You expect everything to work when you’re driving a car, especially a high-priced advanced luxury machine like the Tesla Model S.
It might sound odd, but when things go bad, it’s not always the car’s fault. Some cars are meant to be used on the road, and the standard items offered with them do the trick, but others need something more and should have all the right stuff to give the desired performance. Unfortunately, when driving a car fast, you sometimes find out, like Chet did, that the smallest mistakes can cost you big time.
Chet Wasn’t Chill at All
The driver of a crashed Model S Plaid was none other than the host of Chillin’ with Chet. This YouTube channel has many subscribers, but the video below shows you just how important the right stuff is in a car. You can see Uncle Chet, as he calls himself, playing on the track with his car when suddenly the brakes no longer work. At the time, he was going approximately 170 mph and had no way to stop the car except to turn it, roll it, and end up in the tire wall. That’s not how anyone wants to stop their car, especially if some of the safety items have been removed.
Was the Brake Fluid Changed?
During the video, Chet tells us the brake rotors for his Tesla Model S were replaced with upgraded carbon models from Unplugged Performance. Considering the high heat of the track and the performance brakes, if the team did not change the brake fluid from the standard DOT 3 product to a fluid made for racing, this could have been the cause of the crash. Even though the brakes worked fine during part of the run, there comes a breaking point when using products not rated for the conditions.
Why Would the Brake Fluid Fail?
If the wrong brake fluid was used in the car Chet drove, it could have caused the crash. High-performance brake fluid doesn’t boil at high temperatures, which allows it to maintain the pressure to engage the brake pads and slow or stop a car. DOT 3 brake fluid, which is standard fare on almost every car on the road, isn’t made for racing conditions. If the brake fluid boiled, there wouldn’t be any pressure in the system to slow or stop the car for Chet.
Did the Regenerative Braking System Mask the Brake Failure?
In cars without a regenerative braking system, experienced drivers can feel softer brake performance as the fluid heats up. Had that been the case with Chet, he likely could have stopped filming and safely brought the car to the garage to be checked. Unfortunately, as you can see in the video, he was paying so much attention to the regen system that it’s possible the system made to send power back to the batteries only masked the danger that awaited him when he stepped on the brakes.
Praise the Tesla Model S Safety Features
We hear Chet mention to the emergency crews that this car had been modified to remove the airbags and roll cage. These actions certainly dropped the weight of the car but put Chet in harm’s way. He likely shouldn’t have been driving this car on the track, and some tracks wouldn’t have allowed it, but some do. Also, we noticed he wasn’t wearing a helmet during his speed runs and testing of the car. The fact that Chet walked away from this crash with the few injuries he had is a testament to the protection devices built into the Model S.
Chet Took Responsibility for the Stock Brake Fluid
In a lengthy reply to the many viewers of this video, Chet points out that the fluid used in the car during this run was the stock DOT 3 fluid. He mentioned that he had no intention of racing the car with that fluid, and it was only in there to burnish the brakes. Unfortunately, while driving the car in Track Mode, the fluid underperformed. This could be a warning to anyone driving a Model S Plaid. The Track Mode might be too much for the regular brake fluid in the car.
How Badly Injured Was Uncle Chet?
At the start of the video, we see the Tesla Model S on its side, banged up and beaten. This car doesn’t look like one that any person should get out of, but we’ve also seen worse wrecks at race tracks with cars that flip and turn. Chet, at the start of the video, was outside the car and several yards away from it. We can venture a guess this was because he didn’t want to experience an electrical fire, which can happen with an EV like this one.
As for Chet and his injuries, he came away with five broken ribs, a torn ACL, and a fractured knee. That’s nothing compared to the broken ego of wrecking a car that you have every confidence can perform well at a track.
The Smart Side of this Incident
There’s always a lesson to be learned in every mistake or problem. For Chet, he learned he needs to have the right brake fluid in this car if he’s going to push it that hard. We can be thankful that Chet is a professional and drove his Tesla Model S where he did. He chose a racetrack with plenty of emergency personnel and his crew on standby.
Unfortunately, we see too many users on social media trying stunts and actions that can not only damage their cars irreparably but end their lives. Many of these people don’t take the safety precautions that Chet did and end up regretting everything about their attempt at immortality.
Because Chet and his crew took proper precautions, and the Tesla Model S has some amazing structural engineering built into it, Chet will be able to race and drive again. This leads to the tired but true warning of, “Don’t try this at home.”
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