Hacker News Reader

Comment by osti | Hacker News Reader

It can also do 360 degree self centered turn, which should be useful. No more 3 point turns!

Given the flexibility of installing the motors, I've always wondered why electric cars still can't move in a parallel way. That should be very handy when parallel parking.

View on HN

> handy when parallel parking.

If you love switching tires.

This is a feature that should only be used for off-roading. Off roads, it is extremely useful to be able to make small-radius turns.

A 4 ton thing doing this on the trails I go on would destroy them.

I hope people don't actually do it.

In my past times off-roading, trails and dirt roads have usually been very generous with places to turn. Not so much when you are off a trail or a road.

Exactly, and unless you are on private property or BLM land you are also generally not supposed to be driving off the trails or roads. So there isn't much use for this other than on private property or on BLM land.

Yeah, this is why Rivian never enabled tank turn.

Rivian advertised this feature as well but disabled it, for obvious reasons.

Obvious reason is immediate tire wear?

I think I wasn't being clear, the wheels basically have to rotate perpendicularly to the cars body, so there wouldn't be any extra tire wear.

What? If left wheels are in reverse and right wheels in forward then the treads are wearing sideways against the rotation!

there's no direction wear at low speeds.

or do you parallel park at 60mph? maybe you drive to work on reverse?

You don't? Learn to drive.

What's the reason? It's not obvious to me at all, sorry.

It shreds your tires.

...why? Doesn't it do it by using 4 wheel steer?

nope. Rivian spins the left wheels forward and the right wheels backwards, or vice versa

Oh. Yeah that's not great.

Hyundai is experimenting with this.

It can only do the 360 deg turn while floating, which rather limits its utility.

At the end of the article there's an embedded video showing the vehicle doing a tank turn on pavers. The tire manufacturers will love it.

Is tank turn common terminology? I’ve seen skid steer used for this kind of thing on the digger vehicles.

I was parroting the article, but like you I'm more accustomed to skid steer myself.

Presumably because the typical EV is already priced uncompetitively enough without two extra rear wheel steering servos that would allow for it.

you are just poor. Mercedes Benz have had cars that parallel park like that by abusing a slight turn on the back wheels for decades.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com