Last Sunday, we were worried not to see a new Rich Rebuilds video. These guys are punctual. Either something had gone wrong or very right. We are glad to inform you that the latter was true. Rich Benoit released his latest video on June 10 – a Wednesday – because the content was mindblowing. It was an announcement that now the Electrified Garage can make an AWD Tesla Model 3 beat a Performance unit. The video above proves that.
Before this video, the only tuning resource to make an electric car be faster was the Steinbauer Power Enhancement Module. We talked about it back on August 25, 2019. It was reversible, did not affect the warranty, and the most significant improvement it provided was a 67 hp increase to the Model S P90D.
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Benoit’s video does not speak about power numbers. It just shows a Model 3 LR AWD improve its 0 to 60 mph numbers from a 4.41 s time to 3.27 s. It also presents a Performance model being repeatedly humiliated by this blue LR AWD.
That happens after the car goes through “The Ghost” upgrade. Benoit explains it as what people do to their combustion-engined vehicles when they want more performance. He even mentions the example of his Corvette.
Gallery: Electrified Garage And Ingenext Make Model 3 LR AWD Beat Performance
Although he would like to have a ZR1, he is not willing to sell his C7 for $10,000 less than he paid for it and to pay $30,000 more than that original amount for a ZR1 – a $40,000 loss. The solution for that is a cheaper upgrade to give his Corvette the extra ponies he wants. The same now works for the AWD Model 3.
All the fun is in the video, but all the info is on the description. It is there that you can see the link for the Electrified Garage page for the upgrades.
You can choose two: the Stage 1 Performance Boost, which gives you 50 hp more for $1,100, and the Stage 2 “The Ghost,” with an offer of 150 hp for $2,250. That is just to get things started: you’d pay respectively $1,500 or $3,000 if it were not with a discount.
The Stage 1 upgrade promises a 0 to 60 mph time of 3.8 s. That’s not enough to beat the 3.2 s official time of the Model 3 Performance, but it has its conveniences. The module can be shipped to anyone interested in having it, and clients can install it themselves. It will also receive OTA updates. Why is that convenient? You’ll soon see.
The Stage 2 “The Ghost” upgrade is much more radical. Installation can only be done at the Electrified Garage, and it takes one hour to be completed. Whenever there is an OTA update, the car owner will have to go to the shop to get it done.
There’s more: not all AWD Model 3 units can have the upgrade. Only 1120980 rear motors can have it. If you have a 1120990 motor in the rear axle of your Model 3, “The Ghost” will only haunt your nightmares, not the roads ahead of your car. You can see which rear engine you have by looking through the rear wheel on the left side – the driver’s side in the US.
It is on the description of Stage 2 that we learn who is behind the performance enhancements. It is a Canadian company called Ingenext. In Canada, the boost kits can be installed at Véhicules Électriques Simon André, in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. In the US, the only shop to set it up is the Electrified Garage.
Both upgrades can be controlled with the help of any web browser. It grants you access to the car's parameters and to three control modes. The bad side is that they may implicate voiding the warranty. In other words, you may lose it if you decide to have any of these performance boosts.
Another warning is that only AWD units of the Model 3 can have the upgrades. Standard Range or LR RWD owners will have to wait for the AWD conversion the Electrified Garage will test on Chris S.’s Model 3.
As you can see, the Electrified Garage folks are preparing a bunch of exciting and proper tuning options for Tesla owners. They will finally be able to have more than cosmetic changes to their cars.
We wonder how Tesla will react to those changes. Will it be a new Ferrari, suing owners for some of these changes? Will it support them? Probably not, considering the owners that do not care about warranty will try to save some bucks with these performance mods. Model 3 Performance owners, beware: if an LR AWD makes you eat dust, this is why.
Source: Rich Rebuilds