Tracking the Taycan at Watkins Glen International

[Detect]

Just sharing footage from tracking a '21 Taycan Turbo S with Map EV tune at Watkins Glen International in upstate New York with SCDA in intermediate 1 run group. Nothing too crazy for lap times as it was my first time at this track. The esses, followed by the back straight, and then the bus stop is very fun. We did the long course the first day and the short course the second day. Running Bridgestone RE71RS 285/35R20 on all four corners. Car set to low height, sport plus for drive and chassis, and regen off. Just giving you guys an idea of what it might be like if you haven't done a track day in a Taycan before (I would highly recommend it!). Let me know if you have any questions. Enjoy!

Long course



Short course

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[Mr.Smith]

How was your time compared to the other cars there? Was the upgrade a benefit?

 

[WuffvonTrips]

How long/far were you able to run before thermal management noticeably restricted power delivery?

 

[Mad Matter]

Awesome! When I bought this car I did not think I would want to take it to the track given the long wheelbase + weight and having two other cars better suited for the track but after daily driving it a few months now I am really wanting to open it up at the track to see how it does. I would probably have regen on though just to have a more traditional ICE feel.

How was the % battery depletion per 'X' minute session? temps?

 

[Detect]

How was your time compared to the other cars there? Was the upgrade a benefit?

Lap time-wise, it really depends on driver skill more so than the car. In my run group (Intermediate 1), going flat out in a hot lap I may be in top 3, but might be in bottom 3 in Intermediate 2 or Advanced.

The upgrade allowed me to hit higher top speed and accelerate faster, but I was hitting thermal limits after 3-4 consecutive hot laps before it would derate or go into turtle mode. This was a problem as I'd get off the track when that happened and lose seat time. Eventually, I learned to manage for thermal limits to stay on the track longer. For someone that wants to maximize seat time, the upgrade could be a negative. For someone that wants to get the best hot lap time, the upgrade would be a benefit.

 

[Detect]

How long/far were you able to run before thermal management noticeably restricted power delivery?

3-4 consecutive hot laps before derating. If I managed for thermal limits, I was able to stay out for at least 20-25 minute sessions, but obviously not get best lap times.

 

[Detect]

I would probably have regen on though just to have a more traditional ICE feel.

How was the % battery depletion per 'X' minute session? temps?

Regen off would be more like ICE. IMO regen off will get better lap times as regen will continue to scrub speed off during the corners unless you're really good at maintenance throttle.

In a 20-25 minute session, depending on how hard I was going, it might use up 50-70+% of the battery. The high speed straights cause the most state of charge depletion. Battery temp usually started low (90F?) and I would always end where that red line is (130F?).

 

[WuffvonTrips]

The upgrade allowed me to hit higher top speed and accelerate faster, but I was hitting thermal limits after 3-4 consecutive hot laps before it would derate or go into turtle mode. This was a problem as I'd get off the track when that happened and lose seat time.

That's good in that it's a similar distance to what I got at Silverstone (International) with Turbos and Turbo S's. For my first 2 visits, PEC made a second vehicle available so that I could alternate to maximise my total track time. On my 3rd visit, they only provided a single car- fair enough, but I wasn't tempted back for a 4th visit. I am now curious to try a J1.2 as I read that it has improved endurance at track speeds.

 

[daveo4EV]

just to be clear - there is no way to disable "regen" - regen is always active -o but you can disable the "auto regen that occurs when lifting off the accelerator…making it suck that you coast when off the accelerator and only regen when on the brakes - this is the preferred and better configuration for track driving to allow greater control of weight transfer…

taycan _ALWAYS_ regen's when going to the brake pedal (blended braking can not be disabled) - there will be less regen if the battery close to full because there is no where to put the power and that will cause more friction braking…

there is no such thing as disabling regen on a Taycan - there is disabling the light regen you get from lifting off the throttle.

 

[prj]

there is no such thing as disabling regen on a Taycan - there is disabling the light regen you get from lifting off the throttle.

I need to mess around with the ASG a little, I wonder if I could actually screw with it to not allow any regen at all or if the request goes directly from the brake control unit to the motors.
Haven't looked at it in this light.

If it is possible, it could be an idea to create a switching feature that would disable the regen braking at higher SoC. Would drain the battery more, but probably not overheat it.

 

[daveo4EV]

I need to mess around with the ASG a little, I wonder if I could actually screw with it to not allow any regen at all or if the request goes directly from the brake control unit to the motors.
Haven't looked at it in this light.

If it is possible, it could be an idea to create a switching feature that would disable the regen braking at higher SoC. Would drain the battery more, but probably not overheat it.

this could be interesting - but power output is higher than power input (500-700 kW draw vs. 300 kW input from braking) - and you're on full power longer than you're on braking for example between turns - the thermals are the major issue for on track longevity - and Porsche limits power output but not input when the battery goes into thermal management - so I'm guessing they've already worked this out ;-)

I'd suggest that it's not worth the effort given that I think you'll only move the needle a little bit in terms of stamina - maybe move from 4-5 laps to 5-7 laps at any given track…

you'd probably get more "gain" from running the thermal cooling system at "max" and allow "Pre-cooling" - i.e. put the car in sports plus and have a "mod" that when in sports plus run thermal cooling @ max rather than ramping in response to demand - this would allow you to pre-cool the battery while the car sits in the pit in sports-plus mode but not actually using that much power…

I'd be unsurprised if you could get more stamina from more aggressive/continuous cooling vs. messing with regen under braking…you're not on the brakes for that long - couple of seconds going into turn 2 @ Laguna for example,, but you're on full power all the way from turn 11 into the turn 2 braking zone…way longer than you're on braking

my $0.02 YMMV

 

[prj]

Both input and draw heat the battery. So yes, you could have something like 10-20% longer before overheating - it wouldn't be a gamechanger for sure.

And I think that the car might just simply run out of battery very quickly.

 

[daveo4EV]

Both input and draw heat the battery. So yes, you could have something like 10-20% longer before overheating - it wouldn't be a gamechanger for sure.

And I think that the car might just simply run out of battery very quickly.

7 or fewer laps @ Laguna Seca in my Turbo S was 52% battery capacity - that's 50% battery in less than 15 miles of driving…removing regen from the 11 braking zones won't improve consumption.

 

[Bughouse]

How did you charge the car between sessions? Awesome laps. I’ve tracked mine at Thompson in CT but it’s a much smaller track. The car is a lot of fun on the track for something of that size and weight.

 

[Bognar67]

Tire wear is an issue as well. If you push, the weight of the car kills/cooks the tires crazy fast.
No way to track seriously the Taycan. This car is ca. 800kg heavier than a GT3. GT3 also needs fresh tires after ca. 80-100 laps max.
Just imagine how about a Taycan with its weight and camber.

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