Honeymoon period (boost and acceleration in general)?

[Siciliano]

Ok, I'm really sorry in advance for this long-winded drivel! So I've had the car for only about a full week, basically starting out with boost, then getting a refund, then getting it back a few days later...and I can't even remember the difference anymore. This just leads me back to wanting all 3 driving modes, but that's a whole other story!

I know, I'm stupid - I should have used an app (or anything) to measure 0-60 in both standard and sport! Yes apps aren't super accurate, but it would have been sufficient in comparing the two.

Either way, I thought the "honeymoon" period with the linear, torquey 0-60 rush would have lasted a lot longer. I know I will probably be roasted for being a spoiled brat, but the 0-60 is no longer "wow" to me... I guess that's what happens when you floor it literally every chance you get? lol

I suppose it's the wavering nature of this sort of thing, but it's truly scary - I literally remember it being much faster just less than a week ago!! It feels like it was magically de-tuned over the course of the week, which of course is nonsense, but still has me actually wondering if something has changed with the motors or software. Perception and memory can be extremely odd and fickle creatures.

I gotta say, punching it anywhere from 30 to 50ish mph does still wow me...I don't think that instant aggressive torque will ever get old.
Now it's just that 0-30ish range that has me wanting more. I'd be ecstatic to just take that rush of flooring it anywhere between 30 and 50mph and put it right in the low end @ 0-30.

But alas, I'm sure you all know where this road leads...the insatiable need for speed...it has driven many otherwise sane ppl completely insane, spending many tens of thousands of dollars in mods and countless hours, just to get that fix.

I don't think it would even matter if I had the P, I would still be left wanting more. I wonder at what point would enough be enough? I'm guessing the S P100D with 0-60 in 2.2s might do the trick?? lol or for the truly afflicted, the actual rocket-thrusted 0-60 sprint of the new roadster in 1.6s.

So that's my crazy story in just the first week...what a roller coaster. Please don't get me wrong, I am still in love with the car, and I know I will continue to be. As a whole, it's the nicest, coolest car I've ever owned, and I've owned several in the $80 - $100k range.

 

[Saturday]

Why didn’t you just get the P?

 

[Siciliano]

Why didn’t you just get the P?

Well it's kind of a long story. I had driven around in quite a few different friend's and client's M3s for the past few months. I'm pretty sure none of them were PS because I saw no red line on any of them (exterior). Initially it was a few SR+, which I thought were kinda fast, but I wasn't all that thrilled.

Then I drove a few LR AWD and I was pretty impressed, at that point thinking, "I'm DEFINITELY getting one of these." In my somewhat limited time in each of these cars, I was only the driver on a few occasions.

One such occasion it just happened to be (what I thought was) a LR AWD with boost. I asked several times what it was and he kept saying the performance model, but I made sure to look and there was no red line underneath the dual motor badge.

I specifically remember him telling me to switch it to "sport" and to "get on it", and I was smitten, literally saying "holy sh#t" out loud. That car 100% felt faster than mine. Again, maybe it's perception because I had been driving around in a 4 cyl turbo Jaguar for 3 years. But now I'm thinking maybe he just didn't have the red line on the back, or he took it off and it really was a P.

I will definitely see him again, and if I do I will politely ask to see his info screen and I will look for the red line there!

Anyway, TL;DR - from the few AWDs that I was in and even drove, I thought at the time it would be PLENTY fast for me.

 

[DirtyT3sla]

I will definitely see him again, and if I do I will politely ask to see his info screen and I will look for the red line there!

On his center screen, click the T and that's where you can really tell if it's a performance.

This is why I haven't bought the acceleration boost. No matter how fast a car is, you'll always adapt to it. So while I'd love the boost, mostly to show it off to Tesla noobs, I can't justify $2k for it. I'd pick it up for like $500 tho.

 

[TyH2009]

I think the bigger thing for me than the 0-60, 30-70, etc. is the low speed acceleration, IMO it feels like the car lost about 500 pounds, it's just effortless to get going.

I don't floor it every chance I get, but when I do it wows me though and I can remember what it felt like pre-boost and this is definitely faster.

 

[Siciliano]

On his center screen, click the T and that's where you can really tell if it's a performance.

This is why I haven't bought the acceleration boost. No matter how fast a car is, you'll always adapt to it. So while I'd love the boost, mostly to show it off to Tesla noobs, I can't justify $2k for it. I'd pick it up for like $500 tho.

Yeah man, it really sucks. I've had some really fast cars, but I don't remember ever becoming adjusted to the speed quite this fast.

It's a bummer, but thank god the car has SO many other cool things to offer, otherwise I'd be really salty. One such thing is the sound system...it's unbelievable. Voice control for so many things is another. I could go on and on.

 

[jjrandorin]

My car didnt even come with the badge on it at all, because in 2018 when I got it, they were not putting the "dual motor with red underline badge" on the back. I got it later from the service center when they were available, but didnt put it on.

You can buy a badge from the service center, so badging, or lack therof, means nothing with these cars.

Given your other posts mention "I floor it every chance I get" and your repeated desire as a "need for speed" it seems fairly obvious to me that you should have bought the fastest car you could afford, not one that you thought "they make one faster, but this is fine"... because you dont sound like the type of person for which "this speed is fine" would be a long term acceptable answer.

You get used to it, no matter how fast it is. The difference is, every other car feels exponentially slower. My wifes car, which is an X3 M40, which does 0-60 in under 5 seconds which is actually "fast", feels like i am getting on a donkey when I choose to push it, AND it makes a ton of noise doing so.

Part of the problem you are having (in my opinion) is you have not had the car long enough to decouple the "feeling" of speed, with the SOUND of speed. A telsa goes fast with no noise. Every other car gives you some other feedback, like engine roaring, RPM whine, supercharger spoolup sound, or turbo lag boost.

A tesla just "goes" and it can be hard for people (especially when they have only had the car a week) to de couple the rest of the sensations of speed from just going fast.

The TL ; DR is, you absolutely should have bought a P. You have classic buyers remorse, and you are already talking / semi complaining about the car being not fast enough. The "I love this car but" thing is just you trying to convince yourself of that fact. Its not like the car is magically going to feel "faster" to you next week, or the week after... it will feel slower as you aclimate to it.

You should just resign yourself to the fact that the car you have it absolutely not a long term keeper for you, and just tell yourself you have to put up with it for a year or two until you buy either a model 3p or if you have to have "launch" speed, a model S.

The model 3 drives better overall though, but if I remember correctly you mentioned in a few other threads you had large german sedans before, so maybe the model S would be what you want long term. This model 3 AWD isnt, though. The faster you accept that for yourself, and tell yourself you only have to be in it a couple of years until you get something new, the sooner you will be able to move on and enjoy it while you have it.

 

[Twiglett]

You're used to it because it's not letting you and all those around you know that you're accelerating really, really hard.
It's no fuss performance.
What you're after is all the theatrics. You need a special mode that bounces the engine off the rev limiter in a cacophony of sound overload, you need that howl every time you drop a gear to be able to accelerate properly.
The problem with all those is that the Model 3 Performance you were trying to overtake has already gone as soon as the driver heard the shouting announcement that you wanted to cut them off

 

[Vines]

FOMO was strong, but not strong enough apparently.

I went through this same thing when I was ordering mine, and ended up with the P3D+ which I have never regretted. The brakes on the AWD simply arent up to the task of performance driving, and you want brakes that always work really really well in a car this fast.

 

[Clark_Kent]

While it sounds like you really like Tesla, it’s possible an EV may not be for you. If that’s the case, that’s perfectly fine. It may be impossible for you to reconcile speed, or the perception of it, with the fact there are no audible artifacts connected to pressing the accelerator. These cars are also not able to be legitimately tuned via the aftermarket. Once you’re acclimated to the speed, there’s no exhaust, cams, pulleys, E85, ECU/DME tuning, or other go fast bits to add to the car to quench your thirst for speed. What you have is what you have until Tesla decides to either push an OTA update or make a power increase available for purchase. Sadly, I’m not convinced a P will solve all that ails you.

 

[Apprunner]

I guess you don't have an ICE as another car you own. I get re-acclimated to ICE speed every weekend in the minivan. Get to go back to my spaceship on the weekdays. Life is good.

 

[BlindPass]

Borrow a friend’s ICE car for a week, like an old Honda Insight. You’ll fall in love again.

Is there a limit to wanting more? We bought the S Performance after test driving. It was unlike any car I had driven. Granted, it’s on the verge of making me sick, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t love to get the Roadster Founders Edition. I do think that’s my limit, as I’m guessing the g force would make me too uneasy to drive if used often

 

[BlindPass]

While it sounds like you really like Tesla, it’s possible an EV may not be for you. If that’s the case, that’s perfectly fine. It may be impossible for you to reconcile speed, or the perception of it, with the fact there are no audible artifacts connected to pressing the accelerator. These cars are also not able to be legitimately tuned via the aftermarket. Once you’re acclimated to the speed, there’s no exhaust, cams, pulleys, E85, ECU/DME tuning, or other go fast bits to add to the car to quench your thirst for speed. What you have is what you have until Tesla decides to either push an OTA update or make a power increase available for purchase. Sadly, I’m not convinced a P will solve all that ails you.

Although I do miss shifting, the lack of noise is the best part of the EV acceleration. I know many feel otherwise.

The inconspicuous nature of going 0-60 in elite fashion is beautiful.

 

[jjrandorin]

Although I do miss shifting, the lack of noise is the best part of the EV acceleration. I know many feel otherwise.

The inconspicuous nature of going 0-60 in elite fashion is beautiful.

It took a bit for me to get used to "fast" not also being "loud", but yes, I do also now love the "no fuss" nature of it. The best part is, when someone pulls up on you (although most now know better) and wants to jump in front of you or something, you clearly hear all the stuff I was talking about before. The engine, the whine, the spool up, etc etc. Meanwhile, at the first sound of increased noise from "someone else" if you want to, you just mash the pedal, and your gone... AND no noise to bring attention to yourself from "other parties" including local law enforcement.

 

[Saturday]

I have to agree with the sentiments here. My favorite part about driving a M3 is that acceleration is so effortless.

On retrospect I can only identify the sights, sounds and vibrations of every single ICE car I've driven or see other people driving as tryharding.

Must all be some sort of psychological thing going on. Because if you win at a stoplight against a fast ICE, they huffed and puffed and got nowhere as you silently pull away. And even if for some reason you lose, they still huffed and puffed and revved up all 10 cylinders to do it while it feels like a Tesla didn't really care that much.

It's all magic as far as I'm concerned

 

[1.21GW]

Another thread about this? I thought you worked this out in a previous thread.

 

[jjrandorin]

Another thread about this? I thought you worked this out in a previous thread.

OP hasnt quite come to grips with the fact that he should have spent the money on the P version, at least based on the posts he has made around his desire to drive fast.

 

[M3PLRD]

OP hasnt quite come to grips with the fact that he should have spent the money on the P version, at least based on the posts he has made around his desire to drive fast.

Not at all what he wrote. He simply explained his surprise at how quickly the perception of fast acceleration goes away and he even goes on to stating that he believes the same would happen had the car been faster, like the P.

 

[Gasaraki]

Ok, I'm really sorry in advance for this long-winded drivel! So I've had the car for only about a full week, basically starting out with boost, then getting a refund, then getting it back a few days later...and I can't even remember the difference anymore. This just leads me back to wanting all 3 driving modes, but that's a whole other story!

I know, I'm stupid - I should have used an app (or anything) to measure 0-60 in both standard and sport! Yes apps aren't super accurate, but it would have been sufficient in comparing the two.

Either way, I thought the "honeymoon" period with the linear, torquey 0-60 rush would have lasted a lot longer. I know I will probably be roasted for being a spoiled brat, but the 0-60 is no longer "wow" to me... I guess that's what happens when you floor it literally every chance you get? lol

I suppose it's the wavering nature of this sort of thing, but it's truly scary - I literally remember it being much faster just less than a week ago!! It feels like it was magically de-tuned over the course of the week, which of course is nonsense, but still has me actually wondering if something has changed with the motors or software. Perception and memory can be extremely odd and fickle creatures.

I gotta say, punching it anywhere from 30 to 50ish mph does still wow me...I don't think that instant aggressive torque will ever get old.
Now it's just that 0-30ish range that has me wanting more. I'd be ecstatic to just take that rush of flooring it anywhere between 30 and 50mph and put it right in the low end @ 0-30.

But alas, I'm sure you all know where this road leads...the insatiable need for speed...it has driven many otherwise sane ppl completely insane, spending many tens of thousands of dollars in mods and countless hours, just to get that fix.

I don't think it would even matter if I had the P, I would still be left wanting more. I wonder at what point would enough be enough? I'm guessing the S P100D with 0-60 in 2.2s might do the trick?? lol or for the truly afflicted, the actual rocket-thrusted 0-60 sprint of the new roadster in 1.6s.

So that's my crazy story in just the first week...what a roller coaster. Please don't get me wrong, I am still in love with the car, and I know I will continue to be. As a whole, it's the nicest, coolest car I've ever owned, and I've owned several in the $80 - $100k range.

You know how you can get your mojo back? Drive an ICE car. Get in one and drive it, then get back in your Tesla.

 

[jjrandorin]

Not at all what he wrote. He simply explained his surprise at how quickly the perception of fast acceleration goes away and he even goes on to stating that he believes the same would happen had the car been faster, like the P.

Im not talking about just this thread. Not surprising that the OP would lose the feeling of speed sensation if he "floors it at every chance he gets" as he says he does.