Tesla’s track mode was a game changer for the electric car company and its products. It made its debut in 2018 before receiving an update as Track Mode V2 in 2020, which was a huge leap from V1. Designed to modify systems to create more performance, it can certainly extract it. But using the mode can greatly affect battery life Tesla, and possibly land you in legal trouble. The mode itself is not legal on public roads.
Tesla has said that several factors can affect a battery’s lifespan, with track mode being one of them. Therefore, it is recommended to use it with care and caution, so as not to affect it electric cars health and protect yourself from trouble with the law.
How Tesla Track Mode Works
Track mode itself is easily activated in the Tesla cockpit. The mode is customizable and modifies the Tesla’s stability and traction control, as well as regenerative braking and cooling systems. These changes increase the car’s performance and handling on closed circuits. The sliders allow you to adjust the elements in increments of five percent at a time. Allows you to adjust your settings. The mode also improves cornering ability by creating a bias between the car’s front or rear engines, as well as the braking systems.
The cooling system will work more aggressively while driving. This is to allow the Tesla to deal with the excess heat of the race on track day. Various widgets allow the driver to monitor the status of the car. As well as creating tracking mode profiles and logging track day data. Track Mode was first released on the Tesla Model 3, and owners of the first model were able to download the new version as an OTA update to their cars. The problem is that, despite its clear performance advantages, using track mode can seriously affect your Tesla Model 3’s battery life.
Tracking mode drains your Tesla’s battery life
According to the data, estimated battery life times are around 25 percent reduction for a 15-minute track session. Tesla’s official line is that factors such as driving intensity, speed and ambient temperature affect a car’s battery life. Track size and layout also play a role. Driving the car harder in track mode and using the battery aggressively could see the battery health degrade faster over time. As well as the general use you got out of your car battery.
The other risk of using track mode is the fact that it is not street legal. Even though Tesla claims it’s a track-only mode, there’s a chance someone somewhere is ignoring the rules. Of course, using it on any public road is very dangerous for you and others. Of course, there are clear risks to using Tesla’s tracking mode. But the company is putting safety measures in place to ensure the system has the least chance of damaging your car.
How Tesla will protect your car’s health from track mode
The cooling system will work overtime to ensure the Tesla doesn’t overheat when you’re on the track, by overclocking the compressor. But to bring things up to an optimal temperature after track day, there’s a “post-ride cooling” system. As the name suggests, this keeps the car’s cooling system running until temperatures drop. You can turn this off in the Track Mode menu, but the safest option is of course to keep it on for at least peace of mind.
The cooling system will also work to dissipate heat efficiently during fast driving. These measures provide as many guarantees as possible for the car. Altering the health of the car, there are many positives to the Tesla’s track mode and its extra performance.
More downsides to Tesla’s track mode
Despite the extra performance, Track mode has more drawbacks. One of them is that it potentially makes it harder for the Tesla to accelerate. Something YouTuber DragTimes explored in a video a few years ago. Track mode could set you back a couple of tenths when accelerating from 0 to 60 mph. The system is clearly not without its faults, but if used responsibly and without a driver taking their luck, it should allow for more fun with the Model 3. Hopefully, without doing any lasting damage to one’s own car
Sources: Tesla, YouTube channel DragTimes
