Torn on which one to get

[charlieaf92]

The 3rd party full unlock does not work on any LR made in over 2 years.

It only works on the LR AWD cars that got a 980 rear motor (these cars are physically identical to the P3D-)- so just about all LR AWD made in 2018, and SOME made in 2019 and that's it.

LR AWD since mid-late 2019 use the 990 rear motor which can not be fully unlocked even by 3rd parties as its a less capable motor.

Thanks for clarifying. I never really looked into it in detail, just knew of its existence.

I don't think they do stealth anymore? They used to. Now it's just the acceleration boost upgrade. Which isn't as fast. Really interesting about the mod but it sounds a little risky.

Hmm how's the radar? Does it really help? Can count on it almost always? It might change how I drive haha. I heard they have radar detector detectors.

I don't know if they still make them or how that even works. But, I've seen them for sale used from Tesla recently (here is an example: 2019 Model 3 | Tesla )

You can find them quickly using https://ev-cpo.com/ ... just search for Model 3 and select performance as the trim. Then just look at what wheels it has. Anything other than the 20" will be a stealth if I'm not mistaken.

I'm very happy with my Valentine 1. I had an older model that plugged into OBD2 port so that it would auto-mute at lower speeds. However the Model 3 doesn't have that port, so I upgraded to the latest V1. It is MUCH better. Combined with a companion app on my phone it quickly learns all of the false radar signals and stays nice and quiet pretty much always unless there is actually a threat. Can you rely on it 100%? Nope. But, has it saved me from getting a ticket? Absolutely - probably 2 or 3 tickets in just the past year. Radar detectors won't do anything about LIDAR/laser except let you know that it's too late - so on highway it's best to use a combination of Waze and V1. Sometimes police do use radar on the highway and when that happens you know about them wayyyy in advance. The biggest reason I bought it was because pretty much every ticket I've gotten has been on back roads when the police car was driving in the opposite direction with radar on. In this situation its a life saver and totally worth the investment to me.

 

[ZapCarM3]

The 3rd party full unlock does not work on any LR made in over 2 years.

It only works on the LR AWD cars that got a 980 rear motor (these cars are physically identical to the P3D-)- so just about all LR AWD made in 2018, and SOME made in 2019 and that's it.

LR AWD since mid-late 2019 use the 990 rear motor which can not be fully unlocked even by 3rd parties as its a less capable motor.

Interesting. I felt like the LR had a little less kick than they used to but this could be for any reason.

They use this same motor in the LR Y?

 

[EloquentSyntax]

I was in the same boat, I was originally debating on the LR vs Performance. When I was trying to book a test drive, they coincidentally didn't have a Performance, so I test drove both the SR+ and LR, I ended up just saving the $$ and getting the SR+.

Here's my rationale:

1. I work from home, so it's really only a weekend fun car, at most I'll be driving 50km one way, so the worst case scenario where it's winter time in Toronto and the SR range drops to 280-300km, that's still plenty, even for a road trip out of the city
2. The SR+ has a rebate of $5k in Ontario, so that could potentially offset some depreciation if I trade up for a new generation Model 3 when the 4680 batteries get added to it
3. The LR is a whopping $20k additional, and honestly after driving both, I actually felt like the RWD and lighter SR+ feels more nimble, whereas on the LR you can tell the car is way heavier, even though the AWD feels more planted on all fours, it feels slightly more sluggish and you do need to press down harder on the pedal to get going
4. Between RWD and AWD, I figured the money would be better spent on good snow tires, which would make the most difference
5. The SR+ is already plenty fast, and while I was test driving, I honestly didn't have much room to really floor it in the LR aside from the highway, it's pretty safe to say unless I want to really risk getting some speeding tickets I'll probably not enjoy the faster speed as much as I think I would
6. Apparently the SR+ has the exact same speakers compared to the LR, just missing the wiring harness, which can be purchased aftermarket, so that's another reason for me to not spend $20k more for the LR
7. Same with fog lights, apparently the SR+ has it, so perhaps Tesla will release a purchasable upgrade later on

Hope that helps anyone feeling the same way

 

[Knightshade]

[*]Apparently the SR+ has the exact same speakers compared to the LR, just missing the wiring harness, which can be purchased aftermarket, so that's another reason for me to not spend $20k more for the LR
[*]Same with fog lights, apparently the SR+ has it, so perhaps Tesla will release a purchasable upgrade later on
[/LIST]
Hope that helps anyone feeling the same way

I don't believe either of those have been true for quite a while (the earliest SRs it was for the fogs and front speakers, but even then (and still today) the subwoofer was physically missing)

 

[Silicon Desert]

OP, ah what the heck. Buy both. Splurge

 

[Piffle]

I went for the LR over the SR and Performance:

Over the SR: I like the extra range for peace of mind, but I also like the extra interior features, and faster acceleration - however the big draw is battery cycles. Lithium batteries deteriorate by the number of full charge cycles. if you use 25% of the battery and charge is up to 100% everyday; you would use one charge cycle in 4 days. The more battery you have, the less charge cycles on your daily drive, so the LR cars should last longer on the road (in theory)

Over the Sport: I loved, LOVED the acceleration - buutttt.... I don't like the lower ride, thinner tires and harshness of bumps. I live in a state with a lot of rain, and sitting on the side of the road with a blown tire due to a pot hole was not ideal. The extra 10k was just not worth it for a faster, but slightly worse daily driver (For me)

I also chose the 3 over the Y - I liked the ride of the 3 more then the Y, the seat position was more comfortable (I'm 6'4'') it is harder to get out of, but I can figure that out. The rear seats were bigger, but this is my commute car, and their is more then enough room in the back for my kids when we do family up in it. The Y was nice, but the 3 just felt more confident, and more fun to drive.

 

[ZapCarM3]

I was in the same boat, I was originally debating on the LR vs Performance. When I was trying to book a test drive, they coincidentally didn't have a Performance, so I test drove both the SR+ and LR, I ended up just saving the $$ and getting the SR+.

Here's my rationale:

1. I work from home, so it's really only a weekend fun car, at most I'll be driving 50km one way, so the worst case scenario where it's winter time in Toronto and the SR range drops to 280-300km, that's still plenty, even for a road trip out of the city
2. The SR+ has a rebate of $5k in Ontario, so that could potentially offset some depreciation if I trade up for a new generation Model 3 when the 4680 batteries get added to it
3. The LR is a whopping $20k additional, and honestly after driving both, I actually felt like the RWD and lighter SR+ feels more nimble, whereas on the LR you can tell the car is way heavier, even though the AWD feels more planted on all fours, it feels slightly more sluggish and you do need to press down harder on the pedal to get going
4. Between RWD and AWD, I figured the money would be better spent on good snow tires, which would make the most difference
5. The SR+ is already plenty fast, and while I was test driving, I honestly didn't have much room to really floor it in the LR aside from the highway, it's pretty safe to say unless I want to really risk getting some speeding tickets I'll probably not enjoy the faster speed as much as I think I would
6. Apparently the SR+ has the exact same speakers compared to the LR, just missing the wiring harness, which can be purchased aftermarket, so that's another reason for me to not spend $20k more for the LR
7. Same with fog lights, apparently the SR+ has it, so perhaps Tesla will release a purchasable upgrade later on

Hope that helps anyone feeling the same way

Yes but a super easy decision for some. I wonder what the weight difference is.

I don't believe either of those have been true for quite a while (the earliest SRs it was for the fogs and front speakers, but even then (and still today) the subwoofer was physically missing)

Unfortunately the eq adjustments probably wouldn't function like you'd want? Not sure. I'll take my losses if I get the SR on sound. Any amount I spent on decent speakers would make me wish I just got the LR.

OP, ah what the heck. Buy both. Splurge

Very sound advice

 

[ZapCarM3]

I went for the LR over the SR and Performance:

Over the SR: I like the extra range for peace of mind, but I also like the extra interior features, and faster acceleration - however the big draw is battery cycles. Lithium batteries deteriorate by the number of full charge cycles. if you use 25% of the battery and charge is up to 100% everyday; you would use one charge cycle in 4 days. The more battery you have, the less charge cycles on your daily drive, so the LR cars should last longer on the road (in theory)

Over the Sport: I loved, LOVED the acceleration - buutttt.... I don't like the lower ride, thinner tires and harshness of bumps. I live in a state with a lot of rain, and sitting on the side of the road with a blown tire due to a pot hole was not ideal. The extra 10k was just not worth it for a faster, but slightly worse daily driver (For me)

I also chose the 3 over the Y - I liked the ride of the 3 more then the Y, the seat position was more comfortable (I'm 6'4'') it is harder to get out of, but I can figure that out. The rear seats were bigger, but this is my commute car, and their is more then enough room in the back for my kids when we do family up in it. The Y was nice, but the 3 just felt more confident, and more fun to drive.

Good points. I'd use whatever about 80 percent is so maybe not too big a deal for me? I could be ok without the speakers. I actually don't know when the rear heated seats would ever get used or the steering. Biggest things are range and speed but I also like foglights for visibility but can also live without.

Starting to just care less and less for performance the way it comes. Stealth was perfect.

 

[ZapCarM3]

For whoever cares, I think I have definitely ruled out the performance version. Factors include...

This is my first "nice car" and I'm quite young to be owning such a nice car by some metrics. More than that, however, I am certain the newer teslas will be absolutely amazing in comparison and there's this little window where the 3 and Y hold value very well right now but I imagine they will go the way of the older S in just a few years and I don't want to be stuck with the performance version then, I will probably want whatever is nicer. So if I am to splurge, I'd rather do it a little later than right now because right now seems so close to the day that the next generation of 3's or maybe whatever this speculated model 2 is might be much more desirable to me. Or heck, even the S if I can swing it...

And with the belief that this day will come so soon but I want a tesla ASAP, I should get one of the more affordable versions and save a little room for upgrades on a future Tesla purchase, not this one.

So really, I imagine I'd only have this car for a couple years or so, but if I have it for longer, I should have no problems owning the SR+ or LR.

But I think I will go with the LR because I imagine it holds value about as well as the SR+ and I can enjoy those perks in the meantime, as can whoever gets the car after me. I think the performance is less affordable and might look like a car that is driven harder on average. I'm sure it depreciates faster or harder than the other 2 trims and the only real upgrade for most consumers is the speed, but I think the lower price point and higher range of the LR is more meaningful overall, but the upgrades of LR over SR are meaningful as well so I think both the two cheaper options make a ton of sense for everyone and are well worth the money. The performance really is only if you care a little less about resale value and care a lot about speed and maybe care about the extra parts and features.

In short, I believe that the LR will hold value about as well as SR+, is plenty fast, and will be easier to sell/maybe cheaper insurance than performance and I don't plan to keep the car very long anyway. I'd like to sell it when the value is still close to MSRP on the used market. If I get performance, I know it will be several times harder to resist aftermarket changes. If I get LR, I can probably be happy with the stock setup and just add tint and a few small interior things/PPF

 

[hcdavis3]

Not sure you should drive with headphones, especially noise cancelling. With loud music and windows up it can be difficult to hear emergency vehicles, so I imagine it's impossible with noise cancellation on.

That being said, when making your decision also consider that while a higher trim model may cost more initially, you'll be able to sell it for more. So the actual ownership cost won't be the difference between the purchase prices, but actually less than that.

Although, if you're going to swap parts (suspension, wheels, etc) expect to take a hit on resale. I've found that (with higher end cars especially) any type of aftermarket modifications hurt the value.

I really don't think there is a "wrong" decision when it comes to the model 3 (or Y for the matter). They're all incredible cars. I ended up getting the performance model 3 because I wanted the bat out of hell acceleration, but I've found I'm not a fan of the giant boat anchor wheels (from a high speed acceleration and efficiency standpoint) and I prefer the slick back cars without the spoiler.

Cheers
Charlie

I have a 3 LR. I get nearly the bat out of hell experience with acceleration boost for less money than the performance.

 

[ZapCarM3]

I have a 3 LR. I get nearly the bat out of hell experience with acceleration boost for less money than the performance.

Not sure I'll get it but I can see why it's tempting. I'm mostly upset about a couple years ago you could get a stealth model 3 which had the LR but with performance motors so you'd have the same 0 to 60 as performance for the same price AB costs now.

 

[charlieaf92]

I have a 3 LR. I get nearly the bat out of hell experience with acceleration boost for less money than the performance.

I can imagine. I personally think the P is probably overkill for anyone unless you are hell bent on having the fastest version, or intend on tracking it. To be fair, I haven't done a lot of research on non-P track performance but my general feeling is that the lack of a track mode and smaller brakes make it far less capable of managing heat generated from sustained hard driving.

 

[cardsdoc]

For whoever cares, I think I have definitely ruled out the performance version. Factors include...

This is my first "nice car" and I'm quite young to be owning such a nice car by some metrics. More than that, however, I am certain the newer teslas will be absolutely amazing in comparison and there's this little window where the 3 and Y hold value very well right now but I imagine they will go the way of the older S in just a few years and I don't want to be stuck with the performance version then, I will probably want whatever is nicer. So if I am to splurge, I'd rather do it a little later than right now because right now seems so close to the day that the next generation of 3's or maybe whatever this speculated model 2 is might be much more desirable to me. Or heck, even the S if I can swing it...

And with the belief that this day will come so soon but I want a tesla ASAP, I should get one of the more affordable versions and save a little room for upgrades on a future Tesla purchase, not this one.

So really, I imagine I'd only have this car for a couple years or so, but if I have it for longer, I should have no problems owning the SR+ or LR.

But I think I will go with the LR because I imagine it holds value about as well as the SR+ and I can enjoy those perks in the meantime, as can whoever gets the car after me. I think the performance is less affordable and might look like a car that is driven harder on average. I'm sure it depreciates faster or harder than the other 2 trims and the only real upgrade for most consumers is the speed, but I think the lower price point and higher range of the LR is more meaningful overall, but the upgrades of LR over SR are meaningful as well so I think both the two cheaper options make a ton of sense for everyone and are well worth the money. The performance really is only if you care a little less about resale value and care a lot about speed and maybe care about the extra parts and features.

In short, I believe that the LR will hold value about as well as SR+, is plenty fast, and will be easier to sell/maybe cheaper insurance than performance and I don't plan to keep the car very long anyway. I'd like to sell it when the value is still close to MSRP on the used market. If I get performance, I know it will be several times harder to resist aftermarket changes. If I get LR, I can probably be happy with the stock setup and just add tint and a few small interior things/PPF

 

[ZapCarM3]

View attachment 693427

You don't have to tell me analysis paralysis.

 

[ZapCarM3]

I can imagine. I personally think the P is probably overkill for anyone unless you are hell bent on having the fastest version, or intend on tracking it. To be fair, I haven't done a lot of research on non-P track performance but my general feeling is that the lack of a track mode and smaller brakes make it far less capable of managing heat generated from sustained hard driving.

I'm sure, and no performance tires to come with but I'd argue 18s in summer tires might be better. Regardless...

But maybe I'll take it out to a track anyway sometime just to see how it really feels around turns when I can drive as I like without road rules. Sounds fun.

I hate that regen is disabled in track mode. I've used it in test drives and I miss going back to using brakes. Why do they do this?

 

[charlieaf92]

I hate that regen is disabled in track mode. I've used it in test drives and I miss going back to using brakes. Why do they do this?

I've thought about this quite a bit and I believe its related to thermal management. Tracking a car is extremely taxing. Repeated full throttle accelerations is going to heat things up quite a bit. Regen braking adds heat back into the system. I suspect regen is disabled to help keep temperatures down (track mode also has a compressor overclock option to help cool things). This is another reason why the bigger brakes is a good idea for track driving - since you won't have the regen to help slow the car.

 

[ZapCarM3]

I've thought about this quite a bit and I believe its related to thermal management. Tracking a car is extremely taxing. Repeated full throttle accelerations is going to heat things up quite a bit. Regen braking adds heat back into the system. I suspect regen is disabled to help keep temperatures down (track mode also has a compressor overclock option to help cool things). This is another reason why the bigger brakes is a good idea for track driving - since you won't have the regen to help slow the car.

Yes, I imagine so. Delegate the braking/heat to the brakes and make the brakes more capable than the lower trim forms. But it is a sad feature to lose when tracking since that might be my favorite time of all to have it, you know? Oh well, probably not getting performance anyway.