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When will you be able to hack your car to get better performance? EVs kinda take the hotrodding fun out of cars. Being able to play with the software would brin

by wil421 7y ago

When will you be able to hack your car to get better performance? EVs kinda take the hotrodding fun out of cars. Being able to play with the software would bring a part of it back.

xeromal 7y ago
A jailbreak is definitely available for Teslas. The people who can do it are hard to find though.
- Klathmon 7y ago
  It'll get easier over time, just like most cars. I think once EVs become more generally popular we will see more little modding companies pop up like they do for most ICE "performance-ey" cars, but even now there are a good amount of non-performance mods available for Tesla's. A popular one is a powered trunk for Model 3s that can even be closed from the app via a canbus interface. Hell my last car was an Audi TT, and there was a damn app you could buy that would let you root and modify the car!
  - xeromal 7y ago
    Yeah, once mechanics are more comfortable with the car, I could see more mods happening. Honestly, i'd love to find a crashed performance model 3 that I could steal the motors from and throw in my SR+. That feels like a mod that shouldn't be that complicated. The biggest hurdle would probably be getting the software to send the right signals to them.
GhettoMaestro 7y ago
Because managing battery life is pretty much the biggest challenge. Hotrodding will kill the batteries faster.
- wil421 7y ago
  A heavily boosted or modded engine will kill MPGs in an ICE.
  - newnewpdro 7y ago
    I think they meant in terms of battery wear, not range. But boosting has probably killed engines prematurely more than any other mod, except perhaps n2o injection.
    - GhettoMaestro 7y ago
      Correct. That is why you hear reports that even when the battery has more than enough energy stored, but the controller (lifespan logic) purposely reduces output power, I believe mostly under cold conditions. This is a purposeful mechanism to ensure the temperature of the batteries stays within a defined range as much as possible to maximize the lifespan.
      - newnewpdro 7y ago
        Sure, but it's really no different than ICE mods melting pistons, valves, and bending rods. We've been shortening service life of automobiles in favor of performance since the first car rolled off a production line.
        GhettoMaestro 7y ago
        Yeah but is 1:1? Or do batteries really require more care, relatively?
- dsfyu404ed 7y ago
  So? Just don't warranty it. That's how every other manufacturer deals with people who wear things out faster because of modifications. I don't see why that wouldn't apply just fine to electric cars.
RcouF1uZ4gsC 7y ago
With EV’s you can also light your battery on fire with incorrect software mods.
- newnewpdro 7y ago
  As a former gearhead I can say with authority that fires are not a new hazard for the hot-rodding community. I do think the electrocution risk is significantly higher though. Spilling gasoline on your hands and clothes while sloppily pulling off a fuel rail or fuel pump was benign. Spilling electricity all over you while sloppily removing and handling a large cumbersome massive battery pack with whatever improvised tools you had on hand sounds like an easy way to be killed.
  - uxp100 7y ago
    I mean, maybe. I've seen accidents fiddling with conversion EVs 15 years ago, and you could say the same thing. Drop a wrench onto a battery pack and you no longer own a wrench, but bare skin contact with a few hundred volt pack isn't instant death. I wonder if oily rags are more dangerous than both.
    - newnewpdro 7y ago
      > I wonder if oily rags are more dangerous than both. Maybe if your vehicle uses Linseed oil...
- stonogo 7y ago
  Whereas internal combustion vehicles are well renowned for being completely impossible to burn.
- wil421 7y ago
  I can blow an engine with a super charger or turbo. A bad suspension mount or exhaust mod could bust a hole in the gas tank. A run away Diesel engine could melt itself.
- jlg23 7y ago
zokier 7y ago
> When will you be able to hack your car to get better performance? Hasn't car (ecu) modchipping been a thing since nineties or something? Essentially the same thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chip_tuning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chip_tuning
almost_usual 7y ago
This has been a thing for awhile, I know in the Toyota Tacoma community OVTune is a popular transmission software hack. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2016-toyota-tacoma-ovtune-1-05-tune-development-thread.495735/ https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2016-toyota-tacoma-ovtun...

by wil421 7y ago

When will you be able to hack your car to get better performance? EVs kinda take the hotrodding fun out of cars. Being able to play with the software would bring a part of it back.

xeromal 7y ago

A jailbreak is definitely available for Teslas. The people who can do it are hard to find though.

Klathmon 7y ago
It'll get easier over time, just like most cars. I think once EVs become more generally popular we will see more little modding companies pop up like they do for most ICE "performance-ey" cars, but even now there are a good amount of non-performance mods available for Tesla's. A popular one is a powered trunk for Model 3s that can even be closed from the app via a canbus interface. Hell my last car was an Audi TT, and there was a damn app you could buy that would let you root and modify the car!
- xeromal 7y ago
  Yeah, once mechanics are more comfortable with the car, I could see more mods happening. Honestly, i'd love to find a crashed performance model 3 that I could steal the motors from and throw in my SR+. That feels like a mod that shouldn't be that complicated. The biggest hurdle would probably be getting the software to send the right signals to them.

GhettoMaestro 7y ago

Because managing battery life is pretty much the biggest challenge. Hotrodding will kill the batteries faster.

wil421 7y ago
A heavily boosted or modded engine will kill MPGs in an ICE.
- newnewpdro 7y ago
  I think they meant in terms of battery wear, not range. But boosting has probably killed engines prematurely more than any other mod, except perhaps n2o injection.
  - GhettoMaestro 7y ago
    Correct. That is why you hear reports that even when the battery has more than enough energy stored, but the controller (lifespan logic) purposely reduces output power, I believe mostly under cold conditions. This is a purposeful mechanism to ensure the temperature of the batteries stays within a defined range as much as possible to maximize the lifespan.
    - newnewpdro 7y ago
      Sure, but it's really no different than ICE mods melting pistons, valves, and bending rods. We've been shortening service life of automobiles in favor of performance since the first car rolled off a production line.
      - GhettoMaestro 7y ago
        Yeah but is 1:1? Or do batteries really require more care, relatively?
dsfyu404ed 7y ago
So? Just don't warranty it. That's how every other manufacturer deals with people who wear things out faster because of modifications. I don't see why that wouldn't apply just fine to electric cars.

RcouF1uZ4gsC 7y ago

With EV’s you can also light your battery on fire with incorrect software mods.

newnewpdro 7y ago
As a former gearhead I can say with authority that fires are not a new hazard for the hot-rodding community. I do think the electrocution risk is significantly higher though. Spilling gasoline on your hands and clothes while sloppily pulling off a fuel rail or fuel pump was benign. Spilling electricity all over you while sloppily removing and handling a large cumbersome massive battery pack with whatever improvised tools you had on hand sounds like an easy way to be killed.
- uxp100 7y ago
  I mean, maybe. I've seen accidents fiddling with conversion EVs 15 years ago, and you could say the same thing. Drop a wrench onto a battery pack and you no longer own a wrench, but bare skin contact with a few hundred volt pack isn't instant death. I wonder if oily rags are more dangerous than both.
  - newnewpdro 7y ago
    > I wonder if oily rags are more dangerous than both. Maybe if your vehicle uses Linseed oil...
stonogo 7y ago
Whereas internal combustion vehicles are well renowned for being completely impossible to burn.
wil421 7y ago
I can blow an engine with a super charger or turbo. A bad suspension mount or exhaust mod could bust a hole in the gas tank. A run away Diesel engine could melt itself.
jlg23 7y ago

zokier 7y ago

> When will you be able to hack your car to get better performance? Hasn't car (ecu) modchipping been a thing since nineties or something? Essentially the same thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chip_tuning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chip_tuning

almost_usual 7y ago

This has been a thing for awhile, I know in the Toyota Tacoma community OVTune is a popular transmission software hack. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2016-toyota-tacoma-ovtune-1-05-tune-development-thread.495735/ https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2016-toyota-tacoma-ovtun...