Highland top speed reduced…

[gearchruncher]

But The Lucid Air has an even lower aero drag profile and they go 168 in the GT and 205 in the sapphire.

Read about all the not-cheap stuff the Luicd does around aero, incuding active shutters: https://www.motortrend.com/news/2022-lucid-air-luxury-ev-design-aero-tricks/

Never said it was impossible to have low drag and high speed stability. But Tesla was stuck with a car that needs to be mass market, cheap to make and work on, and even more, needs to basically look like the current car. You can't always get all of that and both have a low Cd and nice stability.

 

[terranx]

So is it that flat wrap around Highland nose that cause the car to lift off the road at speed ?

It's all speculation right now. We just don't have a good reason for the top speed reduction.

 

[gearchruncher]

That's a 670hp car limited to 130mph lol.

The 835 HP Rivian has a 110 MPH top speed. The 845 HP Cybertruck has a 130 MPH top speed. Volvo makes many 500 HP cars with 112 MPH top speeds. A 305 HP Mustang is limited to 112 MPH due to driveshaft speed limits (video of one exploding after limiter was removed)

There's nothing unusual here.

 

[terranx]

They nerfed all of the non-P cars to put a larger performance gap between them to get people to upgrade.

The MSLR is now limited to 130mph. It was 155 iirc. That's a 670hp car limited to 130mph lol.

They didn't nerf the X or the Y though which seems strange.

 

[Bouba]

Is it possible that the new M3 softer ride with new springs etc means it isn’t stable at high speed ?
Is it possible that the old M3 wasn’t stable at those speeds (and perhaps we will all be software limited in the near future) ?

 

[terranx]

The 835 HP Rivian has a 110 MPH top speed. The 845 HP Cybertruck has a 130 MPH top speed. Volvo makes many 500 HP cars with 112 MPH top speeds. A 305 HP Mustang is limited to 112 MPH due to driveshaft speed limits (video of one exploding after limiter was removed)

There's nothing unusual here.

Pickup trucks don't really count. Volvo limits its top speed for marketing purposes ("safety"). Mustang's situation is avoiding an engineering issue.

Tesla is probably either going for the "safety" marketing (though I don't know why they wouldn't drop the X/Y then) or there's an engineering issue. Though no one has a good explanation for the S drop to 130mph.

 

[Sam1]

The 835 HP Rivian has a 110 MPH top speed. The 845 HP Cybertruck has a 130 MPH top speed. Volvo makes many 500 HP cars with 112 MPH top speeds. A 305 HP Mustang is limited to 112 MPH due to driveshaft speed limits (video of one exploding after limiter was removed)

There's nothing unusual here.

You're comparing an SUV and truck with a sedan. Then qualifying that statement with a manufacturer's known mechanical limitation.

 

[gearchruncher]

Pickup trucks don't really count. Volvo limits its top speed for marketing purposes ("safety"). Mustang's situation is avoiding an engineering issue.

Which is why I specifically pointed out that there are lots of vehicles with more HP and lower speed limiters, to show how silly it is to say "XXX HP and YYY MPH, LOL." There's nothing new about a vast discrepency between HP and top speed, and this has probably become even more common in EV's which can achieve high horsepowers very easily, but then have things like single fixed gears which can easily lead to high speed issues.

We are all aware that these motors are doing ~15K RPM at these ~130 MPH speeds? Maybe Tesla learned that they can use a cheaper motor or bearing process if they keep RPM below 15K instead of allowing it to go to 18K like it used to?

The Mustang issue was a money/MPG issue FYI, they specifically designed a light driveshaft that traded top speed for other things. You know, like every car design does everywhere, including Tesla.

 

[Sam1]

Is it possible that the new M3 softer ride with new springs etc means it isn’t stable at high speed ?
Is it possible that the old M3 wasn’t stable at those speeds (and perhaps we will all be software limited in the near future) ?

They reduced the top speed of both the non-P sedans at the same exact time. So it should not be relegated to blaming suspension changes on the model 3.

 

[Sam1]

They didn't nerf the X or the Y though which seems strange.

That's what I noticed too. The X has almost 20 mph higher top end than the safer sedan. The only two reasonable assumptions I can come up with are that 1) it's to put a bigger gap between P and non-P (which means the SUVs will also be getting limited sometime soon as well) or 2) they've changed the battery tech in the 3/s non-P and it's potentially not supporting the top end or wearing the packs with that high of a draw, so they cut out the top end. #2 doesn't make much sense since they limited the S, unless they have the new packs going in the S now too.

 

[Abl3rider]

Just my 2 cents, but this is a silly complaint. There is not a single public road anywhere in the United States or Canada where you can legally go anywhere near 140mph, and if caught trying, you'll probably pay more in fines than you can imagine and lose your driving rights for a looong time. If not outright go to jail.

Your car's top speed is just for bragging rights, and if you test it, I hope I'm nowhere near.

I went Tesla for performance and then clean exhaust and fuel savings. If it wasn’t a performance vehicle, I would have just got a cheaper ev or hybrid. Top speed and acceleration are fun. I’ve had my MY up to top speed 137 on many occasions on wide strait(ish) country roads. It gets there in mere seconds and gets back down to cruising speed in, again, mere seconds. Got pulled over in Ohio doing 120 and got off with a warning and a compliment on my car. Personally I would not purchase a Tesla if it was not fast. That is what makes it fun. It’s such a pleasure to be as fast as a supercar for a fraction of the price. It’s fine if you want to drive slow. So get a slow car.

 

[miatadan]

The reason I posted this question is what is the technical reason for reducing top with if drivetrain same as previous version. Not planning on doing 140 on public roads.

Dan

 

[Bouba]

Perhaps those of us with legacy Model 3 cars will experience a surge in valuation

 

[Abl3rider]

Model S suspension feels surprisingly decent at high speeds. Model 3 definitely felt a bit floatier above 120 or so, but not awful. Model Y suspension can be scary even at low speeds.

Please elaborate on Y suspension. I have a stock 2021 MYLR with the optional Turbine wheels and aside from a slightly harsh/loud ride I think the suspension if fine and on the sporty side. I have 40k miles on my car and drive it to its fullest potential. Have topped out at 137 many times without fear, albeit on straight stretches. So what are you basing your comment on? It’s like a supercar that you can camp in.

 

[gearchruncher]

2) they've changed the battery tech in the 3/s non-P and it's potentially not supporting the top end or wearing the packs with that high of a draw, so they cut out the top end.

This makes no sense as the motors cannot draw as much power at higher speeds. The load on the battery at top speed is much lower than it is accelerating up to that speed. Teslas tend to draw peak power at 50 MPH, not 150 MPH (except Plaids).

It gets there in mere seconds and gets back down to cruising speed in, again, mere seconds.

I mean, it takes about 20 seconds to go from 60 MPH (county road speed limits) to 137 MPH, and you cover over half a mile doing it. Meanwhile a modern supercar could probaby do this in 6 seconds and a quarter the distance. A Model S plaid can do 0-150 MPH in a quarter mile and 9 seconds!

It’s such a pleasure to be as fast as a supercar for a fraction of the price.

You should go look in the Model 3 Performance section where half the people complain about how slow and pointless the Model 3 is above about 80 MPH because it's nowhere near a supercar at 100 MPH speeds with the power fall off at higher RPM. A non-P Y would be that much worse. It's awesome that you like the car, but it's way, way slower to get from 100 MPH to 137MPH than any supercar.

 

[Abl3rider]

Where were you planning to hit that top speed!?

How about on long wide straight country roads with good visibility and no traffic?

 

[terranx]

Please elaborate on Y suspension. I have a stock 2021 MYLR with the optional Turbine wheels and aside from a slightly harsh/loud ride I think the suspension if fine and on the sporty side. I have 40k miles on my car and drive it to its fullest potential. Have topped out at 137 many times without fear, albeit on straight stretches. So what are you basing your comment on? It’s like a supercar that you can camp in.

I found the dampers never settled. The car would always feel a bit unsteady and did not seem like it would handle evasive maneuvers at highway speeds gracefully.

 

[Abl3rider]

This makes no sense as the motors cannot draw as much power at higher speeds. The load on the battery at top speed is much lower than it is accelerating up to that speed. Teslas tend to draw peak power at 50 MPH, not 150 MPH (except Plaids).


I mean, it takes about 20 seconds to go from 60 MPH (county road speed limits) to 137 MPH, and you cover over half a mile doing it. Meanwhile a modern supercar could probaby do this in 6 seconds and a quarter the distance. A Model S plaid can do 0-150 MPH in a quarter mile and 9 seconds!


You should go look in the Model 3 Performance section where half the people complain about how slow and pointless the Model 3 is above about 80 MPH because it's nowhere near a supercar at 100 MPH speeds with the power fall off at higher RPM. A non-P Y would be that much worse. It's awesome that you like the car, but it's way, way slower to get from 100 MPH to 137MPH than any supercar.

At least it’s close 0-60. And I can camp in it. Try that in a supercar

 

[Abl3rider]

Is it possible that the new M3 softer ride with new springs etc means it isn’t stable at high speed ?
Is it possible that the old M3 wasn’t stable at those speeds (and perhaps we will all be software limited in the near future) ?

If I’m software limited in the near future; I’m selling it and getting a vintage (ICE) sports car that they can’t limit. Can they limit it lower than when you bought it? I mean, I bought it based on the performance specs at time of purchase.

 

[terranx]

If I’m software limited in the near future; I’m selling it and getting a vintage (ICE) sports car that they can’t limit. Can they limit it lower than when you bought it? I mean, I bought it based on the performance specs at time of purchase.

Are they technically capable of it? Yes. Will they do it? I doubt it.