Preparing your Tesla is essential to pulling off the best times. Just a few things to remember:
- Tire Pressure – make sure you have enough air in your tires. Most tracks have air available on site but it is always great to roll straight in to the staging lanes ready to race without doing anything at the track like swapping tires.
- Remove weight – take out the baby seats, dog seats, seat covers, floor mats, frunk mat, rear cargo cover, etc. Seems obvious, but the last time I went to the raceway a kilo of paperwork that was destined for the recycle bin was dragged down the strip with me for every run. Oops. UPDATE: ran with 47lbs less weight and got the same ET (less than 1/10th difference in time. Maybe need to take out more than that to make an impact!)
- Clean your car – there is just so little to do that it’s easy to take a little time to wash the Tesla. At least the windshield and windows need to be clean for dialing in.
- Bring safety equipment – this will vary by track since people play by different rules. At Sonoma Raceway the NHRA rule book is used so all Model 3s require a helmet being faster than 13.99. Performance Model 3s can hit under 11.49 so a SFI jacket might be required for those quick Model 3s.
- SA2020 & M2020 are the newest available at the time of this writing, so M2015 helmets can be found on clearance at places like revzilla or motorcyclegear.com but they will have a shorter service lifespan than M2020 helmets since they were created with the earlier specification of M2015. Some motorcycle helmets might not be comfortable sitting in the seat of a Tesla though if there are aerodynamic features in the rear of the helmet.
- Charge – Charging to 100% can take longer than the car says initially, so start earlier and get in as much in as possible for the best ETs. Expect the car to get slower as the charge drops.
Top the Cops @ Sonoma Raceway: