At Unplugged Performance, we aim to give Tesla owners confidence that our products are properly, thoroughly developed and tested. From CAD/CAM, engineering data, and a decade of know-how to put the product to the brink of breaking in the most demanding environments, including race track testing. We are no strangers to having prototypes destroyed, broken, and thrashed in conditions that are so extreme they will seldom be experienced by our customers. From Pikes Peak to Suzuka, from Buttonwillow to Laguna Seca, every Unplugged Performance part goes through hundreds of hours of development and track time to ensure we deliver the utmost, safest, and performance-oriented product. It’s a daunting and challenging, albeit fun, task that our factory race team drivers encounter every month. It also delivers impressive lap times and track results, such as the one from our development driver, Craig Coker’s most recent trip to Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca, to set multiple new Model 3 records.
It all starts with the 2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance, the new sport sedan king and one of the best performance cars – ICE and EV included – out there. For a relatively affordable $54,990 (which gets down to just $47,490 after est. savings from the $7,500 Federal Tax Credit in the U.S.), you get a car that will tear it up! For under $50 grand, you get a car with 510 horsepower and a 0-60mph time of just 2.9 seconds. For comparison, the nearest competitors, the Audi RS4, BMW M3, or Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, all start at above $70,000+, making the Model 3 Performance a no-brainer for the casual enthusiast who likes speed, acceleration, and the exhilaration of fast laps at the track.
During Craig’s most recent testing sessions at Laguna Seca, Craig managed to set some unplanned new lap records that are more on par with supercars than they are family commuters. The results: a new Model 3 street tire record – 1:33.989 – achieved on Michelin Cup 2 R tires and a new overall Tesla Model 3 Laguna Seca lap time record – 1:32.853 – on Michelin S8A slicks (tires not pictured here.) While we are very pleased with the results, we know there is still room for improvement with further tuning which intend to achieve in the coming months.
The performance upgrades that allowed this record lap time
This lap time result was achieved with an Ultra Red 2024 Model 3 Performance that comes with an assortment of Unplugged Performance aftermarket upgrades for the 2024 Model 3 Performance: UP Race Pro Coilovers, joined with proprietary UP Adaptive Suspension Canceller Kit (a must if you want to run an aftermarket suspension system without triggering a bunch of errors messages,) a complete UP Carbon Ceramic Front Big Brake Kit (BBK) hidden behind lightweight UP-03 Pikes Peak spec race wheels making the Model 3 both corner like a champ and stop on a dime.
The wheels are sized 19×11 in the front and 19×11 in the rear for a proper square setup that feature a battle-tested, race-derived engineered design to deliver a lightweight forged wheel that can stand all the abuse on the racetrack. Add a set of Michelin S8A slicks, sized 29/67/R19 in the front and 29/67/R19 in the rear, and you have a platform ready to tackle track times on some of the most challenging racetracks in the world.
In addition to the parts listed above, this Model 3 features the UP street & track front & rear sway bar and sway bar end links, improving cornering grip and rotational balance to tight and fast corners. UP front upper control arms, front lower control arms, rear toe arms, rear camber arms, rear trailing arms, and rear traction arms complete the suspension upgrades list. Outside, our UP Ascension-R carbon fiber wing is paired with the factory spoiler for additional rear downforce to keep the rear planted in high-speed turns. Adds a nice racey visual aesthetic too.
To help Craig focus more on the track and driving and less on keeping his body planted, we’ve added a UP Ascension-R carbon fiber racing bucket seat with a 4-point harness bar for the interior. In turn, almost any aftermarket racing harness can be attached, including UP Racing Harness which are made in collaboration with Willans. Additionally, the factory seatbelt can be used with the racing bucket seat in street driving applications.
Testing at Laguna Seca, Gathering Data, Setting Lap Times, and Learning This New Platform
The full testing weekend provided tons of data, both through telemetry and Craig’s personal experience. For example, we’ve experienced some understeer in almost all of our hot laps, a great learning experience that we’ll use to guide further parts development of the new Model 3 to acheive improved entry and mid-turn rotation, which could help us shave off half a second or more from our lap time. Our Carbon Fiber Aero kit is currently in production and with the front racing diffuser installed we’ll likely see a big reduction in understeer.
For the run where the Michelin S8A slicks were used, we cleaned out the entire interior: almost 100 pounds of unnecessary weight was removed, resulting in a much lighter feeling behind the wheel. Furthermore, we also thoroughly tested the VSC defeat parameters to understand the vehicle dynamics without any assistance. While we estimate it shaved about 0.5 seconds off each lap, we strongly advise utilizing factory Track Mode for most track-goers. After all, the Tesla traction system can be tailored to driver’s desires, be mostly defeated and is constantly monitoring the speed of the front and rear wheels, then adjusts and minimizes wheel spin when the vehicle experiences a loss of traction, resulting in maximum safety in most circumstances.
Overall, it’s pretty cool to see the improvements in the new car. Craig set a record in his first-gen UP Ascension-R Model 3 Performance a few years back with a lap time 1:35.7 on slicks. We’ve shaved nearly 3 seconds with fewer modifications with the new car. And to make matters even more interesting, this lap time Craig pulled puts the new 2024 Model 3 Performance in supercar territory. Looking at FastestLaps.com, the surrounding lap times to ours (#40) come with the names Lamborghini, Porsche, and McLaren. It’s pretty remarkable, considering those are all $150-350k cars, and we’re in a bolt-on-modified $50k+ 4-door sedan.
The whole lap (on both street and slick tires) can be viewed in the video below. Below, We have added a detailed media gallery of this gorgeous racey-looking Ultra Red 2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance. Until next time after more development, more parts and more on-track testing, press play, enjoy and let us know what you think!
