Crashnburn80's Tesla Model 3 Performance Longer Range Build

Oh, I know. But I won't say that I'm not tempted to pop the aero caps off our 3's wheels every time I look at them.

 

How are the rotors holding up? Positives and negatives?

 

A better look at the car with the new wheels/tire setup.



The car uses a wheel configuration input to optimize the range estimates, where you select what OEM wheels the vehicle is running and the car will reset and relearn the driving effeciency. I changed mine from the Uberturbine 20s to the Sport 19s (even though these EV01s should be more efficient than the Sport 19s, they are still heavier than the other Aero 18" option).

Unfortunately this updates the image of the car and in the app to show the wheels you selected, even though that isn't what I'm actually running. Would be nice to have a separate wheel color option like the car has for the body color, minor thing I know.

When changing the wheels there wasn't even brake dust on the wheels, since most braking is done with regen rather than actual brakes. If doing it again, I would have gone with the other units I mentioned earlier which advertise better weight savings. They are both manufactured by the same company, Girodisc.

I purchased the rotors because one of the Tesla weaknesses across the lineup is brake fade under heavy use. This was one of the contributing reasons I opted for the Performance model, which had bigger Brembo brakes from the factory. The rotors were a simple way to address the brake fade issue and save weight at the same time. But I don't track the car, so I really don't have that heavy use and was looking more for the weight savings that also had additional benefits. $2k for 2lbs weight savings... is a lot. I like them being slotted, and having more efficient directional vein cooling unlike the OEM straight vein rotors. I haven't really put them through any serious paces yet, and oddly we haven't had much rain to even try wet weather performance. But it is hard to ignore the cost. The other brand, Paragon which are also manufactured by Girodisc, are also $350 cheaper now. I'd do it again, but go with Paragon, as opportunities to reduce weight and improve performance are limited.

 

Took the Tesla on its first snow run today. With the new all seasons plus AWD, the car handled predictably well, similar to Audi's longitude Quatto (among the best and not to be confused with the rebranded transverse VW 4motion system mis-labeled as Quattro in Audi's smaller cars which is subpar). Very much a point and shoot AWD system, although the extreme power is a bit comical in the snow.

A seemingly left out feature is the automatic seat heater settings for the rear seats. Leaving all the heat on auto, Tesla balances using seat heaters with reduced cabin heating to optimize the occupant comfort with the most efficient energy consumption for the vehicle. But it only does so for the front occupants. The car knows which seats are occupied, including the rear seats, so it seems it should do the same for the rear seat passengers. Now I manually set the rear seat heat settings to match the front.

One of the things I forgot I despise so much is LED headlights in the snow. The highly reflective 6000k light reflects so much off the snow, it definitely feels a little Starwars light speed like and takes more concentration to focus beyond all the highlighted snow flying at you. The headlights also fail to clear snow, so mine were completely covered and provided little useful light output, which actually even worse compounds the Starwars effect, as the light then scatters far above the horizon illuminating snow in the immediate line of sight rather than down range below the cut off. Unfortunately this is the future till OEMs start providing heated headlights.

 

Did you lose all proximity sensors and camera’s as well?

 

Proximity sensors yes, cameras surprisingly no. Though based on the cars AI display, I certainly wouldn't let it drive as it was really struggling to determine what was what when everything was covered in white.

 

"Snow"

 

Yes.

 

I didn't have to use a tape measure

 

Recently in walking in the snow, I’ve noticed the Model 3 does not have the ability to direct heat at your feet, only the dash vent and defrost. I do actually like how the dash vent blows straight at you through the steering wheel since there is no cluster, but something to blow on the floor when desired would be nice.

Installed update 2022.44.2 which allows some options for how Sentry works and the recording lengths.
https://www.notateslaapp.com/software-updates/version/2022.44.2/release-notes

Sounds like the revamped model 3 coming very soon:
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-model-3-project-highland-line-fremont-factory/

 

Wow, that’s an actual dealbreaker up here. Wonder if that’s just the 3 / Y or all Teslas

 

Good information, but do not like.

 

Holy S, Elon made a kneewarmer? That's so cool!!!!!!!

 

No Fing way.



Well. I went and checked and sure enough it is there. This must be the single most embarrassing post. I don’t know what I was doing, too distracted trying to pull the air stream down to the floor in the vent adjustment. Just. No words. WTF.

 

In a Tesla that would be impressive

 

Picked up these wheel/tire storage totes to store my Tesla summer tires in my carpeted basement in the off season along side my RTT.

$49 Organically Driven Tire Totes, Bags, Seasonal Storage and Easy Transportation for Tires from 15'' to 31'' - Set of 4 Bags (One Size Fits All) (V1.1)

https://www.amazon.com/Organically-...63097&sprefix=tire+totes,aps,200&sr=8-1-spons

I was a little on the fence on picking up storage totes for wheel/tires. Like, why not just stack them bare? The tires are dirty covered in organic debris, the totes completely contain that mess. They were so simple to use, they are a single strip that velcros closed to make the circle, so you just set the tire on it and wrap the tote around and velcro it closed. The velcro is strong enough you can then lift it with a single handle point, which is a nice carrying point for maneuvering a wheel/tire through the house. And on the performance wheels, the tires are stretched, so the rim edge sits further out, asking to be scratched. The covers protect the wheel face in the contact points.

I chose these based on mid-tier price, liking the design, and not having a loud logo. Lots of other tire totes out there though.