What about us P85Ds with staggered ?? U think that would give us additional grip at start ?
According to Elon the P85D insane mode is traction limited to about 30mph. With Ludicrous mode the increase in maximum amperage will extend the traction limited speed to somewhat higher, 60mph was mentioned but it is not really plausible. The quoted 0-60mph time reduction by 10-12% and the 0-100mph reduction suggest that the additional amperage has relatively more impact at higher speeds than at lower, where traction is not the limiting factor. Because we already know that the P85D 150mph speed can be maintained for only a few minutes before slowing to about 130mph, we can assume that either battery pack cooling, drivetrain cooling (presumably motors mostly) or both probably were the impediments.
We can safely assume that tesla is working on more efficient and effective cooling as well as increased temperature tolerance. Why: because Elon told us that Ludicrous came about as a result of efforts to design a 1,000,000 mile drivetrain and batteries. Thus, the use of high-precision fuses and high temperature capable steel alloys.
It seems logical, although nobody actually said it AFAIK, that the excellent results SpaceX has had with Inconel (BTW, a brand name for a class of stainless alloys, many of which are proprietary. Tesla appears to have a proprietary and undisclosed alloy, quite possibly the same as or derived from, the SpaceX experience. In my very humble opinion, the big news is really that Tesla is successfully conquering the heat management problems associated with high current movements.
Airbus, in their new electric trainers, are quietly deploying some connections that are claimed to be superconducting in ambient flying temperatures. Certainly Tesla is looking closely at that possibility. Putting any resistance reduction in combination with higher temperature handling will both increase performance and decrease energy waste, thus increasing battery longevity. Elon, announcing the 90kWh pack, said it had reduced internal resistance, and implied that was related to the embryonic silicon content in the anode.
Silicone anode and three-dimensional batteries (based on nano-technology to increase electron storage capacity by orders of magnitude) the holy grail in li-ion applications because the theoretical benefits of these technologies will revolutionize capacity, recharging, discharge speeds and more. The only problem is this has been known for years. The two articles I link here are years old. So far production costs, durability, stability and so on, have not yet been realized. Still, the 90kWh pack now has taken a baby step to real world benefits.
If I had the ability to get another Tesla I would buy the 90, not because of the 6% range improvement, but because it is the first mass deployment of silicon anode technology in an EV. Soon, we'll see better capabilities, but the stated capacities will rise, most likely, at roughly the 7% a year more or less that Elon stated. We probably will see greater concentration on cost reduction, durability and ease of use than we will in dramatic performance increases. At least until 2019 when Maximum Plaid will certainly arrive.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378775304003015http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v4/n4/full/ncomms2747.html