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If P90D ludicrious quater mile time is important for you, don't buy it now

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There are MANY factors to get to that 10.9 time. Tires, track grip, tire pressure, ambient air temp (yes even with EVs), time of day (track will be cooler at night), so much has to be right to get in the 10s with ANY car that should run in the 10s. If this was an ICE that ran 10s and everybody had the attitude they have about Teslas not running exactly 10.9 there would be no performance cars, because 99% of the time those numbers are achieved via professional drivers. Obviously Tesla is just floor it and go and one can get pretty repeatable numbers within reason.
 
There are MANY factors to get to that 10.9 time. Tires, track grip, tire pressure, ambient air temp (yes even with EVs), time of day (track will be cooler at night), so much has to be right to get in the 10s with ANY car that should run in the 10s. If this was an ICE that ran 10s and everybody had the attitude they have about Teslas not running exactly 10.9 there would be no performance cars, because 99% of the time those numbers are achieved via professional drivers. Obviously Tesla is just floor it and go and one can get pretty repeatable numbers within reason.

No horse in this race, but I've been able to get pretty dang close to posted times in my Audi, and the Tesla traditionally has met or exceeded performance goals set out by Tesla, so if it's not making it, that's a change and something to be aware of.
 
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More or less agree with OP. I am on my second Model S, having sold my 2013 S85 to upgrade to a 2015 P85D. I have a deposit in the VERY early que for the "Ludicrous" upgrade, but given the early hard data reports on actual performance times for the P90D, I will WAIT for more "good data" that shows sub-11 second quarter mile times BEFORE I go onward with the $7500 hit for the upgrade. I have done 11.63 seconds in the quarter mile with the 19" wheels and all-season tires, and my times are rock-solid under 11.8 seconds MANY times. There is no way in MY world that I would pay $7500 to get only .25 seconds improvement in my quarter miles performance.... For .2 seconds better in 0-60 mph and around .7 seconds in the quarter...YES, and a truly shouting YES. But Tesla has to show better real performance in both the production P90D times AND in what the P85D "Ludicrous" upgrade offers other than a "Ludicrous Button" on that big display.
 
If it is important for you, that P90D does quarter mile in 10.9 seconds, don’t buy it now, because it doesn’t do that. It may or may not do that later, but at the moment it does not.
And you're basing that on your sophisticated testing that includes wind, elevation, temperature, & road surface controls as well as the $5,000+ worth of equipment required to measure quarter miles with any reproducible accuracy? Do tell .
 
And you're basing that on your sophisticated testing that includes wind, elevation, temperature, & road surface controls as well as the $5,000+ worth of equipment required to measure quarter miles with any reproducible accuracy? Do tell .

Definitely not the case.

A Tesla is the first car of this caliber/quality that most of these people have ever driven due to its extremely low cost at supercar performance levels. They don't understand what all goes into making those comparable 300k+ cars reach the performance levels they do.
 
Another way to look at this is that the Ludicrous upgrade might not be as impressive as originally thought. The car has to have a high state of charge and the car has to be in the "ready" state, which does not last for very long. Ludicrous mode simply does not have endurance and not always readily available on cars equipped with it.

Sure, ICE can overheat, lose performance at high altitude, or the launch control might have other limitations. However, a car like the Audi RS7 or E63S AMG can do 1/4 mile runs back to back many times easily with similar results.

Porsche 911 Turbo S took this 50X back to back launch like a champ. The Model S is not a sports car and I certainly have no expectation for it to drive like one. But I do expect a more consistent acceleration performance on a $10,000 upgrade, less like a $500 NOS setup.

 
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Definitely not the case.

A Tesla is the first car of this caliber/quality that most of these people have ever driven due to its extremely low cost at supercar performance levels. They don't understand what all goes into making those comparable 300k+ cars reach the performance levels they do.
Agreed. It makes me laugh that a rank amateur states with authority what the quarter mile is.

As far as ludicrous mode, IMHO you'd have to be ludicrous to pay an extra $10k for a couple tenths, in a daily driver.
 
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Agreed. It makes me laugh that a rank amateur states with authority what the quarter mile is based in many cases on some $200 dash mounted device that is +/- 1 second. They run with no wind controls, they don't do a two direction average, they don't correct for or even know about altitude factors, etc. And then they post their results as though they're Car&Driver or something.

V-Box is very much the industry standard. The days of using the 5th wheels and lasers are long gone. Also Car & Driver publishes a corrected acceleration number, so does MotorTrend.

The real world result at the strip is what really counts at the end of the day, or real world driving experience for that matter. I think it is fair to say that compared to the performance archived by P85D with Insane Mode, Ludicrous leaves a little more to be desired for a $10,000 upgrade.

And 85D now appears to be a more attractive option, with more range and a more consistent performance through out the different SoC. Having said that the P85D is still good deal in a way. Performance is not cheap, gotta pay to play.
 
More or less agree with OP. I am on my second Model S, having sold my 2013 S85 to upgrade to a 2015 P85D. I have a deposit in the VERY early que for the "Ludicrous" upgrade, but given the early hard data reports on actual performance times for the P90D, I will WAIT for more "good data" that shows sub-11 second quarter mile times BEFORE I go onward with the $7500 hit for the upgrade. I have done 11.63 seconds in the quarter mile with the 19" wheels and all-season tires, and my times are rock-solid under 11.8 seconds MANY times. There is no way in MY world that I would pay $7500 to get only .25 seconds improvement in my quarter miles performance.... For .2 seconds better in 0-60 mph and around .7 seconds in the quarter...YES, and a truly shouting YES. But Tesla has to show better real performance in both the production P90D times AND in what the P85D "Ludicrous" upgrade offers other than a "Ludicrous Button" on that big display.

I've got the deposit down and put it down before the changes were made in the description, and I'm concerned about the current lack of profound difference as well.

Comparatively, in the ICE world, .2-.25 seconds in the quarter can possibly be had with a $600.00 CAI.

Personally, and especially now knowing that the version of Ludicrous for the P85D will not be a direct and identical performance spec for the P90D, I'd like to first, see some 10.9s or better in the unadulterated version of Ludicrous in the P90D, and secondly, see some actual track times for the cars upgraded to P85D Ludicrous, before I follow the rest of the way through.
 
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And you're basing that on your sophisticated testing that includes wind, elevation, temperature, & road surface controls as well as the $5,000+ worth of equipment required to measure quarter miles with any reproducible accuracy? Do tell .

I haven't tested it myself, but several others are. Here are couple examples.

If you prefer traditional drag strip timing, here

http://www.dragtimes.com/Tesla-Model-S-Timeslip-27846.html

If you accept VBOX with external antenna, here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy0hdead7KA

More discussion about this topic can be found here

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/show...mes-P90D-Ludicrous-0-60mph-and-0-100mph-video
 
And you're basing that on your sophisticated testing that includes wind, elevation, temperature, & road surface controls as well as the $5,000+ worth of equipment required to measure quarter miles with any reproducible accuracy? Do tell .

This. People have no clue what goes in to actual drag racing and all the prep work and testing each pass requires in the real world. Yeah the Drag-Times article shows a 11.3 time, perhaps a lower SOC? Did he max range at the track? Tires worn from multiple launches? Slippery track? Heavy driver? Car load of people? Headwind? A/C running (still draws power)? Coolant getting to hot from multiple passes causing the pumps to run harder?

So please tell me again how none of the above things affect P90DL times...
 
I think thats slightly cherry picking from the sea of upgrades one can do with their ICE vehicle to achieve performance results. First and foremost when you're talking about a car ECU tune to get into the 10's you're more likely talking about a $2,000 to $3,000 fee. Then, when you consider wider throttle bodies, or exhaust, you won't get anything done of quality for much less than 10K. The .2 seconds that the P85D upgrade provides is actually really good performance for the cost if you consider any other modifications available that would claim (and achieve) the same results for ICE cars.

I've got the deposit down and put it down before the changes were made in the description, and I'm concerned about the current lack of profound difference as well.

Comparatively, in the ICE world, .2-.25 seconds in the quarter can possibly be had with a $600.00 CAI.

Personally, and especially now knowing that the version of Ludicrous for the P85D will not be a direct and identical performance spec for the P90D, I'd like to first, see some 10.9s or better in the unadulterated version of Ludicrous in the P90D, and secondly, see some actual track times for the cars upgraded to P85D Ludicrous, before I follow the rest of the way through.

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I would agree with most of those except AC. The draw on an ICE with the pully system robbing directly from the crank case will have more of an impact than the Model S system. That said, Im picking apart what is really a very sound statement...carry on ;)

This. People have no clue what goes in to actual drag racing and all the prep work and testing each pass requires in the real world. Yeah the Drag-Times article shows a 11.3 time, perhaps a lower SOC? Did he max range at the track? Tires worn from multiple launches? Slippery track? Heavy driver? Car load of people? Headwind? A/C running (still draws power)? Coolant getting to hot from multiple passes causing the pumps to run harder?

So please tell me again how none of the above things affect P90DL times...