2024 Model 3 Performance Announced - Discussion thread post announcement

[Apprunner]

New one tbd, but for the old one the S does actually outperform the 3 in corners. “feel” rarely correlates to actual performance.

As a daily driver, feel is all that matters. Most people don't track their cars but they "feel" their drive every day. Not everyone cares for a Model S which may be faster by x seconds on a track but feels like a boat and to extract fast times, you brute force your way through every corner. Many would rather have the lighter car that can be tossed around in every day driving with enough power to win in most stop light shenanigans.

Tesla definitely found the right balance of power, weight, and value for this car. Getting jealous of all the new owners

 

[terranx]

As a daily driver, feel is all that matters. Most people don't track their cars but they "feel" their drive every day. Not everyone cares for a Model S which may be faster by x seconds on a track but feels like a boat and to extract fast times, you brute force your way through every corner. Many would rather have the lighter car that can be tossed around in every day driving with enough power to win in most stop light shenanigans.

Tesla definitely found the right balance of power, weight, and value for this car. Getting jealous of all the new owners

Okay, but the guy was asking where the s performs better. And the answer is everywhere

 

[Apprunner]

Okay, but the guy was asking where the s performs better. And the answer is everywhere

As you said, thats kinda TBD. I could see the new M3P doing better on a short track. Lets see how it goes.

 

[Heckraiser]

How can Kyle prefer the 3 over the S??

I'm trading in my S for another 3 tomorrow, so I can see how

 

[Adam3]

I'm trading in my S for another 3 tomorrow, so I can see how

What year MS?

 

[Heckraiser]

2020 LR+ I just never bonded with the S. The ride and road-holding ability are good, but handling (steering feel and input) are poor. The steering wheel is an inch or more physically larger and the steering ratio is slow and ponderous with pretty much zero feedback. You can also really feel the extra weight. After just a couple months, I missed the more go-carty feel of the 3 and decided to switch back.

 

[fetar30310]

2020 LR+ I just never bonded with the S. The ride and road-holding ability are good, but handling (steering feel and input) are poor. The steering wheel is an inch or more physically larger and the steering ratio is slow and ponderous with pretty much zero feedback. You can also really feel the extra weight. After just a couple months, I missed the more go-carty feel of the 3 and decided to switch back.

The steering weight on the S is oddly light, contributing to it's boat-like feel.

The heavier weight on the 3/Y and tighter ratio really help them feel sportier. Even the Y feels more dynamic than the S solely due to the steering feel.

 

[terranx]

The steering weight on the S is oddly light, contributing to it's boat-like feel.

The heavier weight on the 3/Y and tighter ratio really help them feel sportier. Even the Y feels more dynamic than the S solely due to the steering feel.

I do wish they let the steering weight feel get heavier than it is, but I can look past that when evaluating a car’s dynamics. The Y is actually IMO one of the worst cars I’ve ever driven from a dynamics standpoint. Suspension never feels settled. The 3 felt pretty good until you started to push the limits through corners, at which point the body control was less predictable.

 

[fetar30310]

I do wish they let the steering weight feel get heavier than it is, but I can look past that when evaluating a car’s dynamics. The Y is actually IMO one of the worst cars I’ve ever driven from a dynamics standpoint. Suspension never feels settled. The 3 felt pretty good until you started to push the limits through corners, at which point the body control was less predictable.

Oh yeah agreed - the Y suspension is ass-tier.

I'm embarrassed to have passengers in it.

 

[dsc888]

I do wish they let the steering weight feel get heavier than it is, but I can look past that when evaluating a car’s dynamics. The Y is actually IMO one of the worst cars I’ve ever driven from a dynamics standpoint. Suspension never feels settled. The 3 felt pretty good until you started to push the limits through corners, at which point the body control was less predictable.

Just out of curiosity, what year Y did you base your experience from? Pre 2023, the suspension was rock hard which meant better body control but only on glass smooth roads.

They've since updated the entire Y line with their "comfort" setup which means better compliance especially on uneven city streets so the tires have better contact with the road.

 

[terranx]

Just out of curiosity, what year Y did you base your experience from? Pre 2023, the suspension was rock hard which meant better body control but only on glass smooth roads.

They've since updated the entire Y line with their "comfort" setup which means better compliance especially on uneven city streets so the tires have better contact with the road.

I’ve driven 2022s and 23s. Both had awful body control even on smooth roads. The dampers being the worst part.

 

[cptnslo]

Just saw the post from @UnpluggedP

 

[355rockit]

I dont think it was ever adjusted in the car. I remember tesla changing it on the ordering website for people ordering new cars but I dont remember them adjusting anything in the car.

I always took it to mean "we didnt account for the 20s when we published the range of your car at 310", so I consider 299 the starting value for my car.

Neither of those numbers mean much, as you mention, at least unless one is going on a long trip and determined to "cruise".

When I bought my 2023 M3P this past December, the order page showed 315mi range.

 

[terranx]

When I bought my 2023 M3P this past December, the order page showed 315mi range. View attachment 1051710

The 82kWh models were always 315 to my knowledge. The earlier ones were less

 

[Izzyz28]

New one tbd, but for the old one the S does actually outperform the 3 in corners. “feel” rarely correlates to actual performance.

Yep, the S does outperform the 3 in corners, as well as pretty much any other metric you can think of. I've tracked my Plaid, and even on a very tight course it is an absolute monster. Yes, the steering could be quicker and firmer with a more direct feel, but the adjustable suspension, track mode, torque vectoring, and all of the adjustability easily make it a non-issue. I wonder if those who said it feels like a boat ever tried the Advanced or track mode settings, because it will firm up way more than my 2023 M3P ever was. The 3 certainly felt smaller day-to-day, but as the limits of traction are pushed, it felt like an underdamped pogo-sticking jalopy. The S does not, and it feels much more planted, even on the stock rubber.

 

[jjrandorin]

When I bought my 2023 M3P this past December, the order page showed 315mi range. View attachment 1051710

I should have said "for the older cars, which is what I ment, but did not say.

 

[oktane]

Out of Spec reviews (Kyle) prefers the M3P to the Plaid. For a drive to work car, I can see how smaller/lighter/more efficient makes sense. I'd say the Plaid is a great daily but heavy and can be fatiguing to drive if you have rough roads. I agree the MY was a dog in suspension a couple years ago, not sure about today.

Most reviewers say the M3 suspension is excellent and damping out bumps, and that is v important for a daily car. It's a tough decision for me since 1100hp is very addicting. I might see if I can find one on Turo sometime to try out or something.

 

[Sweed269]

Stock Model y suspension tuning is still pretty bad. Geometry and kinematics are very good. I budgeted for coil overs before even buying the car.
It's good to hear that the Model 3 finally has a good factory suspension.

 

[Heckraiser]

Yep, the S does outperform the 3 in corners, as well as pretty much any other metric you can think of. I've tracked my Plaid, and even on a very tight course it is an absolute monster. Yes, the steering could be quicker and firmer with a more direct feel, but the adjustable suspension, track mode, torque vectoring, and all of the adjustability easily make it a non-issue. I wonder if those who said it feels like a boat ever tried the Advanced or track mode settings, because it will firm up way more than my 2023 M3P ever was. The 3 certainly felt smaller day-to-day, but as the limits of traction are pushed, it felt like an underdamped pogo-sticking jalopy. The S does not, and it feels much more planted, even on the stock rubber.

As one of the people saying the S feels boaty (maybe not the best description) I'll respond to this. I agree with all the points you make. I carved up my favorite local canyons at Mach Stupid speeds in the S and it did impress in terms of sheer capability. What it really comes down to for me is steering ratio (speed) and steering wheel (size). I feel like a bus driver sawing at that big wheel with no feedback. I've always preferred smaller cars with better visibility, so that was a factor for me personally as well. By comparison, the 3 does feel a bit less controlled, a little slower and I know it's less capable from an objective standpoint, but it feels more fun and engaging to me. Same way a 370z is faster around a track, but a MX5 will put a bigger smile on your face.

 

[Jeremy3292]

Out of Spec reviews (Kyle) prefers the M3P to the Plaid. For a drive to work car, I can see how smaller/lighter/more efficient makes sense. I'd say the Plaid is a great daily but heavy and can be fatiguing to drive if you have rough roads. I agree the MY was a dog in suspension a couple years ago, not sure about today.

Most reviewers say the M3 suspension is excellent and damping out bumps, and that is v important for a daily car. It's a tough decision for me since 1100hp is very addicting. I might see if I can find one on Turo sometime to try out or something.

The #1 reason I am upgrading is the suspension. The old M3 suspension is so bad. Awful as a daily driver. Just terrible. Not even worthy upgrading aftermarket bc you just can’t fix it IMO. You feel every bump in the road vibrate through the seats. I honestly don’t know how you can even engineer a car to have that bad of a stock suspension.

The #2 reason is the Intel Atom processor sucks. It kinda sucked when I got the car in Sept 2021, which makes sense bc they introduced the Ryzen shortly thereafter. I hope they don’t upgrade the Ryzen soon, or if they do at least make it so it can be upgraded at the service center for a fee.

This new M3P could be a car I keep for a long time. All the speculative future pipeline stuff I don’t see as a big deal (e.g. front bumper camera). I could always be surprised though.