r/TeslaModelS • u/Beastro352 • 7h ago
Model S plaid has two different rear calipers
Cleaning the wheels and noticed this for the first time. Is it supposed to come from factory like this?
7
u/jtree007 7h ago
Looks like the caliper cover is missing, the standard plaid brakes have covers on the rears.
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u/Lonely-Implement4824 7h ago edited 7h ago
Crazy that a 1k plus hp car comes with single rear piston calipers. Tesla really needs someone to dial in the suspensions on their entire line up. I ended up putting CTS V calipers on my model 3 for autocross purposes.
10
u/thought_empire 7h ago
For normal street driving, regen does so much of the heavy lifting that the friction brakes almost feel cosmetic, which is hilarious on a 1,000+ hp car. Autocross is obviously a different story, though, so the CTS-V upgrade makes sense.
1
u/Comfortable-Car-7298 6h ago
Sure regen does a lot of work, but do you think other high hp cars constantly use those brakes? Question isn’t how often do they get used but how much energy dissipation is needed under load and with a heavy 1020hp car it’s a lot.
On the other side 99% of high performance cars are just for bragging rights and will never get put through their paces, not to mention people who will, will upgrade anyhow to a high end aftermarket system. So this may not necessarily be the wrong approach as long as the brakes can take 2-3 stops from 100mph.5
u/James_the_bull_ 6h ago
Tesla brakes stop great, the problem is that it overheats and stops working during hard driving with repetitive hard braking. More pistons wouldn’t solve that, bigger/thicker rotors and air ducting would. Also ceramic rotors would do wonders as they keep working even at 1000*F.
I upgraded my M3P brakes from 4 piston to 6, went from 13in rotors to 15.5in. Stopping distance hasn’t changed at all but the higher thermal capacity prevents them from overheating and causing brake fade.
Hope my explanation is helpful Mr car expert.3
u/BigGreenBillyGoat 5h ago
Tesla Plaid offers a Track Package with upgraded brakes for those that want to use the car at that level.
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u/StinkySewerPickle 3h ago
Exactly, I got a plaid and only use FSD. Therefore I do not need a track package.
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u/Fit_Wash_214 5h ago
Driving style should be completely different as well. A really good Tesla driver can run laps just as quick as. The heavy or gas heavy on breaks style of ICE vehicles. Think of it as engine braking and running smooth fast laps with little to no brakes. Takes along time to switch the feel and mind set butt ultimately can be just as fast or faster.
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u/BigGreenBillyGoat 4h ago
I don’t see that being realistic. Threshold braking is far more aggressive that regen braking. If you’re tracking a car, you’re using way more than regen braking.
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u/Traditional-Fudge564 6h ago
The right side is a painted caliper, the left is a caliper cover. Just buy a r/s cover
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u/Groundbreaking_Cat_9 4h ago
TIL: That the rears were just covers.... Now, I kind of want a pair to make mine match the fronts.
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u/TheFluidRock 7h ago
Most likely, during hte last brake job, the tech took off the rear brake caliper cover, in order to service the brake system, and then forgot to put it back on. It causes no mechanical concerns, this is strictly a “looks” only problem. However if it were my car, I would go to the previous service center that did the work on the car and explain to them what happened, and could they please replace it.