Thinking of trying this yourself? YouTuber “Chillin With Chet” has done the testing for you, so you don’t have to.
If you think no roll cage, no harness, disconnected airbags, stock seats, no helmet or race suit, removed panels, and interior, combined with over 761kW (1020hp) and a set of untested brakes at 273km/h around a track sounds like a recipe for disaster… you’d be absolutely right. Mr Chet found that out the hard way.
Honestly, given the above, it’s absolutely incredible that he was able to walk (or hobble) away at all.
Chet recently scored himself a Tesla Model S Plaid, which lays down a staggering 1020hp and, in stripped form, has run an incredible near flat 9.09s 1/4mi.
On these runs though, he had noticed that he had been having brake fade and rotor warping, which is no surprise given the high speeds and hefty weight of the AWD Plaid.
Understandably this inspired him to upgrade his brakes and take the car out to a big brake kit, and take to the track to see how they fared.
In a statement released a few days ago, Chet stresses the fault of the accident was not the brake upgrade itself, more-so his suspicion the DOT3 brake fluid was not flushed and replaced with upgraded race fluid.
While the driver was wearing a standard lap-sash three point seat belt, he had no other safety gear. In his quest for weight reduction, the doors were also missing the sensors required for side impact airbags and other safety features.
He suffered a fractured knee, a torn ACL, and five broken ribs, but miraculously survived the impact.
Keep safe out there people.
You can follow Chet’s adventures on his YouTube here.
