Batteries Included: Summit Racing Sets Standing Mile Records in a Tesla Model 3

Summit Racing Equipment will always be the home of all things go-fast and internally-combusted. But electric vehicles have come a long, long way performance- and range-wise in the last 10 years, and the tea leaves say that shows every sign of continuing.

So we decided to get a used 2020 Tesla Model 3 Performance and see what all the fuss was about. We got their feet wet on an autocross course, added some suspension upgrades and new wheels and tires, then went standing-mile racing.

And we liked it. A lot.

Al Noe (Summit Racing Chief Marketing Officer) and Brian Nutter (Summit Racing Product Development) drove the Model 3 Performance to the ECTA standing mile competition in Blytheville, Arkansas this past April. They competed in the 1/2 mile, mile, and 2K in two voltage classes for a total of six records:

• 1/2 Mile: 135.993 and 137.049 MPH
• 1 Mile: 143.441 and 143.908 MPH
• 2K: 146.246 and 146.389 MPH

Here’s how the whole thing went down.

Autocross Shakedown
Al and Brian are experienced autocrossers and were elected to take the Model 3 to the autocross course at Dragway 42 near West Salem, Ohio. The day was windy, rainy, and chilly—typical spring weather in Ohio. Al and Brian put the car in custom track mode and dropped air pressure in the stock Continentals from 41 to 35 PSI. Torque split started at 30/70 and ended up at 45/55 on the slick surface. The initial runs were all done with 100% brake regen, which was dialed out by the end of the day.

Overall, the Tesla handled fairly well and the linear power was helpful. If given bad input mid-apex in a corner, it would lose the back end and slide, stop, and gather itself up before rocketing to the next corner. This was not surprising given the rearward weight bias and a “square” tire setup (all tires the same size) on all four corners.

Upgrades
Based on the initial outing, we upgraded the suspension with an Eibach Pro-Plus Handling Package. It includes a set of coil springs, a 32mm diameter front sway bar, and a 22mm rear sway bar. The package lowered the Model 3 about an inch in the front and 1.4 inches in the rear, improving handling by lowering the center of gravity to reduce lean in the corners. The Eibach kit firmed up the ride quality, but it was not objectionable on the street.

The Model 3 went to the alignment shop after the Eibach package was installed. If the car was just an autocross warrior, adding a little toe out in and staying at zero in the rear would increase turn-in. But since the car gets driven on the street and competes in the standing mile, toe was set at zero degrees on all four corners to reduce additional (and unwanted) friction.

You can’t adjust caster or camber on a Model 3s without going to a set of aftermarket control arms. We didn’t want to get into that at this point in the project, so we let camber fall where it would—-1 degree on the front driver’s side, -.6 degrees on the front passenger side, and zero in the back.

You wouldn't think that dropping the car an inch would make as big of a difference, but it did. The Model 3 is not darty at speed, nor does it tram or pull. It’s happy at speed and takes little direction to keep it going straight.

The Tesla’s stock Continental tires put a damper on performance, so they were swapped out for 275/35-19 BG Goodrich g-Force Rival S tires on 19 x 9.5 inch Forgestar CF5V wheels with a 29mm offset.

Back at the autocross course, the Model 3 came in 12th overall out of 147 cars competing, running a best of 65.665 seconds. To put that in context, that’s just 1.665 seconds slower than a Lotus 7 in B Modified that ran the course in 64.011 seconds, the fastest of the day. Not too shabby for a mostly stock four-door, full-interior car with all the amenities!

Taking a Trip
The ECTA standing mile is the place to go if you want to stretch your car's legs, so we drove to Blytheville, Arkansas for the ECTA meet there. The trip gave us a chance to learn about living with an electric vehicle using the country’s present charging infrastructure. Stops to top off at a Tesla Supercharger were made in Columbus, Cincinnati, Louisville, and Kuttawa, Kentucky, which ranged from 103 miles to 185 miles apart. Summit Racing found the Model 3’s estimated range of 275 miles was 31% to 50% optimistic.

As far as cost, each stop at a Tesla Supercharger was around $11. At six to 11 cents per mile, the cost is about the same as filling up a gasoline-fueled vehicle rated at 28 miles per gallon. In terms of cost per kilowatt hour (Kwh), the Supercharger is 24 cents/Kwh. Residential electricity is around seven cents/Kwh, so charging at home is three times cheaper.

The Standing Mile
A typical Model 3 Performance model can run as fast as 162 MPH. Two licensing runs on Friday showed some issues. The run to the 1/2-mile point was 137 MPH; the run to the 3/4-mile mark was 147 MPH. The car was accelerating fairly hard, but around 146 MPH it was clearly hitting a speed limiter. Another run to the 1-mile mark confirmed it.

A couple phone calls to TREVOR! at the Tesla Owners Online forum and John Laughlin, who competes (and wins) in Optima Ultimate Street Car events confirmed Summit Racing had the Model 3 ‘Stealth Edition,’ which did not have the optional Performance Upgrade Package (PUP) that included a spoiler, 20 inch wheels and speed-rated tires, and most importantly, software upgrades that increased top end speed to 162 MPH. Tesla did away with the Stealth option in 2020, and all Model 3 Performance versions now have the PUP goodies.

What's Next
So what’s next for the Summit Racing Tesla Model 3? We plan on taking it to the drags where we expect it to click off high 11-second quarter miles at around 115 MPH. The car will also be used as a test bed for aftermarket parts as well as parts Summit Racing has in development.

You can learn more about Summit Racing’s Tesla Model 3 experience on the Tesla Owners Online forum. our OnAllCylinders blog, and our YouTube channel. We'll be posting additional stories and video as the car is upgraded and modified.