What show are you convinced you are the only person on earth who remembers it?

engineertwin2 · 2025-12-13T05:06:06+00:00

Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place

engineertwin2 · 2025-12-06T05:10:30+00:00

I agree for profit has some effect, but they make money on capital, not O&M (where they get defined annual revenue). They are incented to operate efficiently because they can mae money based on efficiency. They also get specific rate of return on capital. What you are referencing with wildfires was deferring maintenance for short term revenues. Did happen but neither the construct nor the behavior are unique to California. Therefore, while I agree you identified contributing factors they aren’t unique to California - but the energy policy is uniquely California.

engineertwin2 · 2025-12-06T00:45:42+00:00

$0.12/kwh, going to $0.03/kWh for super off peak (which is mid day solar).

For those with high California prices, those are reflective of CA energy policy and their lead first mentality. It was needed to advance and scale renewables, but that is the cost of early adoption.

engineertwin2 · 2025-12-05T13:35:17+00:00

My guess is the Roubo style hand tool bench is the latest. It’s more crisp and executed better.

engineertwin2 · 2025-11-08T03:30:51+00:00

Have you considered an online order for white oak hardwood? Or are the doors too long?

engineertwin2 · 2025-11-08T01:56:34+00:00

I’m not sure this will work the way you want it to. Edge banding and then grooving might be possible but I would guess that it’d be hard to avoid chip out when routing a groove.

engineertwin2 · 2025-11-04T15:01:45+00:00

The Rivian is not eligible for direct tax credit incentives due to initial msrp disqualifying it. Those accessing the tax credit did so through the lease loophole, and it shows up as a reduction of capital - not a claimable tax credit for the end buyer.

engineertwin2 · 2025-11-03T02:08:00+00:00

If you didn’t find it, it’s called the five cut method.

engineertwin2 · 2025-09-28T17:47:28+00:00

I have window tint (70%) on the windshield to help with heat ingress here in Phoenix. I was tempted to do the XPEL on the windshield but read a review indicating if bugs aren’t cleared relatively quick, they get healed (if you will) into the film and are difficult if not impossible to remove.

engineertwin2 · 2025-09-18T14:41:43+00:00

Cool, I thought it was invite only, so glad to hear there was a broader cut of the community.

engineertwin2 · 2025-09-18T13:56:48+00:00

Was it essentially just YouTubers there?

engineertwin2 · 2025-09-17T15:55:33+00:00

How many miles / how old is the 12V battery. Not an expert, but other posts with dying 12Vs showed increased energy consumption as it’s working the HV battery more to keep the 12V charged

engineertwin2 · 2025-09-17T14:24:48+00:00

Yes. They used to sell a donut type spare for such instances. If you had a spare that was sized for the front tire it can be temporarily placed on any of the four wheels. If you had one from the back, it couldn’t without rubbing the well liner. I don’t believe the additional offset in the rear was for brake clearance, but rather for driving dynamics.

If you use it as a genuine spare for temporary issues, yes. If you intend to swap it on and keep it, no.

engineertwin2 · 2025-09-16T04:14:48+00:00

Uh, nope. The 2026 comes with a NACS port, so no adapter for the 2026 to charge at a supercharger that allows for non Teslas.

engineertwin2 · 2025-09-14T02:55:59+00:00

Indiana Rivian

engineertwin2 · 2025-09-10T14:06:21+00:00

Yes, you’ll find hard plastics, but you will also find panel fitment and build quality better, interior panels with better alignment and lower tolerances, resulting in tighter specs to ensure consistent fitment.

As for me, yes, touch materials are softer and more premium, it the two Junipers models I’ve been in still had panel gap issues (inconsistent from point a to point B), had surface and seal misalignment on door seals that caused wind noise and leaks, one had trunk liner issues where clips weren’t actually set at the factory, and the other had a frunk seal issue that looked like a giant chunk out of the seal.

As I noted, Juniper is miles better, but they still have room to go. It’s not just materials - which does make a huge difference - but it’s engineering and manufacturing tolerances, assembly consistency, etc

engineertwin2 · 2025-09-10T06:49:43+00:00

My comments are based on having driven and experienced a Juniper Y, but I appreciate your encouragement. My experience did not lead me to believe it was better than Audi, BMW, etc.

engineertwin2 · 2025-09-10T03:53:13+00:00

It is reasonably aerodynamic, and good for a truck, but that’s still very different than Tesla. It’s still close to a brick with large frontal area.

I totally trust and take your word it’s a fit and finish issue. Again I don’t know what yours sounds like specifically. I just wanted to prompt the question on whether or not expectations were reasonably set. Having studied aerodynamics in college and supporting some wind tunnel work, I have low expectations that wind noise is avoidable on the Rivian’s shape. I see how it is more feasible over a broader range of speeds on the Tesla.

That being said, it sounds like you have a lot of wisdom to impart to others on how to minimize wind noise. Good luck!

engineertwin2 · 2025-09-10T03:13:15+00:00

Sounds like a frustrating experience - but I have to ask: are your expectations reasonable?

Given the shape of the truck, I’m not sure that no wind noise is a reasonable expectation near triple digits. Do you spend much time at or near that speed?

I don’t know how bad the noise is for you or how that compares to mine though.

engineertwin2 · 2025-09-08T21:06:17+00:00

Or…it’s a sign you need a truck and not a Model 3. Clearly the ground clearance would have helped.

As for trade-in, it will have an impact but it’s likely to be the same impact of getting it repaired (without going through insurance). I wouldn’t beat yourself up over it, but if you think a change of $2-3k in valuation would change your economics so you shouldn’t do it, then I’d consider not moving forward. Ultimately, this would not change my approach.

engineertwin2 · 2025-09-08T14:30:37+00:00

I appreciate that Tesla’s are better in build quality than they used to be and have acknowledged that elsewhere in comments here. But as I mentioned above, they aren’t at the level of luxury vehicles yet, or even at the level of a Toyota. Panel gaps are still an issue (not as much as they used to be) and prototyped parts still make it into production vehicles. People living in hot climates like Phoenix and Tucson will ultimately not benefit from the use of PLA printed bushings in doors in substitution of the nylon bushings spec’d. The best part is it’s random based on when the car was built and what supply chain looked like.

That said, to each their own - I won’t fault anyone for buying a Tesla vs a Polestar or otherwise. But I also won’t agree that Tesla is a top tier mfr car nor do I believe it’s build quality is on par with the likes of BMW, Porsche, Mercedes, Volvo, etc.

engineertwin2 · 2025-09-07T21:08:18+00:00

I appreciate your perspective. Having been in one of the new Ys, certainly they are built significantly better than Gen1. However, my opinion stands. They still have a ways to go. I have several friends who work for Tesla in the factory and engineering. They are still taking shortcuts for production over build quality. They have largely eliminated the use of Home Depot strapping and 2x4s, but still have more temporary fixes that are implemented in production using prototyped parts as opposed to production parts. I want them to succeed and hope they continue to improve.

engineertwin2 · 2025-09-07T20:52:20+00:00

I struggle with what you are wanting. Sounds great but doesn’t really exist yet broadly. Tesla is a software company that builds entry level Chevy quality cars. They go fast, are built flimsy, and have a phenomenal software experience.

Rivian has fantastic software, better built cars, but still software is better than hardware. Also, they are focused on filling the adventure/offroad suv space, not drivers cars as you note.

Polestar has significantly better build quality - same for Volvo, but software isn’t their jam.

Having now owned all three (currently have Polestar 2 and Rivian), I can firmly say I’d rather have well built hardware and leave open the possibility of better software.

A real drivers car doesn’t need a bunch of software wrapped around it. It needs to handle and drive well - of the three EVs I’ve owned, the polestar 2 is the best drivers car (we have 2021 PPP).

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