In the words of Smokey the Bear, "Only [titanium plating] can prevent [electric-car battery] fires." To that end, Tesla has added three underbody plates to all new Model S sedans to prevent its floor-mounted battery pack from rupturing during a crash or an impact with road debris. The move comes after the media blew up over two cars catching fire last fall under such circumstances, and it wraps up arguably the most challenging threat to Tesla's image to date.
Technically, just one of the new plates is titanium, while the other two are aluminum; they are mounted closer to the Model S's front axle, ahead of and slightly overlapping the battery pack's standard quarter-inch aluminum cover. The added shielding apparently is enough to satisfy the NHTSA, which on Wednesday shuttered a four-month investigation into Tesla's battery fires after metal debris pierced through the original aluminum cover and punctured the battery in two separate crashes. The first occurred in October in the Seattle area and another in November involved an impact with a trailer ball hitch outside Nashville. Both resulted in battery fires—better known as thermal runaways—which engulfed the cars in flames shortly after impact.
CEO Elon Musk said the plates would have prevented another October Model S fire that took place in Mexico, in which the car's front wheels were torn off at more than 100 mph before the car caught fire minutes later. It's worth pointing out that no one was seriously injured in any of these crashes.
"We have tried every worst-case debris impact we can think of, including hardened steel structures set in the ideal position for a piking event, essentially equivalent to driving a car at highway speed into a steel spear braced on the tarmac," Musk said on the Tesla website. Later in his statement, before declaring the Model S the safest car on the road, he added that the plates can "destroy everything from a solid concrete block to a steel alternator" and can deflect other objects.
- Instrumented Test: 2013 Tesla Model S
- The Race of the Centuries: 2013 Tesla Model S vs. 1915 Ford Model T
- EV Comparo: Chevy Spark vs. Fiat 500E, Ford Focus, Honda Fit, Nissan Leaf, Smart Fortwo
Tesla already had sent a wireless software update to all Model S cars equipped with air suspensions that altered the programming to raise the ride height at highway speeds, instead of automatically lowering it, following the Nashville incident. While it would be easy to dismiss Tesla's decisions as "recall avoidance," the company's hasty response and fixes nevertheless address a safety concern. For the record, the Model S has been recalled twice since its summer 2012 introduction, first in June 2013 for weak rear-seat latches and again in January for plug adapters that could overheat and possibly catch fire. Recall or not, current owners can get the new shields for free during a service visit or "upon request."
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/nSHy27
Put the internet to work for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment