Launching the 85D

[Caligula]

So I see all the nifty things the people who paid the premium for the P's get to play with such as max battery/power mode, different launch settings, etc... I also hear people speak about "priming the battery" and such. Makes me wish I had ponied up a bit more when I ordered, but I digress. Now, granted I've not looked too deeply into this, however I'm wondering if there is anything I can do in my non performance 85D to get better off line acceleration? Defeating traction control perhaps? Charging to 100% vs 90%? Any information in this regard would be helpful.

-C

 

[Stoneymonster]

So I see all the nifty things the people who paid the premium for the P's get to play with such as max battery/power mode, different launch settings, etc... I also hear people speak about "priming the battery" and such. Makes me wish I had ponied up a bit more when I ordered, but I digress. Now, granted I've not looked too deeply into this, however I'm wondering if there is anything I can do in my non performance 85D to get better off line acceleration? Defeating traction control perhaps? Charging to 100% vs 90%? Any information in this regard would be helpful.

-C

Max battery is the only thing the P models get, and it doesn't seem to do much. Tesla seems to indicate that around 90% is best. I think someone mentioned selecting Slip Start helps. Otherwise mash the pedal and enjoy it.

 

[hpjtv]

I don't recommend turning traction control off and mashing the pedal unless you are on a racetrack or empty parking lot.

 

[Stoneymonster]

I don't recommend turning traction control off and mashing the pedal unless you are on a racetrack or empty parking lot.

Yeah I can't imagine turning TC off would help on a Tesla.

 

[hpjtv]

Was just speaking from experience. 3 seconds of stupidity caused more than $10k in damage, 2 months of waiting time for repairs and 30% increase to my insurance

 

[Caligula]

I should clarify, this would be for track use in the 1/8 and 1/4 mile. Also my previous ICE car made over 500AWHP and didn't have "TC", so I'm not too concerned about keeping the vehicle in a straight line.

 

[cgiGuy]

Was just speaking from experience. 3 seconds of stupidity caused more than $10k in damage, 2 months of waiting time for repairs and 30% increase to my insurance

This is way to juicy to leave us with that.. can you provide more details? Did you hit and object or another car? Fishtail or just too fast to stop in time?

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

This is way to juicy to leave us with that.. can you provide more details? Did you hit and object or another car? Fishtail or just too fast to stop in time?

yes please tell, you can't just leave us with that :wink:. I turn off TC quite often for cornering performance but 3 seconds of full spin will smoke the tires good and usually you will not end up going straight so stability control kicks in eventually


for the 85D question I think ideal battery temperature (85F ? not sure I've heard what temp the cells output the most power) and a charge ~90-95% should be the quickest. if the car already doesn't try and spin the wheels then there is nothing more you can do for traction. S85's I drove were like that. My P85 usually tries to spin
with traction control turned on I think all of the Tesla cars are faster off the line.

 

[Caligula]

...For the 85D question I think ideal battery temperature (85F ? not sure I've heard what temp the cells output the most power.)... should be the quickest.

Then this brings up another question from a novice Tesla owner. How does one determine battery temperature? I don't recall seeing a readout for that.

As for the other guy with 10k in damage... I'm betting a curb was involved. Been there done that, heh.

 

[3mp_kwh]

Yeah I can't imagine turning TC off would help on a Tesla.

TC can mean so many different things, and on an AWD Tesla I suspect a lot is going on. Do you 85D owners have 'TC Off', as an option??


Traction Control can be:
-Front biased, or equal drive, for that pampering understeer
-Stability control, with ABS kicking in up front only
-Stability control, with ABS kicking in in front and back
-power kill, when any wheel's rotation speed doesn't compute with steering angle & speed
-power kill, when the steering wheel is cranked too far, given where the pedal is (regardless of traction)
-power kill, when the steering wheel is cranked too far, for a given speed (also, regardless of traction)
-
-
-Valet Mode


I want to say I've had more success, at least getting the tires to sing a little bit, in Version 7, but I haven't had the chance / inclination to really push it.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

Then this brings up another question from a novice Tesla owner. How does one determine battery temperature? I don't recall seeing a readout for that.

As for the other guy with 10k in damage... I'm betting a curb was involved. Been there done that, heh.

temp is not available to us but if you battery is cold, even without limits showing, there will be less peak power output available just due to chemistry + I think the software.
too hot and there will be less power too. I think a bit warmer is better than a bit too cool. just not raging hot like right after a few 1/4 mile runs.

sorry there is no precise info that I know of for this.

 

[brec]

TC can mean so many different things, and on an AWD Tesla I suspect a lot is going on. Do you 85D owners have 'TC Off', as an option?? ...

From the Owner's Manual:

To allow the wheels to spin on a dual motor Model S, touch Controls > Driving > Traction Control > Slip Start.

 

[3mp_kwh]

From the Owner's Manual:

"To allow the wheels to spin on a dual motor Model S, touch Controls > Driving > Traction Control > Slip Start."

This is not akin to "TC Off", as "Slip Start" is in the manual for "slow" conditions. The RWD cars have TC-off. In them, you can induce more wheel spin and take more advantage of available grip, at higher speeds. I was going gently up hill, in light snow, while turning last winter in a RWD. With TC-On, the power kill comes sooner. Off with more pedal, the car begins to slip sideways a tad, but it kept putting power down and goes faster.

 

[hpjtv]

I was trying to do a burnout as a dare. Traveled no more than 20-30 feet I guess. My friend even saw the pavement get ripped up. It was dark and super rainy out. I even told him, I need to be careful, that Honda in front of me is pretty close (his neighbors car). I stomped on the pedal for like 2 seconds, hit the brake immediately as I started fish tailing. It took the car a fair amount of distance before it stopped. I thought I just bumped the Honda Accord. My friend said he saw the car move sideways about 6 inches. $4k to get her car fixed. $10k for mine. Still waiting to get it fixed 2 months now as there's only 1 certified shop in my area and they are swamped. She just got her car back last week after being in the shop for over 1 month (guess she was milking the insurance as she got hit by an expensive car). Would have been much more damage if I didn't have the Xpel coating on the car. That stuff is pretty amazing.