To Plaid or Not to Plaid?

[Destiny1701]

Depends whether you’re more interested in a car or a computer.

Just for some context in software and options vs competitors these days…

Not found in any Tesla but standard on basic ice cars these days: :rear cross traffic alert, fromt traffic alert, birds eye view camera, proper blind spot monitor, car play/android auto to name a few.

Other manuf have all caught up now on a host of features that mimic or provide more than Teslas. Take the RX350:…catching up or exceeding in feature sets:

2023 Lexus RX Features | Lexus Canada

I’m a Tesla owner since 2015 and are so used to the gui/software (MS, MX, M3 and MY) that one forgets what’s out there now in 2023 vs 8 yrs ago. Massive shift in features no longer makes Tesla the leader in many respects.

For Plaid vs LR…literally bragging rights as smashing the peddle light to light or on an onramp is the one trick pony here. I do wonder the long term affect of blood circulation being momentarily shifted due to the enormous amount of torque/pull over and over. No studies in this…yet But hey if you can afford iit…why not?

 

[Olle]

Congrats on your choice of car. S is the way to go. I've driven almost everything out there and S is in a class of its own. Not a coincidence that it got voted car of the year by many and car of the century in Motortrend.
To answer your questions:
Re-sale value. As you probably know since you change cars often; Common wisdom holds that options depreciate quicker than base, so LR should hold up better than Plaid. Esp since Plaid has a shorter wait than LR, some new car buyers get Plaid to get it quicker, not because they needed Plaid over LR so should be more saturated.

But you are also saying Vehicles are NOT investments. If you feel more that way you should get the Plaid of course. It's a very special feeling to drive the quickest car in the world IMO. I don't have one but have driven the Plaid and its definitely something.

 

[Howie Dub]

I have also watched Tesla Plaid Channel on YT and noticed he prefers the stock 19s vs 21 Arachnids for the drag strip. This is ofc on a prepped surface, and I have seen people mention that the 21s might be faster on the street, simply because the PS4S tires provides better grip than the P Zeros on the 19s. But you have found the stock P Zeros to give enough grip for a Plaid launch? I have yet to see a direct comparison between the two regarding acceleration.

The P Zeros do chirp, but that could also be b/c of road conditions and cold tires. Haven’t had a chance to go to the nearest drag strip since the closest one is about an hour and a half away in heavy LA traffic, so the strip of road I’ve found that has no driveways or turnoffs and is deserted at 3am will have to do for now. I only do maybe 2 or 3 runs so the tires might not be sufficiently warmed up. I don’t know if you’ve seen his videos where he races his Plaid with 19s (before he gutted it) against a Plaid with 21s, but the 19s had consistently faster times by about a tenth of a second in the 1/8 mile. Not a lot, but enough to make a difference. I would think the PS4S would accelerate faster on the drag strip as well if it did so on the street. Maybe better handling, but not straight line acceleration? From a drag standpoint, Andrew has said more sidewall is better. The fastest Plaid uses 18s in the back, but has to modify the brakes to make them fit.

 

[2101Guy]

As someone who drove an LR loaner for two weeks while my Plaid was getting serviced, there is no comparison. I really missed my Plaid, as did my daughter. You won’t really notice a difference during normal driving and acceleration, but you just don’t get that gut punch in the LR like you do in the Plaid when accelerating. If I were you, I’d get the Plaid, buy 19” Signature Wheels, put on the stock Pirelli P Zeros, and sell the 21” Arachnids. You won’t recoup the entire cost of the new wheels and tires, but you’ll get lighter wheels and better range than the 21“ Arachnids. Then again, you’re spending over $100k on a car; I don’t think a few grand will break the bank. I put the factory Pirellis from my stock 19” Tempest wheels on 19” Signature Wheel SV104s and my butt-dyno noticed better acceleration and handling. Andrew with Tesla Plaid Channel on YouTube races with the stock 19“ wheels and tires and says the Pirellis are a close second to the Michelin PS4s he raced with on his MS Performance. The performance of the Plaid is worth every penny.

not to discount the Plaid performance difference, but to note that where I am, all loaners are locked to "chill" mode. Not sure if its same where you are

 

[2101Guy]

on a related note to the thread..I have the LR. Love it. And ive never driven a plaid. And I have NO intention to do so! (never miss what you havent had/experienced)

 

[HaroldK]

Yes I saw his side by side comparisons of the 19 vs 21. But as you said, those tests were at the drag strip, where neither tire was traction limited because of high grip surface. As a result the lighter wheels will always be faster when traction is 100%. I guess one could argue that on a less optimal surface, i.e. the street, the PS4S could still not be traction limited when the PZ could be. Then the lighter weight of the 19s are offset by limited traction, so the heavier 21s could potentially be faster. I have yet to see a proper on the street test about this. I hope you are right though, because I am really considering sticking with the 19s on my future Plaid purchase.

 

[NeuroRad]

If i were to order again id not get the 21s. Id save the 4500 and get aftermarket 20/21 and use the 19s for winter setup. I’m currently on sv104 21s and they have a much more open design than the factory arachnids. From some angles i feel they are too big for the car. The arachnids look more like a 20 the way they are designed imo

 

[2101Guy]

If i were to order again id not get the 21s. Id save the 4500 and get aftermarket 20/21 and use the 19s for winter setup. I’m currently on sv104 21s and they have a much more open design than the factory arachnids. From some angles i feel they are too big for the car. The arachnids look more like a 20 the way they are designed imo

winter setup needed in Dallas?

 

[Howie Dub]

Yes I saw his side by side comparisons of the 19 vs 21. But as you said, those tests were at the drag strip, where neither tire was traction limited because of high grip surface. As a result the lighter wheels will always be faster when traction is 100%. I guess one could argue that on a less optimal surface, i.e. the street, the PS4S could still not be traction limited when the PZ could be. Then the lighter weight of the 19s are offset by limited traction, so the heavier 21s could potentially be faster. I have yet to see a proper on the street test about this. I hope you are right though, because I am really considering sticking with the 19s on my future Plaid purchase.

You can always get the Pilot Super Sport. It’s the predecessor of the PS4S and comes in the factory 19” size. They’re marginally heavier than the PZ (6lbs total) and might be a bit louder since they don’t have the foam inserts.

 

[NeuroRad]

winter setup needed in Dallas?

Getting by on the ps4s for now. Its already dipped into the 30s temperature.

 

[Howie Dub]

not to discount the Plaid performance difference, but to note that where I am, all loaners are locked to "chill" mode. Not sure if its same where you are

No, they did not lock it to chill mode. I had full power until 85mph.

 

[NeuroRad]

Chill mode is absolutely awful.

The way they have the throttle mapped plaid mode is completely drivable for anyone, just like any other car. Using the power is no accident.