Regen on AWD model S

[William3]

I'd like to see stronger (than the Roadster) regen on the Model S AWD model. Regen on the Roadster is limited because it is in the rear (and potentially only one tire). Anyone notice how fast the Roadster rear tires wear out? I think the regen contributes to that more than anyone seems to mention. Having regen on both the front AND rear will really help reduce tire wear and allow for stronger regen (if Tesla allows it).

[tdelta1000]

Hey William I would like more information on the subject. Can you offer a link? Thanks

[TEG]

William3, I think you might be jumping to conclusions for reasons why the rears wear out faster.
My guess it has more to do with suspension tuning, and the forces on the driven wheels for a car that can accelerate so quickly.

[vfx]

I think the rears wearing out is mainly from the amazing torque. The equally amazing Traction Control allows just a little scuffing off of rubber on every spirited acceleration. It's safe, smooth and intoxicating so the temptation is to do it every time from a stop. Not so in other cars, too much lag, noise, fuel and smoke is emitted to do it all the time which results in not as much tire wear.

[dsm363]

I thought a lot of it had to do with the actual tire. It's a very soft compound/max performance summer tire with a low tread rating. Of course the Roadster has a ton of torque as vfx mentioned with doesn't help tread life. The acceleration is amazing.

[TEG]

Early versions of Acura NSX had notorious rear tire wear. In some later years they revised the suspension tuning and increased the longevity of the tire.

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/22/bu...nder-fire.html

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93666

...The inherently aggressive nature of the suspension on the NSX is what makes them wear fairly quickly. Early models have one of the most aggresive settings (camber) that are prone to fast tire wear. One of the few compromises of the car IMO...

...The OEM toe setting was altered by Acura in 1993 and made less aggressive due to complaints by customers. The OEM rear tires were lasting on average 5-7K miles before 1993.

...Yes--adjust the rear toe setting to a less aggresive spec. The adjustment will result in diminished rear grip at the limit which one hopefully doesn't come close to on the street. A nice compromise is to adjust the toe to the least aggressive end of the OEM range. Running a zero toe will maximize tire life but again, compromise rear grip as one approaches the limit...

Might Roadster be configured for handling over tire life?

[TEG]

(Might want to revise the title of this topic since it is more about tire life than AWD Model S Regen...)

[SByer]

Might Roadster be configured for handling over tire life?

Well, we know it's configured for efficiency. I'm not sure what implications that has - maybe it's a combo of the reduced toe-in letting the fronts live longer and less camber producing slightly more uneven wear - especially as the car, uhm, encourages a driving style that would normally want more negative camber, not less.

But really, I'm not finding the rear tire life to be that much shorter than on the 911 (which wasn't that much different than the MR2). And the 2/1 ratio front to rear was the same on all three. The only annoying part is the wear bars are more disruptive in an EV.

[tdelta1000]

Early versions of Acura NSX had notorious rear tire wear. In some later years they revised the suspension tuning and increased the longevity of the tire.

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/22/bu...nder-fire.html

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93666


Might Roadster be configured for handling over tire life?

Hey TEG.. that was great information and yes you should change the name of the post.

[TEG]

...yes you should change the name of the post.

I am not currently a moderator, so can't do that. (Hint to a moderator.)