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Model S quicker than 0-60 time suggests

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I have been thinking about how fast the Model S seems, and the drag race against the M5.

I believe that the 0-60 times are misleading. A 0-60 time is a measure of how long it takes for a vehicle to reach 60mph. It is not a measure of distance. The Model S may be quicker off the line than an ICE but have a slower 0-60 time. The ICE may reach 60mph before the Model S (remember we are only talking tenths of a second) while covering less distance.

Therefore a vehicle with a comparable or slightly superior 0-60 time may still lose a drag with a Model S race even if they achieve their specified 0-60 time.
 
A bit of a thought experiment to be sure.

If the acceleration is constant, then same distance. If nonlinear then 60mph could be reached quicker or slower. 1/4 mile is measure of both; how fast when cross finish line and how fast to travel the distance.

However I think the main trick is the launch control on the M5 -- if you don't use it, or don't get it quite right, then the time will suffer. But the S is so simple it'll just give the same time as long as the batteries aren't overheating.
 
You may be correct and it's interesting to think of it. I made a super crude graph that is exaggerated, but shows the principle. One S and one ICE with the same 0-60 time.
Think of the Model S with high torque from 0 rpm and no gear - quick off the line, maybe not as good at higher speeds.
The ICE: slow off the line but gradually builds up more and more acceleration.
The curves intersect at a given time (say 4.4 seconds) and at that point both cars have the same speed (say 60 mph).

Speed-time.PNG


Distance travelled is a function of speed and time (speed x time). In the diagram the AUC (Area Under the Curve) represents distance travelled. From this exaggerated drawing you can see that the Model S has gone a greater distance than the ICE curve at that particular point in time = larger AUC. Actually I think that is what we saw in the Model S v.s. M5 video: The Model S won the race even though it looked like at the end the M5 was maybe even going faster (all though yes the M5 did loose traction in the beginning and probably did not use launc controll correctly).
 
The Model S is definitely quicker than the 0-60 time suggests. In acceleration tests that start from a dead stop, ICE vehicles have an advantage. ICE vehicles have no torque from 0 rpms, but if they are allowed to rev to the peak of their power band before dropping the clutch in a proper launch, then they "magically" gain a lot of torque at low speeds, which will help get the car moving a lot quicker.

A better test of acceleration is a rolling start test, like the 5-60 mph test. This would be more indicative of how much quicker the Model S is compared to an ICE vehicle. In general, ICE vehicles have 5-60 mph times that are worse than 0-60 mph times. It's quite the opposite for an EV, and I expect the Models S to have a 5-60 mph time that is better than the 0-60 mph time. And 5-60 mph times more closely resemble our day-to-day traffic-light-to-traffic-light experience no matter what car we drive.