On Thursday, Tesla announced a Track Mode for the Model S Plaid that adds more torque vectoring, improved cooling, and a more aggressive suspension setting.
Making its car debut in North America this week, Track Mode was developed to help the Model S achieve an EV lap record for cars made at Germany’s Nürburgring, Tesla said in a statement. blog post. The automaker set that record in 2021 with a 7:35 lap time.
One area of improvement is cooling. Tesla says Trace Mode will lower the temperature of the battery pack and engine before shutting down, creating a block of cold heat that can help keep things cooler for longer.
Specifications Tesla Model S Plaid
Track Mode also increases the amount of regenerative braking, which can also help with cooling by reducing the load on the friction brake system, Tesla notes. Vehicle and Driver discovered that the Plaid’s brakes overheated quickly in the magazine’s standard test mode, which the staff noted was not as severe as a test day. That’s not what you want in a 1,020-horsepower car.
Another addition is rear-axle torque vectoring, achieved by adjusting the torque split between the two rear engines of the three-engine Plaid powertrain. Tesla has also re-tuned the suspension to reduce altitude during heavy braking or acceleration, and to keep the car overall more stable. The default tracking mode is Low Ride Height and locks the feature to increase ride height under certain circumstances in other driving modes.
The driver can also get a little more comfort from the electronic aids. Track mode includes a more aggressive setting for the vehicle’s dynamics controls and allows the driver to individually adjust stability control and regenerative braking settings.
Tesla Model plaid tracking mode WILL
Track mode also has a special instrument cluster display setup, which includes a vehicle thermal monitor, lap timer and g-meter, as well as the ability to record dashcam footage and measure magnetism. far.
Plaid was introduced as part of the Model S revamp to improve efficiency and modernize the in-car look, but also included a controversial driving yoke. Tesla has declared Plaid to be fastest production car ever, quoting a 0-60 mph time of under 2.0 seconds. Jay Leno also drove from one to 9.24 seconds a quarter mile on his “Jay Leno’s Garage” show.
However, an even more powerful version of the Plaid+ with a claimed 520-mile range was cancelled. Meanwhile, Lucid Air has begun deliveries with 520 miles within EPA-rated range. And Plaid could have some direct competition as soon as there’s a three-engine version of the Air on the road.
