Tesla Track Mode: Unleashing Performance on the Racetrack

As people are always wanting to get the RC feel, Tesla 2018 offers a new feature which is the Track Mode. From its launch date to the present times, folks are going nuts over this feature.

Well, the Track Mode is a system that causes the car to give a smooth cornering and handling with forward speed up just like RC cars on the racetrack or autocross courses. Via this, you can run your car on the track and get the racing feel.

For all new owners of Tesla, here I’ll break down the meaning, working, features, usage, and so on of Track Mode so you get it all. Let’s start!

What Is Tesla Track Mode and How It Works?

Track Mode is a feature that lets you drive on the racetracks or closed autocross circuits to make cornering in order to get a track feel.

For that, the car uses the same motor power and torque but gives a more natural forward acceleration.

All Model 3 Performance does have Track Mode from the 2018 to present times. Along with this version, the Plaid MS and Performance MY offers the same feature to use on driving courses.

So, what does Track Mode mean for users? Well, it is made to ensure better stability control, traction control, regenerative braking, and cooling system. Due to this, the car can get max performance and handling when driving on racetracks.

Its main goal is to improve the cornering ability so that drivers get the tracking feel while using the Performance or Plaid version cars.

To understand it better, let me explain this with a real-life example. So, if you ever drive a car in an icy parking lot, you might’ve seen it making a smooth turn with the brake.

This happens due to the torque no matter if you speed up or down – lessening the tire holding the ability to turn the car.

So, when you can adjust the torque on the front or rear tires, this gets easier for the car to turn on the track. And that’s what the Track Mode does to the car when you use it.

What Features Does Track Mode Offer in Tesla?

Here are some of the features that Tesla offers in Track Mode when drivers enable it:

• Smooth Turning with Motor Torque: To grant a perfect rotation on the rear or front wheels, this mode highly relies on the front and rear motors to send a 100% torque bias.
• Better Regenerative Braking: On public roads, heavy regenerative braking doesn’t do great on Tesla. But the same thing does excellent on a track route with the Track Mode.
• Great Powertrain Cooling System: The car needs faster cooling of the powertrain when driving aggressively on track. Thanks to this mode, the car drops the temperature of the battery and other components using the cooling system.
• Increased Cornering Power: When this mode is turned on, the car makes faster corners using the brakes. For that, the car uses brake power and motor torque to send a net boast in tractive force for fast and smooth cornering.

How To Use the Tesla Track Mode?

In normal cases, this mode is turned off when you start the car. You can use this feature by doing the following steps:

Activating Track Mode

To turn this feature on, you’ll need to change the gear to P (Park). Then, go to Controls > Pedals & Steering > Track Mode.

After that, a prompt will show on the screen that describes all about this mode, and then click on the Track Mode option to get inside the inner settings.

Once you enter the mode, TRACK will show on the car’s screen or instrumental panel above the driving speed. Plus, a Track Mode will display on the map.

You’ll also see a color-coded picture of the car that gives an essential insight into the battery, motors, tires brakes, and so on information on the screen’s car status area.

Now, you’ll see a few options in the Track Mode. Such as:

Using the Lap Timer

You can see this on the top edge with the Current Lap section. This offers a Start button to count the lap each time your car reaches the start/finish spot while driving. Before using this, be sure to shift the gear and then start this.

Whenever you pass the start/finish spot, the Lap Timer will automatically start and show the timing and the duration. Plus, it’ll display a real-time delta between the current lap and the fastest lap of each session.

Along with this, the map shows the track in blue. To stop the Lap Timer, you’ll need to click on the Stop option in the section.

Track Mode Customization

To find this, just click on Controls > Driving or Pedals & Steering > Customization (next to Track Mode), and the screen will show Track Mode Settings in which you can create a setting. Next, click on Add New Setting option and enter a name that you want to know it as.

Then, adjust the Handling Balance by dragging the slider to your desired value. You can select front-biased under-steering (F) or rear-biased over-steering (R) setting to get increased rotation between 100/0 – 0/100.

Next, drag the slider on a level (-10 to +10) to adjust the Stability Assist. Your car will run in balanced stability in 0 settings. In -10, it will disable all stability systems to make the ride aggressive. While in +10, it will engage all stability systems (similar to normal driving).

Afterward, use the slider to a percentage (0% – 100%) to adjust Regenerative Braking. Tesla suggests setting it on 100% when you are using base brakes to reduce the overheating issue.

Moreover, you can turn on the Post-Drive Cooling to cool down the car while driving. It’ll stop automatically when the car’s component seems cool.

Then again, enable Brake Temperature (only on Model S that’s not equipped with a Carbon Ceramic brake kit) to see the brake temperature.

After that, turn on or off Save Dashcam for Laps if you want to save a video and data on a USB flash drive when using the Lap Timer or not. Be sure to do the following things before saving a file:

• Make a folder named TeslaTrackMode in the USB drive.
• At least 64 GB storage capacity.
• Minimum 4 MB/s of write speed.
• Compatible with USB 2.0. And if using a USB 3.0, get a USB 3.0 to 2.0 converter.
• Format the USB drive before using it.
• All the saved files are in .CSV format.

You can save up to 20 settings profiles using the Customized option in Track Mode. Plus, you can delete one or more profiles by clicking on the Delete option at the end of the setting screen. However, all the profiles which are preset or pre-defined by Tesla can’t be removed.

In the touchscreen, you’ll also see G-Meter that graphically shows peak lateral, acceleration, and deceleration values in a circular meter along with Vehicle Health at the car status area.

Disabling Track Mode

After using this feature, you can turn it off by hitting on the Controls > Driving / Pedals & Steering > Track Mode. Plus, this mode will disable when you power off (Controls > Safety > Power Off) the car.

What Happens When Track Mode Is On?

Just like the Valet Mode, when the Track Mode is turned on, there are some traits that will be turned off or changed. Here’s what happens:

• Autopilot features gets unavailable.
• Raises the energy usage of cars.
• Entertainment features like Netflix, YouTube, and so on get unavailable.
• Disallow the Slip Start setting.
• In MY and M3 Performance cars, the Stopping Mode is set to Roll. Wherein, they are free-rolling at a slow speed every time you shift the gear to D (Drive) or R (Reverse) and take off your foot from the accelerator and brake pedals.
• In MS Plaid cars, this mode turns off the Adaptive Suspension Damping setting to support aggressive driving.

Note that the Tesla Acceleration Boost won’t come with the Track Mode features.

Frequently Asked Questions

Wrapping Up

To get a track-like driving experience in the racetracks, try the Track Mode only if you are a skilled driver. But when you use this feature, drive in a careful manner so that no one gets hurt.

And never turn on the Track Mode on public roads which can result in mishaps for others as well as you. Hope this guide gives you all the insights on this feature that you need to know.

See you in the next guide soon!