JeffC
Member
The live stream was up a: | Live and I happened to catch Cameron on the track with his MPP Model 3 Performance.
Cameron ran an unofficial 02:00.995 first lap, then ironically an ICE engine fire shut down the track. The driver seems ok, and the fire was reportedly small.
Congrats on a quick first timed Lap Cameron!
Cameron had an interview with Matt Farrah about the Model 3 during the track closure. Very cool! Matt asked about the Tire Rack Pilot Sport 4S tires Cameron used and if they had different energy efficiency from the factory 4S, and Cameron said they were about the same. (Presumably these tires are used to meet class requirements. Softer compound near racing tires would be faster, but might move the car into a different racing class.)
He said in a combustion car (Cameron had first and second place finishes on this track in combustion cars before), there's a rhythm of going through the turns in a certain gear and that becomes a reminder of where you are on the track, corner speeds, etc. With a single gear, an EV driver needs to use the speedometer and landmarks more and focus on the forces in the tires, in particular through the sounds of the tires near the limits.
Cameron mentioned being able to hear and localize the tires better in an EV and focus on driving fundamentals and how it made him a better driver. He said he gained a couple seconds from better understanding what the tires were doing in testing the previous day.
He mentioned the revised track mode being downloaded the night before, and that it did help get the car through turns better.
Camera mentioned Track Mode using the air conditioning system to cool the pack and motor before, during and after races, and mentioned needing to cool the front tires between sessions. (Presumably the lack of camber adjustment at the front is somewhat overloading the front tires on the track. Not sure if Cameron is running stock tire widths.)
He also mentioned being able to charge at 50 amps at the track using the RV park NEMA 14-50s, and to Supercharge off track during lunch in order to keep the state of charge up. He said he likes to run near to 100% SOC for maximum performance when lapping.
Matt mentioned only being able to get about a lap and a half out of a Model S on a race track before overheating. Cameron mentioned being able to do 6 laps due to the better cooling of Track Mode. Matt thought one might be able to do 4 sessions a day that way, two in morning and two in afternoon, but Matt mentioned wanting to have the battery pack near full, perhaps implying fewer sessions due to the desire to top off the battery.
Someone who was not looking for ultimate lap times, however, could track the car all day at slightly lower performance due to the lower SOC and thermal limiting. I think Cameron mentioned using about 40% SOC per multilap session.
In addition to the interview with Matt, the track announcer was very interested in Tesla and had many positive comments about Tesla while Cameron was on track, including the fact that Model 3 Performance improved literally overnight with over the air improvements to Track Mode software, the earlier ABS braking distance improvement, etc.
For example, the track announcer mentioned M3P beating a Ferrari 458 lap time on the Streets of Willow Springs race track, but cited the wrong time, saying a 1:22 when in fact Randy Pobst did a 1:21 while doing development work on Track Mode with Tesla. (He did not mention Randy's name either, which was kind of unfortunate, given how well-known and widely-respected Randy is in the global racing community.)
Tesla Model 3 Performance Track Mode (Release Version): Ludicrous Handling - Motor Trend
Cameron ran an unofficial 02:00.995 first lap, then ironically an ICE engine fire shut down the track. The driver seems ok, and the fire was reportedly small.
Congrats on a quick first timed Lap Cameron!
Cameron had an interview with Matt Farrah about the Model 3 during the track closure. Very cool! Matt asked about the Tire Rack Pilot Sport 4S tires Cameron used and if they had different energy efficiency from the factory 4S, and Cameron said they were about the same. (Presumably these tires are used to meet class requirements. Softer compound near racing tires would be faster, but might move the car into a different racing class.)
He said in a combustion car (Cameron had first and second place finishes on this track in combustion cars before), there's a rhythm of going through the turns in a certain gear and that becomes a reminder of where you are on the track, corner speeds, etc. With a single gear, an EV driver needs to use the speedometer and landmarks more and focus on the forces in the tires, in particular through the sounds of the tires near the limits.
Cameron mentioned being able to hear and localize the tires better in an EV and focus on driving fundamentals and how it made him a better driver. He said he gained a couple seconds from better understanding what the tires were doing in testing the previous day.
He mentioned the revised track mode being downloaded the night before, and that it did help get the car through turns better.
Camera mentioned Track Mode using the air conditioning system to cool the pack and motor before, during and after races, and mentioned needing to cool the front tires between sessions. (Presumably the lack of camber adjustment at the front is somewhat overloading the front tires on the track. Not sure if Cameron is running stock tire widths.)
He also mentioned being able to charge at 50 amps at the track using the RV park NEMA 14-50s, and to Supercharge off track during lunch in order to keep the state of charge up. He said he likes to run near to 100% SOC for maximum performance when lapping.
Matt mentioned only being able to get about a lap and a half out of a Model S on a race track before overheating. Cameron mentioned being able to do 6 laps due to the better cooling of Track Mode. Matt thought one might be able to do 4 sessions a day that way, two in morning and two in afternoon, but Matt mentioned wanting to have the battery pack near full, perhaps implying fewer sessions due to the desire to top off the battery.
Someone who was not looking for ultimate lap times, however, could track the car all day at slightly lower performance due to the lower SOC and thermal limiting. I think Cameron mentioned using about 40% SOC per multilap session.
In addition to the interview with Matt, the track announcer was very interested in Tesla and had many positive comments about Tesla while Cameron was on track, including the fact that Model 3 Performance improved literally overnight with over the air improvements to Track Mode software, the earlier ABS braking distance improvement, etc.
For example, the track announcer mentioned M3P beating a Ferrari 458 lap time on the Streets of Willow Springs race track, but cited the wrong time, saying a 1:22 when in fact Randy Pobst did a 1:21 while doing development work on Track Mode with Tesla. (He did not mention Randy's name either, which was kind of unfortunate, given how well-known and widely-respected Randy is in the global racing community.)
Tesla Model 3 Performance Track Mode (Release Version): Ludicrous Handling - Motor Trend
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