Join The Community

Traction control and cornering

I've been driving a non-performance 85kwh Model S for a month now. 1000 miles, with a mix of in-town and highway driving (typical Bay Area commute). What an incredible ride it is. Tight, responsive steering on the sport setting and SO much power that responds instantaneously. Please, traffic light, turn yellow...

One thing that I cannot quite get the hang of, however, is applying power near the end of a turn with the traction control on. I have a minor bit of track experience and I know how to break late, hit the apex, and push on the throttle coming out. The Model S always seems too reserved on this last part. Only once the car is out of the turn and pointed in a straight line does the power come on like a slingshot.

I guess I'm trying to say that the traction control feels a bit too conservative for my taste in this specific situation. Turning it off every day defeats the purpose of having it, obviously. Would like to hear from other owners. Thanks!

What version of the software are you running? I'm in a P85 so my experience most likely will be different. Everything feel's fast and after the 4.2 push it feel's faster still!

4.1 (???) for the first three weeks, 4.2 (1.19.41) last week, and 4.2 (1.19.42) since this weekend. I've been experimenting with having the traction control on/off for about a week now.

I'm scared to turn traction control off on my P85... :)

Skip the braking bit? Rely on regen at that stage instead?

Could it be that in the turn the inner wheel is getting unloaded and losing traction? Applying power at that point will spin that wheel. Then the traction control senses a traction loss and kicks in.

You should try it without TC -- that is definitely the faster way around the corner, but if your goals are safety rather than the fastest lap time...

@dtaubert, I agree. The traction control seems to limit power, almost excessively, until the car is perfectly straight; only then will it deliver the awesome power to the wheels.

I have a P85, software 4.2

I hope they add an interface with a slider so that we can all adjust the amount of traction control we want in real time given the driving condition. Now that would be cool!

That would be cool. 2-3 choices between on and off would be nice.

With all of the instant torque from the electric drive train, the Model S should be a beast coming out of a corner, but it just isn't. They have tamed it a bit too much, IMO.

X Deutschland Site Besuchen