Tesla announced this Friday, January 7, 2021 the launch of “Plaid Track Mode”, a brand new version of its driving software developed to increase the performance of the Model S Plaid on the circuit. Let’s see in detail what this new feature brings.
The Model S Plaid has always established itself as Tesla’s best performing car. These multiple speed records bear witness to this. In November 2021, the Tesla Model S Plaid blew up the Cadillanc CT5-V Blackwing and the BMW M5 CS, the two most powerful thermal vehicles in the world, at the Willow Springs circuit. From its launch, Tesla set out to make the Model S Plaid the most powerful electric car on the market.
The figures speak for themselves: 1020 horsepower, triple electric motor, top speed of 320 km / h, 0 to 100 km / h in 1.98 seconds… With such potential, the manufacturer also intends to impose its Model S Plaid in another area: circuits. To do this, the brand has just announced the deployment of a new software update of its mode dedicated to track driving: the “Plaid Track Mode”.
Tesla boosts Model S Plaid software for racing
Inspired by the “Track Mode” launched on the Model 3 in 2018, this “Plaid Track Mode” reserved for the Model S Plaid offers “individual adjustment of stability control, handling balance and regenerative braking to give the driver more control over the vehicle on the track ”. As Tesla specifies, this mode was developed specifically to take full advantage of the three-engine platform and its power of more than 1000 horsepower. Let’s see in detail the contributions of this “Plaid Track Mode”:
- Optimized powertrain cooling : With the Plaid Track Mode, the temperature of the battery and the motors is constantly lowered thanks to shared cooling loops.
- Improved regenerative braking power : Here, the goal is to recover more energy during deceleration, to reduce the load caused by the friction of the brakes for better thermal management, and to offer better modulation with a single pedal
- Side Torque Vector : With the Plaid Track Mode, the Model S Plaid automatically adjusts the torque distribution between the rear wheels, independently, which helps increase response in corners, improve the feeling of centered steering and provide even greater control of the yaw. Compared to traditional open and limited-slip differentials, which always have to struggle between cornering response and maximum traction, our electric motors adjust in milliseconds to give the driver both qualities simultaneously, helping to accelerate. in bends, to increase the speed of passage in a curve and to obtain a stronger acceleration out of bends
- Adjustable vehicle dynamics : In normal road driving, our stability control systems are optimized to limit tire slip and maximize grip to ensure with Plaid Track Mode, the stability controls go into a stroke setting to give the driver maximum control over the lateral movement of the car. Here, the Vehicle Dynamics Controller (VDC) evaluates the steering angle and the pressures on the accelerator and brake pedals to determine where the driver wants to place the car. It allows the tires to spin and automatically adjusts the torque distribution to give the driver even more authority and agility in high-speed cornering
- Adaptive suspension damping: When Plaid Track Mode is active, adaptive suspension damping is optimized for on-track handling: reduced pitch during hard braking and rapid acceleration, rebalance of damping to improve responsiveness, and stabilization more Rapid vehicle disturbance on bumpy segments to increase driver confidence. To facilitate consistent dynamic driving, the ride height is set to Low at start-up, and the suspension no longer automatically raises to improve comfort
- Performance user interface: We’ve added a track-focused user interface to provide critical performance data including vehicle thermal monitor, lap timer, G-meter, dashcam video capture and vehicle telemetry, as well as several other customizable options.
So much for the complete overview of the elements integrated by Tesla in this Plaid Track Mode. What do you think ? Tell us in the comments !
Source: Electrek