Sandy Munro video: Slate Revealed the Price. Here's How Munro Helped

[kvermeer]

Sandy Munro needs no introduction.



I appreciated when they talked a bit about the systems packaging challenges at about 14:30, and the propulsion engineer *almost* talked about the gear oil/ethylene glycol cooling stack nearer the end. Generally had lots of great content about efforts made to keep the cost down.

 

[Adam W]

This is an excellent video with lots of engineering details. We need more of this, and fewer influencer hot takes.

 

[bartflossom]

I have a question. If there is no differential, what happens when one tire starts spinning. Does the same amount of power go to the other wheel? I assume the motor has two half shafts attached directly to it on different sides. Will the spinning wheel trigger traction control and apply brakes to one side? Does it even need to?

 

[ElectricShitbox]

I have a question. If there is no differential, what happens when one tire starts spinning. Does the same amount of power go to the other wheel? I assume the motor has two half shafts attached directly to it on different sides. Will the spinning wheel trigger traction control and apply brakes to one side? Does it even need to?

The differential is part of the drive unit. Motor-final drive-differential

 

[kvermeer]

I have a question. If there is no differential, what happens when one tire starts spinning. Does the same amount of power go to the other wheel? I assume the motor has two half shafts attached directly to it on different sides. Will the spinning wheel trigger traction control and apply brakes to one side? Does it even need to?

Yes, the same amount of power goes to the other wheel, no, this does not mean that you go forward: if one wheel is on ice or something, the effective force on the ground from the spinning wheel is near zero, and the open differential allows the same near-zero force to be applied to the wheel that has friction.

The way Slate solves this is with traction control that, yes, applies the brakes to the spinning wheel. You can then put 90 HP into the brakes of the spinning wheel, and the differential can't tell the difference between resistance from the brakes and resistance from the road, so you get 90 HP on the wheel with traction too. If it had a locking diff, you'd spend 0 HP on the spinning wheel and all 180 could go to the wheel with grip, but Slate doesn't have that.

 

[EV Trek]

I wonder if that seat track is a SUV only or it is also on the truck for behind the seat storage access.

 

[The Weatherman]

If the slogan that all Slates leave the line in same form, then yes it would be there.

 

[EV Trek]

If the slogan that all Slates leave the line in same form, then yes it would be there.

Unless it’s part of the SUV kit.

 

[The Weatherman]

That would be a good question to pose to the customer support team. Since I have no interest in the SUV, I’ll leave that up to you.

 

[EV Trek]

That would be a good question to pose to the customer support team. Since I have no interest in the SUV, I’ll leave that up to you.

I have no interest in the SUV either, just the seat Track lol

 

[Tom Sawyer]

The way Slate solves this is with traction control that, yes, applies the brakes to the spinning wheel.

This might be the first I've heard of this style of traction control being used by Slate. Was this reported by a Slate representative or by one of the reviewers?

 

[kvermeer]

This might be the first I've heard of this style of traction control being used by Slate. Was this reported by a Slate representative or by one of the reviewers?

This is just how essentially all modern traction control systems work. The Slate dash photos have shown traction control icons and a traction control on/off button, so I expect that's how they're doing it.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

This is just how essentially all modern traction control systems work. The Slate dash photos have shown traction control icons and a traction control on/off button, so I expect that's how they're doing it.

Cool! Looking forward to further details from a Slate rep.

 

[EJensen]

I wonder if that seat track is a SUV only or it is also on the truck for behind the seat storage access.

My assumption is that the long reach seat track is standard, but that's just an assumption. I was also wondering if there's any type of in-cab cargo that would be especially suited to being stowed behind the passenger seat, taking advantage of that tall space.

The availability of that extreme forward position of the front passenger seat also seemed to open up a pretty sizable opening to the rear seat in the SUV configuration. I wonder whether that is providing some optimism for the folks who are trying to decide whether to get the SUV and put a car seat in the back.

 

[GrizzlysGhost]

I was also wondering if there's any type of in-cab cargo that would be especially suited to being stowed behind the passenger seat, taking advantage of that tall space.

The availability of that extreme forward position of the front passenger seat also seemed to open up a pretty sizable opening to the rear seat in the SUV configuration. I wonder whether that is providing some optimism for the folks who are trying to decide whether to get the SUV and put a car seat in the back.

I'm adding the Molle rack for installation behind the seat.