.svg)
MKBHD Drifts, Drives, Launches Tesla Model 3 Performance: Watch Here
22 H BY DOMENICK YONEY 7
Tales of Track Mode.
Marques Brownlee is not a race car driver. He’s best known for the tech/gadget videos he shares on YouTube. Yet, here he is in the Tesla Model 3 Performance whipping through cones, doing power slides, and making mayhem on an impromptu track, set up on an airstrip with a hazy San Francisco serving as backdrop. This kind of slippery sideways action hasn’t been easily obtainable in Tesla cars the past, but then again, none of those had a “track” mode.
More on the Model 3 Performance
While the Model S is still the brand’s top-end sedan, it is not, as we’ve said many times, engineered for the track. Sure, it handles turns at speed quite well, but its electronic nannies don’t allow drivers the full freedom offered in traditional sports cars. It also, famously, doesn’t handle the levels of heat generated when pushed to its limits for more than a few miles. The new Model 3 appears to redeem the brand of these sins, even if doesn’t quite match the sheer acceleration of its baddest big brother.
In this fresh clip, created to show off the new IGTV vertical video app as well as Tesla’s latest soon-to-be-shipped offering, Brownlee remarks on the nimbleness of the Model 3, echoing the thoughts of its first official review from the Wall Street Journal. But really, it’s this “track” mode we want to know more about. According to Brownlee, it hasn’t been officially dubbed yet — please share your family-friendly suggestions in the comments — but it seems to allow for the turning off of traction and stability control. We imagine the actual implementation is a bit more sophisticated than that, though.
We have both the main 1-minute, 27-second vertical video waiting below, along with a brief teaser clip. We also have the exact language that appears on the Model 3’s screen when switching to track mode below the footage, if you want to read exactly what it says without having to pause the video at the perfect moment. Enjoy!
For those who were waiting – New on IGTV: Driving Tesla Model 3 Performance! https://t.co/SYRl4E9Vue pic.twitter.com/8Il4tloamY
— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) July 21, 2018
You ever seen drifting with no engine noise? 🚗💨 pic.twitter.com/mX52Lcmtgn
— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) July 20, 2018
Select Track Mode to enable Tesla’s performance-oriented stability control and powertrain settings configured for track driving. This mode is designed to be used exclusively on closed courses. For the best experience, only progress to track mode once familiar with the track.
Source: Instagram
Image: Marques Brownlee
Popular
Leave a Reply
7 Comments on "MKBHD Drifts, Drives, Launches Tesla Model 3 Performance: Watch Here"
There are Model S drifting videos on YouTube, so yes. I have seen drifting without engine noise.
Not the same as they figured out what ‘fuse’ or otherwise to totally disable traction control. Often these folks can’t control car AT ALL because they spin the tires with the lights touch … vs … ‘performance-oriented stability control and powertrain settings configured for track driving’
Kudos to Tesla. Track mode can put more power in the hands of drivers, where Tesla’s software had to be written for the worst drivers, on tires with the least grip. The steering angle power cuts and power cuts from the slightest slip, or for that matter the sudden power re-integration when the steering wheel is straightened, are things that needed refinement for those who buy cars to explore them.
Tesla is getting it done, as usual. Can’t wait to test one.
I really hope the M3P is track day compatible. The MSRP lines up almost exactly with a BMW M3, which I know for sure can do laps all day every day in the hottest of hot days, so if the T can do the same that would be great! (Of course you have to find somewhere to recharge, but most tracks have hi-power plug-in points for RVs and the like.
High power is relative. Usually NEMA 14-50, good for 10kw, or so.
Does price out like a BMW M3.
BMW has set the benchmark for handling let’s see how close Tesla can come w Model 3.
The BMW M3 has ALL aluminum suspension, composite brakes, forged wheels and performance tires.
I was over $81k, just trying to pick equalizing options vs. Model 3P, and didn’t find ceramic (composite) brakes. Do you have a link to their being available? A history of charging $8k, or more, just for those brakes would price your M3 out near $90k.
Roadster 2 had ceramics upon debut. A real brake upgrade for model 3 (custom rotors/hats/caliper brackets) is out there, though not ceramic. My guess is those parts, using same calipers and Hawk pads, could be a ~$3-4k package if someone seriously wants to run for time. Corvette uses Brembo ceramics, like Porsche, for MUCH cheaper. The reduction in unsprung weight is a good 30lbs per corner. But I digress.
A BMW M3 with composite brakes, otherwise similarly optioned (drivers assist, no AP, etc.) would be $90k, or so. Also, not exactly “light”, at 3,500 pounds.