Plaid handling improvements: better wheels, tires, brakes, suspension options

[omarsultan]

The what is pretty clear, it’s the why and the how that I wonder.

So, when I first saw it I thought it was referring about needing a wheel alignment--and was intrigued how they figured that out. But the error references "steering alignment" so wondering if that might be something else.

Car drives fine (no pulling, yoke doesn't seem off center, etc) and have not done anything that I would expect to screw up alignment (pothole, curb, etc).

 

[cassiri]

I really miss my sport seats from the P90DL. The Plaid feels like I am sitting on a bench from an ole horse drawn cart. They are nice; just no support.

It is a bit painful in that a buddy bought my DL and I get reminded of the seats once a week or so going to lunch.

Now a pair of Audi E-Tron GT seats in my Plaid :0

Agreed. They fit ok. But very hard. No cushion like the 3 or Y.
They don't fit very well for shorter people either. My wife is very uncomfortable since the headrest isn't adjustable and the curvature of the seat back combined forces her head forward. Needs more adjustability.

 

[omarsultan]

Since I am doing the tire shuffle, I have 19" tires and wheels stacked up and thought this was interesting in how much bigger the contact patch with the new staggered set-up vs the older square set-up on my last S.

 

[FlatSix911]

Since I am doing the tire shuffle, I have 19" tires and wheels stacked up and thought this was interesting in how much bigger the contact patch with the new staggered set-up vs the older square set-up on my last S.

View attachment 709237

Nice photo, but not an accurate comparison without tires on the older square wheel fitment.

 

[omarsultan]

Nice photo, but not an accurate comparison without tires on the older square wheel fitment.

Fair--I had them stacked with tires on both, but neglected to take a pic, still significant height difference

 

[lolachampcar]

It is kinda neat that Tesla can increase the stance of the car and dramatically increase the rubber on the ground and still increase overall efficiency. I'm not seeing it yet as I think I have an AC issue that is driving up power consumption. My DL was lifetime 320 Whr/mile while the Plaid is running 335 over the first 4k miles.

How is everyone else doing in comparison to previous performance versions?

 

[lolachampcar]

On a different note, I been leaning on the car more and more in a few of my normal fast sweepers. I can not believe the amount of mechanical grip and poise this car has over the previous DL. I'm currently up about 8 mph (little under 10%) from my previous DL's corner speeds and the Plaid has yet to indicate which end is going to give up first. I can induce plow/understeer using throttle and have yet to determine if this is Dif or front motor torque steer but the neutral throttle grip is fantastic.

I have had a chance to drive it in the rain several times and there is something very different about the front. My old DL used to talk to me (to borrow a term from Schu) regarding front (and overall) grip while the Plaid seems to whisper. It has me a bit cautious in the sweepers as I'm not sure how much I can trust front end feel. It makes me wonder if this is why there was so much sawing at the wheel in the Nurburgring video.

Anyone else starting to play with the limits?

 

[The Duke]

It is kinda neat that Tesla can increase the stance of the car and dramatically increase the rubber on the ground and still increase overall efficiency. I'm not seeing it yet as I think I have an AC issue that is driving up power consumption. My DL was lifetime 320 Whr/mile while the Plaid is running 335 over the first 4k miles.

How is everyone else doing in comparison to previous performance version

2017 P100D that I probably drive too hard is at 330 - 340 most of the time, flat ground 85 mph.
Running 265/285 Sports or Cups depending on how stupid I feel like driving.

BTW, great news on your Plaid handling, took me two years to get my P100D sorted somewhat close to that.

 

[omarsultan]

On a different note, I been leaning on the car more and more in a few of my normal fast sweepers. I can not believe the amount of mechanical grip and poise this car has over the previous DL. I'm currently up about 8 mph (little under 10%) from my previous DL's corner speeds and the Plaid has yet to indicate which end is going to give up first. I can induce plow/understeer using throttle and have yet to determine if this is Dif or front motor torque steer but the neutral throttle grip is fantastic.

I have had a chance to drive it in the rain several times and there is something very different about the front. My old DL used to talk to me (to borrow a term from Schu) regarding front (and overall) grip while the Plaid seems to whisper. It has me a bit cautious in the sweepers as I'm not sure how much I can trust front end feel. It makes me wonder if this is why there was so much sawing at the wheel in the Nurburgring video.

Anyone else starting to play with the limits?

I have been, but I would guess your limits look a bit different than mine. . Do you think the true vectoring in playing a role the the wise the car exhibits (I've notice them same thing and use the same term)

 

[lolachampcar]

I have to saw at the wheel a lot under harder acceleration in a corner. It's either a choppy saw tooth rear torque vectoring "Dif" function or the old Golf GTi slow corner high power torque steer from the front wheels. I really can not tell you which it is. At 100 mph I really do not think it can put that much power through the front wheels to have them oscillate like that but, then, it does have a stupendous amount of power.

Oh, and limits are limits. It's only how fast we sneak up on them. I'm chick**** slow at getting to them and then only try to peek over the edge.

 

[omarsultan]

Here is what the 19" Cardenio wheels look like with the Tesla grey center cap and lug nut covers

 

[MarcG]

On a different note, I been leaning on the car more and more in a few of my normal fast sweepers. I can not believe the amount of mechanical grip and poise this car has over the previous DL. I'm currently up about 8 mph (little under 10%) from my previous DL's corner speeds and the Plaid has yet to indicate which end is going to give up first. I can induce plow/understeer using throttle and have yet to determine if this is Dif or front motor torque steer but the neutral throttle grip is fantastic.

I have had a chance to drive it in the rain several times and there is something very different about the front. My old DL used to talk to me (to borrow a term from Schu) regarding front (and overall) grip while the Plaid seems to whisper. It has me a bit cautious in the sweepers as I'm not sure how much I can trust front end feel. It makes me wonder if this is why there was so much sawing at the wheel in the Nurburgring video.

Anyone else starting to play with the limits?

No rain yet here (probably a few months left before we see any, sadly) but I have been driving in the mountains quite a bit to go rock climbing and mountain biking.

I'm still on the 19s (20s coming next week!) so no pushing too hard, but so far I agree with the mechanical grip being really fantastic. I haven't even heard the tires squeal yet while cornering, only got them to chirp on straight line acceleration once.

Still haven't done any cheetah launches and haven't even turned on drag strip mode once. I don't really see the point tbh, as I think the acceleration while already at speed is much more impressive!

 

[lolachampcar]

Still haven't done any cheetah launches and haven't even turned on drag strip mode once. I don't really see the point tbh, as I think the acceleration while already at speed is much more impressive!

Same here. I lot of people (most) are really into the whole launch thing. I found I did it a few times with my DL in the very beginning but that was it. Not even tempted with the Plaid. I think we are strange

 

[Melteye]

Installed the N2itive links yesterday. Dialed them to a 1” drop. Was a bit worried it would be too much but it wasn’t at all. Can’t wait for my new wheels now to fill those wheel wells.

Can you share a picture please? Does this impact ride quality at all?

 

[MarcG]

After a long wait, I finally got a new 20" wheel setup for my Plaid.

The rims are flow-formed Fast Wheels FC04 in metallic black finish, specs below:
Front = 20x9.5 ET35 weighing 24.2 lbs each
Rear = 20x11 ET25 weighing 27.8 lbs each

The tires are Michelin PS4S, specs below:
Front = 275/35ZR20 XL 102(Y)
Rear = 305/30ZR20 XL 103(Y)

The rears poke out a tad more than the fronts, but Fast Wheels doesn't make that rim in 35mm offset (only 25 or 45, which would have been too far in).

But overall I think they look great, and the black metallic finish really matches the glossy "chrome delete" trim around the windows - definitely worth the ~3 week wait.

Best part: I only paid about $1,200 for the rims, including shipping from Canada and import duties! So much more affordable than forged wheels. Tires were about $1,800 total, so for $3,000 I myself got a nice set for spirited driving

Here are some photos from tonight:

 

[juanmedina]

What load rating are those wheels? what load rating are you guys shooting for on the Plaid?

 

[MarcG]

What load rating are those wheels? what load rating are you guys shooting for on the Plaid?

815kg each (1,793lbs), both fronts and rears.

The tires I got are rated at 850kg (front) and 875kg (rear) so I figured 815kg for the wheel is good enough.

 

[MFrunkerOG]

anyone know the max diameter possible (front and rear) without impacting the strut top support for front and rear tires? This is from willtheyfit analysis

	Tire spec	Front Diameter mm	Rear Diameter mm
19 OEM	255/45R19 (F), 285/40R19 (R)	712.1	710.6
20 with 19 width	255/40R20 (F), 285/35R20 (R)	712	707.5
20 with 21 width	265/40R20 (F), 295/35R20 (R)	720	714.5
21 OEM	265/35R21 (F), 295/30R21 (R)	718.9	710.4

 

[lbowroom]

anyone know the max diameter possible (front and rear) without impacting the strut top support for front and rear tires? This is from willtheyfit analysis

	Tire spec	Front Diameter mm	Rear Diameter mm
19 OEM	255/45R19 (F), 285/40R19 (R)	712.1	710.6
20 with 19 width	255/40R20 (F), 285/35R20 (R)	712	707.5
20 with 21 width	265/40R20 (F), 295/35R20 (R)	720	714.5
21 OEM	265/35R21 (F), 295/30R21 (R)	718.9	710.4

Generally 28.5" will fit which is ~724. However, this is dependent on width and offset as well. Additionally, every tire is different, even within the same Manufacturer and model. The tread on a Michelin tire specific to Tesla (TO designation) can be up to an inch wider than the same Michelin model without the TO spec.

 

[FlatSix911]

Generally 28.5" will fit which is ~724. However, this is dependent on width and offset as well. Additionally, every tire is different, even within the same Manufacturer and model. The tread on a Michelin tire specific to Tesla (TO designation) can be up to an inch wider than the same Michelin model without the TO spec.

You should be fine with the additional 2-4 mm of height (1- 2 mm of radius) compared to the OEM 21" tire and wheelset... when in doubt, test fit.