Crashnburn80's Tesla Model 3 Performance Longer Range Build

Thanks, still love the 1st Gen, even more now. Makes a fantastic weekend warrior truck.

Exactly.

Although from an engineering standpoint, the aero on a Tesla car is absolutely unrivaled. What might seem sterile is actually pure. The reason there is continuous glass panels from windshield to tail, is that no body panels stick up into the airflow, which would induce turbulence and therefore drag, decreasing efficiency. The entire top of the car is without protruding ridges to interrupt the airflow. Instead the rigid support structure has been moved internally into the car, while providing glass panels for openness. Same with the sides of the car windows. All smooth laminar airflow using a flush mount frameless design, with nothing protruding into the airflow. Absolutely brilliant, applying aerodynamic principles from the aerospace industry to the automotive one where others had never put forth such a disciplined effort. And the underside of the car is no different. There is a reason the car has the lowest coefficient of drag of any production car in history. Point being, don't brush off engineering superiority with looking too tame or sterile, though it is obviously fine to not appreciate the exterior design. But the exterior design is engineering function first.

Nice! I'd seen the 450hp spec bumped to 480hp for the 2021 refresh. 522 is a bit more than I anticipated. That bumps power to weight ratio from about 8.3 to 7.6 if accurate.

Note in the video they comment how bad the brakes are on the track. The Mountain Pass Performance brakes solve that issue, without the expense of a full blown ridiculously expensive and heavier BBK. Digging around some more, those Paragon brakes I linked earlier are also manufactured by GiroDisk, same as Mountain Pass. The top hats appear different, but if manufactured by the same vendor it really makes me skeptical there would be a significant weight difference.

What I also appreciate is this car is a 4 door that seats 5. With storage in the front trunk, the rear trunk, and the rear lower trunk. And it competes against 2 door supercars typically massively more expensive.

 

Tesla came on the scene and leapfrogged literally generations ahead of the industry-standard slow & steady advancements. Now a full decade later, other manufacturers are finally putting out ultra low drag cars like the EQS at 2.0.

 

Sorry if I’m being obtuse but how exactly is Tesla leapfrogging the Prius in terms of drag?

https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/blog_attachments/the-slipperiest-car-on-the-road.pdf

Is the 3 that much better than the S in that department?

Also, for the curious like me, how does Tesla cool the batteries? Forced air? Combo of exterior air and fans? Liquid cooling? Since the pack sits low it seems like many options would be on the table. And with it outside the vehicle, I’m guessing some sort of heat might be needed when cold?

 

That sounds rather badass too, these are the types of things which I think are truly "groundbreaking" engineering solutions, not a small sliver of a win on aero drag.

I'm just still scratching my head on the cybertruck man. Years after the reveal and I'm still crushed by the weight of my disappointment. We'll see what they look like on the road.

Side note, I ran past my first F150 lightening today. It has a bit of a Rivian mustache in front to make it recognizeable as "not your regular F150" and the charging door but other than that, if you didn't know what Lightening means, you might not see anything other than an F150. Two companies building fairly similar products at similar price points but with completely different approaches. I'm glued to my seat to see sales numbers as we get into 2023.

 

Yeah, I skimmed that article today as well, hence the tears back to my eyes.

No joke, and of course the price tag is probably about 5x, but I think the semi is the more interesting of the two trucks. I don't honestly believe the CT is a tow worthy vehicle, at least not for 6+ horse trailers (which is what my bro in law uses). I wouldn't want to have to stop every 250 ish miles, that's too soon, and I wouldn't want to be limited to 14k lbs either. As it is we have to stop every 350 or so in the Ram and that's annoying to the point of extended discussions about a gravity fed aux fuel tank.

The semi does raise some eyebrows for me. My bro in law routinely takes his freightliner places I wouldn't normally think of driving it, it's not really all that bad compared to any other diesel truck in terms of fuel economy when unladen. A semi isn't ever going to be a daily driver but for 2-3h road trips, shoot, it starts to get interesting with a bed and room for snacks. Especially with that driver position in the center and all the visibility and driver focused environment.

The lightening and CT seem to be competing for soccer dad space on different terms. I really don't see how anyone is going to feel like anything other than a total d-bag driving a CT. I cringe just thinking about getting near it.

 

Oh, I hadn't seen those had started to be delivered yet. Nice! According to Mercedes they do beat out the model 3 in drag coefficient at 0.20 vs 0.23, granted they are 2x the price and cannot match the performance (0-60 in 4.1 vs 3.1) while also not being able to match the longer range versions. Cost significantly more, for less, but you do get the 3 star logo.

The Prius has been a long time leader in optimization, Tesla certainly isn't a leapfrog in aero over the Prius. It is still minorly incrementally better, and the 3 is better than the S. Keep in mind drag is a square function based on velocity, so small differences add up at speed. The Prius gets 56mpg combined with 121 combined hp. A Model 3P gets 113mpge with 480/522hp. Double the fuel economy and 4x+ the power. The batteries do need heat when cold. They will self heat, but there will be power loss if not plugged in. Note that the aero comments were in response to comments on the cars looking sterile, not claiming it was a leap frog advancement.

Tesla's approach has been to optimize everything. You don't win on battery tech alone, or aero alone, or the most advanced efficient climate control alone. Look at Rivian dumping horrifically expensive massive batteries 2x that of Tesla's 3 into the R1T, and the range performance is not going to equal the 3 in real world applications. To singularly dimensional.

Cybertruck is a wildcard. Will it look like that crazy thing? TBD. Everything in me says no-way, but on the other hand it has ridiculous pre-orders as is, way more than the Ford lighting. And it is Elon, so...

Ford lightning is not impressive. Mpge is 68 vs Rivians 70, while the Rivian has better range and performance while being a better vehicle in nearly every regard. The F150 is rated for 230 miles, while Rivian is 320 with upcoming 400. This is what happens when you retrofit a ICE platform for electric vs building an electric platform. Great that Ford is building them, but they are way behind before they even started. Now Rivian will be catering to a different market than Ford, so TBD on sales.

This comes down to battery size, in part. The Ford Lightning has a 98kWh battery. The much smaller and more efficient model 3 dual motor has an 82kWh battery for comparison. The Rivian 400 mile pack has a 180kWh battery, almost double that of the Ford. Surprise! You put a car size battery in a significantly less efficient full size truck and then hookup a trailer, and you get the predicted outcome. People act like this is a huge shock. The truck has terrible range without a trailer. Even hooking up a large trailer to a gasoline vehicle, the milage tanks. It is no different for an EV. But if you are already working with one of the worst in class ranges, the numbers can be very shocking. Truth is, EVs excel at efficiency. There is nothing efficient about towing a trailer in a passenger vehicle over distance. Tow your boat to the local lake or to the one 100 miles away maybe sure. But it isn't going to be a distance towing machine without being a slave to the superchargers. Tesla's semis will be dedicated workhorses with likely the largest batteries ever installed in a vehicle and aero optimization designed to integrate with a trailer in ways that no passenger truck towing an RV trailer or boat will achieve.

 

Not a Tesla fan or a jeep fan. I did however find myself diving deep into your jeep build and now your Tesla build. Enjoying the process thanks for the interesting content

 

Steer clear of the Jeep dumpster fire.

 

No hail. Then push all power to RWD bias with stability control on min and engage drift mode.

See @3:40
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXNKlIy2UxI

 

I'm gonna go on record and say that I think the Lightening has valid mass appeal. Not for crash, for sure. But I would much rather own one (and use it as a soccer dad for hauling kids and bikes around) than a cybertruck. It looks normal, and I suspect it drives normal. The F150 is already a solid truck, dependable enough, amenable enough, capable enough. I wouldn't tow heavy with an F150 anyway and any premium $50k+ F150 even less so. I'm not going to wheel a CT, Lightening, Rivian, or Gladiator (there I said it).

The lightening is a win by not taking risks. The cybertruck, well, I just don't see how it's any sort of win for anyone but I may well be just plain dead wrong. It's definitely not something I can stomach myself. It's not a coherent part of the Tesla lineup the way a compact 2 seater pickup could be. But F150 Lightening, sure, no problem, solid family hauler to Costco, no gas bill, aluminum body panels, can help power the house if the apocalypse hits, good for bs family car camping, short distance ski trips, etc. But it's only a win b/c of the price point and Ford may struggle to hold that line.

Definitely curious to see how the EV Tacoma plays out. I don't really see why we aren't seeing compact EV pickups and SUV's already. Instead we have this focus on full size to hit big numbers. And why are hybrids so late to the party? Why are all pickups completely ignoring aerodynamics and weight? And why wouldn't you reintroduce the Ranger as an EV instead of a turbocharged 4 given it's hiatus? Just so many questions.

But, yeah, mentally attempting to save for a Tesla semi. That's clearly the most desirable Tesla vehicle to own by leaps and bounds.

 

The F150 is the best selling vehicle in the country. By making an electric version, it will have mass appeal by default. It will sell.

Unknown CyberTruck removed, the immediate competition is Rivian and Hummer. The Hummer is a joke in excess, no different than their legacy ICE brand. It has an astronomical price tag and weighs a mind blowing 9000lbs. It is not really legitimate competition for anything in the EV truck market. The Rivian is a superior truck in almost every metric vs Ford Lightning across the board, including towing where the Rivian is far more capable in capacity and range. Ford has the price point win, except they struggle to stop their dealers from massive price gouging, unlike EV companies that sell direct cutting out middle man markups. It will be interesting to see the Tacoma EV, a mid-size makes far more sense for an EV and Toyota has extensive experience in electrical drivetrains with their hybrids. The price point should be much more affordable than Rivian and the Tacoma demographic likely much more open to EV than the F150 demographic. I expect it will do well. Always looking forward to more competition, and the change it brings.

Back on the 3
The 19" EV01s are supposed to arrive Monday. Then it will be off to the powdercoaters to make them darker than stock before mounting the new Goodyear Ultra high performance all season Electric GT tires. (Which will be a step down in performance from the current Pirelli Pzero Elect summer only tires, that do not like the cold)


Taking the model 3 over the mountains this weekend on a 3+ hour drive to Chelan. Charging infrastructure is limited in Chelan and charging at the destination on a 110v 15A outlet from a low battery will likely be insufficient to fully recharge before needing to head back. The temps at night are also supposed to get down to low 40s/high 30s, so I'm sure some of the limited charing power will be used for battery heating. There is a supercharger just outside the city that I plan on topping up on before getting into town that should make it easy enough to fully charge on the 110v 15A outlet. It is unnecessary to fully charge before heading home from the weekend stay, as there are plenty of superchargers along the way, but I'd rather not be inconvenienced with stopping.

 

I’m flattered. My saxophone vids do get dozens of views though.

 

Generally blue is actually my fav color as well. But on the Tesla, the red and black just called to me. I also consulted with the kid on red vs grey, and he was all in on red.

I have not nor do I plan on PPF. On paint I'm a bit of a simplistic traditionalist. Multi-stage traditional wax multiple times a year. I like non-committal coatings.

Lots of good looking links to catch up on, thanks for the references. I've never followed anyone.

An EV forum would be interesting, I'd have to think about the pros/cons on a segregated group. It would likely provide a high information/noise ratio for those interested in EV but possibly also isolate that info from the general community. One of the things I find highly interesting about EVs is the level of engineering optimization is significantly above most ICE vehicles. So many things I studied in vehicle design that have been widely ignored by most legacy automotive manufactures for decades are now being employed by EV companies looking to push the optimization envelope.