Under the Hood: Tesla Model 3 Autocrosser

In reply to Kreb :

Brake pads and tires, just like any other car you would autocross. 

I've actually been wondering about that treatment with a Chevy Bolt...

sobe_death said:

In reply to Kreb :

Brake pads and tires, just like any other car you would autocross. 

I've actually been wondering about that treatment with a Chevy Bolt...

yep, and a knowledge of charging infrastructure at/near your local track. 

spacecadet said:

sobe_death said:

In reply to Kreb :

Brake pads and tires, just like any other car you would autocross. 

I've actually been wondering about that treatment with a Chevy Bolt...

yep, and a knowledge of charging infrastructure at/near your local track. 

Given that you're only getting about 3 laps on a track before it starts to overheat, you may never need to recharge. 

Look, it performs wonderfully for what it is. It's just not the right tool for everyone. 

edit: I'm talking about open track. I don't think that overheating would be an issue at an autocross.

Kreb said:

spacecadet said:

sobe_death said:

In reply to Kreb :

Brake pads and tires, just like any other car you would autocross. 

I've actually been wondering about that treatment with a Chevy Bolt...

yep, and a knowledge of charging infrastructure at/near your local track. 

Given that you're only getting about 3 laps on a track before it starts to overheat, you may never need to recharge. 

Look, it performs wonderfully for what it is. It's just not the right tool for everyone. 

edit: I'm talking about open track. I don't think that overheating would be an issue at an autocross.

Had the chance to put real metal to testing this today. Went to MSRC with David and Kim Whitener today. 

The Tesla Was on Nexen SUR4G tires and Kim brought her C7 Z06 2015. 

I went out with david in the Tesla First. 

Running the 1.7 at MSRC the best lap with both of us in the car was in the 1:25 range. 

Best Time in the corvette on the same course is a 1:21. 

Their TT6 miata runs a 1:22-23. 

We ran the Tesla for 15 minutes and then swapped cars with kim to get into the Z06. Best lap in the Z06 was in the 1:23's 

it's a first year Z06 so it does get hot and it showed. 

The Tesla's only limitation was the battery. we did 9-10 laps in the tesla before swapping and by the end of the 7th lap the car wasn't pulling as hard anymore. 

we started the session at 75% charge. the car came off track under 30% after a full 30 minute session. 

It needed a bit of cool down driving after the session and the brakes need more development. David was talking to me during the session about a delay in the braking it wasn't biting hard when he first went for the pedal. 
the 2 cars are very close in time and the tesla best lap was not David's best. he knows he left more time out there. 

the car needs more camber and more development on the brakes. But as i said before the dynamics are awesome. it rotates extremely well under braking and it rotates a bit under throttle and digs even at speeds closer to 100mph. 

So you'd need a superchaging setup near the track to make it a truly track day capable car. But that's not impossible now or in the near future. 

I was extremely impressed and I'd pick the Model 3 over the Z06 every day... partially cause i hit my head on the roof in the Z06! it is too low for my big dome to get out easily while wearing a helmet. 

David knows how to drive cars, build shocks for double wishbone cars and test tires.