Silverstone Track day in a Model 3 Performance

[m3p_uk]

How much did the track day cost and did you get insurance in case you went a bit too wild?

 

[preseh]

How much did the track day cost and did you get insurance in case you went a bit too wild?

The track day was around £450 - other tracks are cheaper but Silverstone GP circuit is particularly expensive especially in the summer. I didn't have track insurance, I did consider it but the quote was something like £600 for the day. Silverstone is very wide though so you've got a lot of room if you make a mistake.

 

[m3p_uk]

The track day was around £450 - other tracks are cheaper but Silverstone GP circuit is particularly expensive especially in the summer. I didn't have track insurance, I did consider it but the quote was something like £600 for the day. Silverstone is very wide though so you've got a lot of room if you make a mistake.

Thanks, not sure I have the goolas to attempt without insurance so works out quite expensive for the limited number of laps the car will be able to do.
If anyone has tried at another track or has suggestions for cheaper options would be welcomed to hear please!

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Thanks, not sure I have the goolas to attempt without insurance so works out quite expensive for the limited number of laps the car will be able to do.
If anyone has tried at another track or has suggestions for cheaper options would be welcomed to hear please!

Where in the UK are you?
Airfield trackdays are what you need to look at. There should be some at Abingdon (Dalton Barracks) this year organised by Motorsport Events if that's not too far for you?

 

[m3p_uk]

Where in the UK are you?
Airfield trackdays are what you need to look at. There should be some at Abingdon (Dalton Barracks) this year organised by Motorsport Events if that's not too far for you?

Thanks, located in South London.
What would be different about airfield track days? Few things to crash into/more run off or something else?

Have seen some half day tution sessions which are about £350 but will probably need to charge the car a few times?

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Thanks, located in South London.
What would be different about airfield track days? Few things to crash into/more run off or something else?

Have seen some half day tution sessions which are about £350 but will probably need to charge the car a few times?

Yes, more runoff, cones rather than Armco and the ones MSE organise are very well behaved so the risk of damaging your car in any way is minimal. A day at Abingdon with some tuition is going to cost around £150-£160, so good value.

£350 for half a day sounds quite expensive, who's that with?

 

[Tevo Solutions]

I agree with Electric Dream about Abingdon. It's a good place to start if you haven't got much track experience and are concerned about damaging your car.

I'm pretty sure I've done more track miles in a Model 3 than anyone else in the UK, mainly at Abingdon, Brands Hatch and Thruxton and when the lockdown is lifted and trackdays start up again I'll be at all of those tracks to help other Model 3 owners get the most from their cars. I've spent the last year doing a lot of work (and laps) testing brake, suspension, wheel and tyre upgrades for the Model 3 so I'm not just recommending parts and products you can already find on the web, I'm developing new and better products here in the UK for owners in the UK.

If you want any advice about preparing your Model 3 for the track I'd be happy to help. I can also advise on charging strategies for each of those tracks how to get the most out of the time you're there. Once trackdays are in full swing again I'll be organising some events specifically for Model 3 owners. We'll have driver coaching using the car's data logging capabilities and workshops going into much more detail about tyres, suspension set ups, track mode and more.

We just need more of you to get out on track and show those ICE drivers there's a better way!
Cheers
John

 

[m3p_uk]

Yes, more runoff, cones rather than Armco and the ones MSE organise are very well behaved so the risk of damaging your car in any way is minimal. A day at Abingdon with some tuition is going to cost around £150-£160, so good value.

£350 for half a day sounds quite expensive, who's that with?

1 to 1 Tuition

 

[m3p_uk]

I agree with Electric Dream about Abingdon. It's a good place to start if you haven't got much track experience and are concerned about damaging your car.

I'm pretty sure I've done more track miles in a Model 3 than anyone else in the UK, mainly at Abingdon, Brands Hatch and Thruxton and when the lockdown is lifted and trackdays start up again I'll be at all of those tracks to help other Model 3 owners get the most from their cars. I've spent the last year doing a lot of work (and laps) testing brake, suspension, wheel and tyre upgrades for the Model 3 so I'm not just recommending parts and products you can already find on the web, I'm developing new and better products here in the UK for owners in the UK.

If you want any advice about preparing your Model 3 for the track I'd be happy to help. I can also advise on charging strategies for each of those tracks how to get the most out of the time you're there. Once trackdays are in full swing again I'll be organising some events specifically for Model 3 owners. We'll have driver coaching using the car's data logging capabilities and workshops going into much more detail about tyres, suspension set ups, track mode and more.

We just need more of you to get out on track and show those ICE drivers there's a better way!
Cheers
John

Have a m3p- and don't want to change anything other than high temp brake fluid. Know brakes will be very limited but this is more for a bit of fun to see what the car can do.
Does reducing regen help keep the battery cooler?

 

[Dangerous Fish]

1 to 1 Tuition

Ah, OK £350 for 1/2 day with the track to yourself is a good package, especially with Ed

 

[Tevo Solutions]

Have a m3p- and don't want to change anything other than high temp brake fluid. Know brakes will be very limited but this is more for a bit of fun to see what the car can do.
Does reducing regen help keep the battery cooler?

If you want to change the brake fluid that means you expect to be driving hard enough to cook the pads. So then you'll need new pads.
You can't reduce the regen without uprating the brakes in the first place or you'll cook your fluid and pads even faster!

If you're only expecting to take your car on track once, or for one of the 1/2 day sessions you linked to above, I would even bother changing the fluid. You won't be pushing the car hard enough. I know other M3P owners who have been on track at Brands Hatch and Abingdon with completely standard cars and have had no issues with the brakes, because they were driving at 7/10 instead of 9/10. It's not a given you HAVE to change anything to take a Model 3 on track, as long as you pick the right track and don't try and be the fastest car on it. It sounds like you're approaching it in the best way and that's to improve your technique before trying to improve your lap times.

 

[m3p_uk]

If you want to change the brake fluid that means you expect to be driving hard enough to cook the pads. So then you'll need new pads.
You can't reduce the regen without uprating the brakes in the first place or you'll cook your fluid and pads even faster!

If you're only expecting to take your car on track once, or for one of the 1/2 day sessions you linked to above, I would even bother changing the fluid. You won't be pushing the car hard enough. I know other M3P owners who have been on track at Brands Hatch and Abingdon with completely standard cars and have had no issues with the brakes, because they were driving at 7/10 instead of 9/10. It's not a given you HAVE to change anything to take a Model 3 on track, as long as you pick the right track and don't try and be the fastest car on it. It sounds like you're approaching it in the best way and that's to improve your technique before trying to improve your lap times.

Problem with the m3p- is that it has the smaller discs and pads of the sr+ and LR but the performance of the performance! Have heard a lot of people cook the stock fluid so would just change that as it's been almost 2 years in the car anyway as it cheap/easy to get done.

 

[403 Forbidden]

If you want to change the brake fluid that means you expect to be driving hard enough to cook the pads. So then you'll need new pads.
You can't reduce the regen without uprating the brakes in the first place or you'll cook your fluid and pads even faster!

If you're only expecting to take your car on track once, or for one of the 1/2 day sessions you linked to above, I would even bother changing the fluid. You won't be pushing the car hard enough. I know other M3P owners who have been on track at Brands Hatch and Abingdon with completely standard cars and have had no issues with the brakes, because they were driving at 7/10 instead of 9/10. It's not a given you HAVE to change anything to take a Model 3 on track, as long as you pick the right track and don't try and be the fastest car on it. It sounds like you're approaching it in the best way and that's to improve your technique before trying to improve your lap times.

Whats your thoughts around a Model 3 SR+ on track. What would be the recommendations? Thanks

 

[Tevo Solutions]

Problem with the m3p- is that it has the smaller discs and pads of the sr+ and LR but the performance of the performance! Have heard a lot of people cook the stock fluid so would just change that as it's been almost 2 years in the car anyway as it cheap/easy to get done.

Yes the smaller brakes won't help, but just changing the fluid won't either. Once you've got the temp. high enough to boil the fluid, the pads are toast too. Uprated fluid and pads go hand in hand.

 

[Tevo Solutions]

Whats your thoughts around a Model 3 SR+ on track. What would be the recommendations? Thanks

There is view that the SR+ might be better in some ways that the P as it's lighter and might suffer less from the drive unit overheating during extended use, but the lack of track mode is going to be a problem as the traction control will be intrusive and the brakes will need upgrading for most tracks.

As with any Model 3, it does depend on your expectations. if you are happy doing a few laps on track slightly faster than road pace then it will be fine. Push it and the weaknesses will become apparent.

 

[Peteski]

As with any Model 3, it does depend on your expectations. if you are happy doing a few laps on track slightly faster than road pace then it will be fine. Push it and the weaknesses will become apparent.

Spot on. If you repeatedly push it hard around a track then the brakes and tyres will soon overheat as there is no recovery time like there is on a normal public road. That’s the main difference between road and track driving. On the road you might push it around half a dozen corners and then have several minutes of cruising along straights or stuck behind traffic. On a track it’s a relentless unbroken cycle of braking, cornering and acceleration.

 

[RonnieMac]

Just got back from taking my M3P to Silverstone GP for a track day - what a blast! I wanted to see how feasible it was to use the M3P on track for the day and thought I'd post a few thoughts here:

Pros:
- Extremely capable car especially in the wet where a lot of the dedicated track cars had to just tiptoe around
- No engine noise meant being able to hear exactly what the tyres were doing
- Driving settings really easy to customise to your liking with Track Mode

Cons:
- Reduced performance after just 3 or 4 laps. I started losing 10-20mph on the straight after around 10 minutes.
- No decent charging infrastructure on site meant two 40 min round trips to a Supercharger
- Two 10-15 minute sessions before needing to go and charge

The car was stock apart from upgraded pads and fluid as I'd heard the stock brake fluid boils quite easily under track conditions. I hadn't tracked the car before now so I don't know what the stock brakes would have been like but with the upgrades I had absolutely no brake fade.

If the track had proper Supercharger infrastructure then you'd be able to get a really good day of driving. However, with the reduced performance after a few laps, and the pain of having to drive so far to get topped up, I'd probably want to wait until the infrastructure has improved before I go back to Silverstone in the M3P.

Here's a video of one of the faster laps of the day (And the battery going from green to red on screen!):

Has anyone else had any success tracking their Tesla? Would be interesting to know if there's a solution for the performance fade and which tracks are the best for charging infrastructure.

Just wanted to let you know I track day my Tesla Model 3P along with my McLaren 570s. Did Silverstone and you are spot on. To stop the car overheating in track mode go to Thorney Motorsport and get the extra cooling for the back and front motors. They get all parts from Unplugged Performance. They will also supply you with dot 5 brake fluid and performance springs (makes a difference). Also Goodwood has 2 50kw chargers on site. Thruxton has a supercharger near by and Casle Combe a IONITY 6 miles from circuit. If your up my way Knockhill has 2off 22kw chargers on site. I’m off to Nurburgring in 2 weeks and I believe there are superchargers on site. I also have data on how much difference the extra cooling makes (from Knockhill) before and after update. Let me know if you want to look at this data. Regards Ronnie

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Just wanted to let you know I track day my Tesla Model 3P along with my McLaren 570s. Did Silverstone and you are spot on. To stop the car overheating in track mode go to Thorney Motorsport and get the extra cooling for the back and front motors. They get all parts from Unplugged Performance. They will also supply you with dot 5 brake fluid and performance springs (makes a difference). Also Goodwood has 2 50kw chargers on site. Thruxton has a supercharger near by and Casle Combe a IONITY 6 miles from circuit. If your up my way Knockhill has 2off 22kw chargers on site. I’m off to Nurburgring in 2 weeks and I believe there are superchargers on site. I also have data on how much difference the extra cooling makes (from Knockhill) before and after update. Let me know if you want to look at this data. Regards Ronnie

Please do show us the data. AFAIK Combe don't allow EVs on trackdays currently.

 

[MrBadger]

Also Goodwood has 2 50kw chargers on site.

I hope they are more reliable than the 3kW ones next to them... I wasted nearly an hour of my life trying to get them to work and someone on the DC chargers didn't fare any better - they got back to their car to find that it had stopped charging mid charge. So probably best not to rely on them...