3 ms·

To say that the plaid is only fast in a straight line is a bit of an exaggeration. It's top 50 (production cars) on Nurburgring, for example -https://en.m.wikip

To say that the plaid is only fast in a straight line is a bit of an exaggeration. It's top 50 (production cars) on Nurburgring, for example -https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_N%C3%BCrburgring_Nordschleife_lap_times https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_N%C3%BCrburgring_Nor...

emmelaich 3y ago
Yeah seems to do VERY well at Nurburgring. [edit: better vid coz the other is all talk] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1r4ZotaY6U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1r4ZotaY6U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NP7HWwxPbU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NP7HWwxPbU "Tesla Model S Shatters Nurburgring Record, Beats Porsche Taycan Turbo S"
- rad_gruchalski 3y ago
  Taycan: 2022, Plaid: 2023. Took them some time (and a real round steering wheel) to get there after some squabbling between those two.
- rad_gruchalski 3y ago
  I recommend this video explaining what is it like really to lap one: https://youtu.be/1MF7hbyko2A https://youtu.be/1MF7hbyko2A.
  - martin8412 3y ago
    TL;DW: it handles like a boat and the brakes can't keep up.
  - foobazgt 3y ago
    That exact same person recently released a video saying he needed to apologize to Tesla. (His words not mine). https://youtu.be/ot8zw9UKdgY https://youtu.be/ot8zw9UKdgY The gist is that he originally thought his concerns about the plaid couldn't be addressed easily, but it turns out that they were all addressed through Tesla's (off-the-shelf) track package. Part of what surprised him is that his suspension concerns were alleviated solely through a software update.
    - rad_gruchalski 3y ago
      It’s no longer a stock car. The record breaking on the Nordschleife applies to a stock car on road tires.
      - foobazgt 3y ago
        It's an option on the plaid direct from Tesla. It is literally the definition of stock and is exactly what the record at Nurburgring was set with.
        rad_gruchalski 3y ago
        Awesome.
- agloe_dreams 3y ago
  ...record for EV cars. 1000HP and a literal ton of batteries will do that. The top 50 ahead of it is pretty much every supercar made in the last 20 years and they all have less HP. Additionally, it cooks brakes and turns like a 4500Lb Sedan would. The Ring is a fast track with lots of acceleration zones. None of this should shock anyone. It is fast in a straight line, it, by definition, can't stop or turn nearly as fast as a supercar ever could. It is an incredible work...but not magic.
leetcrew 3y ago
both can be true. if you watch footage of people driving them on the ring, you'll notice they have to to take corners at much slower speeds and then make up time on the straighter sections. even accounting for the higher weight, model s plaid makes a lot more power than the other cars on that leaderboard. I don't mean to move the goalposts, just pointing out it mostly hits that time by having an insane power to weight ratio and adequate brakes. or in other words, going really fast in a straight line.
- FireBeyond 3y ago
  And then there's the whole matter of lap 2, and 3... Where the ICE is still cruising along, and the Tesla is in thermal shutdown...
- martin8412 3y ago
  Because all the money was spent on motors and batteries. The handling is an afterthought and it shows.
- foobazgt 3y ago
  The plaid isn't top of class at cornering, but the idea that it can only do straightaways is a dated view based on pre-track-package days. See my comment here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36575033 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36575033
  - leetcrew 3y ago
    you're right lol. I was basing this comment off of misha's previous video. just watched his lap with the track package and he's passing all kinds of cars in the corners.
agloe_dreams 3y ago
Top 50 in a 1000HP car (The fastest accelerating production car, short the Rimac) on one of the fastest tracks in the world is not exactly hard. The ring is mostly a speed, accel, and nuts track. (That is, long wide-open sections, lots of slow turns then accelerate, and lots of hairy off-angles and sketchy blind turns.) Also, the Model S may be top 50...but the 50 ahead of it is basically every supercar made in the last 20 years and all of them have less HP to go faster.
- w0m 3y ago
  > Top 50 in a 1000HP car (The fastest accelerating production car, short the Rimac) on one of the fastest tracks in the world is not exactly hard That's a bit misleading considering there are very few 4d cars on that list. 'not very hard' but ~almost no one else is doing it. For consideration; on a 7+ minute lap it's within .1s of an Enzo Ferarri.(!!!!!). That's Impressive, even if the Enzo is a few years on now.

emmelaich 3y ago

Yeah seems to do VERY well at Nurburgring. [edit: better vid coz the other is all talk] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1r4ZotaY6U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1r4ZotaY6U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NP7HWwxPbU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NP7HWwxPbU "Tesla Model S Shatters Nurburgring Record, Beats Porsche Taycan Turbo S"

rad_gruchalski 3y ago
Taycan: 2022, Plaid: 2023. Took them some time (and a real round steering wheel) to get there after some squabbling between those two.
rad_gruchalski 3y ago
I recommend this video explaining what is it like really to lap one: https://youtu.be/1MF7hbyko2A https://youtu.be/1MF7hbyko2A.
- martin8412 3y ago
  TL;DW: it handles like a boat and the brakes can't keep up.
- foobazgt 3y ago
  That exact same person recently released a video saying he needed to apologize to Tesla. (His words not mine). https://youtu.be/ot8zw9UKdgY https://youtu.be/ot8zw9UKdgY The gist is that he originally thought his concerns about the plaid couldn't be addressed easily, but it turns out that they were all addressed through Tesla's (off-the-shelf) track package. Part of what surprised him is that his suspension concerns were alleviated solely through a software update.
  - rad_gruchalski 3y ago
    It’s no longer a stock car. The record breaking on the Nordschleife applies to a stock car on road tires.
    - foobazgt 3y ago
      It's an option on the plaid direct from Tesla. It is literally the definition of stock and is exactly what the record at Nurburgring was set with.
      - rad_gruchalski 3y ago
        Awesome.
agloe_dreams 3y ago
...record for EV cars. 1000HP and a literal ton of batteries will do that. The top 50 ahead of it is pretty much every supercar made in the last 20 years and they all have less HP. Additionally, it cooks brakes and turns like a 4500Lb Sedan would. The Ring is a fast track with lots of acceleration zones. None of this should shock anyone. It is fast in a straight line, it, by definition, can't stop or turn nearly as fast as a supercar ever could. It is an incredible work...but not magic.

leetcrew 3y ago

both can be true. if you watch footage of people driving them on the ring, you'll notice they have to to take corners at much slower speeds and then make up time on the straighter sections. even accounting for the higher weight, model s plaid makes a lot more power than the other cars on that leaderboard. I don't mean to move the goalposts, just pointing out it mostly hits that time by having an insane power to weight ratio and adequate brakes. or in other words, going really fast in a straight line.

FireBeyond 3y ago
And then there's the whole matter of lap 2, and 3... Where the ICE is still cruising along, and the Tesla is in thermal shutdown...
martin8412 3y ago
Because all the money was spent on motors and batteries. The handling is an afterthought and it shows.
foobazgt 3y ago
The plaid isn't top of class at cornering, but the idea that it can only do straightaways is a dated view based on pre-track-package days. See my comment here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36575033 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36575033
- leetcrew 3y ago
  you're right lol. I was basing this comment off of misha's previous video. just watched his lap with the track package and he's passing all kinds of cars in the corners.

agloe_dreams 3y ago

Top 50 in a 1000HP car (The fastest accelerating production car, short the Rimac) on one of the fastest tracks in the world is not exactly hard. The ring is mostly a speed, accel, and nuts track. (That is, long wide-open sections, lots of slow turns then accelerate, and lots of hairy off-angles and sketchy blind turns.) Also, the Model S may be top 50...but the 50 ahead of it is basically every supercar made in the last 20 years and all of them have less HP to go faster.

w0m 3y ago
> Top 50 in a 1000HP car (The fastest accelerating production car, short the Rimac) on one of the fastest tracks in the world is not exactly hard That's a bit misleading considering there are very few 4d cars on that list. 'not very hard' but ~almost no one else is doing it. For consideration; on a 7+ minute lap it's within .1s of an Enzo Ferarri.(!!!!!). That's Impressive, even if the Enzo is a few years on now.