1:48 at Laguna Seca - Light mods to Model 3 for track work

[Odiemac]

Hi all, I participated in the Refuel EV time trials at Laguna Seca on Sunday, and I just wanted to share my experience along with the mods I made to the car.

Preparing the car for the track, how the brakes fared:

Fastest lap of a Model 3 at Laguna Seca (1:48.6):

List of mods I did to the car (and where to get the parts):
Brake pads: Hawk Performance Blue 9012 Racing Brake Pads HB453E.585
Brake fluid: https://www.amazon.com/Motul-Dot-4-...sr=8-1-spons&keywords=brake+fluid+motul&psc=1
Wheels: (18” x 9.5” wide): 18x9.5 Enkei RAIJIN 5x114.3 + 35 Hyper Silver Wheels (Set of 4) | eBay
Tires: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=535ZR8A7&tab=Sizes
Jack pad adapter so you can jack up car: Tesla Model 3 Jack Pad Adapter Lift Point Pad For Tire Service Tire Change Tool | eBay
Disconnect wheel speed sensor to disable stability control/ traction control / ABS (free!)

 

[TrumpetTitan]

Awesome. I have an S2000 that I've driven on track and autocrossed on the east coast. Wife has a reservation for a Model 3 for me as a new daily.

I get so happy when I see evidence that the Model 3 is trackable, because it'd be awesome to have it as a backup car if the S2000 has problems.

 

[TrumpetTitan]

I'm also obligated to commend your laptime. There's a registry of laptimes on the S2000 forum, and an avid track racer with Extreme Performance Summer tires (Hankook RS3s), coilovers, and upgraded sway bars lapped Laguna Seca in 1:48.9!

 

[mkspeedr]

That is awesome! I am impressed. I might need to change my mind from a P100D S to a performance 3 later this year.

Laguna Seca is happy place...

 

[jaguar36]

Great to see that the upgraded pads worked great on the track! How many laps did you run? Any heat issues?
Any idea what the P100D had for tires/brakes?

 

[mkspeedr]

Oh yea - I forgot. Did they send the sound monitor home for the event???

I love the idea of quiet EVs not getting noise complaints.

 

[Odiemac]

I ran 12-15 laps or so in total, and I'm sure the brakes would start to fade after 4-5 laps or so but then again so would a BMW 340i or even an M3.

The P100D was pretty stock on 21's with summer performance tires. The lap was set by some Lucid chassis engineers probably doing some competitive benchmarking .

 

[Swampgator]

Hi all, I participated in the Refuel EV time trials at Laguna Seca on Sunday, and I just wanted to share my experience along with the mods I made to the car.

Preparing the car for the track, how the brakes fared:

Fastest lap of a Model 3 at Laguna Seca (1:48.6):

List of mods I did to the car (and where to get the parts):
Brake pads: Hawk Performance Blue 9012 Racing Brake Pads HB453E.585
Brake fluid: https://www.amazon.com/Motul-Dot-4-...sr=8-1-spons&keywords=brake+fluid+motul&psc=1
Wheels: (18” x 9.5” wide): 18x9.5 Enkei RAIJIN 5x114.3 + 35 Hyper Silver Wheels (Set of 4) | eBay
Tires: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=535ZR8A7&tab=Sizes
Jack pad adapter so you can jack up car: Tesla Model 3 Jack Pad Adapter Lift Point Pad For Tire Service Tire Change Tool | eBay
Disconnect wheel speed sensor to disable stability control/ traction control / ABS (free!)

Awesome work there! And you made Electrek I am a former s2000 owner so if your car can hang with that car on a track I'm super excited for my AWD order.
On the brake pads........Is there a downside to using those for everyday use? They are expensive I see but if in town driving is unaffected I may put those on and keep them on.

 

[Daniel in SD]

I'm also obligated to commend your laptime. There's a registry of laptimes on the S2000 forum, and an avid track racer with Extreme Performance Summer tires (Hankook RS3s), coilovers, and upgraded sway bars lapped Laguna Seca in 1:48.9!

It is a good lap time but he ran with Hoosier A7s which are WAY stickier than Hankook RS3s. They're not even a street tire. haha
I'm surprised you didn't cook the brakes. Sounds like you did the smart thing and only did a couple laps at a time?

 

[30seconds]

So what’s adding 200hp and larger calipers going to do?

 

[30seconds]

Also pretty sure that the $70k performance + performance package will put down faster lap time than a base 911.

Question becomes which 911 variant will be faster.

 

[jeff mccabe]

Once again great job setting up your car and great lap. I saw your setup video and realized why you were easy to deal with in the first practice , but the second

Jeff McCabe

 

[Daniel in SD]

Also pretty sure that the $70k performance + performance package will put down faster lap time than a base 911.

Question becomes which 911 variant will be faster.

Haha. That seems extremely optimistic. Not sure about a base 911 but Car and Driver got a Carrera S around Laguna Seca in 1:39 on street tires. Obviously that's with a pro driver but still. Here's a frame of reference:

 

[seattlite2004]

Also pretty sure that the $70k performance + performance package will put down faster lap time than a base 911.

Question becomes which 911 variant will be faster.

I wanna see this guy give that P3D a drive and hear his comments.

 

[Swampgator]

Haha. That seems extremely optimistic. Not sure about a base 911 but Car and Driver got a Carrera S around Laguna Seca in 1:39 on street tires. Obviously that's with a pro driver but still. Here's a frame of reference:View attachment 314525

911 Carrera s does 0-60 in 4.1 secs and but weighs in around 3300#. It will get killed on the straights but probably be faster through the corners although its polar moment is rear biased vs probably neutral in M3P.
It will be a closer fight than you may think. Except the Porsche costs around 115K.

 

[Cheburashka]

Also pretty sure that the $70k performance + performance package will put down faster lap time than a base 911.

That sounds extremely unlikely.

With same tires, it seems like the M3 would get similar times to a Miata.

 

[MP3Mike]

That sounds extremely unlikely.

With same tires, it seems like the M3 would get similar times to a Miata.

Didn't Elon say that the Model 3 Performance version would be 15% faster than a BMW M3? If so, a BMW M3 did the lap in 1:42.96. That would make the Model 3 1:27.52. But that seems a little too fast, so maybe the 15% was only in a straight line?

 

[Daniel in SD]

911 Carrera s does 0-60 in 4.1 secs and but weighs in around 3300#. It will get killed on the straights but probably be faster through the corners although its polar moment is rear biased vs probably neutral in M3P.
It will be a closer fight than you may think. Except the Porsche costs around 115K.

So you expect the P3D to close to 11 seconds faster than OPs time while running inferior tires?
The obsession with 0-60 on this forum is ridiculous. You're barely ever driving under 60mph on a track.
But for the record the base Carrera goes 0-60 in 3.4s according to Car and Driver.

 

[Daniel in SD]

Didn't Elon say that the Model 3 Performance version would be 15% faster than a BMW M3? If so, a BMW M3 did the lap in 1:42.96. That would make the Model 3 1:27.52. But that seems a little too fast, so maybe the 15% was only in a straight line?

He definitely meant straight line. Given what we know though it seems impossible for it to beat its competitors at all...

 

[Cheburashka]

Didn't Elon say that the Model 3 Performance version would be 15% faster than a BMW M3? If so, a BMW M3 did the lap in 1:42.96. That would make the Model 3 1:27.52. But that seems a little too fast, so maybe the 15% was only in a straight line?

Sure, from a complete stop in a straight line, the Tesla would be faster.

The Laguna Seca record by a production EV was set by a P100D MS at this event, and the time is similar to what a Mazda Miata would run...