Part 3: The Quest for the Perfect Tune

[Emm]

Wow, the visceral experience when driving these two cars is so different that it's actually hard to compare. The RS6 acceleration *feels* quicker and more brutal (less weight, more torque and a lot more sound :–), although in reality the Taycan probably out-accelerates it every single time (except at very high speeds). The Taycan absolutely surges when floored, but it's still rather undramatic (which is why I think I need at least a tuned Turbo GT next :–).

Also, the handling of the Taycan is far superior to the RS6, despite its weight disadvantage (appr. 2,470 kg vs. 2,010 kg), obviously due to the gokart-like low center of gravity. It actually *almost* handles as well as the Cayman GTS 4.0 I had before it, even on the track, the only major difference being the higher lateral gravity in the bends (as it carries almost a tonne more weight).

This car is hands down the best car I've ever had — it's fast, it has such impressive handling, all the comfort and luxury one needs (mine has almost all factory options), and I never get tired of looking at it. Before this I could never see myself in an electric car, now there's no going back.

I hope this was at least somewhat helpful :–).

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[BjörnfromHamburg]

It's a good point, that when someone else drives, the Taycan can/ should be in "stock-mode".
It is a lot more "well-behaving" than.
With the tuning the car definitely becomes harder to control/ more fun on acceleration.

 

[prj]

It's a good point, that when someone else drives, the Taycan can/ should be in "stock-mode".
It is a lot more "well-behaving" than.
With the tuning the car definitely becomes harder to control/ more fun on acceleration.

As long as you don't turn the PSM off it's not any harder to control.

A question regarding the regen setting: Can it *only* be set to either OFF or to a given fixed value (original or modified), or can it have different values in different modes? I'm pretty sure it's the former, but since you're a programming wizard I thought I'd ask (ideally I'd have coasting in Normal, original ON value in Sport, and then an increased value in Sport Plus, simulating driving an ICE car in the high rev band where you have more engine braking ).

Regen is implemented as levels. In case of the Taycan there are two levels "off" (level 0) and "on" (level 1). Technically there is "Auto" (level 2) as well, but that is used for blending.
The level 0 and level 1 can be set to whatever you want them be. Just happens to be set from factory so that level 0 has 0 regen. But you can make it have more regen. E.g. on the e-tron GT level 0 has a tiny bit of regen at higher speeds, it's not completely zero.

You can't really increase the controllable number of steps because there is no interface to control them.

The ASG supports up to 5 different maps for recuperation though - 3 are taken stock on the Taycan (4 on the e-tron GT), and the rest are free.
It is also possible to map different driving modes there - not done stock, but it can be done.
Not going to spend time messing with it though...

 

[BjörnfromHamburg]

I am happy to say, I think differently:
With "launch-control" power available "at all times", my Turbo S became, despite PSM, significantly more sports-car (and fun) regarding sliding effects of the car.
I needed to warn my sons towards the tickle of flooring the pedal very cautiously in certain situations.

 

[prj]

I am happy to say, I think differently:
With "launch-control" power available "at all times", my Turbo S became, despite PSM, significantly more sports-car (and fun) regarding sliding effects of the car.
I needed to warn my sons towards the tickle of flooring the pedal very cautiously in certain situations.

I don't think you have our tune though, right?

No such experience on my Turbo S with even more torque, but of course we properly set the dampers at WOT and the PSM mode.

 

[BjörnfromHamburg]

Nope, you were 3 weeks late (for me)

 

[prj]

Nope, you were 3 weeks late (for me)

Yep, so that is probably why you have this experience. When you just add power and do not do anything else, then it does not feel good.

But this is not a problem with our tune.

 

[BjörnfromHamburg]

Good promotion for your concept of tuning!

But ok, as I said: to me it adds driving-fun. I won't complain as the car is allowed to be dirty sometimes.

 

[Emm]

Regen is implemented as levels. In case of the Taycan there are two levels "off" (level 0) and "on" (level 1). Technically there is "Auto" (level 2) as well, but that is used for blending.
The level 0 and level 1 can be set to whatever you want them be. Just happens to be set from factory so that level 0 has 0 regen. But you can make it have more regen. E.g. on the e-tron GT level 0 has a tiny bit of regen at higher speeds, it's not completely zero.

Ah, that's interesting! So it would be possible then to set level 0 (OFF/coasting) to let's say the current level 1 regen value (or perhaps even slightly less), and then increase level 1 (ON/current regen) to a higher value that more mimics the behaviour of high-rev engine braking on an ICE car?

It would of course be up to me to specify the regen values that I'd want, but what would be your personal recommendation, if full coasting is not necessary (when driving on the highway, one could just use the cruise control to set the speed to avoid having to press the accelerator pedal as much when there is some regen going on)? Do you think slightly less than the current regen value would work fine for level 0 (OFF), and then perhaps an increase of say 30-40% would be good for level 1 (ON) to achieve a bit more of the feeling of engine braking in high revs on a sporty ICE?

 

[prj]

Everything is possible, but I am probably not going to mess with it, since it requires lots of time for testing, and there is no point from a commercial perspective.

If you ask me personally - I only use the auto regen when driving, and nothing else.

 

[Emm]

Everything is possible, but I am probably not going to mess with it, since it requires lots of time for testing, and there is no point from a commercial perspective.

If you ask me personally - I only use the auto regen when driving, and nothing else.

Yeah, I'm not too fond of coasting either, feels a bit unnatural to me... However, if I understand you correctly, is your take on this that you currently only offer modification to the level 1 value (keeping level 0 intact as OFF)? If so, then what is the new level 1 regen value that you recommend, or that other customers have chosen and reported back as being happy with (earlier I believe we discussed an increase of about 30-40%)?

 

[prj]

Discussed earlier in this thread, but 30-40% is the max before you need to remap the whole pedal and the anti surge damper, because otherwise it is uncontrollable and too jarring.

Standard only the last 10% or so of pedal travel control the regen, and when you increase the regen a lot, you need to also extend this range significantly. Also the ASD is not meant for this, so needs recalibration.

I did a full one pedal driving mode, but the accelerator pedal is too heavy and everyone who tested it didn't like it because their foot got tired.

 

[Emm]

Discussed earlier in this thread, but 30-40% is the max before you need to remap the whole pedal and the anti surge damper, because otherwise it is uncontrollable and too jarring.

Standard only the last 10% or so of pedal travel control the regen, and when you increase the regen a lot, you need to also extend this range significantly. Also the ASD is not meant for this, so needs recalibration.

I did a full one pedal driving mode, but the accelerator pedal is too heavy and everyone who tested it didn't like it because their foot got tired.

Has any of your customers had a tune with level 1 regen increased by 20 or 30 or 40 % yet, and if so what feedback have you received from them? (I'm still on the fence about doing this myself :–).

 

[prj]

Has any of your customers had a tune with level 1 regen increased by 20 or 30 or 40 % yet, and if so what feedback have you received from them? (I'm still on the fence about doing this myself :–).

Yes, dozens of them. There are some of them who posted here.
I developed and tested this myself though, not sure what you want to hear.

The cars are remotely flashable with our tune, so we can add or remove the option after the purchase as well.

 

[Emm]

Thanks prj for always responding so fast and knowledgeable!

Ok, so an open question then to all others here who also has the tune and decided to modify the level 1 regen value: What value did you go with, and how do you feel this has improved the driving experience in your case?

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