Hi Everyone! It’s nice to find time to drop you all a message again. It’s been about two months since our last update, and it seems like things at MPP are always getting busier! More and more happens in just a short period of time. Not such a bad thing! We’ve got a lot of exciting news to share, so please enjoy! And of course, we hope you’re all doing well and that life is starting to get back to normal for everyone.
Legendary Pagid Brake Pads Now Available!
The first bit of really exciting news to share – we’ve been working with Pagid to develop pad shapes for Model 3 for some time, and they are now available exclusively through MPP. Pagid pads are known to be some of the best racing brake pads in the industry, and the compound we’ve selected is one of their endurance racing compounds that are extremely kind to brake discs, easy to bed in, and low noise. In addition – they last a very long time.
You’ll see Pagid pads winning 24hr endurance races around the world in GT cars, so you know these are the real deal. We are very proud to be able to offer these to you all and are looking forward to hearing your real-world feedback. We’ve been testing various different pads for over a year and have been very impressed with not just the track capabilities, but also how great they are as a pad for road use.
These pads can really be used for daily driving and make very little noise (although they will occasionally make a squeak here and there as they are a true racing pad). So when you’re next due for some pads we highly recommend giving these a try. In addition, because they last a very long time, the cost per lap is quite low!
We currently have pads in stock for the MPP.R Stoptech front Caliper, Performance Rear Caliper, and Non-Performance Front Caliper. The Performance Front Caliper pad is currently in production and those will be in stock shortly. The non-performance rear pad isn’t something that is currently in the works, but if the demand is there we will make it happen!
Next up in the brakes department, we’ve also added two options for racing brake fluid (Pagid RBF and Castrol SRF) to the store so that we can be your one-stop for all of your braking requirements!
Understanding How Brake Degradation Can Occur
Unless you’ve been living under a rock you know there have been a few brake issues with Model S Plaids as of late. We wanted to provide some education around different types of brake degradation, and specifically how that can be dealt with in the moment if it happens to you. We also cover the preventative measures that should be taken prior to ever taking a high-power car to the track. Basics for some, but mandatory base knowledge for all. Please do share it with anyone who you think might not already be aware of this information!
You can read that article here. It’s not meant to scare anyone away from enjoying their car on track – but it is important to have a base understanding of these systems to avoid having any kind of unexpected brake degradation during aggressive driving!
Time Attack Win For The MPP Model 3
Now onto some achievements since the last post! Happy to report that we were able to punch above our weight class in a CSCS Time Attack Event, where our car was bumped up to Super Street class when it is in fact a “Street” class car other than the tire width.
We were using “illegal” tires – the spec tire for the class is a 60TW Pirelli Trofeo R (full-on track tire). But we ran with our daily driver street setup – Goodyear Supercar 3 (not the 3R) which has a 220TW rating and are actually very nice, quiet road tires! So while our tires were illegal, they were illegal in the worst kind of way!
So despite the major tire disadvantage, we were able to win! To be fair, the track was well suited to the Model 3, consisting of a number of low-medium speed corners with no long straightaways. We ended up ahead of a 991 Porsche Turbo as well as a 991 4S, and I’m sure with some more setup work the car would be even faster. The party box was a great addition at this track, it really allowed for a ton of power application out of these tight corners!
Our simulated MPP.R Model 3 in Assetto Corsa was a great training tool, and with Mosport DDT added to Assetto recently, I was able to get a good amount of practice prior to the event. It was really encouraging to see the correlation was almost exact – and the discrepancies in the speed were due only to differences in the driving style (AKA being too aggressive in the sim!) The lap time from the sim was within a few tenths of a second, and the cornering and straightaway speeds were a perfect match.
It should also be noted that the sim was not just “adjusted” to match reality – the lap from the sim occurred before we had ever been to DDT with a Model 3! I have to say great job to the designer of the track in AC for making it so accurate as well. How cool!
Toronto Motorsport Park Gets MPP-Sponsored Chargers
Another exciting bit of news – as you may know if you follow us on YouTube or Instagram, we visit Toronto Motorsports Park quite often. TMP is the local benchmark track for time attack in Canada and is almost the Canadian “Tsukuba” if you will (of course not as famous). We’ve been working with the guys at TMP to get chargers installed for some time, and are proud to announce that we’ve sponsored four 48A Tesla Wall chargers, with rough-in electrical for more in the future.
Two of the chargers have J1772 adapters as well, to allow other EVs to join the party! We’re thankful to TMP for allowing us the opportunity to be involved in this project, and for being generous with the signage at the track. If you visit TMP, please be sure to tag us. Of course, please be respectful and put the cord away nicely when you’re done charging 🙂
While we were at TMP we did a little bit of running on our “street” setup with the Model 3 (same setup as at the CSCS time attack), and the car did a 1:16.8 on the first lap of the day. I’m confident that a low 1:16 is in it, which nearly matches the record our unlimited time attack racecar did on used racing slicks many years ago. That shows just how capable these Model 3’s are on twisty/short racetracks.
HP Academy Podcast
In other news, I had the opportunity to discuss the state of the EV industry, and explain a little bit about our journey into the world of EV with Andre Simon of HP Academy. If you haven’t heard of HP Academy before, they are basically an online school for all things motorsport. HPA has courses on topics like motorsport fabrication, racecar setup, data analysis, and engine tuning. If you’re interested in listening to the podcast, you can find it here. Thanks to Andre and the HP Academy team for having me on, and I highly suggest checking them out. They are an awesome group of guys and extremely knowledgeable with fantastic information.
Kels Update
Finally, for those of you who are interested in the exploits of our Hybrid-Electric time attack 350z, here are a few updates! You’ll be very happy to know that we’ve been putting a lot of effort into the car over the last few months, and we’re currently working on moving to a higher voltage system, along with fitting up custom-designed carbon bodywork. Right now the front bumper and fenders are complete, with a new front underwing almost done. Following that will be the rear quarter panels and side skirts, as well as louvers for the front fenders.
On the mechanical side, a new Cascadia CM200 inverter has been installed and commissioned, which will allow us to use a battery voltage up to 800V. We’ve also fully overhauled the motor and balanced the assembly, hoping to reduce some of the drivetrain vibrations that we’re experiencing. A new engine wiring harness has been completed which finishes off the entire electrical system update that has been ongoing since the hybrid development started a few years ago.
We’re working on a new battery along with a few other exciting ideas that will likely not be ready until the end of this season, but the point is we’re experimenting and trying new things with this wild car to grow our knowledge all the time. This next round of upgrades, once complete, should really bring the car up to a high level and we look forward to sharing. It’s not a Tesla, but it is a fast car with some very exciting technology – and a ton of what we learn from this project goes into our MPP parts.
That’s all for now – we’ll touch base again when there are a few exciting topics to fill up an email. Until then, have fun, and feel free to follow us on Instagram for more frequent updates!
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