There's another thread that talks about the Model S traction control and how great it is and how helpful it is. What I'd like to discuss here is the ability of the Model S to drift. If you're not familiar with this "dancing with a car" idea (and not sure why you'd ever want to turn traction control off), here are a couple awesome videos (granted they're made with a $500,000 custom car, and a super skilled professional driver):
Ken Block's Gymkhana 3 (my favorite)
Ken Block's latest Gymkhana 5
This is a far cry from burnouts. Speaking of burnouts in the Model S:
Road and Track Model S burnout -- In order to make this video R&T pulled a single fuse that disabled traction control, stability control, anti-lock brakes, anti-lock steering, power steering, brake assist, and the speedometer. This seems sub-optimal as you might want some of those latter systems.
Now I know that the Model S has the ability to disable traction control in the UI, but did R&T have to do this because stability control was interfering with their burnout?
Then we have this:
Tesla Model S Signature Burnout -- According to the comments the driver turned off traction control to make this video. You can clearly see the wheels spinning out, but the car doesn't appear to get too sideways. Perhaps this is because of the stability control?
So the question is, will the Model S drift. On dry pavement. Without pulling fuses.
As a stock drifting platform the S seems optimal because of the massive instantaneous torque the vehicle can apply to the rear wheels breaking them loose and allowing for a "Power Over" drift initiation. Right now I have a Jaguar XF Supercharged (470hp @ 6000rpm/ 424lb torque @ 2500rpm) that I'm replacing with the S. With traction control off I can easily kick the Jag's rear out to slide into a turn. I'm wondering if the Model S can do the same thing without pulling fuses and disabling all those other systems... What are your thoughts/experiences with this? If it can't drift because of stability control, will Tesla update the UI to allow disabling stability control? Are there aftermarket options?
Ken Block's Gymkhana 3 (my favorite)
Ken Block's latest Gymkhana 5
This is a far cry from burnouts. Speaking of burnouts in the Model S:
Road and Track Model S burnout -- In order to make this video R&T pulled a single fuse that disabled traction control, stability control, anti-lock brakes, anti-lock steering, power steering, brake assist, and the speedometer. This seems sub-optimal as you might want some of those latter systems.
Now I know that the Model S has the ability to disable traction control in the UI, but did R&T have to do this because stability control was interfering with their burnout?
Then we have this:
Tesla Model S Signature Burnout -- According to the comments the driver turned off traction control to make this video. You can clearly see the wheels spinning out, but the car doesn't appear to get too sideways. Perhaps this is because of the stability control?
So the question is, will the Model S drift. On dry pavement. Without pulling fuses.
As a stock drifting platform the S seems optimal because of the massive instantaneous torque the vehicle can apply to the rear wheels breaking them loose and allowing for a "Power Over" drift initiation. Right now I have a Jaguar XF Supercharged (470hp @ 6000rpm/ 424lb torque @ 2500rpm) that I'm replacing with the S. With traction control off I can easily kick the Jag's rear out to slide into a turn. I'm wondering if the Model S can do the same thing without pulling fuses and disabling all those other systems... What are your thoughts/experiences with this? If it can't drift because of stability control, will Tesla update the UI to allow disabling stability control? Are there aftermarket options?