2021 Tesla Model S Track Mode
Track Mode, available only on Plaid Model S vehicles, is designed to modify the stability control, traction control, regenerative braking, and cooling systems to increase performance and handling while driving on closed-circuit courses. Track Mode improves cornering ability by intelligently using the motors, and regenerative and traditional braking systems. When enabled, the cooling system runs at an increased level during and after aggressive driving sessions to allow your vehicle’s systems to withstand the surplus heat In Track Mode, adaptive suspension damping is optimized for handling and vehicle body control to promote driver confidence in dynamic maneuvers. Ride height is automatically set to Low and the suspension no longer automatically raises for comfort over rough surfaces.
Using Track Mode
Track Mode is always disabled when you start Model S. To enable Track Mode for your current drive, shift into Park and follow these steps:
- Touch .
When enabled, TRACK displays on the instrument panel above the driving speed, and a Track Mode popup appears on the map. The instrument panel displays a color-coded image of your Model S that provides you with important at-a-glance status information about the Battery, the motors, and the brakes. See Monitoring Vehicle Health.
- If desired, customize the Track Mode settings by touching Track Mode Settings on the Track Mode popup (see Customizing Track Mode). You can also access the Track Mode settings by touching , then touching Customize next to the Track Mode setting.
- To use the Lap Timer, follow the onscreen instructions to drop a pin on the map to define the lap’s start/finish location. Then press START on the Lap Timer to begin your driving session. Once started, the Lap Timer starts counting when you drive Model S past the lap’s start/finish location where you dropped the pin. See Using the Lap Timer.
- Shift into gear and GO!
If you started the Lap Timer, each time you pass the start/finish location, the timer resets for the next lap. See Using the Lap Timer.
A real-time accelerometer (G-meter) appears on the instrument panel. See G-Meter.
When Track Mode is on:
- Autopilot features are unavailable.
- The Slip Start setting is overridden.
- Energy usage increases.
- Entertainment features are unavailable.
Use the touchscreen setting to turn Track Mode off at any time. Powering off Model S also turns off Track Mode (although it may still appear on the touchscreen if Post-Drive cooling is in progress). When Track Mode is off, all settings return to their previous state and all features return to their normal operating state.
Customizing Track Mode
To customize Track Mode, touch Track Mode Settings on the Track Mode popup that appears on the map when you enable Track Mode. You can also access the Track Mode settings by touching , then touching Customize next to the Track Mode setting. Choose an existing Track Mode setting from the list of pre-defined profiles provided by Tesla. Or create a new settings profile by touching Add New Settings, entering a name for the settings profile, then adjusting these settings to suit your preferences or driving scenario, or customize for a specific track:
- Handling Balance – Drag the slider to customize the balance of Model S in a turn. If Model S is too loose, you can choose a front-biased under-steering setup. Difficult to get the vehicle through a turn? Try a rear-biased setup to increase rotation. You can select any value, in 5% increments, between 100/0 (for 100% front biased used for under-steering) and 0/100 (for 100% rear-biased used for over-steering).
- Stability Assist – Drag the slider to choose the level at which the stability control systems assist in controlling the vehicle. You can choose any level from -10 to +10. Choosing +10 engages all stability assist systems for controllable driving in which stability systems remain engaged, whereas -10 disables all stability systems and the stability of the drive rests solely on the driver. The default setting of 0 represents a balance that provides some stability being automatically controlled and leaving some control up to the driver.
- Regenerative Braking – Drag the slider to choose how much regenerative braking is available. You can choose any value, in 5% increments, between 0 and 100%. Tesla recommends the 100% setting to prevent overheating the brakes.
- Post-Drive Cooling – Enable if you want the cooling systems to continue cooling the vehicle’s components even after you leave the vehicle. Cooling stops automatically when the components are sufficiently cool, or when you power Model S off and back on again. Post-Drive Cooling is useful if you want to quickly cool the components between driving sessions. If Post-Drive Cooling is set to OFF, the components eventually cool, but it takes longer.
- Brake Temperatures – Enable to display of temperature warnings associated with the braking system. You may want to disable warnings if you have installed an aftermarket high-performance braking system.
- Save Dashcam for Laps – Enable if you want to save a video and data on a USB flash drive when using the Lap Timer. A USB flash drive must be set up and inserted as described (see USB Drive Requirements for Recording Videos). The USB flash drive must contain a folder named TeslaTrackMode. When enabled, Track Mode stores a video and associated data for each lap. Track Mode also stores the car status and telemetry data with details about the vehicle’s position, speed, acceleration, use of accelerator, etc. You can then view the video recordings and analyze this data, which is saved as a .CSV file on the USB flash drive, to determine where time is being lost or gained.
Track Mode allows you to save up to 20 settings profiles. To delete a chosen profile, touch Delete at the bottom of the settings screen.
Using the Lap Timer
When you enable Track Mode, the map displays a Lap Timer. Follow the on-screen instructions to place a start/finish pin on the map. Once the pins are placed, press START to initiate the driving (lapping) session. When you drive Model S through the start/finish location, the Lap Timer automatically starts timing the duration of the lap, resetting the timer whenever you pass the start/finish location and displaying the real-time delta between the current lap and the fastest lap so far in the driving session. The map highlights the track in blue At the completion of each lap, the Lap Timer displays the duration of the lap. It also displays the times associated with the previous and best laps in the driving session If Save Dashcam for Laps is enabled (see Customizing Track Mode), and a properly formatted USB flash drive is inserted, Track Mode saves a video of the driving session (as recorded by the front cameras), along with a .CSV file that provides detailed information about the lap.
Monitoring Vehicle Health
You can easily monitor the health of Model S when using Track Mode by glancing at the instrument panel. The colors indicate the status of the various components, allowing you to determine the current operating state and make decisions accordingly. The components are displayed in green when operating within their ideal temperature range. Colors change as follows:
- The Battery displays blue when cold and red when hot.
- A brake displays blue when cold and orange when hot (an early warning for overheating brakes, which are shown in red).
- A motor displays blue when it’s cold or red when it’s hot.
G-Meter
In Track Mode, a real-time G-Meter displayed on the instrument panel. The G-Meter graphically displays peak lateral, acceleration, and deceleration values in the form of a circular meter. The history of your drive is represented in the shaded area. The G-Meter resets at the start of each driving session.