Tesla Model 3 DM Performance - Autocross/Time Trial Build for USCA (Optima)

[Rexpelagi]

Good for you. I’m a retired (mostly) sports car racer with many years of club level road racing experience in Porsches. I have a 2016 S90 and have been meaning to get it to a track for fun. I understand the battery will protect itself from overheating by derating just a few laps in but I’m still game. I’m headed to Portland International Raceway in a week and I’m curious: If I don’t use full power in the straights and save it for corner exits do you think I can finish a 20 minute session?

The S goes into thermal protection faster than the 3, and I think hits it harder. For me, I was able to do a 2 17-min sessions at Road America in the wet and it seemed fine, although I'm sure it was pulling power. Note that at Road America I was using 9-10% battery per lap, but obviously that's a really long fast track.

 

[trak0r]

Now that I have raced at a few events I wanted to share my build that I'm using primarily for the Ultimate Street Car Association's Optima Search for the Ultimate Street car. I've already raced at NCM Motorsports Park and Road Amercia, and I plan to have the car at NOLA Motorsports Park in October, followed by the SEMA show and OUSCI in November.

This build has been created with significant support from Mountain Pass Performance and Stranoparts, and I can't thank them enough for the help!

View attachment 447935

Fastest Track Laps:

• NCM Motorsports Park Grand Full (Stock Suspension): 2:21.478
• Road America w/Motorcycle Chicane (MPP Sport Suspension): 2:45.082

Here's a little bit about the build:

2019 Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor Performance

Chassis/Suspension:

• Mountain Pass Performance Sport Suspension Package
  • 2-way Adjustable Damping (Compression / Rebound)
  • Full Ride-Height Adjustability
• Mountain Pass Performance Adjustable Rear Camber Arms
• Mountain Pass Performance Adjustable Rear Toe Arms
• UPP Adjustable Rear Anti-Roll Bar

Wheels / Tires:

• 19x10 MRR M600
• 275/35R19 Bridgestone RE-71R

Brakes:

• 4-piston Brembo Front Calipers
  • UPP Street/Track Pads
• Single-piston Brembo Rear Calipers
  • UPP Street/Track Pads
• Dot-4 600°F+ Brake Fluid (Currently Redline RL-600)

Interior / AV / Electronics:

• Schroth Quick Fit Pro Harnesses
• Solostorm Data Acquisition System

I'll be sure to update this thread as things change and I participate in more events. Tesla has created an awesome performance vehicle and I figured people might be interested to learn more!

That is awesome! I too have been doing very well as stock M3P utilizing track mode and aftermarket rims (stock width of course to stay in BS class) with 255 /35 R19 RE-71R's. Every race, but one this year, I've been 1st in PAX and 2nd raw. These M3 Teslas do absolutely amazing. How much were all the suspension upgrades? Good luck next time.

 

[trak0r]

Good for you. I’m a retired (mostly) sports car racer with many years of club level road racing experience in Porsches. I have a 2016 S90 and have been meaning to get it to a track for fun. I understand the battery will protect itself from overheating by derating just a few laps in but I’m still game. I’m headed to Portland International Raceway in a week and I’m curious: If I don’t use full power in the straights and save it for corner exits do you think I can finish a 20 minute session?

You can basically run the M3P without any significant de-rating. I never noticed a different in my laptops at Gingerman Raceway, even after 8 20 minutes sessions throughout the day. The brakes go before any issues with battery or cooling system. Use heavy re-gen whenever possible and save the brakes for when you really need them.

 

[Rexpelagi]

That is awesome! I too have been doing very well as stock M3P utilizing track mode and aftermarket rims (stock width of course to stay in BS class) with 255 /35 R19 RE-71R's. Every race, but one this year, I've been 1st in PAX and 2nd raw. These M3 Teslas do absolutely amazing. How much were all the suspension upgrades? Good luck next time.

Nice work!

You can find the suspension pieces here:
Model 3 AWD Performance | Mountain Pass Performance

I'm running their sport coilovers, both rear arms (toe isn't necessarily needed but it makes adjustments super easy and repeatable vs. the cam bolt), and I have their front camber arms on order.

 

[Rexpelagi]

You can basically run the M3P without any significant de-rating. I never noticed a different in my laptops at Gingerman Raceway, even after 8 20 minutes sessions throughout the day. The brakes go before any issues with battery or cooling system. Use heavy re-gen whenever possible and save the brakes for when you really need them.

As a counterpoint, at Road America using heavy regen on the out-lap and limiting speed on the out-lap to around 100mph in the straights I think it was pulling power on the first flying lap - the gauge on the dash showed ___________ . . . occasionally during the lap (which I think was letting it cool), and then it would go back to full _______________ in a few corners - happened on both dry sessions, but I had 3 runs to 130+ per lap, so it's understandable as it's basically drag strips linked together.

Note that this was in the dry - on the wet laps I was traction-limited (and probably courage-limited lol) to lower speeds and I didn't notice it doing that.

With DOT-4 RL-600 and the UPP street/track pads I didn't have any fade. I also pulled all the dust shields for better cooling, as they didn't look like they allowed for any airflow.

 

[NIKOLA696]

love seeing Tesla and SSCA mix!!! I have a M3P and track mode...can't wait!!!

 

[trak0r]

As a counterpoint, at Road America using heavy regen on the out-lap and limiting speed on the out-lap to around 100mph in the straights I think it was pulling power on the first flying lap - the gauge on the dash showed ___________ . . . occasionally during the lap (which I think was letting it cool), and then it would go back to full _______________ in a few corners - happened on both dry sessions, but I had 3 runs to 130+ per lap, so it's understandable as it's basically drag strips linked together.

Note that this was in the dry - on the wet laps I was traction-limited (and probably courage-limited lol) to lower speeds and I didn't notice it doing that.

With DOT-4 RL-600 and the UPP street/track pads I didn't have any fade. I also pulled all the dust shields for better cooling, as they didn't look like they allowed for any airflow.

Nice! I've thought about replacing brake pads and fluid to help. On the straight I was hitting 135 ish every lap, but that only happened every two miles instead of back to back drag strips. Also Gingerman is like 15 turns or something so lot more regen setting up for long corners. Funniest corner I think was 9 where I was basically powersliding at 100 funniest car I was battling was a hurricane performance :$

 

[Rexpelagi]

It's been a few weeks but I wanted to post an update - over the weekend I attended the SCCA TT Nationals at NCM Motorsports Park with the Tesla Model 3, and I managed to hang on for the T2 class win, while also finishing 15th/~180 overall!

https://timetrials.scca.com/events/1992975/event_sessions/overall

I also confirmed with the track manager that the 2:18.373 is the EV record for the track, which was previously held by me in stock trim with the same wheels/tires - a nice ~3sec improvement courtesy of Mountain Pass Performance!

Here is my fast lap - missed a few marks, but generally was trying to push everywhere as you only get one lap to set the time realistically, and the track is faster when it's cool:

And here is my fastest track sprint run:

The car did great again, got a lot of compliments, and certainly surprised some people! Short turnaround this week, and then off to NOLA for the final Optima qualifier!

 

[gilscales]

Gotta love it!

 

[Rexpelagi]

Last weekend I attended the final round of the 2019 USCA regular season which was hosted by NOLA Motorsports Park. I managed a 12th overall finish and a 1st in GTE.

This track was probably the most-difficult to manage so far in terms of battery state of charge - the nearest supercharger was 50min away, so it really didn't make sense to go out there vs. using the destination chargers on site, but it meant that I really had to limit how long I ran sessions to have maximum performance for lap 1 of the subsequent sessions. It was also hot, and the course was fast, so the car was pulling power a bit even on the first flying lap. As always, the suspension from Mountain Pass Performance performed perfectly!

That said, here is my fastest road course lap - I was pushing hard to get a good lap and really sliding the car around, but it mostly worked, except a bit too much in 5 - it's always tough to show up at a track you haven't been to and try to set a fast lap on the first lap out in a session (battery and tires go away slightly on each subsequent lap):

 

[Lunares]

Quickfit » Schroth Racing » Products

This website implies it should be able to go straight into the female seatbelts. Any reason you had to do as much as you did to attach it?

 

[Rexpelagi]

Quickfit » Schroth Racing » Products

This website implies it should be able to go straight into the female seatbelts. Any reason you had to do as much as you did to attach it?

It does, but only one side of the seat has a female connector - the other side requires mounting hardware to be installed, which is included with the belt.

 

[MasterC17]

Great videos and laptimes! Glad to see you out there representing.

Charging and lap management can be constraints. I've found I can set fast laps above 70%. Below 70% power starts to taper, and then under 50% it falls off pretty hard. No problem if you have DC charging nearby, by 30 or 40 amp AC requires quick sessions and quickly warming up the tires.

 

[Rexpelagi]

Great videos and laptimes! Glad to see you out there representing.

Charging and lap management can be constraints. I've found I can set fast laps above 70%. Below 70% power starts to taper, and then under 50% it falls off pretty hard. No problem if you have DC charging nearby, by 30 or 40 amp AC requires quick sessions and quickly warming up the tires.

Thanks!

I think the effect of power level partially depends on the track - on a track like Road America it feels like a bigger impact than on Las Vegas Motor Speedway's outer road course, where top speeds are only ~115mph vs. 135mph+ at Road America.

Regarding charging, if a track has 30-40A that it works pretty well - for USCA (or TT), we basically have to set fast lap on lap 1 of each session. Even with better driving on lap 2 everyone is slower, not just because of battery temps but because 200tw tires fall off too. At a longer track like NCM (3.1mi) lap 2 was easily 1sec+ slower, so may as well just do a lap and come in - got to make it count! However for running longer sessions the tracks I've been running just have too much high-speed to stay charged all day (and be competitive for lap time) on 240V alone, so I have been running out to supercharges at lunch.

 

[Rexpelagi]

And now begins the off-season... I have some tentative plans for next year, but I'll be sure to post as I make changes - stay tuned!

For anyone interested AutoX and Track did a nice write-up on my experience from the season - check it out!

Future of Motorsports? Tesla Model 3 Domination — AutoXandTrack

 

[Lunares]

And now begins the off-season... I have some tentative plans for next year, but I'll be sure to post as I make changes - stay tuned!

For anyone interested AutoX and Track did a nice write-up on my experience from the season - check it out!

Future of Motorsports? Tesla Model 3 Domination — AutoXandTrack

Now that model3 has been classed in ASP, what are your thoughts on competing in that class? Especially on getting class legal suspension modifications (no spherical bearings as far as I understand)

 

[Rexpelagi]

Now that model3 has been classed in ASP, what are your thoughts on competing in that class? Especially on getting class legal suspension modifications (no spherical bearings as far as I understand)

I actually wrote the letter that requested classing.

I think the Tesla actually has a pretty good chance in ASP - it would be an interesting build. I considered moving that way but ultimately there are things I want to do for Optima that don't align with the SCCA, and I don't think I want to keep swapping parts.

SP is an interesting set of rules where some things are wildly open but others are incredibly restrictive. It's a legacy classing structure built around old cars that no longer makes any sense for modern vehicles. Hopefully SCCA does some major reorganizing but I won't be expecting that anytime soon.

 

[Lunares]

I actually wrote the letter that requested classing.

I think the Tesla actually has a pretty good chance in ASP - it would be an interesting build. I considered moving that way but ultimately there are things I want to do for Optima that don't align with the SCCA, and I don't think I want to keep swapping parts.

SP is an interesting set of rules where some things are wildly open but others are incredibly restrictive. It's a legacy classing structure built around old cars that no longer makes any sense for modern vehicles. Hopefully SCCA does some major reorganizing but I won't be expecting that anytime soon.

Hah I wrote a letter to get into STU which was denied. Really the only thing SP gets us over ST is the ability to run hoosiers. We cant take advantage of most of the rules!

I'm debating between just installing spherical anyway, knowing that competing at nationals is highly unlikely for me anytime soon. Nobody is going to protest me locally.

 

[SD_Engnr]

Hah I wrote a letter to get into STU which was denied.

Same. But at least we have a home now!

Nobody is going to protest me locally.

If you beat me, I will...

 

[Lunares]

Same. But at least we have a home now!



If you beat me, I will...

says the person who is already running spherical bearings!