Worth buying performance over LR+boost JUST for the acceleration increase?

[21SR+]

I have no need for ANY of the other upgrades that come with the performance, and I would also need to buy a winter set of rims/tires/tpms. I live in the north east were its cold/winrer for 2/3 of the year.

If my only interest is in the acceleration difference between the two is it worth it?

Does the LR Boost "feel" similar to the performance? If im not racing and recording numbers how does it feel to the butt dyno?

 

[tm1v2]

Have you done LR (no AB) and P test drives back-to-back yet?

The usual question is, how much do you care about off-the-line vs low speed vs highway speeds?

I wish I could give a direct answer but I haven't driven a car with AB. The only guidance I can give is that from very low speeds the P feels very obviously quicker than the LR (no AB), but on the highway they felt the same to me, zero difference that my butt dyno could feel when driven two days apart. Obviously AB will make the low speed acceleration closer.

Since the P's other enhancements don't matter for you, I would only suggest the P if you're really into punching it from a stoplight. (Or proper drag racing but you said no racing. ) Otherwise the difference vs LR AB is going to be pretty minimal and doesn't seem worthwhile unless money ain't a thang.

 

[glide]

I have no need for ANY of the other upgrades that come with the performance, and I would also need to buy a winter set of rims/tires/tpms. I live in the north east were its cold/winrer for 2/3 of the year.

If my only interest is in the acceleration difference between the two is it worth it?

Does the LR Boost "feel" similar to the performance? If im not racing and recording numbers how does it feel to the butt dyno?

No it’s not worth it for the acceleration alone. When you factor in the extra set of tires and harsher ride, it’s definitely not worth it in the Northeast.

The only thing the P model has going for it, is you can get it sooner.

 

[EVolv3d]

If you're going by acceleration and "butt dyno" feel alone, then no.

The LR AB is going to feel plenty fast, especially depending on what car you're coming from. Regardless of which model you go with, it's often one of the fastest accelerating cars that an average person has driven. There's a minimal difference in acceleration on paper or by measuring it with a dragy/at the drag strip. FWIW, the M3 LR+ AB is nearly identical in acceleration compared to the MYP.

The M3P is slightly faster until ~40 mph (meaning you'll feel slightly more g-force accelerating from a standstill/low speeds). From 50+ mph they'll be nearly identical in acceleration. There are videos of the LR w/ AB being equal or even beating the M3P from a roll. The SoC, battery temp, and weight will determine the winner between the two.

M3P:
0-60mph: ~3.2-3.3 seconds (3.1 w/ 1-ft rollout)
1/4 mile: ~11.5 @ 116 mph

M3 LR w/ AB:
0-60mph: ~3.6-3.7 seconds (3.5 w/ 1-ft rollout)
1/4 mile: ~11.8 @ 117 mph

There's roughly a 0.3 second difference between their 0-40 mph times. After that, the acceleration is quite similar and the M3 LR w/AB may have a slightly higher 1/4 mile trap speed. If the SoC and battery temp are in favor of the LR+AB, it can certainly out accelerate an M3P.

Of course, the M3P has higher potential with its rear motor (980 IPM-SynRM) and will be always be faster given all variables are equal. The later 2022+ M3P models should also be receiving the 3D6 hairpin wound rear stator. This theoretically means higher power limits, better heat dissipation & improved efficiency. Tesla could someday provide another power boost to M3P making it even faster.. but then it may begin stepping on the Model S' toes. There's at least another 16kW (~20 whp) available as seen with the MYP. The M3P is just being software limited given the same hardware as the MYP.

If you don't plan to use track mode and factor in the cost of downsizing from the pothole magnet, 20" boat anchors & rubber band tires.. then the M3P isn't worth the extra money. If you ever plan on tracking the car or will regret not getting the "best" top tier performance model, then go with the M3P.

 

[raptor5244]

As a prior owner of an M3P I would not buy it again just for the acceleration. Track Mode is worth every penny in the M3 Performance, if you actually plan to track it. The LR + Boost is the better package if you don't plan to track the car.

Now, if they would have actually put a better package together I would buy it again.

1. Mag-ride suspension with drive modes
2. Sporty seats with real bolstering that can hold you in place during spirited driving
3. Heads up display, maybe some performance gauges. Interior is too boring for a performance model.
4. Ability to relax or disable some of the nannies. The car is too locked down for a performance trim. So much software control that the car is not playful at all unless you put it in track mode every time you drive it. Track Mode is overkill for a lot of driving. Just need a Sport Mode with proper tuning of the nannies.
5. Add a true LSD or put drive units on each wheel.
6. I would prefer a performance RWD trim, which should help lower the weight a bit. RWD only feels more like the SR+ trim and has more of a mid-engine kind of feel with less weight up front.
7. More aggressive front facia and rear diffuser and wider fender to distinguish the Performance trim.
8. 19" wheels with wider tires, lightweight and forged.

 

[shephard357]

If you're going by acceleration and "butt dyno" feel alone, then no.

The LR AB is going to feel plenty fast, especially depending on what car you're coming from. Regardless of which model you go with, it's often one of the fastest accelerating cars that an average person has driven. There's a minimal difference in acceleration on paper or by measuring it with a dragy/at the drag strip. FWIW, the M3 LR+ AB is nearly identical in acceleration compared to the MYP.

The M3P is slightly faster until ~40 mph (meaning you'll feel slightly more g-force accelerating from a standstill/low speeds). From 50+ mph they'll be nearly identical in acceleration. There are videos of the LR w/ AB being equal or even beating the M3P from a roll. The SoC, battery temp, and weight will determine the winner between the two.

M3P:
0-60mph: ~3.2-3.3 seconds (3.1 w/ 1-ft rollout)
1/4 mile: ~11.5 @ 116 mph

M3 LR w/ AB:
0-60mph: ~3.6-3.7 seconds (3.5 w/ 1-ft rollout)
1/4 mile: ~11.8 @ 117 mph

There's roughly a 0.3 second difference between their 0-40 mph times. After that, the acceleration is quite similar and the M3 LR w/AB may have a slightly higher 1/4 mile trap speed. If the SoC and battery temp are in favor of the LR+AB, it can certainly out accelerate an M3P.

Of course, the M3P has higher potential with its rear motor (980 IPM-SynRM) and will be always be faster given all variables are equal. The later 2022+ M3P models should also be receiving the 3D6 hairpin wound rear stator. This theoretically means higher power limits, better heat dissipation & improved efficiency. Tesla could someday provide another power boost to M3P making it even faster.. but then it may begin stepping on the Model S' toes. There's at least another 16kW (~20 whp) available as seen with the MYP. The M3P is just being software limited given the same hardware as the MYP.

If you don't plan to use track mode and factor in the cost of downsizing from the pothole magnet, 20" boat anchors & rubber band tires.. then the M3P isn't worth the extra money. If you ever plan on tracking the car or will regret not getting the "best" top tier performance model, then go with the M3P.

Thanks for this info…I’ve been looking for these details and haven’t found them anywhere else. Did you record these times or did you find them from a broader data source?

I am waiting on my VIN for my M3 LR AWD…for a lot of the reasons mentioned here, i decided against the M3P. I may drive it for a few days without the boost…then get the boost and see if there is a tangible difference. However, if we are all honest with ourselves, just the knowledge that you have a sub 4 car is, in and of itself, pretty freaking awesome.

 

[Sorny]

I applied acceleration boost before ever putting the car in drive while still in the lot after signing my paperwork.

 

[21SR+]

Update. Traded my long range in for a model 3 P. It was a good deal and actually cheaper for me to buy my 22 lr and trade in for a 2021 p ( all identical features, my 22lr didnr have ryzen/battery/heated wipers ) vs me buying a 22p from the start.

It cost me 8k canadian to move from my white/black lr wirh 250pkm to a red/white 2021p whith 6000km.

The difference is even less when considering I was going to invest 3k into the boost regardless.

 

[EVolv3d]

Thanks for this info…I’ve been looking for these details and haven’t found them anywhere else. Did you record these times or did you find them from a broader data source?

Those times are from analyzing stock cars on Dragy & DragTimes. The performance metrics on these cars are very consistent once the battery is warm and SoC is ~80%+. You'll get worse times if the battery is cold/not preheated. There is a noticeable difference in the butt dyno "feel" with a cold vs warm battery. This difference is reflected when you look at the max discharge & torque/power output numbers in ScanMyTesla or do acceleration tests with a dragy or at a drag strip.

I've personally recorded those times in my '22 M3P. Modified M3Ps with lighter wheels, tires and some weight reduction can typically shave off another 0.1-0.2 seconds. The tires are the tricky part to to "tune" because there seems to be a sweet spot in terms of tire compound/tread (traction vs friction), width/contact patch (friction), weight, and diameter (changing FD). A lot of the faster M3Ps, LR+ AB & LR Ghost that I've seen have narrower and higher tread wear tires. It seems that you want to find the ultimate balance of traction/grip vs rolling resistance/grip. You want just enough to grip to prevent traction control from engaging and restricting power while minimizing rolling resistance to prevent the car from using unnecessary power to overcome the extra tire/ground friction when the extra grip isn't required. When you're trying to improve performance of a car like these, all of these little details come into play chasing hundredths of seconds when there's no official powertrain tuning/modification yet.

With that said, the battery temp and then SoC will play the larger role in your acceleration as it'll change the numbers by tenths rather than hundredths.

I think you made the right choice with the M3 LR AWD. I personally would have waited another 6 months to a year to purchase my M3P had I known of the updates coming soon... The Ryzen processor, updated drive unit (hairpin wound rear stator), Li-Ion battery, etc. There are rumors of other improvements to the powertrain to maintain power/acceleration to higher speeds. But then I would probably want to wait to see when the 4680 is going to make its way to the M3P. It's cliché.. but these cars are like cell phones, there's always an updated model with new technology right around the corner.. At what point are you happy settling and knowing there will always be a better model coming. Luckily with the used car market demand right now, it's pretty easy to upgrade from a financial standpoint.

 

[Destiny1701]

I have a 22’ LR a/boost and it’s astonishing the throttle response diff between a non AB.
Its plenty fast and gets max range to boot

Handles incredible! The P obv pulls more but the diff is not as noticeable. I went to my SC test drove a PM3 and then got back into my 3LRAB…yes you can feel slightly less pull off the line but no less incredible…and around 30’mph when launching…the feel is literally similar. (I’m in Canada so around 50kph + is where I felt the diff was no longer discernible. )

All depends what you value? Maybe that extra .4 sec makes the diff and or investing in future unlocking perhaps for the P? Who knows.

I’ve always felt the LR w/ab is the sweet spot for this car!

 

[21SR+]

I have a 22’ LR a/boost and it’s astonishing the throttle response diff between a non AB.
Its plenty fast and gets max range to boot

Handles incredible! The P obv pulls more but the diff is not as noticeable. I went to my SC test drove a PM3 and then got back into my 3LRAB…yes you can feel slightly less pull off the line but no less incredible…and around 30’mph when launching…the feel is literally similar. (I’m in Canada so around 50kph + is where I felt the diff was no longer discernible. )

All depends what you value? Maybe that extra .4 sec makes the diff and or investing in future unlocking perhaps for the P? Who knows.

I’ve always felt the LR w/ab is the sweet spot for this car!

Yeah, you are right. But the off the line is dramatically different, and this is were the fun is since its legal speeds.


Think about the .5 difference between the lr and lr with boost. If it was that dramatic and you were inpressed imagine ANOTHER .4 or .5 second faster for the performance. Its IMO easy to come up with reasons to support your own decisions but think about the above example.

Look at the drag race for the SR LR and P. From a roll even the SR+ holds its own with the higher trims. Would this mean its as "fast" as the others because there was not a huge difference at a 50 or 60 roll ( I forget the exact speed ).

I think once you get used to the lr boost feeling stepping into a P would feel quite significant.

And to put it another way, lets say tesla offered ANOTHER upgrade to the LR to make it .4 or .5 faster to match the performance, would you pay for it? Or would you honestly say nope, this is perfect fine as it is? Because that is part of the upgrade cost.

For example it costs 3000 candian for the boost. If they release a boost + for another 3000 to match peformance we would be at 6k.

4k would net 20s, better suspension, brembo brakes, track mode.

 

[Destiny1701]

Yeah, you are right. But the off the line is dramatically different, and this is were the fun is since its legal speeds.


Think about the .5 difference between the lr and lr with boost. If it was that dramatic and you were inpressed imagine ANOTHER .4 or .5 second faster for the performance. Its IMO easy to come up with reasons to support your own decisions but think about the above example.

Look at the drag race for the SR LR and P. From a roll even the SR+ holds its own with the higher trims. Would this mean its as "fast" as the others because there was not a huge difference at a 50 or 60 roll ( I forget the exact speed ).

I think once you get used to the lr boost feeling stepping into a P would feel quite significant.

And to put it another way, lets say tesla offered ANOTHER upgrade to the LR to make it .4 or .5 faster to match the performance, would you pay for it? Or would you honestly say nope, this is perfect fine as it is? Because that is part of the upgrade cost.

For example it costs 3000 candian for the boost. If they release a boost + for another 3000 to match peformance we would be at 6k.

4k would net 20s, better suspension, brembo brakes, track mode.

Good points all around So here’s my take:

Financially: Right now in Canada there is a 10k variance between the P and the LR. Take out -2.7k for the boost which is their price here in Cnd $.

Diff: 7.3k plus hst (Ontario) so $8250 net difference for that .4 sec. (3.5 sec w/out roll to 3.9 w/out roll)

Range is 576 LR vs to 507km P. LR hands down there and given P owners tend to want to enjoy their P, likely real world the range is less on the P lol.

Suspension roughness in a 20” Uber to an 18” is quite different given the low profile of the 20.
P’s cannot go down to 18’s due to brake size so one is now forced to buy expensive 20” winter tires or a set of 19” rims/tires. (1.5k-2k extra $ either way vs $800 for a set of 18” winters on LR if you want to. They come all season so that’s even optional. The P gave summer performance tires so no option there).

I think I did state the feel and pull from 0-50 is different in the P hands down 100%. Basically stupid fast to ridicuous fast lol. ( I didn’t say ludicrous lest I confuse MS owners lol)
It’s the 50-130kph where the P and LRBoost start to merge a bit more. The P still having a slight edge.

The diff in feel wasn’t just the 4.4 sec down to 3.9. It was also mid to higher end torque and throttle 50-150kph even. So the diff between non AB to AB is felt across the entire power band. The diff from AB to P is felt primarily off the line and lessens as the speed increases. There is a value drop off there vs LR to LRAB for +2.7k. Not a large +10k from LR to P.
Ie. Pay 2.7k for .5 sec or another 7.3k on top of this for another .4 sec that is more so at 0-50) What’s the best value there for the $?

So if you count the $8250 net diff plus another $750 for the tires example above assuming bith owners sprung for winters you are at $9000 difference. Now where this starts to get closer is if LR owners now want to buy Uber rims, want a spoiler and to paint their calipers red. All in all around $4500 for this. (3500, 500 and 200 respectively). So to make an LR Boost essentially come close to a P and look exactly like one, with slightly better comfort in terms of susp rise height/dampening and 70km more range… $4500 diff.

For that… I agree get the damn P LOL she’s a gorgeous machine all around and lots of excited owners irrespective of this analysis!
But for most it’s that 9-10k diff that people see.

(I havnt though gone into the cost of ingenext boost 50 which is 1.2k vs AB 2.7k. So another 1.5k advantage to LR AB over the 9k variance…so now 10.5k diff or 6k if one wants the P look.

Correction: apparently one can put 18’s on a P. Still have to buy a winter rim/tire set vs an LR owner not having to if they want to run the all seasons.)

 

[jjrandorin]

I’ve always felt the LR w/ab is the sweet spot for this car!

It kind of is now... but the best deal tesla has ever offered (imo) was when they had the model 3 performance (aka "stealth") for only 2k more than a standard LR model 3. People who got that model, for that price, really made out.

 

[tm1v2]

It kind of is now... but the best deal tesla has ever offered (imo) was when they had the model 3 performance (aka "stealth") for only 2k more than a standard LR model 3. People who got that model, for that price, really made out.

Wow...that was a good deal! (compared to pricing for AB or M3P now)

How much extra was the PUP then? I do like the PUP brakes but if the PUP was another $6k on top of that $2k I'm pretty sure I would've saved the money and gotten a Stealth M3P.

 

[jjrandorin]

Wow...that was a good deal! (compared to pricing for AB or M3P now)

How much extra was the PUP then? I do like the PUP brakes but if the PUP was another $6k on top of that $2k I'm pretty sure I would've saved the money and gotten a Stealth M3P.

I forget the price difference between the LR and P at that time, but seem to remember it being around 8k or something like that. The Stealth for that price was sort of "we have some, you can buy this one". You couldnt "order" it per se, tesla just made some and made them available to purchase for that upcharge.

They later made it orderable (stealth) but it was the same price as a model 3P with the PUP. That stealth for 2k upcharge was a fairly short period of time.

 

[Destiny1701]

I forget the price difference between the LR and P at that time, but seem to remember it being around 8k or something like that. The Stealth for that price was sort of "we have some, you can buy this one". You couldnt "order" it per se, tesla just made some and made them available to purchase for that upcharge.

They later made it orderable (stealth) but it was the same price as a model 3P with the PUP. That stealth for 2k upcharge was a fairly short period of time.

I heard abt those. All the power but LR suspension?

 

[thesmokingman]

When we got the Y, I added up all the options on the Y LR and at a certain point the P was just a few grand away. It was a no brainer for me, do not want to be a few years down the line and going, "Damn, I shoulda woulda coulda got the P", so I talked the wife into it. She's driving it lol, but still.

 

[jjrandorin]

When we got the Y, I added up all the options on the Y LR and at a certain point the P was just a few grand away. It was a no brainer for me, do not want to be a few years down the line and going, "Damn, I shoulda woulda coulda got the P", so I talked the wife into it. She's driving it lol, but still.

Right now, the MYP is only 5k more than the LR. I have a MY P on order for the exact reason that you just mentioned (its also for my wife, lol). I figured "right now its a 5k difference, and I would be buying the acceleration boost for the LR because I couldnt resist myself as a Model 3P owner, so the difference is really 3k. 3K at this price point of vehicle is fairly insignificant. MY P it is! (talking to wife) "honey, you are getting the performance version!"

She laughed, then said "but then you are going to want to drive it more....." (lmao).

 

[thesmokingman]

^^Deja Vu!

 

[Black306]

Wow...that was a good deal! (compared to pricing for AB or M3P now)

How much extra was the PUP then? I do like the PUP brakes but if the PUP was another $6k on top of that $2k I'm pretty sure I would've saved the money and gotten a Stealth M3P.

PUP option was $7k in late 2019. Don't recall what an LR was, but IIRC it was ~$47-48k. Stealth was $50k and Performance with PUP was $57k.