Would the Model Y Fishtail with the acceleration?

[JulesVerne]

I've seen plenty of YouTube fails, where some yahoo with a Corvette, a Mustang, a Mercedes, does a peel out, and ends up fishtailing, and wiping out!
Is this going to happen with the Model Y (or 3). The Y, being AWD, will if have better traction control to prevent that?

 

[glide]

I've seen plenty of YouTube fails, where some yahoo with a Corvette, a Mustang, a Mercedes, does a peel out, and ends up fishtailing, and wiping out!
Is this going to happen with the Model Y (or 3). The Y, being AWD, will if have better traction control to prevent that?

That’s the difference between AWD with traction control and RWD without.

 

[jcanoe]

You are less likely to lose control and crash if the vehicle has AWD and stability control/traction control. Road conditions play a big part as do the tires on the vehicle. If the tires lose their grip you are probably going to crash. If you take a turn a bit too fast you may be ok as the stability control kicks in but ultimately if you are driving too fast for the course and the road conditions you will crash as the vehicle leaves the road without completing the turn.

In straight line acceleration if the rear wheels break free the traction control will transfer power to the front wheels for more grip. Traction control will not help you to stop; ABS will help you to stop in a straight line but maybe too late to prevent an accident.

 

[jjrandorin]

I've seen plenty of YouTube fails, where some yahoo with a Corvette, a Mustang, a Mercedes, does a peel out, and ends up fishtailing, and wiping out!
Is this going to happen with the Model Y (or 3). The Y, being AWD, will if have better traction control to prevent that?

Teslas have very good "nannies" which is the term normally used for all the systems that prevent loss of control. Some people get frustrated because the car is so good at not letting people "have fun" (slide, spin, etc). This is not a problem you are going to have, unless you do something very silly like hammer the accelerator to the floor and yank on the steering wheel dramatically to TRY to do it.

Of all the things to worry about, this isnt one.

 

[acarney]

I've seen plenty of YouTube fails, where some yahoo with a Corvette, a Mustang, a Mercedes, does a peel out, and ends up fishtailing, and wiping out!
Is this going to happen with the Model Y (or 3). The Y, being AWD, will if have better traction control to prevent that?

On a normal road surface, I don't think you can really get the Model 3 or Y to break loose from low speeds and just flooring it. Maybe in the wet and especially on painted or slick surfaces, but otherwise the traction control and grip is pretty dang good.

 

[JulesVerne]

Teslas have very good "nannies" which is the term normally used for all the systems that prevent loss of control. Some people get frustrated because the car is so good at not letting people "have fun" (slide, spin, etc). This is not a problem you are going to have, unless you do something very silly like hammer the accelerator to the floor and yank on the steering wheel dramatically to TRY to do it.

Of all the things to worry about, this isnt one.

I'm not going to be a madman. Everyone is giving me good information. Model Y -- Make it so...

 

[E_R_N]

You have zero chance of accomplishing any throttle induced oversteer. The 2wd model 3 I can get to break loose around a corner in the rain if I stomp on it just right or even in the snow but the car wont let you have that much fun. The AWD Y, in the snow I can get a sensation of the backend coming out but it lasts only a spit second, not long enough to enjoy it. Best I have managed is some high speed understeer but even then, the car doesn't let you play much at all.

 

[Rice&Curry]

All good points have been raised--- one more point t keep in mind is the speed of the vehicle and its momentum related force which can offset/counteract some of the stabilization which the traction control system provides - the laws of physics play an important role in such situations

 

[AllCattleNoHat]

Over the winter I had the opportunity to take our Model Y (LR) onto a frozen lake. Let me tell you the Model Y is about the most boring car in the world on a sheet of ice. It WILL move but it will not hang the tail out, if anything it understeers or if there is any grip to be found it just turns as you'd expect, but usually with more understeer than normal. I've previously been on the same lake in my old RWD Porsche 996 and various Audi Quattros and a Jeep Wrangler, all of which were a total blast, usually with Blizzaks or the like, but nothing studded. But not the Y, it was boring. The aim was to figure out what it would actually do in a low-traction situation, I definitely got my answer...so it was worthwhile.

It has so much software just stopping and controlling its dynamics that I don't think you'd ever need to be concerned on any normal road, no matter the conditions unless you floor it and purposely steer towards a tree or a crowd in which case it will almost assuredly get there faster than you anticipate. When on ice there are two modes (Off-Road mode and Slip Start mode) that can be selected from the car settings screen (scroll down a bit). OffRoad locks the torque split 50/50 which gets you going and does help in cornering on the ice, and Slip Start lets the wheels rotate and spin somewhat rather than the traction control clamping on the brakes, just enough to keep going.
Tires were Vredestein Wintrac Pro, a semi-performance winter tire that was excellent in the ice and snow of the Colorado roads this winter.

 

[Peelz]

you would REALLY have to yank the wheel under hard accel. to get the rear end of this thing to squirrel out on you.

or be on gravel... and even then i dont know, ive tried. its pretty damned smart.

 

[2101Guy]

The traction control on these cars seem to be second to none. Only vehicle Ive ever driven where I can never feel the traction/stability control kick in. Its like the sensors and tech know the precise limit of when the car is about to lose traction, then fully controls things. Its amazingly smooth in its ability to keep traction

 

[andaconda]

Maybe you could get it to 'kick out' if you used 'slip start.'

 

[Pianewman]

Someone mentioned "laws of physics." Reading these posts about trying to beat the stability control scare me.

It seems clear that IF you beat the stability control of the Model Y, you'd be in so deep you'd not be able to recover. Clearly others HAVE beaten the stability control, and have wrapped their cars around trees, etc. etc.

It's hard to have to trust. I was taught to "check the traction" in any snowfall event, carefully watching dropping temperature, to make certain what the traction limit was. Drove my wife crazy, but seriously, I always thought it was necessary, since there was no traction control to assist me. Now, I just have to trust.

 

[Double_J]

If you want it to fishtail you might need to get the ingenext mod. Otherwise the traction control will take over and keep you safe.

 

[Johnny Vector]

Someone mentioned "laws of physics." Reading these posts about trying to beat the stability control scare me.

It seems clear that IF you beat the stability control of the Model Y, you'd be in so deep you'd not be able to recover. Clearly others HAVE beaten the stability control, and have wrapped their cars around trees, etc. etc.

It's hard to have to trust. I was taught to "check the traction" in any snowfall event, carefully watching dropping temperature, to make certain what the traction limit was. Drove my wife crazy, but seriously, I always thought it was necessary, since there was no traction control to assist me. Now, I just have to trust.

You can still do the same thing. "I can't get it to slip" seems like a pretty good verification that the traction control can be trusted.

 

[Pianewman]

Johnny Vector: You mean I can continue to annoy my wife? HAHA! I'll let her know that you approve.

My point was, if you provoke a Tesla to go BEYOND the stability software, you'd have to be doing something very extreme and insanely stupid.

 

[Peelz]

I tried it on gravel. It can be done. But it isn’t easy lol

 

[Tiger]

I tried it on gravel. It can be done. But it isn’t easy lol

On ice/slippery it is hard to handle:

https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/irmsdr

Also discussed in Severe Winter Driving Concerns with AWD Model 3

 

[jcanoe]

Probably driving too fast for the conditions. Any vehicle can hydroplane under the right conditions. Some tires perform better in rain so you don't hydroplane at normal highway speeds. Two year old tires won't perform the same as when the tread was new. It pays to slow down 5 or 10 MPH in the rain and to know the limits of your vehicle and tires. If you encounter an oily slick on the road you can easily lose control of the vehicle.

 

[Midnightsun]

Having driven in the snow for over 45 years I must say the Y is the quirkiest of any AWD vehicle I have ever driven. Since the rear takes off slightly all the time if one accelerates too quickly on snow cover roads it is rather unnerving at first. Once one gets used to it no issue as the nanny control really does a good job of correcting in no time at all. Most people will not get used to this, the system is flawed. Best bet is to use chill mode and the least amount of regenerative braking possible. This issue would easily be resolved if it had a snow mode which would change the bias to front slippage as oppose to rear IMHO.