Handling: prepare to be surprised

[Johann Koeber]

One of the things I likes about Porsche is that the cars can be used as every day drivers (most of them).

The new Tesla Roadster is another beast wrt performance potential. In my wildest dreams Tesla will use the fact that the car is controlled by software to provide a user adjustable driving experience. Similar to the modes on our MS and MX (chill to ludicrous). In addition I vote for a limit on top speed to accomodate tires with a lower speed rating. For me 250 km/h is plenty fast.

Want to do more? Give me a teenager mode: power limited to 60 kWh, top speed to 150 km/h. Or even better a slider. Something like Valet mode, just more flexible. As it stands I am not letting my teenagers who just got their driver's license on the wheel of any of our Teslas. Time to get a Leaf?

With this hardware you could program the car to emulate the acceleration and top speed of any other car on the road. Are you nostalgic? Put it in VW beetle mode (the one with 44 HP, RWD). Make sure the right sound come from the sound system. Or you go to the App store and get yourself a corvette simulation. You get the idea.

 

[gregd]

One of the things I likes about Porsche is that the cars can be used as every day drivers (most of them).

The new Tesla Roadster is another beast wrt performance potential. In my wildest dreams Tesla will use the fact that the car is controlled by software to provide a user adjustable driving experience. Similar to the modes on our MS and MX (chill to ludicrous). In addition I vote for a limit on top speed to accomodate tires with a lower speed rating. For me 250 km/h is plenty fast.

Want to do more? Give me a teenager mode: power limited to 60 kWh, top speed to 150 km/h. Or even better a slider. Something like Valet mode, just more flexible. As it stands I am not letting my teenagers who just got their driver's license on the wheel of any of our Teslas. Time to get a Leaf?

With this hardware you could program the car to emulate the acceleration and top speed of any other car on the road. Are you nostalgic? Put it in VW beetle mode (the one with 44 HP, RWD). Make sure the right sound come from the sound system. Or you go to the App store and get yourself a corvette simulation. You get the idea.

With Elon emphasizing the 4 seats and real cargo space, I expect Tesla is wanting the car to be used for daily driving, trips with the family, etc. What they'll do to support that, we can only guess, but it's clearly intended to be a "real car".

 

[timk225]

I want to see this Roadster run the Nurburgring, live in car video!

 

[The Duke]

I doubt the Roadster will be a track car. Very fast for a short time probably. The cooling for a full electric at full amps for a long duration is pretty heavy.

 

[stevejust]

I put down a 50K deposit, but I will cancel if the new Roadster proves not to be a good car. For example, the old Roadster wears out tires rapidly, which is a big turn off to me.

Hey guys, do we tell him about the bad time he's in for?

 

[ecarfan]

Hey guys, do we tell him about the bad time he's in for?

I don’t know what you mean.

 

[tga]

I don’t know what you mean.

That he put a $50k deposit on an electric tire shredder? When you spend $200k on a car, do you really worry about $1200 in tires every 10k miles?

Top notch handling means soft, sticky tires. Soft, sticky tires means miserable tire life. Basic physics...

 

[stevejust]

That he put a $50k deposit on an electric tire shredder? When you spend $200k on a car, do you really worry about $1200 in tires every 10k miles?

Top notch handling means soft, sticky tires. Soft, sticky tires means miserable tire life. Basic physics...

Thanks... and allegedly @jerry505 has a P85D, so he should already know that when you have the torque of a Tesla (irrespective of whether it's an original Roadster, an S, an, X or a second gen Roadster... and you actually drive it... you are going to have to replace the tires. It's insanity to call out the original Roadster as being somehow unique to this issue.

And just based on this footage:

, I can tell the second gen Roadster is not going to be kind to tires. I'm talking a $2,000 every-year-budget for Michelin Cup 2 tires probably, on top of the almost $5k for insurance. At least with the OG roadster you can rotate front to back, and back to replacements.

 

[ecarfan]

At least with the OG roadster you can rotate front to back, and back to replacements.

If by “OG roadster” you mean “the original Roadster made from 2008 to 2011”, you cannot rotate the tires on that car, they are different sizes front and rear. And the rears only last 10K to 13K miles. I don’t care. It’s a blast to drive.

 

[stevejust]

If by “OG roadster” you mean “the original Roadster made from 2008 to 2011”, you cannot rotate the tires on that car, they are different sizes front and rear. And the rears only last 10K to 13K miles. I don’t care. It’s a blast to drive.

Crap -- I guess I remembered wrong. I actually just went out to the garage to look. I guess what I'm remembering is the last time I changed the tires, I only had to change the rear tires.

 

[tga]

I was grumbling about replacing the rears on my P85+, but it occurred to me that being able to rotate front-to-back wouldn't really buy me anything. Instead of replacing 2 tires every X miles, I'd just be replacing 4 every 2X miles.

 

[Peteski]

That he put a $50k deposit on an electric tire shredder? When you spend $200k on a car, do you really worry about $1200 in tires every 10k miles?

Top notch handling means soft, sticky tires. Soft, sticky tires means miserable tire life. Basic physics...

I think it's fair to say this guy is going to be a little disappointed with tyre wear!

 

[R.S]

With Elon emphasizing the 4 seats and real cargo space, I expect Tesla is wanting the car to be used for daily driving, trips with the family, etc. What they'll do to support that, we can only guess, but it's clearly intended to be a "real car".

It's probably going to be like a 4 seat 911, not really for family trips, but usable as a daily diver and able to carry 1-2 children in the back seats.

I'm not expecting a teenager plus two adults to sit comfortably in this car. But that's not worse, than a 911.

 

[gregd]

It's probably going to be like a 4 seat 911, not really for family trips, but usable as a daily diver and able to carry 1-2 children in the back seats.

I'm not expecting a teenager plus two adults to sit comfortably in this car. But that's not worse, than a 911.

The advantage of this configuration is that the adults would be forced to be in the front seats, not the teenager behind the wheel...

But, yes, as "real" a car as the 4 seat 911 is. My own history with cars is that I had to sell my beloved '72 Datsun 240z when I couldn't take both kids to school on my way to work. Had the car included seats in the back, I would have been able to keep the car maybe another decade.

 

[tga]

It's probably going to be like a 4 seat 911, not really for family trips, but usable as a daily diver and able to carry 1-2 children in the back seats.

I'm not expecting a teenager plus two adults to sit comfortably in this car. But that's not worse, than a 911.

Suddenly I'm reminded of my Dad driving around the 4 of us in his '76 Fiat 124 Spider. Mon and Dad I'm the front; my brother and I in the back.

 

[Peteski]

It's probably going to be like a 4 seat 911, not really for family trips, but usable as a daily diver and able to carry 1-2 children in the back seats.

IME with 911s those rear seats are very useful for making a family friendly sportscar. It makes all the difference when you can tackle day trips with the kids in the back. I used to do the school run in a 911 for a few years too and it was no problem. The small rear seats don't make it an alternative to a proper family car, but they do allow a surprising amount of flexibility.

 

[n2mb_racing]

I put down a 50K deposit, but I will cancel if the new Roadster proves not to be a good car. For example, the old Roadster wears out tires rapidly, which is a big turn off to me. I think battery advances in the new Roadster could hold down weight and stretch tire life to decent numbers, but 5,000 would take the fun out of driving.

Actually, I put the advan ad08s on the rear of my roadster and now they last a lot longer. And they are inexpensive, compared to the model s! $135 each! Just replace two.... The fronts will never wear out...

 

[inconel]

The new NSX also has two independent rear electric motors for torque vectoring. Does someone know how it handles in curves compared to the 911 with steering rear wheels?

 

[The Duke]

The new NSX also has two independent rear electric motors for torque vectoring. Does someone know how it handles in curves compared to the 911 with steering rear wheels?

The thing about the NSX is how much you can change the handling. The 911 either works for you or it doesn't. The NSX software can be changed to optimize your driving.
2017 Acura NSX | In-Depth Model Review | Car and Driver

 

[Pluto]

I can't wait to weave in and out of traffic!