubs (and the added potential for air leaks) there is the matter of friction. Tesla has relentlessly worked to make their vehicles roll with the absolute minimum amount of friction to reduce the amount of batteries required to drive a specific distance. They have even gone to the expense of equipping the wheels with lower friction bearings so adding hub air seals would be taking a step backward.

 

[Luke42]

Maybe this should be an optional extra. It would probably be about a $2,000 option.

I'm more interested in longevity than off-road convenience.

I would decline this option on a KISS basis for my personal use-case.

I can see how it would benefit others, though. That really makes the case for it to be an option.

 

[drconner65]

Option is best, I personally like to physically check my tires on occasion. As part of my daily walk around.

 

[Timoj]

I totally agree. Besides the complexity added to the hubs (and the added potential for air leaks) there is the matter of friction. Tesla has relentlessly worked to make their vehicles roll with the absolute minimum amount of friction to reduce the amount of batteries required to drive a specific distance. They have even gone to the expense of equipping the wheels with lower friction bearings so adding hub air seals would be taking a step backward.

You might like to look at the design patent linked earlier in this chat. I think the Teslamotors designed ATIS reduces friction.

I think it reduces problems if it breaks compared to existing CTIS.
I’m all for this option as long as the added complexity doesn’t cause problems if / when it does break.

 

[HaulingAss]

You might like to look at the design patent linked earlier in this chat. I think the Teslamotors designed ATIS reduces friction.

I think it reduces problems if it breaks compared to existing CTIS.
I’m all for this option as long as the added complexity doesn’t cause problems if / when it does break.

Any rotary air valve designed to retain 50 psi is going to increase friction substantially vs. not having one. On a semi this extra friction would be relatively inconsequential relative to the overall rolling resistance of a loaded truck but on the Cybertruck it would be much more significant.

If the system is designed to both inflate and deflate tires it will cause problems when it fails. If it is only designed to add pressure, not reduce pressure, then it could be designed to not cause issues when it fails (with the exception that it would still be relying on the one-way check valve to maintain pressure). There is really no way around this. When an additional air path into the inside of the tire is introduced, pressure is now dependent upon the valve stem AND the additional pathway. It's one more "hole" in the system.

Personally, I don't have a problem maintaining my tire pressures manually.

 

[cybertrucktruckguy]

I spend a lot of time off road. Probably 5k-10k miles per year. Ditto driving in snow/ice. IMHO the benefits of airing down is very limited and of relatively low benefit outside of edge cases, esp with the combination of air suspension (which should eliminate the need to air down to get some bounce and rattle reduction) and modern traction control. I just got back from a trip where I tackled a bunch of stuff on my stock Tacoma (TRD Off-Road) where I probably would have gotten stuck in my lifted F250. It's a direct result of how well the new traction control systems can tackle really challenging stuff like deep sand and mud. It kind of blows my mind.

I did a water crossing and while we were piddling around on the other side, a bunch of jeeps came from the other direction and I saw a guy get out and start the air down process (because the moss/slime on a lot of our water crossings makes them very slippery) and I realized that I didn't even give it a thought because I knew the traction control of my rig would just adjust to the slipping accordingly at 1000x per second and easily compensate for that extra 3-5% of surface area that the jeep was trying to achieve with airing down.

Same applies with my motorcycle. I used to air down and back up and then I just said f-it and haven't noticed a difference. I've even read some people saying that airing down can actually reduce traction off-road. I don't understand the science well enough to know. I'm just saying from personal experience I don't know how much you really legit need to do it if you have modern tech like advanced traction/crawl control, remote locking diffs etc which I'm assuming will come standard on the CT.

 

[ldjessee]

Yeah, I have had the math explained to me, that airing down gives a larger contact patch that is more likely to deform and conform to the terrain (be it rock, sand, etc). But since it is spreading the weight over a larger area, in some contexts that means less grip, as there is less weight for each sq-inch of contact patch...
In other contexts, like sand, it seems to always help, but that is my personal opinion based on some personal experience that had no A-B testing.

 

[Timoj]

Look up “inskip point” On YouTube for examples of the folly of not airing down.

The other reason it’s important to air down is that it reduces damage to the track. Of course you’re fine, you got through, but those attempting to follow after may not be so lucky. Bouncing and bashing a trail shows very little respect to your fellow travellers.

 

[ricinro]

Rotary seals will always be subject to some pressure and wear. However, there is a technique using a sub-micron gap where the seal leaks but the leak is minimal and the use of a pressure controller and small pump could easily compensate for the leakage.
Drawbacks are significant. Creating submicron gaps (think air bearings ) are expensive, requires highly filtered air and really like stable air temperatures.

Piston gauges use this technique for measuring pressure.

3d print a Tesla check valve as a seal? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_valve

 

[Crissa]

Bouncing and bashing a trail shows very little respect to your fellow travellers.

...And has nothing to do with airing down. That's just driving/riding too fast.

-Crissa

 

[Timoj]

...And has nothing to do with airing down. That's just driving/riding too fast.

-Crissa

I respectfully disagree, but only partially.
When people don’t air down they need to use speed instead of traction to get through.

If the attempt to tackle an obstacle without speed or reduced air pressure fails, the usual response is more acceleration which leads to wheel spin and track damage.

 

[lqdchkn]

There are 2 types of people in the world.

Those who have used/maintained CTIS systems and those who have not.

Only those who have not, ever want it.