Note that a complete report of these and other experiments with the scan my tesla Android app is available for download at https://bartev.org/
I wanted to explore the extreme performance of the Tesla Model 3 dual motor. In order to stay legal, I took my Tesla to New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire. They have “Street Night” on Wednesdays and Fridays. It was my first time racing and I needed to purchase a Snell-2015-rated helmet and a SFI Spec 3.2A/1 fire jacket.
I was never a fan of drag racing, so I knew little of the procedures. It showed in my first race. The quarter-mile track is followed by a 0.45-mile straightaway for slowing down. Unmindful of my high speed, I needed every bit of the straightaway on the first race. In subsequent races, I got on the friction brake right away after the quarter-mile mark.
I ran five races in total. My times are in the table. My reaction times got better with experience but were still quite slow. Note that the reaction times do not count in the 1/4-mile time. Those times are from start-of-roll. Of course, reaction time is very important in match racing with other cars. My times grouped closely showing that they are limited by the performance of the car rather than the driver.
Data from the scan my tesla cellphone app is plotted below. Zero on the time axis is start-of-roll. RT is the reaction time. Initially, the Tesla accelerates very quickly at 0.7g due to the 400 ft-lb (550 N-m) of torque. Above 50 mph the motors switch from constant torque to constant power and the car accelerates more slowly under a steady 425 horsepower (317 kW). The run ends at 111.43 mph and 12.392 sec. The rear permanent-magnet motor contributes more than the front induction motor, both to acceleration and to regenerative braking.
Regenerative braking recovered 37% of the charge expended in the run, however, it did not slow the car by much. I had to strongly apply the friction brakes and the end of the run to keep from crashing into the gravel pit. The brake temperatures rise abruptly at the end of the run just before a hard right turn. The 1/4-mile race expended about 1 kWh of energy. The normal highway mileage for the Tesla is 3.6 miles/kWh. The car expended energy at 16 times the normal rate during the 1/4-mile.
