A Tesla Model X beat a Lamborghini in a drag race | Hacker News Reader

A Tesla Model X beat a Lamborghini in a drag race

qz.com

19 pointsbspn17 comments

On short straight line teslas will leave most combustion engine cars in the dust, but it seems that Teslas can't handle more than a lap or two without overheating.

http://www.thedrive.com/news/5207/this-video-reminds-us-that...

Anyway, 99% will never race a car, so it is not that important. Lamborghinis are probably used in the track more by their owners than your average Teslas will be.

Isn't there software on the Tesla that throttles back performance if you launch it enough?

I think the problem is that the batteries can't handle sustained power drain without overheating, so accelerating hard for too long will put the car into a mode where it won't do so anymore for a while.

There used to be, but it was removed after customers found out about it and complained. Now you get a warning and big disclaimer, but it isn't limited.

Source (and plenty others if you google): http://insideevs.com/tesla-remove-launch-power-restrictions/

I've yet to come across a situation in normal traffic where > 100 HP wasn't wasteful.

If you want to see electric cars beating ICEs in drag racing look no further than White Zombie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rVTIpS5zb4

Which makes for some very comical footage. I'm quite sure White Zombie would absolutely smoke a Lamborghini and maybe it would do the same with a Tesla.

Takeoff is around 0:40 in that video, blink and you'll miss it.

A couple of points worth highlighting:

1. The Lamborghini can sustain this level of performance whereas the Tesla can't. So even if the Tesla can beat the Lamborghini within this particular set of constraints, it won't beat the Lamborghini in any sustained racing environment.

2. The Lamborghini Aventador SV weighs roughly 3,800 lbs, whereas the Tesla Model X weighs roughly 5,300 lbs. Really impressive for such a heavy car to beat a much lighter car even in a drag race.

3. There's a conversation to be had here about the practical value of acceleration over ability to reach top speeds and sustain them - especially on normal roads and in daily life. One can argue that rapid acceleration and a top speed of 90 is far more valuable/useful than slower acceleration and a top speed of 200.

Rapid acceleration isn't all that important. In daily driving nobody floors it as if they're in a drag race simply because there is other traffic to contend with and guys in cars with flashing lights that will make your life miserable if they see you doing the same to others.

Most acceleration in traffic is quite gentle, better for occupants (kids, grandma, spouse) and it makes your car more predictable to other drivers.

I like your point about making the car predictable for other drivers. I hadn't considered that but intuitively it makes total sense to me.

Maybe the reality is that all of our cars are overpowered for 99% of usage. But if there was an attribute that could be put to use on the road, acceleration makes sense because you legally can't go above 90mph in most places.

So, did anyone look at the time slip?

Slip #1: The Tesla showed 11.468 and the Lamborghini showed 11.307 on race one;

Slip #2: Tesla hit 11.418 while the Lamborghini shows 11.281.

A the bottom, the "Left 1st .2764" indicates the Lamborghini driver had over a quarter second slower response time.

Basically the Tesla beat the Lamborghini because the driver was slower. The second time slip shows the Lamborghini only 0.05 seconds slower response time and beating the Tesla in elapsed time.

I don't see how this is a win or am I missing something?

The difference is that the Lamborgini isn't only fast for a few seconds in a straight line.

Only in the US is a drag race important for anything.

and i say this as a huge fan of roadkill

This is a great headline for Tesla.

The point isn't whether a Tesla could beat it in a real race, etc, this is just a "brand" moment for them.

Good thing "nobody" buys Tesla's for racing...

How much battery drain does such a race cause?

When drag racing, the question is not how much fuel is used up, but how much car ...

so what you're saying is, regardless of gas or electric, drag racing is going to ruin your car.

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