Driving tips for P90DL Wanted

[HBP90DL]

I'm taking delivery of my P90DL this week and I have to say I'm excited and even a little nervous about driving it also. I have never had a high performance car of this caliper before (or even close).

I remember seeing a thread with some good driving tips on handling the torque and speed but can't remember where I saw it. I'd really appreciate a link to the old thread or some new tips.

 

[bradjc]

I'm taking delivery of my P90DL this week and I have to say I'm excited and even a little nervous about driving it also. I have never had a high performance car of this caliper before (or even close).

I remember seeing a thread with some good driving tips on handling the torque and speed but can't remember where I saw it. I'd really appreciate a link to the old thread or some new tips.

Traction control is your friend.

 

[WannabeOwner]

good driving tips on handling the torque and speed

Robert Llewellyn had a bit of a struggle in one of his Fully Charged videos ... and that was only Insane, not Ludicrous

(Starts at 1m26s)

 

[Bishop]

+1 for traction control also until you get use to it be careful around curves, onramps and blind corners

and this is coming from a Ferrari, Porsche, and a M6

 

[ArtInCT]

I will throw out some suggestions for you...

First off, get used to the brake system. The breaks are very capable. Bed them in well. Take a look at the Brembo web side for their suggestions on bedding the brakes. See page 19 of the Brembo PDF...
http://www2.brembo.com/en/car/Racing/Street-products/Documents/USA CATALOGO.pdf

Second, be aware of how wide the S is. It is much wider than most cars that you have driven. This is not a P90DL thing but applies to all S. Be careful of right hand 90 degree turns, stay a bit further away from the curb than normal.

Third, get used to the throttle mapping in Sport mode. Learn how to drive the car with one pedal. My settings are standard Regen, and creep mode off. This nearly allows you to come to a stop or almost with one pedal driving. The hill hold is wonderful.

Fourth, and this is one area I need to work on still, is to learn just how close you can nose up to a curb when parking. The parking sensors some times are misleading with low curbs when perpendicular parking. So I err on the side of not getting too close.

Lastly, and I guess the jist of your question relates to how to drive the P90DL fast... I am sure others have a lot more experience than I do. And they will be here shortly....

Have fun. This is one very cool ride, you will enjoy it.

 

[zedkyuu]

I feel that you'd be best served by easing into it slowly. Feel what gradual acceleration is like, take turns at moderate speeds, then start working up from there. You'll feel out your own limits and can start building from there. I'm not getting a P90DL, but if I were, that's exactly what I would do -- save launch mode and full-throttle acceleration for later when I'm more familiar with it, and just build up my sense of car dynamics gradually.

Then again, I am coming from a Prius. Which is not exactly known for its acceleration. XD

 

[cmorgan]

The P90DL is so fast its terrifying and I've had one for a month and a half. Amazing car, its a joy each time I drive it.

Taking care with the accelerator is recommended. Also, sport steering can help to avoid being too twitchy with steering, I find that on the comfort mode its far too easy to change the steering direction quickly, but I'm also not used to anything but sport at this point.

Almost had an accident last week due to braking. Slowed down for traffic that came to a stop on the highway and the person behind me ended up loosing control and having to drive off into the divider for a short distance. They were following too close and had worn tires but I could have improved the situation by slowing sooner. I feel like the model S is so far outside of the normal expectations for car performance that you could easily place the car where people didn't expect, and increase the chances of an accident.

You'll know how terrified those people in the model X must have been the vehicle took off because it was the accelerator being mashed and not the brake pedal. Its super fun when its on purpose, not so much when it isn't.

 

[Don85D]

Any Tesla can be driven gently and it becomes a very docile car that doesn't intimidate or frighten driver or occupants. It has lots of reserve capacity for fast execution of highway moves that can make the move safer. It can also surprise other drivers who do not expect it to be that fast and this is where you need to be careful. If you want to drive it hard, pick a country road with no traffic and floor it. You will only need to do this a few times or until you realize that the car will rip the tires off if it wasn't for traction control. It then becomes frightening as your safety is relying on sensors and SW to stay in a straight line.

The car is well known so most fast car drivers will not challenge you and if they do, set up a track day. That car is too fast in the wrong hands on public roads, in my experience after running a P90DL for a weekend.

 

[AWDtsla]

My car may be the easiest car to drive I've ever driven. You also have to really go out of your way to try and get it to become unstable.

 

[lawteam]

The P90DL is a very high performance car. it should not intimidate its driver, but the driver must be respectful of its performance capabilities. You can drive it like a normal car if you wish. It is all a matter of how much speed and acceleration you demand from it. If you are not used to high performance driving, attend a high performance driving event at a local race track and learn about vehicle dynamics and handling. in essence, you can drive the car like a Cadillac, or you can drive the car like a
Ferrari. Success and safety in either event depends on your driving capabilities, skill and common sense.
it is a great car. Have fun with it and be safe.

 

[ShotgunF15E]

My opinion is that it's acceleration capabilities outperform it's handling. In a straight line, there is not much that can keep up with you. However, it's a rare occasion when you even need to push it that hard. In fact, just moderate application of the accelerator will leave the vast majority of cars and motorcycles way behind you. You'll only really use launch mode or max perform the car if you're really trying to make a statement to someone else. The car is extremely stable in a straight line launch, especially with traction control on. The AWD is amazing.

However, a note of caution, don't confuse the straight line acceleration performance same for handling in turns or uneven roads. In my experience and in my opinion, the car gets light and loose at higher speeds. If you hit a bump at high speeds you may feel the car rise up and that's not a comfortable feeling. I recommend caution anytime you may find yourself at speeds higher than the speed limit. My caution also applies to curvy roads. The Tesla is not a PORSHE. You are not going to handle corners like a small high performance car. While you might be able to keep up or likely beat a high end porshe on a straight line, if the road turns, you'd better be breaking first or you might find yourself off the road. This is my opinion. I'm not a professional driver, but I don't like the feel of the steering wheel when going around curves at high speed. I love driving up in the mountains, but the steering wheel, even in sport, has too much play for me. I'd prefer something stiffer to allow better precision driving while corning at higher speeds. I've never lost traction, the 21" wheels are incredible, but I find myself oversteering the entry and understeering the exit...again, the pros may attribute this to my abilities, but I've yet to get a real good feel for the steering wheel.

Depending on where you live, everyone will want to race you. Hopefully you can encourage them to accept your invitation to meet you at a legal and safe location where you can exhibit how much superior your car is than theirs...cause it is....

 

[HBP90DL]

Thanks everyone. Fantastic replies and just the kind of advice I was looking for.

 

[ArtInCT]

Once or twice this has happened to me so be aware of it.... other drivers ahead of you are not aware you have just arrived...
How do I say this so it is understandable???

Imagine you being the driver way up ahead of you on an interstate...
He looks into his rear view mirrors and no one is in his blind spots or behind him other than you way way back...
He thinks, ok this is good for me to pass...
Next thing he knows, you are there right next to him... passing him....

The distance the P90D can travel in a very short time is not the norm and can throw off other drivers time to distance mental calculations.
I am not sure if I have explained this correctly but I will just throw that out there...

Also, one other point....

Do you like drivers who seem to apply their brake on the turnpike for no apparent reason?
I do not.
Be aware that the S will show its break lights perhaps a bit too often when on undulating highways when standard regen is on.
So when I am on the turnpike on long trips I often switch regen to the mild setting which seems to minimize brake light activity.

 

[sorka]

Tips?

Come to a complete stop on a straight road. Put your head back in the headrest. Now press accelerator pedal down as fast as you can

On a more serious note, please keep in mind that when motorcycles lane split and come up next to you, they will take off assuming that they will out accelerate you from the very start. As a result, they will move to the center of whatever lane they pick.

If that's the lane you're in, they will most likely discover that you're already there and that two vehicles cannot occupy the same place in space and time which will end badly for them. It will of course be their fault. That said, if they're right next to me in my lane, I always allow the bikes to take off first and get ahead because I really don't want to ruin my paint.

 

[ShotgunF15E]

Tips?

Come to a complete stop on a straight road. Put your head back in the headrest. Now press accelerator pedal down as fast as you can

On a more serious note, please keep in mind that when motorcycles lane split and come up next to you, they will take off assuming that they will out accelerate you from the very start. As a result, they will move to the center of whatever lane they pick.

If that's the lane you're in, they will most likely discover that you're already there and that two vehicles cannot occupy the same place in space and time which will end badly for them. It will of course be their fault. That said, if they're right next to me in my lane, I always allow the bikes to take off first and get ahead because I really don't want to ruin my paint.

I've never had that problem. Motorcycles are always in my rear view mirror as soon as the light turns green.....

 

[sorka]

I've never had that problem. Motorcycles are always in my rear view mirror as soon as the light turns green.....

All joking aside, there are plenty of high performance sport bikes that have 0-60 times well under 3 seconds with many of the liter bikes at 2.5 seconds.

 

[ShotgunF15E]

All joking aside, there are plenty of high performance sport bikes that have 0-60 times well under 3 seconds with many of the liter bikes at 2.5 seconds.

And I've never one of those high end bikes split car lanes. I've also raced a 2.3 sec bike but the rider wasn't willing to push the bike that hard. Only professional racers are going to achieve those speeds and keep control of a street bike.

 

[sorka]

And I've never one of those high end bikes split car lanes. I've also raced a 2.3 sec bike but the rider wasn't willing to push the bike that hard. Only professional racers are going to achieve those speeds and keep control of a street bike.

Speeds? 60 MPH? Are we talking about the same thing? I easily and frequently hit 60 mph in about 3.2 seconds on my CBR600F4. It doesn't take a profressional motorcycle racer to accelerate to 60 in 2.8 seconds on a liter bike that can do it in 2.5 seconds on paper.

I see a 100+ sport bikes lane split on my commute in the Bay Area and they're mostly the sport bikes that do it.

I've had uncounted bikes in the lane next to me completely kill me up to 60 MPH and I've vboxed my P85DL at 2.85.

 

[Old Wyseguy]

My opinion is that it's acceleration capabilities outperform it's handling. In a straight line, there is not much that can keep up with you. However, it's a rare occasion when you even need to push it that hard. In fact, just moderate application of the accelerator will leave the vast majority of cars and motorcycles way behind you. You'll only really use launch mode or max perform the car if you're really trying to make a statement to someone else. The car is extremely stable in a straight line launch, especially with traction control on. The AWD is amazing.

However, a note of caution, don't confuse the straight line acceleration performance same for handling in turns or uneven roads. In my experience and in my opinion, the car gets light and loose at higher speeds. If you hit a bump at high speeds you may feel the car rise up and that's not a comfortable feeling. I recommend caution anytime you may find yourself at speeds higher than the speed limit. My caution also applies to curvy roads. The Tesla is not a PORSHE. You are not going to handle corners like a small high performance car. While you might be able to keep up or likely beat a high end porshe on a straight line, if the road turns, you'd better be breaking first or you might find yourself off the road. This is my opinion. I'm not a professional driver, but I don't like the feel of the steering wheel when going around curves at high speed. I love driving up in the mountains, but the steering wheel, even in sport, has too much play for me. I'd prefer something stiffer to allow better precision driving while corning at higher speeds. I've never lost traction, the 21" wheels are incredible, but I find myself oversteering the entry and understeering the exit...again, the pros may attribute this to my abilities, but I've yet to get a real good feel for the steering wheel.

Depending on where you live, everyone will want to race you. Hopefully you can encourage them to accept your invitation to meet you at a legal and safe location where you can exhibit how much superior your car is than theirs...cause it is....

My S90D takes turns like it's on rails, however, keep in mind the Tesla has a very low CG but weighs 2 1/4 Tons! That's a lot of weight to sling around sharper turns at speed.

 

[PaulC]

The distance the P90D can travel in a very short time is not the norm and can throw off other drivers time to distance mental calculations.

This is the most important thing I would tell someone going from a "normal" car to a P90D.

Other drivers are not expecting a silent, not exotic looking car to hop into the passing lane and unleash the fury. Pedestrians are not expecting you to come off the line like the tree just lit up at the drag strip.

The P90D can do a lot of fun things, but you have to think one step farther ahead and recognize when other people will not be able to anticipate your decisions.