Tesla explains how Drag Strip Mode works… and it’s very impressive.
It’s not every day that Tesla reveals its little secrets, let alone those that make the difference compared to its competitors. However, in a promotional video, the brand has chosen to go into technical details and explain how its “Drag Strip Mode” works, its most powerful configuration, the one that allows the Model S Plaid to break records. of acceleration.
The sports version of the large sedan is indeed recognized as one of the fastest cars on the market. If its 0 to 100 km/h in 2.1 seconds marks the spirits, it is undoubtedly its time in the 400 meters, standing start, which is the most impressive. In this exercise, the 1020 hp racing car only needs 9.23 seconds to cover them. If you’re lucky, that’s the time you’ll need in your everyday car to reach 100 km/h and a distance at least three times shorter. Even a monster of power like the Bugatti Chiron does not reach the performance of a Model S Plaid and is satisfied with a nice, but lesser 9.9 s.
Performance-optimized settings
In the video featuring Chris Mayfield, one of Tesla’s chief engineers, the brand goes into detail about what allows it to reach this peak of power and maintain it for so long. When Model S Plaid switches to ” Drag Strip Fashion », a chain action modifies several settings of the vehicle. It starts with the fans kicking in to lower the temperature of the three motors as much as possible. At the same time, the batteries are slightly heated. This may seem surprising, even counterproductive, but the Californian group’s engineer explains that he is looking for the optimal operating temperature for the batteries.
Once these two elements are activated, the mechanics of the car come into play with what is most visible to an observer, the camber of the Model S when it goes into ” Cheetah Fashion “. Mayfield explains that this position in which the car seems to settle before bouncing is obtained when you press the brake pedal and press the accelerator with your other foot. The rear axle then approaches the ground, the motors pushing in the opposite direction of the brakes and the air suspensions adapting to allow the car to lower its front axle. ” It’s a kind of preload », explains the engineer. ” This increases the traction that we will be able to obtain from the front axle because, on acceleration, instead of it straightening up and thus reducing its grip, this keeps it firmly on the ground from 0 to 100 km/h “, he continues.
The rest ? It’s literature. At least that’s what Tesla would have us believe, who “forgets” to specify that to achieve such a level of performance and maintain the torque of 1,400 Nm for such a long time, it necessarily involves certain software optimizations. But that’s a secret that Tesla is not about to reveal.
Source :
Youtube
