Seattle Space Needle event - Slate truck photos, impressions, answers

[Luxrage]

It sure looks like the motor is right there at the base of the steering column. I see no hydraulic pipes, hoses, or a reservoir.

Thanks for grabbing the screen shot.

Yeah, that looks just like the electric rack for the Fit. Looks like what might be power coming in on the bottom, looks like the rack has a little cutout for it on the bottom there. I don't see the usual pair of lines coming out of it for hydraulics.

The three fill ports. Brake fluid, windshield washer fluid... and battery coolant? Are these liquid cooled battery systems sealed or do they have their own fill/drain for flushes?

 

[Driven5]

Seats:
I didn't spend enough time to tell if I particularly dislike them, but did spend enough time to tell that I didn't particularly like them. The best seats (car, couch, cycle, etc) maintain equal comfort the whole time seated. Getting more comfortable the longer you're in it is almost as dumb as getting less comfortable the longer you're in it. Being harder, flatter, and less comfortable than the many vehicle seats that are already firm and supportive enough to provide constant all-day comfort is not a great starting point.

They said not to expect much different from the production seats, and that comfort changes (similar to heating elements)might be easiest addressed through the easy-change seat covers, but they also admitted at multiple points in the conversation that there is plenty of opportunity for things to change still too.

Floor Panels:
Having lots of removable and deformable panels inside and out is one of the challenges (on multiple fronts) that they've chosen to face with their design philosophy. I'm not saying it's bad, but it is a major risks and only time will tell how well (or not) they pull it off long term.

Rack:
I was as surprised as anybody at the suggestion of an electro-hydraulic system being cheaper. While I find potential hydraulic system problem arguments to generally be substantially overblown, it's also certainly possible the rep misspoke. There's 3 caps, and the 3 fluids they mentioned didn't include brake, which is also a type of hydraulic that would be in the same vicinity. I suppose the fourth could require panels removed and being completely exposed for some reason though. Off hand, I don't know of any (especially cheap) hydraulic racks that don't have external hard lines, and I do see wiring going to it, so EPS in that oversize pinion housing still seems plausible. Manual rack would be fantastic if this were light enough to do so with an acceptably quick ratio.

 

[sodamo]

Driven
were you able to get a sense of space between seats. Could something like that Ford center seat work?

 

[Mac-Tyson]

One of them has the USB symbol and a lightening bolt, the other has just a lightening bolt.

wonder if there will be updates that you can download to a usb drive and plug into the slate or something?

 

[Driven5]

Were you able to get a sense of space between seats. Could something like that Ford center seat work?

That depends. How many people do you know with 8" wide butts?

 

[sodamo]

That depends. How many people do you know with 8" wide butts?

My dogs 😁
Personally, I have it in the console configuration 99% of time.

 

[brian10x]

Honestly, I'd rather an adjustable EPS over HSP. I've always found hydraulic spongy and a hydraulic system is just one more thing to do maintenance on.
Actually, I'd prefer manual steering, but I'm a crazy person. Lol

Add me to manual steering. Simple, cheaper, and how much effort can it be? I'm an actual MAN.

 

[Dorbiman]

I reached out and was told it will have electric power steering. I explicitly asked whether it was EPS or hydraulic, so here’s hoping it’s full EPS

 

[evtruth]

...There were also two USB-A ports on the left side....

Nice catch. I didn't notice that on the one in Winona Lake. Glad the main interface is USB-C though for speed and quick charge.

 

[Driven5]

There is no reason to not expect the Slate can have good EPS.

While EPS 'can' have acceptably good feel and feedback, in practice such setups are the minority and typically relegated to traditional sporty cars rather than trucks and/or EV's. So statistically speaking, there is more reason to expect the EPS to be not-good than be good from a driver engagement standpoint.

That being said, in the Munroe video they did talk about enjoyable driving characteristics, so there is also some hop still.

Dorbiman: Thanks for the confirmation that the rep misspoke. I too sent a similar question and just received a similar reply.

 

[Dorbiman]

I'd prefer EPS just for simplicity. Hydraulic power steering is basically a solved equation at this point, but given time all hydraulic systems will leak. Shit, the PS pump on my Silverado has been leaking for like 8 years. I should really get around to rebuilding it at some point.

 

[Driven5]

Shit, the PS pump on my Silverado has been leaking for like 8 years. I should really get around to rebuilding it at some point.

If it can seep for a decade without affecting function, it's just adding corrosion protection... That's a feature, not a bug. LOL

 

[Trace26]

I'd prefer EPS just for simplicity. Hydraulic power steering is basically a solved equation at this point, but given time all hydraulic systems will leak. Shit, the PS pump on my Silverado has been leaking for like 8 years. I should really get around to rebuilding it at some point.

Very true, the pump my 09 2500 went out, lost power steering and brakes.

 

[AZFox]

Add me to manual steering. Simple, cheaper, and how much effort can it be? I'm an actual MAN.

 

[Driven5]

Road forces are inherently transmitted to the driver through a hydraulic rack assist, but can be engineered out with varying degrees of success.

Road forces are inherently isolated from the driver through an electric rack assist, but can be engineered in with varying degrees of success.

Across common suspension and spring/damper types, like double wishbone and coilover, which particular one is used has little inherent effect on steering feel and precision. The geometries that actually do affect steering feel and precision (KPI/scrub, caster/trail, camber, and toe) can be similarly applied across the board.