2012 Tesla Model S Track Test This is pretty exciting to me. My experience as an early Roadster owner is that the actual "car guy" perception of the Roadster was falling quite short of the expectations Tesla set, and consequently I was not an early member of the Model S reservation list. When I saw the first reviews and saw it seemed (preliminarily) to meet or exceed expectations, I got excited again. This is the first real performance testing I have seen, short of Dan Neil's anecdotal excitement, so I'm glad to see the car meeting the stated performance metrics (which my Roadster definitely did not). Can't wait for my Model S!
That was a real treat to read and watch. Man, the Model S Performance is a beast. I love how it just sort of... disappears from the starting line.
oooh, nice. like to see that, good find! can anyone out there compare the braking and skid pad specs to some known competitors?
Hmmm staggered tires... Tire Size (front): 245/35ZR21 Tire Size (rear): 265/35ZR21 (101Y) Tire Brand: Michelin Tire Model: Pilot Sport PS2 Tire Type: Asymmetrical summer performance
Sure... Hopefully the formatting isn't horrible... Porsche Panamera Turbo S, Cadillac CTS-V, Model S 30-0 (ft): 29, 27, 27 60-0 (ft): 112, 104, 108 Skid pad lateral accel (g): 0.96, 0.89, 0.86 Slalom 68.9, 69.2, 66.8 From: IL Track Tested: Porsche Panamera Turbo S vs Cadillac CTS-V
This article lists some of the best, certainly not everyday cars, but gives some high-end performance stats... 2009 Nissan GT-R vs. the World Ultimate Performance Car Test
I was just looking at the results with TC on vs. off. In all the tests the times are the same or better with TC on! (Slalom improved by 0.8mph with TC on). Tesla definitely has the best TC out there! This is an interesting tidbit... From the Panamera Turbo S: 0-60 (sec): 3.7 (4.4 w/TC on) 0-60 with 1-ft Rollout (sec): 3.5 (4.0 w/TC on) Identical times to the model S if you leave TC on with the Porsche!
Why was it 0.3 sec slower at 0-60 after several runs but with still, as they say, "plenty of charge". I suppose it is battery related, but what? Thermal management? Voltage drop?
I had hoped that it would do better than .86 on the skidpad with the low center of gravity. .86 is good, but I was hoping for better. I guess the total weight has a price here also. These are the first numbers I have seen for the skidpad rating.
I'll bet a set of stickier tires could get it close to .90. And I'd like to see some others give it their skid pad tests too.
Re: why does performance degrade on repeated passes? Hypothesis based on my Roadster experience: the all the hardware that sits between the batteries and the electric motors generates heat in the process, and one of the big drivetrain challenges is keeping those parts cool -- as they get hotter, performance degrades. Repeated flogging of the gas pedal overwhelms the system's ability to remain at peak performance.
At the most recent Palo Alto event, one of the Tesla folks commented that they could tell the driver of the Grey Performance car had had a fun drive, because the lower air vents were open and the fans were running upon his/her return. So, my guess is like Josh's: perhaps the car is working to keep temperatures within an allowable range by limiting the current delivery slightly.
This test was very exciting and makes me all the more impatient with the wait. The Model S fully lives up to its billing, and then some.
Dan Edmunds @Edmunds_Test This AM: we tested a Tesla Model S at Auto Club Speedway. This PM: I had my home inspected for an electric car charger. Twitter / Edmunds_Test: This AM: we tested a Tesla ...
What could be better than this! I guess if Bill Ford tweeted something similar. However I gotta ditto on the skidpad disappointment, I was expecting 1g given the design and test drive reports. Not changing my mind though...