Crashnburn80's Tesla Model 3 Performance Longer Range Build

Got the new wheel tire combo mounted and balanced today. Waiting to hear from Tesla on body repair estimates before mounting. Looking forward to seeing how this looks.

 

Umm, no. These are going back to the tire shop Monday. On 3 of the 4 wheels they put the weights on the outer face of the wheel, in between the spokes. And on 2 wheels they used bright chrome weights, 2 they used black. Unacceptable.

 

Tint the windows on that fishbowl

 

I think the most important thing is you can hide the fact you drive a Tesla to the public

 

I was a Karen today and took the wheels back to the tire shop. Chrome wheel weights were replaced with a much more subtle black. Still no word from Tesla on the repair estimate, and I'm pretty antsy to get these on so I may just mount them later today.

 

Before



After




New wheels push out +5mm, which looks better.

Specs:
23.7lb 19x8.5” +35 Tsportline wheels
24lb 235/40R19 Pirelli Pzero PX4 elect tires
47.7 lbs combined

Stock
32lb 20x9” +34 Uberturbines
23lb 235/35R20 Pirelli Pzero PX4 elect tires
55lbs combined

Previous setup
26lb 19x8.5” +40 Fast EV01 wheels
27lb 235/40R19 Goodyear Electric Drive GT
53lbs combined

Plus 2lbs savings from Gyro Disc 2 piece rotors.
1.2lb savings from Unplugged Performance titanium lug nuts.

46.9lb/corner average with brakes/lugs on new setup.
32.4lbs of rotating weight removed.
8.1lbs/corner savings vs stock.

I chose these because they look stock-like for Tesla and are light weight. Many lighter wheel options look very pencil like with thin spokes, which doesn’t look right on a Tesla IMO. These wheels are replicas of the Model S Arachnid wheels, but in a smaller size for the 3, meaning it is a Tesla cosmetic design. The wheels are Flow Forged, which provides added strength over basic casting and allows for reduced weight without the high cost of Forging (also not as light or strong as forging). The wheels are space grey, I do wish they were a touch darker like the Uberturbines, but it is acceptable. The Tsportsline center caps will be replaced.

19” size was chosen to balance looks, performance, weight and durability. Pothole flats on the 35 sidewall of the 20s are common, which is really inconvenient on a car with no spare. 18s had diminishing weight savings, don’t like the look as much and these Pirellis are not available in the 18” size in the Elect tire version, just the standard version.

 

I looked before pulling the trigger, rather than running an all season in winter I think I’ll go with the Pirelli SottoZero3. It is a dedicated winter performance Elect tire that is even lighter than the Pirelli PX4 Elects. For the time being I’ll just run one wheel set and swap the tires.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...SZ3XLNCS&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

 

Estimate for the bumper repair came back from Tesla for $2029, which includes a new bumper. The estimate includes a bunch of photos, I thought this was interesting, that foam bumper piece is so small.



I asked for the hood repair to be separated, since I’ll be paying for that one, I’m still waiting to receive the hood estimate.

The Tesla also has an unrelated passenger side DRL failure, where part of the DRL is now reduced output and color shifted to ~3500k instead of ~6000k. Talking to the Tesla rep they said it could be warrantied out at the same time as the body repair, which is convenient vs making a separate warranty apt.

You can see the dent/crease in the bumper from the impact. It is really hard to photograph, but look at the distortion in the little league bat.

 

.......

 

The bumper itself was about $500, the rest is paint and install. I'm also not buying car parts from AliExpress. Chances are that with cheap carbon it would weigh similar to stock, which is actually really easy to do. In my advanced composites class years ago, our team produced carbon fiber hoods. Our wet carbon products realized little weight savings, despite being carbon fiber. For significant carbon weight savings it really requires manufacturing skill and most importantly a dry carbon implementation which is far more expensive.

 

About how long on average do these Tesla batteries last before one starts to see reduced charge capacity?

 

2.2% loss at 100k miles: https://www.autoevolution.com/news/...r-years-and-100000-miles-of-abuse-181084.html

20% loss at 310k miles with extensive supercharger use (causing accelerated wear on the battery): https://www.autoevolution.com/news/...mark-here-s-what-you-need-to-know-194534.html
Worth noting that in 310k miles, the only replacement part was a $194 drivetrain oil pump.

Also worth noting that the new LPF batteries found in the RWD 3 will last significantly longer, with significantly less degradation while also not using conflict prone cobalt and can be charged to 100% daily without issue, unlike the current Li-Ion batteries found in the long range and performance.

 

Great intel. We're about to pull the trigger for the wife to get a Base Model 3 and this helps. It's somewhat difficult to get accurate info for EVs. I've randomly approached at least four Model 3 owners and they've all been positive, along with their complaints, but they're happy with their purchase.

 

Hand washed today and thought it looked great in the corporate garage.

 

Took the Tesla to Chelan for a very long weekend. While crossing the passes I had a white and blue model 3s hook up with me and speed caravaned through the passes together. Pretty neat to see the red, white and blue electric trio in the rear view. With a longer stay and dedicated access to a 110v plug, there is no need to supercharge for the trip. Recharging on 110v just takes several days with continued use of the car.

Yesterday while driving on a 35mph road, there was a large oncoming semi that was uncomfortably close to the centerline. I drifted the car over toward the shoulder to give more room and the car set off the beeping alarm followed by the car turning itself back into the lane and presented this message:


I grabbed this screenshot online as I didn’t have time to take a picture in my car.

Unsure what I think about this. Had I unintentionally drifted out of my lane, this would have been a great feature. But I intentionally drifted out of my lane, and the car “corrected” it.

The lane departure avoidance feature is configurable, corrective steering can be turned off.
https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/modely/en_kr/GUID-ADA05DFF-963D-477D-9A51-FA8C8F6429F1.html

 

Sounds like you should get a cooler car

 

My Model Y gave this message to me last weekend while I was traveling on some back roads that were not clearly marked and had some partial repaving making them rougher than the average road. I was not near being off the road but I just thought it was interesting that the cars sensors thought I was.

 

I've had the same thing happen, the Tesla correcting something I've done intentionally. Like you I'm not sure what I think about it. I do know that it requires too much force on the steering wheel to override the "correction", so that by the time I've over ridden the car it ends up with a bit of a swerve. The same thing is true of overriding FSD or autopilot through the steering wheel. But, if they made it require too little force it would be harder to keep pressure on the wheel while using autopilot without inadvertently disengaging.