New Launch Mode - firmware 2.9.40

[sillydriver]

One thing I forgot to point out also is that 0-60 is the most common metric. 50-90 is very rarely compared. The passing spec Motor Trend uses is 45-65mph. C&D uses 30-50 and 50-70. It's not a very important metric for enough people to be focused on in general. I'm guessing merging on an on-ramp is more important than passing.

Although I think I said 50 - 90 in a post upthread, I really think the metric to focus on is 60 - 100. Of course I only think so because it's easy to calculate by subtracting 0 - 60 from 0 - 100 in the magazines, not because it has any possible relevance to the driving that anyone would actually do.

 

[AWDtsla]

Of course I only think so because it's easy to calculate by subtracting 0 - 60 from 0 - 100 in the magazines, not because it has any possible relevance to the driving that anyone would actually do.

This is absolutely wrong for any car, except maybe a Tesla.

 

[P85DEE]

Dont like that you must launch in 4 seconds after pressing the pedal sequence. If you are drag racing (only time you need this function ) its not easy to time when the signal turns green.

You want to launch when you "see" the last yellow light. The reason for this, is because it will give you the best chance to cut the best light. By the time you "see" that last yellow, and react, you will hit a lot closer in terms of fractions of a second "after" that green light than you would were you to wait until you actually "saw" the green light before you reacted. This way you give yourself the best chance of cutting that best, triple aught light or getting as close to that as you can.

You wait until you see the green light, and if your opponent is a good drag racer, then you've waited too late.

Were it me, I'd stage first, then let the opposing ICE vehicle go through it's burnout.

When my opponent lit his staging bulbs, I'd already be on the brake, and would mash the brake on down, and then mash accelerator pedal immediately after seeing his staging bulbs light, and let it up and immediately mash it back down to the floor.

As the lights started down,... on the third yellow, I'd come off the brake, and try my best to put the accelerator pedal through the floor from where it already was on the floor.

You can also make this work if you stage last.

Light the second staging bulbs with the car in "creep", if you're staging shallow, the instant you do that, go ahead and mash the brake pedal, then mash the accelerator pedal, come off the accelerator pedal and immediately mash the accelerator pedal to the floor again, and wait for the cascade.

On the third yellow, you know what to do. Release the brake and stand on that accelerator pedal.

I'm thinking this launch control, is going to help win a lot of races if it is used correctly.

 

[fiksegts]

4 seconds to hold the launch is plenty for an autostart tree..

were is my update?!

 

[wk057]

Seen lots of posts (not just in this thread) assuming this is the fix for the P90D's lack of 10.9s for some reason. Do we have any actual evidence to support this yet?

 

[AWDtsla]

were is my update?!

Still waiting here. Will the iOS app notify me?

 

[Andyw2100]

were is my update?!

Still waiting here. Will the iOS app notify me?

I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but I do want to point out that you guys probably shouldn't be getting your hopes up about getting this version of the firmware OTA any time soon. If the recent history is any indication of how Tesla has been releasing updates lately, this one is not being released broadly.

Below is a screen capture of the data from the Firmware Upgrade Tracker showing all the firmware versions since version 7 with Auto Steer Beta was released. You can see how many people reported receiving the first two main updates (.56 and .77), as compared to the more recent ones.

My guess is that if you don't have this one yet, the chances of you getting it OTA are quite small.

Edit: And looking at the complete data (not the report below) every single person reporting that they received the current version - 2.9.40 - reported receiving it at a Service Center. So based on that, I'd say the chances of receiving it OTA are even smaller.

 

[MarcG]

Ok after many many tries over the weekend, I finally got the Launch mode to work a couple of times on my P85D.

It seems pretty finicky to engage, and I'm not sure I have the full scenarios that don't work down, but here are my personal findings:

• Max Battery Power: this is required to be enabled, but I found that Launch mode works more consistently immediately after enabling Max Battery Power (MBP). I had Launch working fine within a minute of enabling MBP, but tried it a few minutes later using the exact same sequence as described below, to no avail. This seems consistent with my initial attempts, which I posted in a video upthread, whereby I had waited the full 35 minutes for the MBP to say "Ready!"

• Left-foot brake: after coming to a complete stop, I found that Launch mode wouldn't engage unless I removed my foot from the brake pedal and pressed it (hard) again. I couldn't get Launch to engage after, say, arriving at a stop sign or stop light having braked with my left foot. Pressing harder on the pedal didn't work either. I had to literally pull my left foot from the brake pedal altogether, press it hard again, and only then would Launch engage. Otherwise I kept getting "both pedals pressed" when trying to press the accelerator.

• First accelerator pedal toggle: once the brake pedal is pressed (for the second time) hard with my left foot, I found that the accelerator pedal needed to be pressed all the way and released QUICKLY. This was suggested by someone upthread, and I don't recall who that was at the moment, but it seems that the accelerator must indeed be released quickly after being pressed all the way to the floor. Leaving my right foot planted for a tad bit too long would throw the "both pedals pressed" message.

So there you have it. I must say, my personal experience with Launch mode has so far been subpar - and I've had launch control on one of my previous ICE cars. Also, the car does "squat" a fair amount as the accelerator pedal is pressed the second time just before launching, so I'm concerned about the long-term effect on the drivetrain from repeated launches as the motors are trying to fight the brakes. On my ICE car that had launch control, there was no such squat or fight between drivetrain & brakes.

If I don't find a consistent way to engage it on a whim, or have more confidence that there's no negative side effect to Launch mode, I don't see myself using it often, if at all. But I'm definitely open-minded, and would love to hear others' thoughts on the potential issues and experiences to try improving my sequence!

 

[mscott]

Just for kicks, I tried firmly holding the brake and flooring the accelerator (not the multi-step dance described above) in my 85D. The car complained about both pedals being pushed, but I could feel the car "load" (a bit) against the brakes. But when I released the brakes, the car accelerated at what I would consider "half throttle." That is to say, not at all anything like a proper launch. I was actually kind of surprised that the car engaged the motors at all, but it definitely did. But what was I found even more surprising is that although I had the accelerator all the way to the floor for a few seconds after releasing the brakes, the car did not approach anything close to full power for at least a couple of seconds after releasing the brake pedal. If I had not had the accelerator pressed at all (i.e., driving normally :wink, I would have taken off much faster with merely a leisurely press on the accelerator (after releasing the brakes). Weird.

 

[AWDtsla]

Just for kicks, I tried firmly holding the brake and flooring the accelerator (not the multi-step dance described above) in my 85D. The car complained about both pedals being pushed, but I could feel the car "load" (a bit) against the brakes. But when I released the brakes, the car accelerated at what I would consider "half throttle." That is to say, not at all anything like a proper launch. I was actually kind of surprised that the car engaged the motors at all, but it definitely did. But what was I found even more surprising is that although I had the accelerator all the way to the floor for a few seconds after releasing the brakes, the car did not approach anything close to full power for at least a couple of seconds after releasing the brake pedal. If I had not had the accelerator pressed at all (i.e., driving normally :wink, I would have taken off much faster with merely a leisurely press on the accelerator (after releasing the brakes). Weird.

Because some people apparently have a pair of hams for feet, they've had to do this both pedals garbage. As if that person wasn't just as likely to mash the accelerator instead of the brakes.

IMHO launch control should just work by default.

 

[Bill D]

4 seconds to hold the launch is plenty for an autostart tree.

4 seconds is enough unless you stage first and apply your second accelerator depression before your opponent stages. He could wait 4 seconds before staging and cause your Launch Mode to expire. I believe the rules allow him up to 7 seconds to stage after you stage or he automatically gets a red light and you get Green.

The right thing to do is stage, hold the brake pedal, do your first accelerator depression but wait to apply your second accelerator depression until both cars are staged (whether you staged first or last). Assuming the Starter clicks on the Autostart before both cars are staged, the Green will light in less than 4 seconds after both cars are staged so your Launch Mode will not expire before the Green light.

However the Starter has the option of waiting until after both cars are staged before he clicks on the Autostart. If he waits more than a couple of seconds, the Green will not light within 4 seconds after both cars staged, so your Launch Mode will expire.

 

[P85DEE]

4 seconds is enough unless you stage first and apply your second accelerator depression before your opponent stages. He could wait 4 seconds before staging and cause your Launch Mode to expire. I believe the rules allow him up to 7 seconds to stage after you stage or he automatically gets a red light and you get Green.

The right thing to do is stage, hold the brake pedal, do your first accelerator depression but wait to apply your second accelerator depression until both cars are staged (whether you staged first or last). Assuming the Starter clicks on the Autostart before both cars are staged, the Green will light in less than 4 seconds after both cars are staged so your Launch Mode will not expire before the Green light.

However the Starter has the option of waiting until after both cars are staged before he clicks on the Autostart. If he waits more than a couple of seconds, the Green will not light within 4 seconds after both cars staged, so your Launch Mode will expire.

Good points.

The only question I would have, and I don't know if it has been answered yet, is how much time is there available between:..

"stage, hold the brake pedal, do your first accelerator depression but wait to apply your second accelerator depression until both cars are staged"

How much time does launch control allow to lapse in between the first accelerator depression and the second accelerator depressions before it expires?

My concern here would be the possibility of too much time elapsing in between accelerator depressions.

That was the reason why I said that I would stage, but I wouldn't do my first accelerator depression until after I saw my opponent's staging lights if I were staging first.

This would allow one to do his two accelerator depressions in sort of a rapid fire, or double tap manner, or in a "thousand one, thousand two" type manner, after his opponents staging lights were lit, without having to worry if too much time would elapse in between the first and second accelerator depressions.

If I were staging last, then again, I'd creep up to light the staging bulbs, mash the brake when I got there, and then double tap the accelerator pedal and wait for the lights to start.

Simply put, from what I'm reading of this new feature, I could be wrong, but it seems to me that the best chance for success is the following route:

"No matter who stages first, after I see the last set of staging bulbs lit, I'm double tapping the accelerator pedal and waiting for the yellows to cascade."

However the Starter has the option of waiting until after both cars are staged before he clicks on the Autostart. If he waits more than a couple of seconds, the Green will not light within 4 seconds after both cars staged, so your Launch Mode will expire.

I agree that if that happens, well then it will negate any advantage that launch mode would give.

 

[AWDtsla]

Is the timeout from the first press or the second press?

edit - the notes really look like second press. So you have an indefinite amount of time once in launch mode? This should not be a problem...

 

[Bill D]

@P85DEE - You're correct if there is a timeout after the first press. My guess is the only timeout is the 4 sec of "Squat" after the second press, but anyone with the SW can test if there's any timeout after the first press, and if there is a timeout, how long is it?

 

[Bill D]

Also, the car does "squat" a fair amount as the accelerator pedal is pressed the second time just before launching.... On my ICE car that had launch control, there was no such squat...

This "Squat" has me intrigued. If the brakes on all four wheels were fully engaged while staged, there would be no squat. It makes me wonder if Tesla's Launch Mode only engages the front brakes while the rear motor applies static torque to the rear wheels pressing backwards against the ground. Drag racers with a line-lock engaging only their front brakes while their ICE engine revs up against their torque converter get a similar squat while staged.

 

[AWDtsla]

This "Squat" has me intrigued. If the brakes on all four wheels were fully engaged while staged, there would be no squat. It makes me wonder if Tesla's Launch Mode only engages the front brakes while the rear motor applies static torque to the rear wheels pressing backwards against the ground. Drag racers with a line-lock engaging only their front brakes while their ICE engine revs up against their torque converter get a similar squat while staged.

Probably part of the plan. More torque from rear motor. The squat alone could be nearly 100ms off the 0-60...

 

[dailydriver]

Seen lots of posts (not just in this thread) assuming this is the fix for the P90D's lack of 10.9s for some reason. Do we have any actual evidence to support this yet?

This !!! Everyone is praising Tesla for providing another cool feature to make the car better, which is great, but I paid the $10K premium for a car that will run under 11 seconds in the quarter mile. From everything that I have seen (and my own experience), the P90D with ludicrous mode can only achieve about 11.4 seconds which is way off from Tesla's claim. Hopefully the launch mode will allow the car to perform as promoted and achieve the results that Motor Trend did in their testing.

 

[lolachampcar]

First, there is no way my launch control is shaving .5 seconds off the 1/4. The best it is doing is POSSIBLY, and that is a very big possibly, taking .1 to .15 off the 0-60.

Second, let off the brake then hold the brake firmly with your left foot. The remainder of the dance can be done extremely quickly. I stab the throttle, let up, put it back to the floor and side step the brake in a very short amount of time. It is easily done during the tree.

 

[sillydriver]

Okay, so does anyone here with either a P90DL or upgraded P85DL have, or do we know any such owner who has, 2.9.40, which seems to be limited release. If not, maybe owners who live conveniently near their SC can call and see if the SC can install the update if they bring it in.

 

[P85DEE]

This "Squat" has me intrigued. If the brakes on all four wheels were fully engaged while staged, there would be no squat. It makes me wonder if Tesla's Launch Mode only engages the front brakes while the rear motor applies static torque to the rear wheels pressing backwards against the ground. Drag racers with a line-lock engaging only their front brakes while their ICE engine revs up against their torque converter get a similar squat while staged.

Good point

I used a line lock with my automatics, but only for burnouts, and would brake torque to load the torque converter once I staged. Some launch using the line lock.

But what you're saying about the front brakes only being engaged with this new feature, makes sense.

Perhsps the front brakes are locked, but there is not quite enough power to the rear wheels yet to make them spin while the car sits still. Otherwise one would initiate a burnout.