Track Mode m3p

[Visionary]

Hi guys recently got a model 3 performance. The track mode icon on the display for me is greyed out. Not sure why.

Can you only activate if you are near a racetrack or can use it on the street if you want?

 

[Nocturnal]

You have to be parked to enable it. No reason to use it on the street unless you are trying to do donuts in a snow covered parking lot. (I wouldn't know anything about that myself)

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

Hi guys recently got a model 3 performance. The track mode icon on the display for me is greyed out. Not sure why.

Can you only activate if you are near a racetrack or can use it on the street if you want?

Please don't use it on the street. Safe places only. We all want to live, and we also all want to continue to have non-geo-fenced Track Mode. Not that I really think Tesla would do that, but out of an abundance of caution, and safety....

 

[Visionary]

You have to be parked to enable it. No reason to use it on the street unless you are trying to do donuts in a snow covered parking lot. (I wouldn't know anything about that myself)

Thanks, didn't know I had to be on park to enable it. Will try it later.

Alan, I agree I was just more curious to know why it was greyed out. Thanks!

 

[Perry]

Please don't use it on the street. Safe places only. We all want to live, and we also all want to continue to have non-geo-fenced Track Mode. Not that I really think Tesla would do that, but out of an abundance of caution, and safety....

I think this over cautiousness of using track mode outside the track is misplaced. Yes I know Tesla states to not do so but it's probably for different reasons than what they say. Track mode is definitely not any less safe than normal mode in any way.

I speak from experience having more miles on my car in track mode than not. I have been using it exclusively, since it was released, for all my driving. I have done extensive testing in all conditions (rain, dry, all kinds of roads) gradually taking the car to its gripping limit to see where and if, it truly puts the car in any more danger. My conclusion is that I don't think it does, which is contrary to my initial belief shaped by statements on this forum and from Tesla.

I have not been able to spin the car or lose traction any more with it on than off. Even in track mode, skid control and stabilization control are still present just slightly more forgiving on power limitation. I repeat the nannies are not turned off just tuned for more aggressive driving which is what I do anyway so its more befitting. Where the differences are more noticeable is in the cooling and regen braking. Two things that have nothing to do with safety.

The regen is more powerful and more to my liking allowing for much less brake pedal use. And the cooling in track mode is actually the way it should have been by default. It completely eliminates the power restriction that was plaguing me due to inadequate cooling of the batteries. I think track mode is miss-named, probably for warrantee reasons to discourage its frequent use. Sure, the life of the cooler if frequently put in overdrive might be shortened but that is Tesla's fault for not putting a beefier cooler in there that can do the job when it's needed rather than cheep out and cut power instead.

I argue and believe that Track Mode is actually "proper operation" mode and just as safe. The normal mode is more of an efficiency mode that I don't care much for, and has no place on a performance oriented model. There is already a chill mode for that so the efficient cooling mode belongs there. It would be nice if the "Track Mode" term was retired and the three functions it represents where separated into la carte options that can be set while driving:
1. No power limitation with skid/stabilization control (on/off)
2. Mad Max regen (on/off)
3. No power limitation cooling overdrive (on/off) (ON uses more battery)

This way, on the streets, you could have 2, 3 ON and 1 OFF, if you're insecure about your driving abilities, although I believe even with all of them ON, this car is still safer than any other car on the road because of its low center of gravity. Even with my overly aggressive driving and intention, it is very difficult to get into trouble or lose control of this car in Track Mode. It is that well balanced and this mode should be used daily for those who want the best out of their performance vehicle.

 

[Orwell]

I agree, I've used track mode plenty on the streets. It's not any less safe.

To add to that list, I'd like the option for "More Torque for Rotation" and "Enhanced Cornering Power".

How Track Mode Works

I really wish we had paddles to quickly "shift" between different regen levels like on the Hyundai, Honda, Audi BEVs.

Left would be for more regen. Right would be for less all the way down to none for coasting. Would be similar to traditional transmissions downshifting and engine braking.

 

[jjrandorin]

I would like to know where you are driving "on the streets" that you can drive "aggressive" enough to "need" additional cooling.... and where you can do that safely. Unless you are driving on the proverbial "closed rode in mexico", "pushing the car to the limit of grip" on public roads with others driving on them is not safe, regardless of your particular driving skill. The people around you probably dont have your driving skill, for example. Everyone makes mistakes as well, even professional drivers.

They call it "track mode" because driving that would push the car like that is not legal on public roads.


There are plenty of people in plenty of car brands that drive the way you are describing, this is not a tesla thing (mustangs, bmws, porsche, audi, etc). Doesnt mean its correct. Commuter roads with regular commuters are not the place for "testing the grip limits".

Do that somewhere safe, like on acreage you own, or some other private place... like a track designed for such auto play.

 

[Knightshade]

I would like to know where you are driving "on the streets" that you can drive "aggressive" enough to "need" additional cooling.... and where you can do that safely.

Perry is the guy who was posting energy consumption graphs of like 900wh/mi or something similarly insane on public roads, with the car constantly overheating and pulling power from him in daily driving....far as I can tell he's unaware the right pedal is anything but an on/off switch.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

I agree with the following:
1) Would be good to be able to have access to the other pieces of the Track Mode package while maintaining maximum stability safety.
2) Track Mode definitely does not disable stability control and allows for predictable handling at the limit. (Case in point, you have not crashed while using it.). In my one autocross while using it, I found it easier to rotate the car as compared to not using it, but other than that it seemed subtle, actually (admittedly only a few minutes of use at full tilt, in total). Seemed like it was cutting power less at the limits, but I don’t have enough seat time with it to have a clear picture/comparison.

Otherwise:

Track mode is definitely not any less safe than normal mode in any way.

I find this to be doubtful. I believe Track Mode allows you to operate closer to the limits of the vehicle.

In general, I really do think that if there are any other people or cars around (in an uncontrolled environment), it is not appropriate to be driving in a way that requires Track Mode. I would not want an F1 driver to be driving that way on the streets either. Everyone makes mistakes, and outside of a closed (or extremely unpopulated) course, the environment just is not controlled enough.

Personally, even when no one is around, I do not trust my ability to reliably recover control of the vehicle in every situation: So, I don’t drive that way on the street. I lost control of my Subaru Outback Sport one time deliberately playing around on ice, prior to my pre-frontal cortex being fully formed, and that chastened me. I was lucky that time, and even though I’m a much better driver now, I will continue to leave the “driving at the limits” for autocross or tracks.

As I said originally, an abundance of caution is in order. Life is fragile.

Be safe out there!

 

[Perry]

I would like to know where you are driving "on the streets" that you can drive "aggressive" enough to "need" additional cooling.... and where you can do that safely. Unless you are driving on the proverbial "closed rode in mexico", "pushing the car to the limit of grip" on public roads with others driving on them is not safe, regardless of your particular driving skill. The people around you probably don't have your driving skill, for example. Everyone makes mistakes as well, even professional drivers.

Yes all your points are valid and I do most of my spirited driving in the middle of the night on desolate mountain roads where I am familiar with traffic patterns and danger zones. Rest assured I will not be around you or anyone else doing this but track days are way too limited and lenient on the car. There are not that many tracks with winding uphill roads that stress the car to the edge.

They call it "track mode" because driving that would push the car like that is not legal on public roads.

Like I said it is a lazy term and I think a misnomer. There is very little in there that has to do with the track. The two most prominent features are proper cooling and aggressive regen. The remaining third component explained in my previous post is almost not noticeable in its subtlety and presents zero danger when used.

There are plenty of people in plenty of car brands that drive the way you are describing, this is not a Tesla thing (mustangs, bmws, porsche, audi, etc).

I didn't say it was a Tesla thing nor that there aren't others who do the same, although they mostly do it stupidly around traffic, endangering others, mainly to show off. I have no desire for that behavior and seek my fun in seclusion. Hence the reason I have not had any tickets since I was 25 years old, being 51 now.

 

[lbowroom]

Hwy 17 is pretty hard on cars. That's where there are (or used to be) warning signs to turn off your A/C to avoid overheating. I suppose those signs could be updated now to say "turn on track mode to avoid overheating".

 

[Perry]

Perry is the guy who was posting energy consumption graphs of like 900wh/mi or something similarly insane on public roads, with the car constantly overheating and pulling power from him in daily driving....far as I can tell he's unaware the right pedal is anything but an on/off switch.

Yes that's true consumption did go up as high as 1211wh/mi. And those dreaded power restriction dots that kill all the fun. That's unacceptable in a car made for performance . This was before track mode. Now I can pull a little more wh/mi than pictured and no dots.

 

[Perry]

I agree with the following:
1) Would be good to be able to have access to the other pieces of the Track Mode package while maintaining maximum stability safety.
2) Track Mode definitely does not disable stability control and allows for predictable handling at the limit. (Case in point, you have not crashed while using it.). In my one autocross while using it, I found it easier to rotate the car as compared to not using it, but other than that it seemed subtle, actually (admittedly only a few minutes of use at full tilt, in total). Seemed like it was cutting power less at the limits, but I don’t have enough seat time with it to have a clear picture/comparison.

Otherwise:


I find this to be doubtful. I believe Track Mode allows you to operate closer to the limits of the vehicle.

In general, I really do think that if there are any other people or cars around (in an uncontrolled environment), it is not appropriate to be driving in a way that requires Track Mode. I would not want an F1 driver to be driving that way on the streets either. Everyone makes mistakes, and outside of a closed (or extremely unpopulated) course, the environment just is not controlled enough.

Personally, even when no one is around, I do not trust my ability to reliably recover control of the vehicle in every situation: So, I don’t drive that way on the street. I lost control of my Subaru Outback Sport one time deliberately playing around on ice, prior to my pre-frontal cortex being fully formed, and that chastened me. I was lucky that time, and even though I’m a much better driver now, I will continue to leave the “driving at the limits” for autocross or tracks.

As I said originally, an abundance of caution is in order. Life is fragile.

Be safe out there!

I agree but even what you call "closer to the limits of the vehicle" limits are so conservative on the model 3 that they are still safer than most other cars whose most conservative mode allows much more danger and mischief. This is a testament to how incredibly stable and safe the model 3 is.

My point was that there is no need to fear Track Mode for non track driving especially if you get power restriction or just want that more aggressive regen. I was so cautious with it at first thinking that I would be skidding all over the place from all the misinformation I have read. That could not be further from the truth.

But I will agree with you that even the model 3 can not save stupid. If you drive beyond your limits you will get in trouble with any car no matter the mode.

 

[Nocturnal]

I agree, I've used track mode plenty on the streets. It's not any less safe.

It is definitely less safe. No question about it. It's far easier to spin your car in Track Mode. Not saying it's "dangerous" at all but not as controlled as the standard mode.

But the bigger point is, unless you are goofing around, why would anyone use it on the street? If you are driving hard enough to really need that extra handling you probably shouldn't be on a public road.

Like I said it is a lazy term and I think a misnomer. There is very little in there that has to do with the track. The two most prominent features are proper cooling and aggressive regen. The remaining third component explained in my previous post is almost not noticeable in its subtlety and presents zero danger when used.

Not sure what you mean by that. The extra regen and cooling are not useful on the street and track mode definitely does a lot in the handling department. It's not just about cooling. Just compare track times with the mode on vs off. The program that handles traction etc. is very different.

 

[Perry]

It is definitely less safe. No question about it. It's far easier to spin your car in Track Mode. Not saying it's "dangerous" at all but not as controlled as the standard mode.

But the bigger point is, unless you are goofing around, why would anyone use it on the street? If you are driving hard enough to really need that extra handling you probably shouldn't be on a public road.
Not sure what you mean by that. The extra regen and cooling are not useful on the street and track mode definitely does a lot in the handling department. It's not just about cooling. Just compare track times with the mode on vs off. The program that handles traction etc. is very different.

Sorry but I disagree. It is nearly impossible to spin the car even with Track Mode on and I have tried even in the wet. Not saying it's totally impossible but you have to try really hard, be purposeful, and/or drive so recklessly that the car would spin even without track mode. Like I said I have a lot of miles (most of them) driven exclusively with track mode ON and have never spun the car even though my intention was to do so many times in the rain. The rear drifts slightly as it also does with track mode off but the rear has never spun on me or lose control in any way. The only difference as far as traction control is concerned is that it power limits a little less on sharp turns which to me is how it should normally behave. The nannies are still engaged but more tuned to an European style of driving rather than an overly cautious US style.

The biggest differences are not in traction control but in cooling and regen and both those features help tremendously on the streets. Cooling is inadequate without track mode especially when climbing long mountainous roads at descent speeds because a lot of juice is sucked out of the battery heat soaking it. And regen is more aggressive in Track Mode, as it should normally be, helping with said mountainous roads on the way down. Overall the Track Mode configuration should have been the default configuration on the performance model with chill mode being the current default config.

 

[Nocturnal]

Sorry but I disagree. It is nearly impossible to spin the car even with Track Mode on and I have tried even in the wet. Not saying its impossible but you have to try really hard, be purposeful, and/or drive so recklessly that the car would spin even without track mode. Like I said I have a lot of miles (most of them) driven exclusively with track mode on and have never spun the car even though my intention was to do so many times in the rain. The rear drifts slightly as it does with track mode off as well but the rear does not spin or lose control in any way. The only difference as far as traction control is concerned is that it power limits a little less on sharp turns which to me is how it should normally behave.

The biggest differences are not in traction control but in cooling and regen and those two features especially the regen, which is way better in track mode, does belong on the streets. Anyway I've made these points in previous posts so read those if interested.

I didn't write that correctly. Instead of spin say "lose traction" and control. Track mode can easily give you donuts in the snow and I've had it break the back tires loose in some loose gravel.

Either way you are stressing your battery/coolant system and decreasing range for no material gain on the street. I have no idea why you would do that. That part you have not explained. What do you think you are gaining?

 

[Perry]

I didn't write that correctly. Instead of spin say "lose traction" and control. Track mode can easily give you donuts in the snow and I've had it break the back tires loose in some loose gravel.

Either way you are stressing your battery/coolant system and decreasing range for no material gain on the street. I have no idea why you would do that.

I am glad you corrected in that there is no spin out of control scenario like many like to imply scaring people off. I will add that there is no extra danger to be had because the car's computer is still very active in protecting against the rear spinning out. There is also never any loss of control. Yes the wheels might briefly loose grip in the apex of an extremely aggressive turn but that's the whole point of not limiting power on sharp turns in that you will momentarily have more power than there is grip so that you can carry that power through the turn. That's how performance cars should behave and do behave (especially European tuned cars) not shut you down and destroy all your momentum. That's fine in chill mode but should not be like that by default especially if you want to compete with BMW and other European performance cars which have Track Mode like behavior in their skid control by default and in no way scare people off from its use like Tesla does with this improperly named "Track Mode" which should be on by default.

 

[usofrob]

I have found Track Mode to make it much easier to spin in the snow. I found it was more fun in the really slippery stuff just to be in normal mode.

However, I agree with Perry that it's generally not that risky to drive with Track Mode on in the streets. But, I've only done it a few times since putting my summer tires back on. I mostly appreciate it for the added regen, and the fact that it forces you to drive the car (can't use autopilot or cruise), which just creates more driver engagement. I don't live near the mountains, but I can clearly see how having the better cooling is helpful for that.

Also, I've found that Track Mode seems to help when I'm accelerating from a stop and turning. It's just lenient enough to let me get moving into heavy traffic without having unexpected slowdowns from slipping over bumps in the road that might normally cause the stability control to remove a little power.

Finally, I can drive like a maniac with or without Track Mode on. It just feels more fun when it's enabled. And, that's kind of what it's about for me.

 

[paranoidroid]

I have used Track Mode for a few days on the track and taken it to its limits and have seen maybe a dozen or more spins in Track Mode from Tesla Corsa events.

The danger I see with Track Mode is not so much aggressive corners which the car is highly controllable but in a sudden spin when the car is unexpectedly unsettled in high speed, or a lift-off oversteer which unloads the rear and results in a high speed spin. This can catch you off guard since you aren't expecting it vs an aggressive corner where you aren't going as fast and when you are ready to catch any slippage. Not able to catch and recover in this case can be catastrophic on public roads.

So my opinion of Track Mode on public roads after taking it to the limits myself as well as observing 30+ other Tesla drivers drive with it on the track and watching when and how spin happens is it's actually too loose for public use in fast spirited driving. Those unexpected spins (seen a dozen + ) would not have happened without Track Mode enabled - and when they did happen they were on a track where they weren't putting the public in danger.

Yes, right now you've had no issues with it and you may be fine to continue with it as a 'default' mode but like with all risks of this sort - everything is fine until all of a sudden one day something unexpected happens and it isn't.

 

[Perry]

I have used Track Mode for a few days on the track and taken it to its limits and have seen maybe a dozen or more spins in Track Mode from Tesla Corsa events.

Yep, this is normal and has nothing to do with Track Mode. Correlation is not causation. This is due to the suspension on the model 3 that was designed for city comfort and not for performance driving. This would have happened even with Track Mode off under the same conditions and yes I have seen the videos of the Tesla Corsa spin-outs and am well aware of the poor suspension performance that has caused those events to occur.

The danger I see with Track Mode is not so much aggressive corners which the car is highly controllable but in a sudden spin when the car is unexpectedly unsettled in high speed, or a lift-off oversteer which unloads the rear and results in a high speed spin.

You said it not me. All indicators of inadequate suspension characteristics for the given conditions. This is why getting the MPP sport coil-overs was a priority for me after realizing this as being the problem after my first test outing. It is indeed a shame for Tesla to not have provided a more appropriate suspension package especially on the performance model. It is down right dangerous to do anything aggressive on the model 3 with the stock suspension. It is way too soft and loads up too easily on any kind of uneven ground causing it to buck at high speeds inducing loss of control due to the car's rear being briefly flung in the air.

This can catch you off guard since you aren't expecting it vs an aggressive corner where you aren't going as fast and when you are ready to catch any slippage. Not able to catch and recover in this case can be catastrophic on public roads.

Again we agree on the effect just not the cause.

Those unexpected spins (seen a dozen + ) would not have happened without Track Mode enabled - and when they did happen they were on a track where they weren't putting the public in danger.

Unless you drive in track mode exclusively as I have for months now, I can safely say that I have driven more Track Mode miles than you and I'll have to totally disagree with you here. With the proper suspension you will not get the described negative behavior you are attributing to Track Mode and without it you will -- Track Mode or not.