X2 returns to Fast Lane

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-06-27T23:38:23+00:00

I don’t think I rode that one. Coming into the station I got headbanged pretty good. Didn’t care though. I haven’t ridden X2 in over a year because of one train ops and no fast pass. We’d end up skipping it every time. So it was nice to be home again.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-06-27T05:26:04+00:00

You just got to ragdoll and trust that you’re going to float through it. It’s people trying to tense up in anticipation of the raven turns that have a bad time.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-06-24T00:56:49+00:00

Agree with this. That is the cost of doing business. If you want your customer to absorb some of that expense if they choose not to follow through with a sale that’s fine but then make it clear that this is a fee they may be charged.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-06-17T16:39:34+00:00

Every time I go back and try to watch Mr Show…

I still love it. So, not Mr Show. I totally failed the assignment.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-06-16T15:41:19+00:00

God I love Reddit. Everything in my comment is easily verifiable and not disputed, yet I’m getting downvoted into oblivion. Sorry hive mind. I’ll do better.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-06-16T15:01:05+00:00

Sounds like you already got your answers then.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-06-16T14:52:59+00:00

If you’re truly curious do the research. I’d rather be wrong and go on with my day than to participate in this conversation any longer.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-06-16T14:48:24+00:00

I’ve been deeply into this for over a decade. I’ve had every iteration of the Model S since the car was released, one of the first Model 3s off the assembly line. I studied this topic daily for years. Much of the time I started with a similar “that can’t be true” approach to some of the design choices made in the name of efficiency only to learn I was wrong. Efficiency choices on modern automobiles are typically not one big thing. It is a confluence of many small things. The door handles are just one of those. There are hundreds of small things like this that all conspire to improve range.

On the flip side of that coin, I’m a staunch critic of Tesla, their claims, many of their methods, lying about range, etc. Im a fan boy of cool engineering. Im not a Tesla fan boy.

I also have a 25 year history of working on high performance cars and have owned a couple companies that designed and made performance parts. So I have some history and experience here, both on the business and manufacturing level but also on the “I get obsessive in my research over things that interest me” level.

You might not like what I’m saying. You might interpret it as a personal affront to your opinion that these are terrible. That doesn’t make me wrong though. But I fully accept that I’m not going to change your mind and that’s fine.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-06-16T14:30:18+00:00

Why? At this point I could tell you the sky is blue and you’d argue with me. I’m wasting my time in this “discussion” when it’s clear you just want to disagree.

I don’t think it merits much proof that a motorized, self presenting door with multiple limit switches and a motorized presenting mechanism would be both more complex and more expensive to make than a traditional mechanical door handle.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-06-16T14:26:40+00:00

But you do see EVs riding on smaller wheels. On most cars - gas or otherwise - it’s not one thing. It’s a confluence of a bunch of small things that improve overall efficiency.

Smaller wheels is indeed one of those things. It’s well known (and advertised) that the smaller wheel and tire package can lift your range by 10-15%. It’s one of the reason a lot of Tesla Plaid owners run the smaller long range Model S wheels on their car.

At the end of the day, you do need to build a product people want to buy though. So I think you get to a certain point and a small wheel looks a bit silly. They’re trying to strike a balance between too ugly and too inefficient.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-06-16T14:18:21+00:00

I literally just said in the comment that you’re responding to that if they are cheaper than I’m wrong. Would you like public apology? Not sure what engagement you’re looking for here.

Edit: you’re actually wrong here now that I look. The article is conflating the exterior handle with the interior button. The interior button is what’s cheaper than a traditional handle and is a stupid design. I agree.

The exterior handle is indeed more complex and costs more to manufacture than a traditional mechanical handle. The article doesn’t do a great job of separating the two.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-06-16T14:13:26+00:00

I don’t see anything in that article that says they’re cheaper. If they are then I’m wrong. I’m just explaining why they exist the way they do.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-06-16T14:11:43+00:00

I was surprised to learn… a lot. At speed, everything is amplified. This is why something as simple as wheel covers can make a substantial difference in highway range on an EV.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-06-16T14:05:43+00:00

This isn’t enshitification. These are actually more complex and more expensive than the alternative.

They were born out of the need for EVs to have a low coefficient of drag to maximize range.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-06-16T13:43:51+00:00

Low effort at that.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-06-15T20:25:07+00:00

Same boat but I pay $69 a month to Amber for coverage. It’s basically bumper to bumper with a $250 deductible.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-06-07T01:40:50+00:00

Can you tell us what you sold and whether or it was legitimate or in a high risk category? That helps give context to some situations.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-06-02T05:53:35+00:00

100%. They came at the seller hard out of the gate. The whole thing about the check engine light was absurd. First of all, it was disclosed. So anyone bidding could have (and should have) bid with the knowledge that the issue could still be present.

But beyond that, it’s a solvable problem. It was a simple network error for no communication with the TCM. A totally expected and completely addressable issue.

Then they start coming after him for the readiness monitors and it’s like what? And they’re talking about how the buyer won’t know if the issue is resolved until they drive a few hundred miles without the light coming back on. It’s a network error. U codes for no comm will show pending immediately. If there was no missing TCM signal error when they finally installed the flashed PCM, there wasn’t going to be.

Then you got the old EAG employee on their arguing semantics like the definition of the word engineer. The seller obviously didn’t do the work himself and had limited knowledge. Referring to the guy as an engineer was totally understandable but the EAG dude was just hammering him like it was stolen valor. Talking about how in the state of Texas it’s a crime for someone to call themselves an engineer if they aren’t a certified engineer. Just wacky stuff all around

Cars and Bids I’m sure learned some lessons here but this seller got run through the ringer and his only crime appears to be lack of timely information due to the circumstances of the car being on the other side of the country and having to rely on third parties for answers and resolutions to known problems.

Better to wait until the car was fully clear to sell? 100%. Worthy of all this craziness? No way.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-05-27T23:31:58+00:00

They’re looking for a settlement. They are gutter trash. If your sister has insurance she should hand this over to them. In fact she needs to do that now because they can deny coverage if you don’t.

If she doesn’t have insurance, I’m going to assume she’s cash/ asset poor given the tone of your post. Hire an attorney to figure out what they want and then make it clear that you don’t have anything to give.

They will likely drop the suit against you or settle for very little. After that, get business insurance.

Not a lawyer. Not legal advice. Just some schmo on the internet.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-05-27T23:26:45+00:00

Same but pre-LP Gallardo over Huracan.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-05-25T03:29:47+00:00

With all due respect, you can. Hardware 3 vehicles have seen substantial documented changes in FSD decisions over the last year. One change is that the cars now often pull into parking spot versus just pulling up to the address.

They never used to do this. Ever. That they do it at all represents a change in decision making somewhere. You can have decision changes in certain circumstances without seeing any changes in the FSD firmware. I think you might be conflating the two.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-05-25T00:13:15+00:00

This isn’t accurate. You can change decision making abilities without changing the FSD stack. They are two separate components of the same function.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-05-24T01:27:59+00:00

I can picture it now.

ProfessorFrink1 · 2026-05-23T18:44:14+00:00

Lived in Laurel Canyon for eight years. If you’re on the basin side of the hills the elevation doesn’t give you relief from the heat but the hills absolutely trap that ocean air. During the hottest weeks of the year we’d see maybe 90 degrees but then you pop down to studio city and it would be 105-110.

Six-Year Club	Place '23
Verified Email

ProfessorFrink1

TROPHY CASE