# Tesla 85D Front Traction Motor



## Karter2 (Nov 17, 2011)

I doubt there are many of those lying about in junkyards yet !
And unless you have a close friend by the name of Elon, I doubt you can buy one new either !
Only recently this year have a few of the smartest guys on here have been able to hack the original Tesla motor drive system to make it useful outside its original placement. And I am not sure that I'd fully sorted yet.


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## mk4gti (May 6, 2011)

http://cafeelectric.com/stretchla/2013/12/


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## Hollie Maea (Dec 9, 2009)

Karter2 said:


> I doubt there are many of those lying about in junkyards yet !


I was thinking about that this morning...with the new autopilot features rolling out tomorrow, there could be a significant reduction in Teslas that end up in junkyards!


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## dougingraham (Jul 26, 2011)

bacada said:


> Hello, I'm wondering if anyone as heard of people making attempts to drive the smaller 188HP Tesla traction motors found in the 85D and 60D


Since you need to have a working car in order to have any kind of chance at understanding the CAN codes I don't believe anyone has looked at these yet.

The regular drive system has a direct connection to the throttle pedal and a signal that the brake has been applied. I thought this was a good idea because it would make it unlikely that someone could override your commanding it to stop by sending contradictory CAN messages.

But when you add in the complexity of the second motor you now need some system of commanding the motors independently of the throttle pedal. It will be interesting to see what Tesla does with this.



bacada said:


> I'm also curios of some of the specs, weight, dimensions etc...


I have not gone on a search for this info but these things interest me as well.



bacada said:


> I'm thinking this motor would be perfect for a lightweight EV conversion


Oh yeah! It is pretty obvious that the Model 3 will use this motor. Not sure if it will be front or rear drive but this is just the right size for the smaller vehicle.


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## Karter2 (Nov 17, 2011)

Other than more power than is necessary for a "lightweight EV" ..( and all the consequent battery size, range, cost, etc , implications)... 
.... Why would this motor be preferable to a Leaf motor or similar ?


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## eldis (Sep 3, 2013)

Front motor in the 85D does not have accelerator hard wired into it. Only the rear inverter has direct pedal input.

Torque command into the front motor comes over the CAN. I know that for a fact. Also the connector on the front motor has very few pins.

Here is a render of the front and rear unit in comparison. Good luck finding one..


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## Karter2 (Nov 17, 2011)

hmm ?
i notice that the current Tesla spec sheet lists that front motor at 259 hp ?
I wonder if they have uprated it ( software) from the original "D" spec cars 188hp.
Note also both front and rear motors have exactly the same max power rating...but a lower combined total !
..Limited by the battery power capacity i suspect.
http://www.teslamotors.com/models
..and i dont know if this helps with a weight estimate,..but from Car & Driver ...


> ..Tesla says a two-motor P85D weighs 4936 pounds, or 291 pounds more than a rear-drive P85,


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## bacada (Oct 14, 2015)

Karter2 said:


> Other than more power than is necessary for a "lightweight EV" ..( and all the consequent battery size, range, cost, etc , implications)...
> .... Why would this motor be preferable to a Leaf motor or similar ?


A Leaf motor is definite a good choose and one I'm considering for an upcoming 1964 VW Type 34 restore/conversion. As you stated the benefit would be the uptick in performance.


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## nativewolf (Oct 17, 2015)

Eldis did the best video of the tesla motor hacked. In fact, he posts on here but I only just found his blog. Expect nothing less from a bloke at CERN.

http://ecarproject.ch/

His UMC should be of interest to everyone.


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## eldis (Sep 3, 2013)

nativewolf said:


> Eldis did the best video of the tesla motor hacked. In fact, he posts on here but I only just found his blog. Expect nothing less from a bloke at CERN.
> 
> http://ecarproject.ch/
> 
> His UMC should be of interest to everyone.


Thanks for the trust!
Yes, that is my blog. Unfortunately I am too damn lazy to update it. There are some nice updates waiting to be released (for UMC Drive as well as for other "new" projects). I'll try to write at least some new stuff during the week.


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## nativewolf (Oct 17, 2015)

eldis said:


> Thanks for the trust!
> Yes, that is my blog. Unfortunately I am too damn lazy to update it. There are some nice updates waiting to be released (for UMC Drive as well as for other "new" projects). I'll try to write at least some new stuff during the week.


Thanks, great to hear. Glad you have a real workspace now. Seeing that tesla engine and inverter jury rigged on floor and table in the apartment made me want to rent you a garage. I sent an email but let me know if you need help getting the controller to market.


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