New M3P owner addicted to smashing the accelerator - how bad is it for the drivetrain?

[Enright]

Former Miata owner and habitual pedal masher here. The Miata is super fun to drive silly - you can chirp the rear tires going into second gear, for example - but you are only wrestling with 148 lb/ft of torque at the end of the day. If you put too much power down off the line, your little 17" tires will pay the price before your clutch does.

With the M3P I can not help but launch this thing when in pole position (in an unpopulated area) at a red light. I drive on a lot of backcountry roads, so this happens OFTEN. Like multiple times per day, every day often. Maybe I'll get tired of it - but that doesn't seem to be happening. I have yet to put the car in chill mode.

That got me thinking - with this much torque and G forces, aside from the obvious wear on the tires - will this eventually damage the drive train? I did a bit of research and found several discussions about drivetrain deterioration and automatic power limitations on the model S - but those launches are far more brutal and involve battery conditioning, etc...

Any long term M3P pedal mashers out there that experienced problems? Do I need to join a 12 step program for acceleration?

 

[csammy]

I've had my Model 3 Performance for two weeks now and already thinking about trading it for a Plaid. It never gets old smashing the pedal.

 

[Lindenwood]

Addicted as well. I have to put it in Chill Mode when my wife is in the car to avoid fights. 23k miles and going strong!

 

[tm1v2]

My M3P addiction in unpopulated areas is putting it in Track Mode and throwing it around hairpins and tight turns as fast as my poor tires will allow. Sometimes a little faster than the tires can handle.

Life is short. You paid extra for a "Performance" car. Enjoy it, responsibility.

As for drivetrain robustness, I think Model 3 or Model S is pretty much as good as it gets. When the S Plaid was new a YouTuber did something like 30 back to back 1/4 mile runs and the Plaid took it like a champ, still killing it on E/T and without any sign of any issues. Many people here drag race their M3P's and I haven't seen any of them mention any drivetrain issues.

(Note I've read about some issues for the Model X in particular but I don't follow the X closely, I only own an S and a 3. Also, Tesla drive units can have issues and fail of course, anything can break and Tesla has sold millions of cars, but I've not seen any correlation here with that happening for people who like to smash the Go pedal on their Model 3.)

 

[GreenHokie]

Yep, after nearly 4 years of ownership, I continue to “responsibly” smash my pedal at every opportunity. The quickness/acceleration is the same now as it was on day one. However, of course, it doesn’t quite feel the same since you get accustomed to the acceleration.

Toyed with the idea of getting a MS Plaid, but after test driving one for a while, it still feels like driving a big (but insanely quick/fast) boat! Simply not as much fun to drive around town as my M3P-

Hoping Tesla will offer a Plaid-like trim when they release the revamped “highland” M3 in the coming months!!

 

[father_of_6]

Hi everyone. My name is father_of_6, and it's been 2 months since my last pedal mashing.

I got into pedal mashing in December 2020 as a way to cope with global problems. I thought I could quit whenever I wanted, but boy was I wrong.

Everytime I mashed the pedal, I felt so good and I was able to forget about my problems, but as soon as I hit a red light, I'd realize that things were even worse than before mashing the pedal.

The adrenaline, the shakey hands, racing heartbeat, and the kids on the corner yelling "go Tesla"... I didn't even realize I was addicted until it was *far* too late.

Eventually, my pedal mashing started to cause problems with my relationships. I started to hide the fact that I was buying new tires again. My wife would ask, "why did you withdrawal $1,200 from our bank account?". I hated lying, but I'd say... "I spent that money on drugs and gambling". I just couldn't look her in the face and admit that I burned through another set of tires.

Things really got out of control one day after racing and old lady in a Toyota Corolla from a full stop at a red light. I *almost* ran over a squirrel. That was my 14th race that day, and only after almost killing America's favorite rodent did I realize that all this time I was racing *myself* - those people weren't even trying to win (or they *were* and didn't have a chance, who knows).

Anyways, having destroyed 8 tires in just 38k miles is a hard thing to cope with. It gets a little easier as time goes by, and I try to live one day at a time.

I sure do appreciate you all listening to what I have to say, and not judging me. I know that together, we can all get through this addiction - no one wins this on their own.

Thank you.

 

[Lindenwood]

Hi everyone. My name is father_of_6, and it's been 2 months since my last pedal mashing.

I got into pedal mashing in December 2020 as a way to cope with global problems. I thought I could quit whenever I wanted, but boy was I wrong.

Everytime I mashed the pedal, I felt so good and I was able to forget about my problems, but as soon as I hit a red light, I'd realize that things were even worse than before mashing the pedal.

The adrenaline, the shakey hands, racing heartbeat, and the kids on the corner yelling "go Tesla"... I didn't even realize I was addicted until it was *far* too late.

Eventually, my pedal mashing started to cause problems with my relationships. I started to hide the fact that I was buying new tires again. My wife would ask, "why did you withdrawal $1,200 from our bank account?". I hated lying, but I'd say... "I spent that money on drugs and gambling". I just couldn't look her in the face and admit that I burned through another set of tires.

Things really got out of control one day after racing and old lady in a Toyota Corolla from a full stop at a red light. I *almost* ran over a squirrel. That was my 14th race that day, and only after almost killing America's favorite rodent did I realize that all this time I was racing *myself* - those people weren't even trying to win (or they *were* and didn't have a chance, who knows).

Anyways, having destroyed 8 tires in just 38k miles is a hard thing to cope with. It gets a little easier as time goes by, and I try to live one day at a time.

I sure do appreciate you all listening to what I have to say, and not judging me. I know that together, we can all get through this addiction - no one wins this on their own.

Thank you.

Post of the year.

Of note, my M3P literally reduced my alcohol bill. Weirdly, after taking the long way home from work a few days per week Id find myself so much more at peace…

 

[jjrandorin]

Post of the year.

Seriously... @father_of_6 , I really enjoyed reading your post above, I did actually laugh out loud (not just typing it, actually doing it).

 

[XPsionic]

I got into pedal mashing in December 2020 as a way to cope with global problems. I thought I could quit whenever I wanted, but boy was I wrong.

Everytime I mashed the pedal, I felt so good

That was amazing, thank you!

with this much torque and G forces, aside from the obvious wear on the tires - will this eventually damage the drive train

Unlike a ICE car, there's no pistons to wear out, no oil to warm up, no fuel diluting the oil, no carbon build up, no gears and syncros to wear out, no shafts and joints to shock and damage, no drivetrain bushings that develops slack...

You will wear out the tires faster, and suspension bushings will wear out faster, but honestly those are so infrequent and minor compared to a gas car being driven hard.

Plus, with regen you can be an idiot every stop light, and still regen most of that energy back. Instead of costing $0.20 every launch from a red light it's almost free.

 

[DayTrippin]

FYI - here is an excerpt from the Model 3 handbook. I bolded the relevant section. They can track all your driving inputs. Just because they initially reference Track Mode, the subsequent reference is pretty broad and could easily include repeated hard launches even if you don't use Track Mode. You will accelerate the wear of the car.

CAUTION
Any vehicle damage or injuries caused by using Track Mode is the driver's responsibility. The vehicle warranty does not cover damage caused by excessive overuse of vehicle components. It also does not cover racing, autocross, or driving in competition.

Model 3 Owner's Manual | Tesla

Understand how to use Track mode to optimize performance when driving on a closed circuit race track.

www.tesla.com

Here is what they say in the older Model S manual (up through 2020 I believe).

Note
Hard acceleration including, but not limited to, using launch mode, increases stress on the vehicle’s powertrain, and can cause premature wear and aging of various components. Model S constantly monitors powertrain fatigue and damage, and notifies you if vehicle components need to be serviced.

Keep in mind that wear and tear is not typically covered in a warranty. The warranty is to cover manufacturer's defects. Abusing a car until breaks is not a manufacturing defect in the eyes of most car companies.

In general, I never accelerate hard immediately from a launch where you'll subject the drivetrain typically to the most stress. I sort of ease it off the line and then by about 5 mph smoothly, but quickly, put the pedal to the floor. Car is still quick as heck but definitely reduces the stress on the drivetrain and keeps my wife a lot happier in the car.