gangzoom

Finally picked up the replacement car today, great to be back in our own car. Cannot wait to put some miles on it now, and hopefully no more incidents, plan is to keep it at least 8 years when the motor/battery warranty dies

I thought you could never have too much power

Ok, so looks like 700+WHP on a N54 block is pretty attainable these days. Bare in mind thats 700bhp at the wheels, RWD with a TC system you can actually 100% disengage, and weighs a good amount less than a GTR. My old 335i with 380WHP had problems going in a striaght line at WOT on anything but bone dry baby bottom smooth tarmac, with double the power it would be an 'interesting' experience to put all that power down without ending up in a hedge!! http://www.bimmerboost.com/showthread.php?76677-Just-another-700-whp-BMW-335i-Precision-6266-turbocharged-E90-N54-running-straight-E85-produces-737-rwhp ** Ok looks the above is running ethanol rich E85 fuel, which probably needed to keep the thing cool as much as power generation. So for UK road use your have turn down the boost and use a different map, but I'll be amazed if these days you cannot get a N54 to run at 500WHP on normal unleaded.

How much are E92 335i? You can probably pick one up for not much more than £5k. Stick on a Quaife LSD, better dampers, remap it and your have something nearly as quick as the current M3 for less than £10k. The tubros might blow, fuel pump need doing, and if you really want to track it your need an aftermarket oil cooler. But if your budget is £40k and the car £5k, that's a massive mod budget, and because the guys over the pound love the 335i your modding options are almost endless you can literally go nuts - last time I looked 4/5 years ago people were shooting for 600-700 WHP. Your probably still have change from your budget too!! They will also do the day to day stuff fine, infotainment system is dated but plenty of aftermarket options, happy to sit at 150mph+ whilst your other half sleeps in passneger seat. I also don't think they will deprecate that much more. I couldn't think of another petrol car to replace my old with, not without really upping the budget. Given how cheap they are now really is a performance bargin.

You do realise I live in Leicester, and our work IT system is so bad I cannot even load my University webmail account!!

I think am lucky, I love my job, went on hoilday for 10 days recently and for the first time for a long while didnt take the work laptop....by the end of day 3 I was itching to get some work done. By the end of day 10 I was bored out of my mind. As a result have cancelled another hoilday planned for later in the year, work is much more fun!!!! If I did have the ability to take 8 weeks off I would love to learn to code properly in SAS which would make my day to day job so much more productive and less reliant on others, sad I know :).

Or you could by a new iphone for a bargain price of £999! https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/12/apple-iphone-x-uk-pricing/

Pretty decent video, you can tell he is not sure about EVs (like many here) but even he admit just how good a car Tesla have made. He even took it out on a B road, and having thrashed a P85D around some twisty stuff I have to agree with him about the burtal speed of the thing once you show it some corners Cannot wait to try the 'P' version of the Model 3!! https://www.topgear.com/videos/chris-harris-drives/chris-harris-drives-tesla-model-s-p100d

So the new Tesla arrived ahead of schedule, its smaller than the X but not sure how practical it is been a single seater:).....But my 18 month old clearly has a natural inclination for EVs, checking the battery state of charge was the first thing on her to-to-list!!

More long-term real life Tesla battery degradation performance coming out as these cars get older. 93% usable charge after 250K miles!! Assuming most people do 10k a year average, the battery packs on these things look like they will last 30 years+ for most normal users before needing to be reconditioned :). https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-model-s-400k-km-250k-mi-7-percent-battery-degradation/

@Ekona and @Jetpilot Do you actually think any thing you say will dull my ethasthium for EVs? We can agree to disagree, but I will continue to share my enjoyment of EVs regardless of what anyone says :).

....in response to the above:) But let's not start a play ground shouting match.

Cannot say I disagree, but it wasn't me who's dragged up 0-60 times as a talking point For me the most important part of a car is been able to transport the family from A to B, but at the same time put a smile on my face. We covered 170 miles yesterday in the X, nearly all dual carriageway/M way spent most of the time in the overtaking lanes doing 'reasonable' speeds given the number of cameras on the M1/A43, was also stuck on M1 at one point for 1 hr due to cows in the road, and caught some MotoGP traffic the way back. In total spent over 4.5hrs on the road, am not sure about you guys but 4.5hrs in a car with a 18 months old is a long long time!!! But the X performed beautifully, I cannot think of another car I would rather have done the trip in. It really is remakable our 170 mile trip was done without any sound of a combustion engine, and Autopilot did a huge chunk of the 'driving', prehapes even more remarkable is the fact our Model X wasn't the product of Ford/Mercedes etc whom all have been building cars forever but from a company that barely existed 10 years ago. The reason for the trip was a classic car show, and it was lovely to see the contrast between the old/new. The fact the organiser asked Tesla to put a Model S next to a lovingly restored E Type clearly shows even among people of a certain age there is now recognition EVs are the future, and in our case very much the present. I've now covered some 7K miles in the Tesla since March, with 200 miles of real life range my wifes Lexus is firmly taken a back seat and only used for her work commute. I cannot wait for us to trade in her Lexus for an EV, and the more I see of the Model S the more I'm thinking why bother waiting another 2-3 years for the Model 3 when the S is available here and now.......so who knows, by the end of the year we might have a fully electric driveway.....amazing to think when we first started looking for a replacement for my wifes old car a few years ago at one point a 6 cylinder XF was on the cards to go along side the 335i......Oh how times have changed (for use anyways) .

I had something similar probably 10 years ago relating to a wrongly issued parking ticket which I never saw that was issued in a different city from where I was studying and the car been registered at home so I never saw the court papers. It took ages to get anything out of the council, and through out the whole time the bailiffs were knocking on my parents door every day. In the end for the sake of £300ish I just paid up, I suspect I could have got it all sorted eventually but the hassle just wasn't worth it..... Interestingly the Bailiffs were apparently demanding £600 on the day from my parents (but nothing in writing), but the council has only asked for £300 (including all costs), I suspect someone along the line was also trying to pocket some cash without telling anyone. I ended up paying the council directly and when I asked why the Bailiffs were asking for £600 it all became quite very quickly!!

@Zeezeebaba Keep an eye on the used Model S prices. They are finally starting to fall after been stuck at the £50-60K mark for the last 12-18 months. The first sub <£40K 85S Auto Pilot equipped cars is now on the Tesla 'approved' used car site. The approved cars come with 4 years and 50K warranty (same warranty as the brand new cars), and remainder of the original 8 year warranty on the battery/motor (so 5 years left to run on all current UK cars). The battery packs on these cars are currently projected to last 500K+ miles before charge drops to 80% due to degradation, so a car with sub 50K on the clock has lots and lots of life left in it. https://www.tesla.com/en_GB/used/5YJSB7H16EFP57017 Had prices fallen to this level 12 months ago I probably would have bought one of these rather than a brand new car. Bare-in mind the Auto pilot hard ware in that particular <£40K car is exactly the same as in the yet to be released brand new A8 your actually getting really good value for money interms of hardware. Range/speed is the same/more than the base Model 3, it's also bigger inside. I'm keeping half an eye on the price of the P85D S (3.1 second 0-60 time - no battery warming needed ;)), once they fall to £40-45K mark I'll find it very hard to pass one over for a brand new Model 3!!!......Not sure my wife will enjoy the 'insane' mode quite as much as me though.

You need to warm up the battery to do a sub 2.5 second 0-60 time, but any of the P AWD Tesla will do 3 second 0-60 times with no warm up. The 0.5 second drop in 0-60 time needs an extrapoential increase in energy. The time it takes to engage 'insane' mode (3.1 second 0-60) on a P85D is the time it takes to press the button, and it works from a cold start - not that I tired it straight away on the road leading out of the dealership;). Same drivetrain but in a car that weighs 800kg lighter would deliver some crazy levels of acceleration....providing Tesla don't do a Porsche and artificially limit performance of cheaper cars so not to upset the pecking order. The 'P' variant of the Model 3 should be quite some car, am saving up for it already, just need to find a way to persuade my wife to drive the X instead. Anyways I thought none of you are bothered about 0-60 times :).

A P100D can out drag a Lamborghini Huracan, until you drive one of the 'P' car you simply don't cannot understand how quickly they launch. A45 AMG is like a 1.0 Nissan Micra in comparison. Not sure why you don't think a hot hatch can get to 60 in 3 seconds when a 2.5 ton 5 metre long Model S can do it in under 2.5. The Model 3 weighs 800kg less than a S, but has the same battery voltage as the P85D. The only reason it wouldn't be able to hit 60 in under 3 seconds will be related to marketing and Tesla not wanting to the cheaper 3 to upset the more expensive S - A bit like Porsche with the not wanting anything to upset the 911.

^ Current hot hatches are FWD due to packaging issues - making them 4wd is expensive and loss interior space. Going AWD or even RWD on an EV has hardly any impact on interior space as the motors essentially sit inline with the axle. Once hub motors become economically viable it will become even easier for AWD. Had to respond to emergency call yesterday for work at midnight, the rate at which the X covered ground when rushed on empty roads is mad, and mine isn't even the quickest version. It's not just the 0-60, it's the way you get 100% torque the moment your right foot command it. It made my old 335i feel very pedestrian. I cannot wait to try the same drivetrain in something that weighs a bit less, the brakes were moaning quite a bit once I parked up.....I do hope Tesla hurry up with Model 3 :).

^ Actually Tesla add changes to faster than even smart phone makers. I originally ordered my X 12 months ago, since than: 1: At least 4 prices changes - Some up some down due to currency changes. 2: Lowest spec car has gone from 60kWh battery to 75kWh, and 0-60 time has dropped from 6 seconds to 4.9 seconds. 3: Autopilot hardware now been upgraded to include addtional CPU, Telsa have said they will upgrade all existing hardware for free. 4: Numerous çhanges to parts like buttons, seat covering, door latches. 5: Some speculation most recent 75 cars are now using a new battery architecture with improved cooling, we'll only know when someone in the US rips apart a new 75kWh battery pack. Ofcourse your get more for you money interms of EVs come 2020, hence the Model 3 is half the price of the S/X but 90% as good. But life is short and who knows what's coming down the line for any of us. I justify our car on the basis am a car nut and spending £££ on cars is just what I do. Some people woudlnt get that, but cars for me have never been about saving money, it's about putting a smile on my face each time I get into the drivers seat, and the X has done that more than all my previous combined :). I cannot wait to see what other EVs will be around come 2020.

Crazy actually to think a road car can deploy the same amount of electricty as 20+ houses can assume simultaneously!! If they can get the same amount of power delivery into the 3 the results will be astounding given the 800kg weight difference between the 3 and S.

No, there is no need. The Lidcousre mode essentially puts the battery into some kind of crazy discharge mode. You talking about discharging at a rate of 1500Amps inorder for the crazy 0-60 time, which is why the battery has to be up to temp (your house main fuse will be 100amps max). The motors are apparently acutally capable of 600 bhp+ output each, so potentially over 1000bhp combined output. The main limit to power is purely how much electricty you can get to the motors. Development of battery packs isn't just about adding range but also how you can increase discharge rate safely. We are only at the start of the EV development cycle compared to combustion cars. In a few years time sub 3 second 0-60 times will become normal for hot hatches. Ofcourse the question will than become if we (humans) can be trusted with so much instant power ;).

^ Plenty of people have the cash to waste though, the 'P' car have historically sold very well. The base Tesla have always been best 'value for money'. The current base Model S less than half the price of the P100D, still gets to 60 in 4.2 seconds, everything else on the car is 100% the same as the P100D except for 0-60 performance.

^ You mean like paying £8k for extended autopilot, which is not even remotely close to been activate:). Most 'P' Tesla owners seem to have paid for that as well!!! After all what's another £8k when the base car is £130k (not including leather).

I quite agree, the P85D I drove was already too fast for public roads, you have to be a nutter to want anything quicker. But I doubt you can describe anyone who can afford a £130k+ car as an idiot, if I could afford £130k to spend on a family car I woudlnt really care what names people called me;).

How much energy is required to launch a 2.5 ton car from 0-60 in 2.3 seconds? Quite frankly it's ludicourse Tesla even bothered to chase a 0-60 time of under 3 seconds, as the P85D I drove in insane mode was already stupidly quick!! But apparently all the P100D owners get use to a sub 2.5 second 0-60 time really quickly, and anything that does 0-60 in more than 3 seconds just feels slow. Just remind me how many many other 4 door saloons can get to 60 in 3 seconds let alone 2.3? We are talking about some stupid mind boggling amount of power. No one really needs that amount of speed but I have to say if they breach the 2second barrier I could be tempeted to pay the no doubt extortinate asking price.