Tesla is overclocking the P85D to make it accelerate even faster

Shawn Knight

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tesla p85d model s software update

Tesla’s Model S P85D has the luxury you’d expect from a high-end sedan and the kind of straight-line performance that can take your breath away. Because of its versatility, it appeals to all sorts of people including car enthusiasts.

But the gearheads I’ve talked to do have a concern. Much like PC enthusiasts have a knack for overclocking, car guys also like to tinker with their toys. The P85D, however, has dual electric motors which don’t exactly lend themselves to performance upgrades.

Or at least, that’s what most people think.


As it turns out, there is some wrenching that can be done on a car like the P85D – it just comes in the form of software.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently took to Twitter to reveal an over-the-air software update will be pushed out real soon. When it arrives, the already fast-accelerating Model S P85D will get to 60mph even quicker thanks to some modifications to the inverter algorithm.

Musk said the update will shave about 0.1 second off its 0-60 time. That may not sound like much but when you’re drag racing, every little bit counts.

So you see, there is room for improvement in a car like the P85D. Granted, it’s not nearly as flexible as what’s possible with a gasoline-powered engine but it’s also a lot less work. And by work, I mean you don't even have to lift a finger.

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"And by work, I mean you don't even have to lift a finger." What every car guy has dreamed about since the dawn of the petrol engine.
 
The question should have actually arisen from this report is, "Was Tesla overclocking the P85D to get the insane launches currently?"
 
"And by work, I mean you don't even have to lift a finger." What every car guy has dreamed about since the dawn of the petrol engine.
What are you talking about, haven't you trained your better half to do it for you yet? You're not organised. :D
 
What kind of rubber are these folks using? With so much grunt surely you're gonna smoke the tyres for a half an hour before getting moving...
 
Seriously? When was the last time you saw a 16-20 year old building a Rat Rod or making some serious changes to their car? No, I'm not talking about adding spinners or pretty chrome .... I'm talking about the real stuff? No doubt "tweaking" the software can be impressive, but let's face it; today's kids aren't interested in much more than a new game keypad or improved speakers, headsets, etc. Is it any wonder that we have to have these tremendous educational drives to get them interested in math and science?
 
Seriously? When was the last time you saw a 16-20 year old building a Rat Rod or making some serious changes to their car? No, I'm not talking about adding spinners or pretty chrome .... I'm talking about the real stuff? No doubt "tweaking" the software can be impressive, but let's face it; today's kids aren't interested in much more than a new game keypad or improved speakers, headsets, etc. Is it any wonder that we have to have these tremendous educational drives to get them interested in math and science?

Try http://www.evolutionm.net/
 
What kind of rubber are these folks using? With so much grunt surely you're gonna smoke the tyres for a half an hour before getting moving...

I don't know if you can turn it off, but there is something that keeps them from losing grip off the line. I think I've heard it called 'Launch Control' which is probably just a far cooler way of saying Traction Control.

Tesla's have everything possible programmed into them. The door handles extend so you can grab them when you walk near the car... The trunk automatically closes... You can turn on the backup camera while you're driving down the road... I would be very surprised if there wasn't a very sophisticated traction control system in there.
 
I don't know if you can turn it off, but there is something that keeps them from losing grip off the line. I think I've heard it called 'Launch Control' which is probably just a far cooler way of saying Traction Control.

Tesla's have everything possible programmed into them. The door handles extend so you can grab them when you walk near the car... The trunk automatically closes... You can turn on the backup camera while you're driving down the road... I would be very surprised if there wasn't a very sophisticated traction control system in there.
Launch control is very common on cars nowadays, even my banger has it but it's referred to ASR (Anti Slip Regulation). Launch Control is reserved for exotics but is pretty much the same thing as far as I know.
I think they must be using trick rubber because even with launch control you're not going to get such rapid acceleration on stock tyres.
 
Bad intro by the author: PC overclocking is entirely s/w (plus maybe a bit of additional cooling) and no serious performance tuning of recent year gasoline cars can do away with s/w (or more accurately, firmware). If Tesla thinks it can support+maintain this update, a private tune shop (if they can crack the security) can probably do it twice as good (~0.2s) but life on the parts may get shortened due to heat or stress.
 
Tesla maybe able to crank up 0.1 sec just from software patch. Now, give this car to OCers, with some LN2, they will improve the car speed by 5 GHz :D
 
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