Tesla Model Y Track Mode Optimizations for Winter Fun (From a Brave Owner)

Tesla released the Track Mode for the Model 3 Performance in 2018, significantly boosting fun behind the wheel. The feature allows precise control of the car on a racetrack, while also improving thermals to allow prolonged track sessions. Not only that, but Track Mode allows the driver to alter many settings to suit every need and situation. Tesla introduced the Plaid Track Mode to the Model S Plaid a year ago, and starting in December 2022, it also offers a Track Mode for the Model Y Performance.

Although the Track Mode was mostly designed for the racetrack, it can also be used to have fun in the snow, with powerslides to impress your friends. Tesla released a video showing how it optimized the Model Y Performance Track Mode in the snow in New Zealand just to have it ready in the northern hemisphere for Christmas. In that video, we saw the Model Y drivers performing some wild moves, while keeping control of the car. It seems easy, but those who tried it testify that you need a lot of tinkering with the controls to get the perfect setup.

Thankfully, YouTuber Avram Dorfman has been to a Winter Driving School to learn how to use the Track Mode on his Model Y Performance. He was willing to share all the details on the Tesla Motors Club forum. Avram has driven Audi and Subaru in winter conditions before, and the Tesla couldn’t be more different when handling in the snow. With the default settings, the Track Mode would allow initiating a power slide, but it was either too much or not enough and always unpredictable.

Following in-depth technical conversations with one of the instructors, Avram got the basics right and got to test new settings the following day. The best combination involves setting the front/rear power bias to 30/70% (anything between 35/65 and 20/80 is acceptable, apparently) and the stability to -9. Regenerative braking should be set to 75% on the skidpad and 30-40% on the slalom. Avram warns that ABS could prove tricky on ice because it would keep doing its thing even after you release the brake pedal due to regen-braking.

Other settings are not that important, and, depending on the driving style and the grip level, it’s worth experimenting with these values. It worked for Avram, who could drift in AWD mode for as long as he wanted. Of course, you can do the same with the built-in Drift Mode, which you cannot edit and, bizarrely, uses different settings from above. But what would be the fun without playing with all those controls?