Drive unit costs

[DaveH]

I don't think I have seen anyone comment on the prices certain (most?) EV suppliers are charging for drive units fitted with what I assume are Open Inverter boards.

For example:
$7500 https://stealthev.com/product/tesla-low ... rive-unit/
$7000 https://hsrmotors.com/products/driveunits/small/rear (possibly not open inverter based)
€5900 https://evshop.eu/en/electric-motors/10 ... o-run.html (including drive shafts?)
£8000 https://zero-ev.co.uk/wp-content/upload ... it-Kit.pdf (including shaft stumps, display etc)

What are these suppliers doing except for cleaning it up and fitting the control board? Why such a high cost?

[johu]

I think support & warranty are the main points.

[tom91]

To note, Zero-EV no longer sell drive units to end customers.

Support, Warranty and Development / Training would be the main items to cover in the costs. Also think about that these are second hand parts, and there can always be issues with the devices purchased that need to be covered.

[ZooKeeper]

Walking the end-user thru issues during and after the install (support) is very time consuming and costly.

[jon volk]

Most ebayers selling $2-3K drive units will tell you to get f-ed as well if it turns up bad.
It comes down to whether there's more value in buying a supported commercial product vs. putting the time in and taking on the risks associated with doing it on your own.

Pretty much summed up here.
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=256

[Isaac96]

HSRMotors is a CAN-only solution, they've figured out some way to flashback old firmware. (That's Jason Hughes' company). It's probably the most plug-and-play since it's using more Elon than the rest.

[New Electric Ireland]

What are these suppliers doing except for cleaning it up and fitting the control board? Why such a high cost?

Important to remember that suppliers also take on the added cost of failed drive units. Many of the Tesla faulty bearing DU's have been recirculating which is an issue for anyone offering a warranty.

[New Electric Ireland]

Walking the end-user thru issues during and after the install (support) is very time consuming and costly.

That's also true of the open source solutions and the groups we run for course participants are busy supporting one another when the forum does not deliver solutions.

[DaveH]

That makes a lot of sense, thanks. I can appreciate the value of a good warranty vs taking a gamble on a used and abused part that might fail right after installation. I dread to think how much a brand new unit would cost from Tesla if they sold them to converters.

[New Electric Ireland]

I dread to think how much a brand new unit would cost from Tesla if they sold them to converters.

Hopefully they'll be covered by our Right To Repair legislation in the EU but for now Tesla are doing everything they can to resist third party participation.

I think the important thing to realise is that Tesla are a premium brand and second user prices reflect that. Our advice is to use Tesla if you have no choice but consider other solutions where at all possible. A good example was posted by Damien today (here) where a Tesla DU would be a boat anchor following an everyday mistake.

[Boxster EV]

I dread to think how much a brand new unit would cost from Tesla if they sold them to converters.

Hopefully they'll be covered by our Right To Repair legislation in the EU but for now Tesla are doing everything they can to resist third party participation.

I think the important thing to realise is that Tesla are a premium brand and second user prices reflect that. Our advice is to use Tesla if you have no choice but consider other solutions where at all possible. A good example was posted by Damien today (here) where a Tesla DU would be a boat anchor following an everyday mistake.

I overheated (due to no coolant) my LDU on plenty of occasions during testing back in 2019. It always fired right up after cooling off.

Wouldn’t recommend it though

[New Electric Ireland]

I overheated (due to no coolant) my LDU on plenty of occasions during testing back in 2019. It always fired right up after cooling off.

Let's wait and see if your LDU survives in the medium term. We've seen couple examples that failed over time that we suspect were due to excessive heat exposure during testing.

[Boxster EV]

I overheated (due to no coolant) my LDU on plenty of occasions during testing back in 2019. It always fired right up after cooling off.

Let's wait and see if your LDU survives in the medium term. We've seen couple examples that failed over time that we suspect were due to excessive heat exposure during testing.

Interesting but unlikely. The board prohibits excessive heat exposure and shuts it down at 70 degrees. Done 4000 miles since then.

I had the drive unit out of the car last month and IGBT goo was bubble free.

My experience is that they’re pretty robust. That’s unless Jon Volk was the previous owner.

[New Electric Ireland]

Interesting but unlikely. The board prohibits excessive heat exposure and shuts it down at 70 degrees.

I'm not sure what you're measuring but 170 deg C is not unusual;

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=76&p=3789&hilit=temp#p3837

You may or may not get away without Tesla LDU cooling in the short term but we try to teach good practice so that people survive everyday mistakes.

A good example was posted by Damien today (here) where a Tesla DU would be a boat anchor following an everyday mistake.

[Boxster EV]

Interesting but unlikely. The board prohibits excessive heat exposure and shuts it down at 70 degrees.

I'm not sure what you're measuring but 170 deg C is not unusual;

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=76&p=3789&hilit=temp#p3837

You may or may not get away without Tesla LDU cooling in the short term but we try to teach good practice so that people survive everyday mistakes.

A good example was posted by Damien today (here) where a Tesla DU would be a boat anchor following an everyday mistake.

I haven't scoured the thread you refer to, Kevin, however I believe the post you're referring to relates to a custom coolant set-up application for a LDU in a race car.

I can only go by what the tmpm parameter reading is on my opensource data log, whereby the drive unit limits output >70 degrees.

[New Electric Ireland]

I haven't scoured the thread you refer to, Kevin, however I believe the post you're referring to relates to a custom coolant set-up application for a LDU in a race car.

It is a race car but it's not difficult to reach extreme temperatures in a LDU.

I can only go by what the tmpm parameter reading is on my opensource data log, whereby the drive unit limits output >70 degrees.

Relying on software to protect the inverter from over temperature is a high risk strategy. Again, we always recommend users are extremely careful with Tesla parts because they are unforgiving and often represent a significant investment.

[Boxster EV]

Not relying on it, Kevin. As you've read from my project thread earlier today - coolant system fully functional.

[New Electric Ireland]

Not relying on it, Kevin. As you've read from my project thread earlier today - coolant system fully functional.

Can you try to be consistent with your posts?

I overheated (due to no coolant) my LDU on plenty of occasions during testing back in 2019.

[Boxster EV]

Not relying on it, Kevin. As you've read from my project thread earlier today - coolant system fully functional.

Can you try to be consistent with your posts?

I overheated (due to no coolant) my LDU on plenty of occasions during testing back in 2019.

During testing.