Car & Driver on the Plaid

It is not illegal to drive at 200mph.

You will have to point out the particular highway where that is legal.

Not only is it illegal, it’s stupid. Yea, zooming along at 200 on a straight stretch but then something happens. A deer, a truck, whatever.
 
Thanks for posting the Car & Driver specs on the Audi RS6 Avant and Tesla Plaid model DuckRyder,
The Tesla outperforms the Audi by a very comfortable margin. Now how well the Tesla's brakes hold up to repeated panic stops and how quickly the acceleration times drop after several runs is a different story. But if judging the Tesla as a luxury sedan and not as a car that is going to be bought by someone who is into weekend drag racing or track days, the owners will most likely never experience brake fade or issues related to the battery.
As more and more Teslas get out there, does anyone think that the aftermarket suppliers won't address the perceived shortcomings and start offering upgrade parts for the brakes, suspension, etc. for those who really want to use their cars off of public roads ?
There may be a good opportunity there for some manufacturers.
 
Not only that, it’s illegal to drive at that speed.
We have rented homestead and done the exclusive stupidly expensive Racecar thing at Daytona. while I did not exceed 186, the boss did well north of 200. 213if I remember correctly. All of us survived. some of the videos are on YouTube, pretty cool stuff.
 
Thanks for posting the Car & Driver specs on the Audi RS6 Avant and Tesla Plaid model DuckRyder,
The Tesla outperforms the Audi by a very comfortable margin. Now how well the Tesla's brakes hold up to repeated panic stops and how quickly the acceleration times drop after several runs is a different story. But if judging the Tesla as a luxury sedan and not as a car that is going to be bought by someone who is into weekend drag racing or track days, the owners will most likely never experience brake fade or issues related to the battery.
As more and more Teslas get out there, does anyone think that the aftermarket suppliers won't address the perceived shortcomings and start offering upgrade parts for the brakes, suspension, etc. for those who really want to use their cars off of public roads ?
There may be a good opportunity there for some manufacturers.
Those numbers don’t mean anything. I will never understand comparisons on strait line.
And yeah, Audi brakes are far better than Plaid’s. That margin could be bcs. different tires. But, there is no any doubt RA6 brakes are going to take beating better.
 
Isn’t that Chiron the one with ridiculous maintenance requirements and costs?
Probably not useful to drive anywhere but on a track?
Might even put an eV to shame in terms of issues with long term performance and longevity..

The model S is a first gen and surely will get better parts either by aftermarket, or redesign in the future.

Assuming Tesla can support their cars for the (true) long run, not just a few years past the model year, or model run overall… which I wouldn’t have confidence in… but assuming they do support the cars long term, upgrades will come, and they will learn from the aftermarket and more engineering… imagine how the next gen will perform?!? Pretty darn great, I’d guess.
 
Those numbers don’t mean anything. I will never understand comparisons on strait line.
And yeah, Audi brakes are far better than Plaid’s. That margin could be bcs. different tires. But, there is no any doubt RA6 brakes are going to take beating better.
I do think overall HP and acceleration prowess is the major factor in road course race wins. there is no question a top fuel dragster is not a road course car. But silly examples aside, the car that pulls harder out of each corner often has a major advantage.

this is why the Chevy V8 is so competitive, even today. in fact sanctioned races often require de_tuned Chevy V8’s just so Ferrari‘s best can keep up.
 
It’s an interesting car, however, it’s a stunt car. Good at one thing only.

Amazing acceleration.

Lousy interior, clunky ride, poor brakes, chassis not up to handling the speed, among other issues that I wouldn’t want to live with on a daily basis.

A one trick pony isn’t a great horse, when you can have only one horse.

It‘s a toy for the rich, those who can drop six figures on a vehicle intended as bragging rights in their social group.
 
I do think overall HP and acceleration prowess is the major factor in road course race wins. there is no question a top fuel dragster is not a road course car. But silly examples aside, the car that pulls harder out of each corner often has a major advantage.

this is why the Chevy V8 is so competitive, even today. in fact sanctioned races often require de_tuned Chevy V8’s just so Ferrari‘s best can keep up.
That is why Tesla is “good” on the track. Electric motor pulling out strong. Other than that, it is understeering monster.
 
The exotic European stuff may have better interiors. And to many, that really matters. But I generally look out the windows when I drive.
My 10 year old Touareg has a better interior.

And the paint on it is better (and still thicker!) than a new Tesla.

We all look out the windows when we drive - doesn't mean we should excuse everything else. Every time someone calls Tesla a luxury car I cringe.
 
Your Lexus doesn’t go 200mph or accelerate 9.2sec 1/4qt mile.
Not sure what compound Lexus required from Textar. Textar provides brakes for BMW, MB etc. but they don’t squeak and they bite hard.
Lexus probably moved to Akebono garbage.
Akebono is the only pad brand I ever intend to use, so opinions certainly vary...
 
It didn't take long for the Tesla haters to come out did it.

Just for comparison's sake, how does the Tesla Plaid model compare to the big, 4 door $150k sedans from BMW, Mercedes and Audi in braking distances from 60 to 0 or 100 to 0 or however they are measuring such things these days and how well does it compare after several panic stops ?
Apples to apples guys, from a reputable automotive source and not something you heard somewhere.
M5 (current) is 98 ft (30 meters) in the 60-0 vs the Plaid @ 38 meters The M5 is 400-600 lbs lighter (depends on options) vs the Plaid. The Plaid is going to require huge rotors and probably carbon-ceramics if anyone wants to track it for more than a lap or two. The reality is that neither the M5 or the Plaid will see significant track time by 99%.
 
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everything that doesn't have a handbrake is moving over, M3 and M4 went electric this year. brembo makes brakes with built in EPB but nobody wants to pay for them
F-Series M3/4 cam with 2 piston rears. There's a BBK from BMW which provides 2 piston rears for non-M 3/4 series cars. Obviously none of these cars have EPB.
 
It‘s a toy for the rich, those who can drop six figures on a vehicle intended as bragging rights in their social group.

While there is certainly some "virtue signaling" going on from owners of EV's, and is part of my theory as to why so many EV's are ugly and severely styled so as to make them unmistakably an EV, that's a pretty broad assumption to make about the owners.

Are they bragging because of the performance, bragging because it's an EV and they are going to prevent the next string of killer tornadoes by going green, or bragging because they can spend six figures on a car ?
 
While there is certainly some "virtue signaling" going on from owners of EV's, and is part of my theory as to why so many EV's are ugly and severely styled so as to make them unmistakably an EV, that's a pretty broad assumption to make about the owners.

Are they bragging because of the performance, bragging because it's an EV and they are going to prevent the next string of killer tornadoes by going green, or bragging because they can spend six figures on a car ?
That's the beauty of the Tesla - it allows for myriad forms of bragging and virtue signaling at the same time!

No other car maker offers that.
 
That's the beauty of the Tesla - it allows for myriad forms of bragging and virtue signaling at the same time!

No other car maker offers that.
Good point. Teslas are different.
People keep comparing them to other cars (even complain), but that is not what Tesla is trying to do. Tesla is leading, not following. Warts and all.
I have to believe many owners bought them because of their uniqueness.
 
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