Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Does 0 to 60 really matter? What about 55 to 75?

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
It all matters and Tesla like majority of EV does well. passing speed on freeways here in Los Angeles can be fun. and 0-60ish is good for passing in left or right lane to get into opposite lane (sure, dicking move) but helps when needed.
 
It all matters and Tesla like majority of EV does well. passing speed on freeways here in Los Angeles can be fun. and 0-60ish is good for passing in left or right lane to get into opposite lane (sure, dicking move) but helps when needed.
Not a dick move at all. As long as you dont cut anyone off, completely legit. I just know that I never slow anyone down ever.
 
Not a dick move at all. As long as you dont cut anyone off, completely legit. I just know that I never slow anyone down ever.
The key is to get out in front far enough, quick enough that you aren't encroaching on their stopping distance buffer when you lane change over. With a vehicle that isn't motorcycle quick, or makes a massive racket doing so, it is far more likely you cross the "dick move" line doing this. The Model 3 being motorcycle quick and even quieter about doing it than a motorcycle it is pretty easy to just use the seam without taking away from, or impinging on, someone else (except maybe a pride injury, but that's on them :p ).
 
“Bog” being a relative term. You’re still producing about 400hp, edit> to the ground (AKA in-line with the non-P AWD 3) and still not constrained by time spent to make a shift. But coming from where the P is below that you definitely begin feeling mortal. :)
I like the definitely begin feeling mortal interpretation. The 0-60 period is so strong that anything less feels "slow". What's funny is that I've gotton used to that strong 0-60 pull ... and now have the neck of an NFL linebacker to prove it :)

My wife *wants* my car and wants me to get a new car. This is totally unexpected. She's become a red light demon after driving my car a few times to work. So I'm thinking I need a car with a 2 handle on the 0-60 time. That's bumps me up to the Performance S. I'll probably wait for the TriMotor S to come out next year and then make a decision.
 
I like the definitely begin feeling mortal interpretation. The 0-60 period is so strong that anything less feels "slow". What's funny is that I've gotton used to that strong 0-60 pull ... and now have the neck of an NFL linebacker to prove it :)

My wife *wants* my car and wants me to get a new car. This is totally unexpected. She's become a red light demon after driving my car a few times to work. So I'm thinking I need a car with a 2 handle on the 0-60 time. That's bumps me up to the Performance S. I'll probably wait for the TriMotor S to come out next year and then make a decision.

2020 Roadster would be better, would it not? Agree that Model 3 Performance feels slow. Have had it almost a year, not impressed with the acceleration anymore.
 
  • Funny
Reactions: StealthP3D
Your opinion would quickly change if you spent 30 minutes on a California freeway near any major city, where zig zagging like maniacs...usually while simultaneously texting or applying make-up in the vanity mirror...is an every day occurrence.

I regularly visit Cali, and the typical highway driving scene more closely resembles one of the two scenarios:
  1. A barely moving parking lot full of bumper-to-bumper traffic, with only motorcycles moving via lane-splitting
  2. Half-empty highways, with slow-pokes religiously occupying the left-lane, with right-most lanes left empty for passing
I've rarely seen folks zig-zagging, as the good portion of the driving population is focusing on interacting with the phones, ingesting various forms of medication (herbal and otherwise), or coping with the side-effects of recently consumed medication.

Sadly, Tesla's are driven no better than Priuses.
Only young kids in JDM-wannabe cars are showing any signs of enjoying their rides, and utilizing them anywhere close to their potential!


The key is to get out in front far enough, quick enough that you aren't encroaching on their stopping distance buffer when you lane change over.

Funny enough, I find most Tesla's being ripe donors of space for highway merging in front of them.
Seams like 3/4 of Tesla drivers are droning about on AP with massive gaps set for following cars ahead, enough for a Semi to merge safely.

When traffic gets clogged, it's usually safe to bet that an AP-droning Tesla will leave plenty of room for you merge in front of.
The more semi-autonomous cars we get on the roads, the easier congestion driving will be for those of us who are adept at navigating it manually!
:D
 
  • Disagree
  • Like
Reactions: holmgang and tvad
2020 Roadster would be better, would it not? Agree that Model 3 Performance feels slow. Have had it almost a year, not impressed with the acceleration anymore.
I don't know if you're being sarcastic or not ... but the 3P+ certainly doesn't feel slow. It's as fun as hell. The one thing about the SP is that you need to engage a "mode" to get the acceleration. With the 3P+, you just punch it whenever you want to.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: StealthP3D
I don't know if you're being sarcastic or not ... but the 3P+ certainly doesn't feel slow. It's as fun as hell. The one thing about the SP is that you need to engage a "mode" to get the acceleration. With the 3P+, you just punch it whenever you want to.

Haha, not sarcastic at all. I see you've owned for 3 months. Give it a year. Launches from a red light will seem meh.
 
I regularly visit Cali, and the typical highway driving scene more closely resembles one of the two scenarios:
  1. A barely moving parking lot full of bumper-to-bumper traffic, with only motorcycles moving via lane-splitting
  2. Half-empty highways, with slow-pokes religiously occupying the left-lane, with right-most lanes left empty for passing
I've rarely seen folks zig-zagging, as the good portion of the driving population is focusing on interacting with the phones, ingesting various forms of medication (herbal and otherwise), or coping with the side-effects of recently consumed medication.
I couldn’t disagree more.

Pro tip: Very few Californians refer to their state as Cali. That abbreviation is almost universally used by out-of-staters.
 
Last edited:
  • Disagree
Reactions: afadeev
2020 Roadster would be better, would it not? Agree that Model 3 Performance feels slow. Have had it almost a year, not impressed with the acceleration anymore.

I've had the P3D for almost a year as well (Edit: Ooops! Over a year, how time flies). It's the first car I've owned that's as fast as my matching Ducati Motorcycles equipped with the legendary 996 4-valve desmodromic engines. They have the same published 0-60mph, 1/4 mile time and top speed as the P3D. I've never met a car that could could hang with me on my Ducati, they are not slow bikes. That said, to replicate the published acceleration fiqures requires a perfect launch, expert clutch/throttle synchronization and proper body positioning. One minuscule mistake and the P3D will be pulling ahead. Because all you have to do in the P3D is mash the pedal to the floor. I never thought I would own a car this quick. My Ducati's let out quite a wail between 7,000 and 10,000 rpms but the Tesla is like the gentleman's express. Smooth and quiet, it simply does not draw attention to itself. That's not to say that it doesn't make some fellow motorists wonder if they just saw what they thought they saw. It shoots forward like a car shot out of an electromagnetic cannon.

Last week I was merging onto I-5 using my favorite method. This particular on-ramp goes around a sharp bend and then parallels the Interstate for some time before merging is allowed. I often sit at 35 mph and identify the "hole" I want to occupy before putting the pedal to the floor and comfortably sliding into the hole at the same speed as the surrounding traffic (which is 75 mph in a 70 zone). I've got the timing down as to when to let off on the accelerator to avoid a ticket. 1/4 second too long on the throttle and I'm 10 mph over. This particular time the "hole" I took in the slow lane was particularly large but I still executed the merge the same way I always do, pedal to the metal until I'm matching the speed of surrounding traffic (takes about 2 seconds or a little less) and slide in like the gentleman that I am. Shortly after I had settled into the right lane a big ol' electric utility truck rolled slowly by me in the fast lane. The two thirty-something linemen in the cab were both peering out the passenger window with big grins on their faces. When I glanced over they both gave me enthusiastic thumbs up. I grinned back and gave them the double eyebrow lift and a thumbs up. This was all because of a brief 2-second spurt of the throttle that made it look like the car suddenly had a booster rocket lit behind it. The car just squirts forward like a high-performance motorcycle can, but without the drama.

I have to say, it still feels fast. In fact, it's considerably faster than the day I bought it (3.2 0-60mph vs. 3.4 when it was new). Yes, other cars can do this. But not very many. Very few in fact and they all cost more than a P3D. A lot more.

It doesn't get old, it just makes other cars feel like there is something wrong with them. :cool:
 
Last edited:
Regarding the DCT (Dual Clutch Transmission). They are great at full throttle. Have the smoothest transfer of torque between gearshifts, as the higher gear gets engaged before the lower gear disengages. Makes lighting fast shifts when passing at full throttle.

I had one of these in my Ferrari California. For cruising and high RPM shifts it was fantastic. Best ever.

However for around town traffic and parking lot situations it sucked big time. Horrible throttle modulation at low RPMs and miserable driving experience. Best used on the open roads where it was excellent.

Downside was the extraordinary maintenance costs. Especially if you wanted to hot rod it. The sounds of the engine during those shifts was exotic, but felt like every shift cost me $1. Some lesser cars began to offer these trendy and efficient transmissions, but soon reverted to standard hydraulic fluid transmissions with fluid couplers. Warranty costs killed those transmissions quick.

Nothing in the future is going to be better, overall than direct drive, single speed transmissions. They work quietly, efficiently, require almost no maintenance, package well with electric drive and cost far less than any multi speed transmission.

Even in my big, lumbering, Model X, I can thread through traffic better than anything. Nobody gets any auditory warning that I am coming and I am where I want to be before anybody can even think of cutting me off.

No multispeed transmission in the world can match the cost efficiency of a single speed matched to electric drive.

Some efficiencies can also be achieved by putting different gear ratios in the front and rear motors. Use the lower gearing for fast acceleration and the higher gearing for highway cruising.
 
Pro tip: Very few Californians refer to their state as Cali. That abbreviation is almost universally used by out-of-staters.

The two guys I know who were born and raised in California both call it "Cali". All the time. One of them still lives there. It has more to do with whatever micro-culture the person is part of than if they are Californians or not.

My family is from Washington and the Californians started migrating here in ever-increasing numbers starting back in the 1970's. We thought it was funny because they would always huddle inside when it was raining, even if only a light mist on a beautiful day. I thought my one cali-born friend was really weird because I could never get him to ride bikes in the rain. When it would rain for two weeks solid he wouldn't come outside for two weeks, just watch bad TV shows. His mom would give him a ride one block to the school bus stop and he would sit inside the car until the bus arrived. It was like he thought the water would permeate into his skin and dilute his blood or something. We just wore jackets that shed the rain. Well, the cali-kids wore raincoats too, they just didn't want them to get wet. Really weird.
 
  • Funny
Reactions: afadeev
... When it would rain for two weeks solid he wouldn't come outside for two weeks, just watch bad TV shows.
Just think what it was like for Texans like us moving to Redmond, WA back in the 1980s! I flew up there in August for an interview and when I walked out of SeaTac I thought, "there must be a huge AC blower at the door, it cools so far out". Nope, it was the natural cool air. It was hilarious listening to people on the radio complaining about the "heat" :)

Unfortunately, by the time we moved there in September, it started sprinkling and didn't stop for nine months!