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REFUEL 2015 - Roadster wins again

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Well Roadster-ers, I have good news and good news.

My 2010 Tesla Roadster Sport 2.0 won the REFUEL Production GT class time trial again this year.

Now last year this was largely because my friend Joe Nuxoll was driving - he's very good - and the production P85D wasn't out yet. Joe beat the Model S's last year but you could argue it was because he's a better driver.

This year I brought my Roadster and a brand new P85D. Joe drove both in the time trial - and the Joe was about 2 seconds faster in the Roadster than the P85D.

We also ran with the custom Tesla Roadster 2-piece slotted rotors from the forum here http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/41112-Now-Shipping-Custom-Tesla-Roadster-2-Piece-Slotted-Rotors

They rotors look great and ran GREAT. They were tested on some extremely hard breaking at Laguna Seca and performed wonderfully. Thank you to everyone involved in that project.

Can the Roadster keep the title in 2016? I think so.

But we may run the Roadster in a non-production class next year, if we actually have time to follow through on all our mod ideas. :wink:
 
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Good to hear that the universe has been reset to how it should be, even if it takes a slightly modified version of the original to make it so.

I tell people that if you want to LOOK fast, drive a Roadster. But if you want to BE fast, get the P85D. There's no envy in my soul on that point - I swear! :)
 
I tell people that if you want to LOOK fast, drive a Roadster. But if you want to BE fast, get the P85D. There's no envy in my soul on that point - I swear! :)

Stoplight-to-stoplight, that's true. But, I just spent a week with a loaner Model S (a P85+, I think) and, while it's a wonderful car...and certainly a FAST car...the handling is nothing compared to the Roadster. Everyone who's driven my Roadster comments on the go-cart-like handling. Yeah, it sucks to parallel park it but, the steering feel of the Roadster is second to none.
 
As someone who has never driven a Roadster, can you elaborate? I would think the size would make it easy to parallel park.

It fits easily into most spots due to the size, yes. But, I was referring to the lack of power-assist in the steering rack. When the car is moving (say 10+ MPH) it's easy to turn the wheel. But, when you're at a dead stop (like when you're parallel parking), it takes considerable effort to turn the wheel.
 
It fits easily into most spots due to the size, yes. But, I was referring to the lack of power-assist in the steering rack. When the car is moving (say 10+ MPH) it's easy to turn the wheel. But, when you're at a dead stop (like when you're parallel parking), it takes considerable effort to turn the wheel.

Ah, thanks. I thought that might be the case. I suppose power steering was left off for weight? My last car before my S was an S-10 pickup without power steering, so I know the feeling. I think my forearms have lost muscle mass since taking delivery. :)
 
It fits easily into most spots due to the size, yes. But, I was referring to the lack of power-assist in the steering rack. When the car is moving (say 10+ MPH) it's easy to turn the wheel. But, when you're at a dead stop (like when you're parallel parking), it takes considerable effort to turn the wheel.

To add on to that - at least with my 2.5, the steering radius is the suck(*), another impediment in parking lot and low speed situations. With practice, I expect the turning radius is something you can figure out and incorporate into your parallel parking activities.


(*) Compared to the Honda CRX I have available for regular comparison. Then again - it seems to be bad compared to pickup trucks I've borrowed / rented too.
 
Ah, thanks. I thought that might be the case. I suppose power steering was left off for weight? My last car before my S was an S-10 pickup without power steering, so I know the feeling. I think my forearms have lost muscle mass since taking delivery. :)

I would have been disappointed had the Roadster had power steering. From my point of view, it's not a weight issue (?), but rather a handling-at-speed issue. I know I will love my Model X for roadtrips, but for driving? Roadster!
 
Roadster steering is easy to me above about 3mph, but my spouse finds it somewhat intimidating.
I love the steering feel at any speed.

I've had about the same experience. For most folks, it's not a deal-breaker, but it's something I let anyone who drives the car know about (along with explaining the regenerative braking...which seems to catch people by surprise).

To me, the excellent steering feel and ridiculously-good steering feedback more than makes up for the heavy steering at super-low speeds.
 
Awesome stuff. I'd love to run Laguna Seca -- bet the corkscrew was a blast in the Roadster. Do you attribute the performance difference between your Roadster and the other Roadsters primarily to the tires and rotor mod (or other mods) or primarily to driver skill? The gap is quite substantial between your car the next best!

Do you know the extent to which the performance of the P85D was affected by the power limitations imposed as the car heats up? Which tires did you run on the D? Were the other P85Ds running street tires? Is there any YouTube of the runs?
 
1. Do you know the extent to which the performance of the P85D was affected by the power limitations imposed as the car heats up?
2. Which tires did you run on the D?
3. Were the other P85Ds running street tires?
4. Is there any YouTube of the runs?
1. Can't speak for the OP, but definitely ran into the limiter on my P85D. Much less painful than it was on the P85 thought (arrived more slowly, and less impact 240 kW vs. 160 kW).
3. Yes. I saw street tires on just about every Model S I saw except Vlad's. Mine was wearing the 19" Cyclones with Michelin Primacy MXM4.
4. Not that I'm aware of.

Sidenote: The missing ability to turn off traction control in the D vehicles is very frustrating. Coming out of a hard brake, the subsequent "ok, now let's go" has a lag that drives me nuts in the P85D; with TC off, it's much less of a problem in the P85.