Tesla Model 3 Plaid Mode is here and although it is not officially made by Tesla, it is just as track worthy. The electric car we’re talking about today is a modified Tesla Model 3 customized by Unplugged performance.
The Model 3 belongs to the YouTuber Daerik who makes content related to electric vehicles and new technology. In the video, Daerik mentions that his performance Model 3 has been in the shop for the past two months.
Daerik tells his audience that he’s basically letting the modders do whatever they feel like doing with the Model 3. “I am letting them kind of ‘have at it,’ if you will,” he said.
Even before the aftermarket customization, the Model 3 performance has a lot of really cool features. The electric car comes with 20″ alloy wheels, 310 miles of range, a 0-60 mph time of 3.2 seconds and an All Wheel Drive (AWD) dual-motor setup.
However, the unplugged performance has done some serious customization on this Model 3. The car gets high-performance wheels, brakes and suspension springs to make it more track-focused than before. The whole process takes this car to next-level performance and you might just call it the Tesla Model 3 Plaid.
Tesla Model 3 Plaid Mode With Improved Performance Parts
“This car is not simply a show car, but we like to think that it looks pretty cool as one,” said Ben Schaffer, the owner of Unplugged performance. From the looks of it, the modified Tesla Models 3 features a ton of new parts.
Starting with the exterior, the car employs an Ascension R body kit which involves a new front bumper, side skirts, and rear bumper with a diffuser. Sitting above the trunk is a custom GT spoiler made by Unplugged Performance in collaboration with a Japanese company called Voltex.
According to Ben, all of this provides a ton of downforce at the rear end and keeps the car stable at all times.
The modified Tesla Model 3 uses 20″ inch rims from UPO-4 fitted with Titanium lug nuts for weight reduction. The car uses Michelin cup tyres in the size of 305/30 ZR 20, both at front and back.
Both the wheels and the tyres feature an aggressive size, according to Ben. “It is a very tight fit” he says. The entire wheel setup is held in place by fully adjustable camber arms and tow arms at the front and the back. Ben also says that his company will release a new fender next year, which will make installing such aggressive wheel and tyre alignment quite easy.
Stopping these big, wide tyres are custom brake kits. This car uses a 6% ceramic brake kit with racing compound brake pads, at the front and rear wheels, for an extra bite while braking.
The Tesla Model 3 Plaid is equipped with new coil-over springs that provide better spring rates. The overall height of the Model is lowered for better performance but the ride comfort has been reduced.
One of the new features on this car that I loved are the adjustable sway bars sitting underneath its floor. They can be changed accordingly to tweak oversteer and understeer. The sway bars also have polyurethane bushing and according to Ben, it makes them a lot better for feel and handling.
“We can adjust the oversteer and the understeer and get the car really dialled in for the race track,” says Ben.
Speaking of interiors, the rear seats have been removed for weight reduction and the driver and co-passenger seat now features a racing harness and Plaid clothing.
Unplugged Performance are experts when it comes to customising Tesla electric cars and turning them into track-ready machines. They have also published a white paper detailing all the effects aerodynamic body parts provide on an electric car.
According to Ben, “we can give hard data, in terms of what happens to the car, when you put these on it as it relates to drag and as it relates to downforce.”
Modified Tesla Model 3 A Good or Bad Idea?
While conventional ICE vehicle aftermarket mods generally decrease the average fuel economy of the car, in the case of EVs these mods increase the car’s efficiency.
We have previously informed you about a modified Tesla Model 3 that received an upgrade in its battery range after getting some aftermarket parts.
Kudos to Unplugged performance for delivering a high-performance Model 3, I only hope the official Plaid mode is just as cool as this one.
