For those who have taken their Tesla to a track day, let me (and the community) know what kind of range you got!

[EVTrackDay]

First, I know this is under the Model 3 section, but I'm curious about all models. And I know there are some track-focused threads, but I didn't see much about range.

I'm curious to see what kind of range people have seen at track days, HPDE events, etc. Whatever details you have would be super helpful as well. Model, year, and trim level of course, but also things like which track(s), wheel size, how hard were you pushing it, were you using mostly regen braking or a lot of mechanical braking as well, how was the weather, etc. I assume your AC was off but if it wasn't, note that as well.
Obviously, range is an issue when it comes to EVs at track days, but it's an issue for ICE vehicles as well, but of course those can fuel up faster and at a track day, that actually matters with limited time between sessions and a supercharger (or other fast charger) often not nearby. For comparison, my BMW M4 gets 5.5-6 mpg when pushing hard at my local-ish track. That's 80 miles if I'm lucky which doesn't cover a full day. I have to fill up at lunch time otherwise I won't be able to complete the afternoon sessions.

 

[Vines]

First, I know this is under the Model 3 section, but I'm curious about all models. And I know there are some track-focused threads, but I didn't see much about range.

I'm curious to see what kind of range people have seen at track days, HPDE events, etc. Whatever details you have would be super helpful as well. Model, year, and trim level of course, but also things like which track(s), wheel size, how hard were you pushing it, were you using mostly regen braking or a lot of mechanical braking as well, how was the weather, etc. I assume your AC was off but if it wasn't, note that as well.
Obviously, range is an issue when it comes to EVs at track days, but it's an issue for ICE vehicles as well, but of course those can fuel up faster and at a track day, that actually matters with limited time between sessions and a supercharger (or other fast charger) often not nearby. For comparison, my BMW M4 gets 5.5-6 mpg when pushing hard at my local-ish track. That's 80 miles if I'm lucky which doesn't cover a full day. I have to fill up at lunch time otherwise I won't be able to complete the afternoon sessions.

I have a model 3 performance and run with Tesla Corsa regularly.

I can easily use up 150 miles of my range in a 15 minute session, and sometimes nearly 200. I tend to lap with every other one pushing pretty hard and then a lap of a slightly slower pace.
Definitely don't use AC, and use track mode if you have it.

With my upgraded MPP brakes, I tend to use less regen on course. Lots of regen adds to the battery heat load, and eventually, it will pull power a good bit when it gets hot.

At Buttonwillow Raceway Park there is a 16 stall V3 supercharger on the premises so it's pretty ideal for a Tesla event. Many tracks offer NEMA 14-50 services, so sometimes that can work as well to top up between sessions if there is a good break.

 

[randmness]

On a hot autocross test-and-tune or school day, I can average out around 1800 Wh/mi for my 21 M3P on 200TW tires.

Always fascinating to see my projected range drop so hard. I stop for the day when I hit around 10 miles.

 

[jjrandorin]

First, I know this is under the Model 3 section, but I'm curious about all models. And I know there are some track-focused threads, but I didn't see much about range.

I'm curious to see what kind of range people have seen at track days, HPDE events, etc. Whatever details you have would be super helpful as well. Model, year, and trim level of course, but also things like which track(s), wheel size, how hard were you pushing it, were you using mostly regen braking or a lot of mechanical braking as well, how was the weather, etc. I assume your AC was off but if it wasn't, note that as well.
Obviously, range is an issue when it comes to EVs at track days, but it's an issue for ICE vehicles as well, but of course those can fuel up faster and at a track day, that actually matters with limited time between sessions and a supercharger (or other fast charger) often not nearby. For comparison, my BMW M4 gets 5.5-6 mpg when pushing hard at my local-ish track. That's 80 miles if I'm lucky which doesn't cover a full day. I have to fill up at lunch time otherwise I won't be able to complete the afternoon sessions.

There are now two of these threads that you created, one here and one in the model S subforum. While I will leave this one here, TMC does not allow people to post multiple threads on the same exact thing in multiple subforums, so this is a request to not re create this thread anywhere else here on TMC than the two places it currently exists.

Thanks

 

[MasterC17]

Short Answer: I get about ~50 Miles

Long Answer: It depends. A stock car will likely be closer to 80 miles. The more modifications you have, the faster you will go, the more energy you will use. That being said, it's kind of an irrelevant question as you will lose power as the SOC drops and you may hit current limiting well before using all of the energy. So, basically, the answer is to start with as much charge as you can and just charge as much as possible between sessions.

 

[EVTrackDay]

I have a model 3 performance and run with Tesla Corsa regularly.

I can easily use up 150 miles of my range in a 15 minute session, and sometimes nearly 200. I tend to lap with every other one pushing pretty hard and then a lap of a slightly slower pace.
Definitely don't use AC, and use track mode if you have it.

With my upgraded MPP brakes, I tend to use less regen on course. Lots of regen adds to the battery heat load, and eventually, it will pull power a good bit when it gets hot.

At Buttonwillow Raceway Park there is a 16 stall V3 supercharger on the premises so it's pretty ideal for a Tesla event. Many tracks offer NEMA 14-50 services, so sometimes that can work as well to top up between sessions if there is a good break.

Good point on lots of regen adding to battery heat load. And that's great to hear about Buttonwillow; hopefully more tracks will continue to add fast charging services as more electric cars are driven at tracks.

 

[EVTrackDay]

On a hot autocross test-and-tune or school day, I can average out around 1800 Wh/mi for my 21 M3P on 200TW tires.

View attachment 893075

Always fascinating to see my projected range drop so hard. I stop for the day when I hit around 10 miles.

So that's about 50 miles at that level, if my math is right. Hope you're able to charge between sessions!
That's gotta be a ton of fun with 200TW tires as well!

 

[EVTrackDay]

Short Answer: I get about ~50 Miles

Long Answer: It depends. A stock car will likely be closer to 80 miles. The more modifications you have, the faster you will go, the more energy you will use. That being said, it's kind of an irrelevant question as you will lose power as the SOC drops and you may hit current limiting well before using all of the energy. So, basically, the answer is to start with as much charge as you can and just charge as much as possible between sessions.

That's a fair point about losing power as SOC drops, but I think still good to know how far one can go on a single charge. And if the battery handles 50 miles before close to dying, maybe 30-40 miles without losing power?

 

[MasterC17]

That's a fair point about losing power as SOC drops, but I think still good to know how far one can go on a single charge. And if the battery handles 50 miles before close to dying, maybe 30-40 miles without losing power?

Well, again, it depends. You can hit current limiting fairly quickly if you're driving fast enough, within ~12 miles or so. SOC drops off noticeably/fairly linearly starting around 70% or so. Tesla Performance Model 3 Dyno Testing At Various SOC

That all being said, if you limit power to ~200kW or so you can drive pretty much from 100%-10% without any noticeable power loss and probably cover about 65 miles or so.

 

[EVTrackDay]

Well, again, it depends. You can hit current limiting fairly quickly if you're driving fast enough, within ~12 miles or so. SOC drops off noticeably/fairly linearly starting around 70% or so. Tesla Performance Model 3 Dyno Testing At Various SOC

That all being said, if you limit power to ~200kW or so you can drive pretty much from 100%-10% without any noticeable power loss and probably cover about 65 miles or so.

Oh wow, thanks for that link. That's a big drop off throughout the SOC. Obviously, it'll be a fun car at the track throughout but that's still more than I would have expected.

 

[MasterC17]

Oh wow, thanks for that link. That's a big drop off throughout the SOC. Obviously, it'll be a fun car at the track throughout but that's still more than I would have expected.

The Model 3 is extremely capable for the power/weight and the fact that it can also serve double duty as a completely practical, full-interior daily driver. Depending on the track, it is faster than a fair amount of full race car builds.

That being said, there are still difficulties with tracking the platform, as mentioned above. Primarily, power loss with SOC drop, current limiting, and charging availability.

Fortunately, the Plaid solves the first two issues. So, we have something to look forward to with the 3 as I would expect that technology to make its way over. In addition, Superchargers at the track are becoming a reality. Within the next ~5 to 10 years I imagine that tracking anything besides an EV will look pretty silly.

In addition, it's worth mentioning that the Model 3 is relatively very cheap to run. Other than pads and tires, there's no real consumables. At least at this time, replacement parts from Tesla are generally very affordable. And, they really don't break. In >3,000 track miles I have yet to actually have any component fail. On the other hand, my E46 track car is an endless money pit.

Without a doubt, this is the future of the sport. It also helps that they make basically no noise, as a lot of race tracks continue to face issues with their neighbors due to noise.

Finally, it's worth mentioning that the aftermarket support for the platform given how young it is is very impressive. We are very fortunate to have companies that were willing to invest in the platform even when it had just been released and it's success was not guaranteed.

 

[Lindenwood]

In Chill Mode I was using about 15% per 20-minute session (including warm-up and cool-down laps).

At Full Power I was using about 35 per 20-minute session.

At my track there are a couple of 14-50 outlets that allow me to get about 5% charge back between sessions in half an hour.

In theory, if I start at 100%, I expect most of my track sessions will look like this if I stick to 20-minute sessions on the hour:

-1st Session (chill mode) 100% to 85%, then +7%

-2nd Session: 92% to 55%, then +20% charging for 2 hours at lunch.

-3rd Session: 75% to 38%, then +7%

-4th Session: 45% to 8% (pretty much limp mode), then charge as required to get home.

That said, 20 minutes going full-bore is exhausting, and the last session at ~250-300hp isn’t going to be your fastest run (assuming no L3 charging). You are much better off doing a handful of deliberate laps at a time separated by an hour or so to charge, debrief, get water, etc.

 

[Mash]

On a Nurburgring it takes 55% charge within 7.5 minutes over 11.9 miles.

But on a slow track, especially if it's wet - it's easily an hour between charging.

 

[EVTrackDay]

On a Nurburgring it takes 55% charge within 7.5 minutes over 11.9 miles.

But on a slow track, especially if it's wet - it's easily an hour between charging.

That's bonkers to think a single lap takes over half the battery. How many laps do ICE cars get there?

 

[EVTrackDay]

In Chill Mode I was using about 15% per 20-minute session (including warm-up and cool-down laps).

At Full Power I was using about 35 per 20-minute session.

At my track there are a couple of 14-50 outlets that allow me to get about 5% charge back between sessions in half an hour.

In theory, if I start at 100%, I expect most of my track sessions will look like this if I stick to 20-minute sessions on the hour:

-1st Session (chill mode) 100% to 85%, then +7%

-2nd Session: 92% to 55%, then +20% charging for 2 hours at lunch.

-3rd Session: 75% to 38%, then +7%

-4th Session: 45% to 8% (pretty much limp mode), then charge as required to get home.

That said, 20 minutes going full-bore is exhausting, and the last session at ~250-300hp isn’t going to be your fastest run (assuming no L3 charging). You are much better off doing a handful of deliberate laps at a time separated by an hour or so to charge, debrief, get water, etc.

Thanks for breaking down your experience so specifically. A faster charger would change this up a lot but at least you have access to a charger.

 

[Lindenwood]

That's bonkers to think a single lap takes over half the battery. How many laps do ICE cars get there?

My local track owner said most street cars will use about a tank of gas running along the same timeline and level of effort I mentioned above. So I would assume most cars would get maybe 2 laps on the Ring.

 

[Mash]

That's bonkers to think a single lap takes over half the battery. How many laps do ICE cars get there?

It depends on how much power and brakes they have. But something with a similar pace should be around 3-4 laps per tank it they dont overheat faster. Faster pace on a standard tank would make it closer to 2 laps.

VW ID.R managed 25kwh per full 12.9 miles lap with 6:05 time. It's 50% weight, but it's heavy aero.