Fae's Model 3 Challenge Journal: Pushing the Limits at Thunderhill East

This weekend, I finally made it out to the Model 3 Challenge at Thunderhill East—and what a day it was! The perfect chance to test out my new Performance Model 3 equipped with some fresh upgrades from ZEVCentric. If you’ve been following my journey, you’ll know how much I’ve been looking forward to this moment.

The Prep: Performance Parts for a Purpose

For this event, I had one main priority: making the car even more track-ready. I’ve already done some major mods, including adding camber and upgrading the brake pads and fluid. But this time, I took it up a notch with new front lower control arm bushings. If you’re familiar with the Model 3, you’ll know that the stock rubber bushings can sometimes make the steering feel a little sluggish—there’s a noticeable delay between turning the wheel and the car responding. But with the new bushings in place, the car felt instantaneous—just the kind of responsiveness I was looking for on a high-speed track like Thunderhill.

The Track: Thunderhill East’s High-Speed Challenge

This was my second time on track with the new car, but I’m no stranger to Thunderhill East. The track is a high-speed beauty with flowing corners and some serious challenges, especially the blind crests that send your car airborne. If you're not ready to catch the car as it lands and quickly transition into the curve, you’ll be in for a wild ride.

For the race, we had to use power limiters, which meant that my Performance Model 3 (M3P) performed similarly to my previous SR+. Under the limiter, the M3P had more high-speed potential, but with an added 500 lbs of weight. Thankfully, I was running Aspira 19x10.5" rims with 275 tires, giving me more grip than the old 255s, and that definitely made a difference. With these upgrades, I ended up qualifying third, half a second faster than my personal best—definitely a step in the right direction.

The Races: Strategy, Chase, and Close Calls

We had two races on the day, and I knew going in that Steven was going to be a tough competitor, but I had my sights set on Alex. The grid was set up in reverse qualifying order, which meant I had to battle through slower cars ahead of me while trying to fend off faster drivers behind me. Unfortunately, my start wasn’t as strong as I’d hoped, so I had to let both Steven and Alex slip by early on. This left me in pursuit of Tim and Aaron.

Race 1: Tim had a bit of an off-track moment, but Aaron led me on a chase until I made my move on the final lap, passing him for a solid third place finish.

Race 2: The grid was flipped, putting Tim at pole position after his off-track excursion. As expected, he raced off into the distance, but I had Steven and Alex right behind me, pushing to make passes. The action was tight—sometimes we couldn’t make the moves stick, and Steven got split off from us, leaving Alex and me to chase down Tim.

I made the decision to let Alex pass since his lap times were slightly faster. My plan was to conserve my tires and take a more conservative line. As expected, once Alex caught Tim, he had to wait for a passing zone, giving me the opportunity to close the gap. By the final lap, I was right on Alex’s tail as we overtook Tim with the white flag waving. However, despite being quicker through the corners, I couldn’t quite get close enough to trigger another passing zone. We finished with Alex in first and me in second.

The Car: Perfectly Tuned, but Room for Improvement

I have to say, the car felt phenomenal. I was particularly impressed by the stock active dampers—in track mode, they were perfectly tuned for the smooth, flowing nature of Thunderhill East. That said, I noticed a tendency to oversteer slightly on corner entry under braking, likely due to the switch to a square tire setup. The extra grip up front made the rear feel a little less balanced, so I had to adjust my braking technique to avoid trail braking and finish braking before turning in.

Next steps? I’m thinking sway bars to bring some much-needed balance back to the car. Stay tuned!

Results: A Solid Finish and Big Fun

After two thrilling races, I ended up with 3rd place overall, qualifying in 3rd and finishing with a 2nd and 3rd place. Honestly, I had a blast. There’s just something about chasing down competitors and navigating traffic in a race that’s so much more exhilarating than a normal time attack or track day. Even with the passing-flag rules, it was an experience I’ll never forget.

The ZEVCentric mods really held up beautifully—no issues at all, and the car felt dialed in. I’m already looking forward to next season, where I’ll continue refining the car and pushing for even better results. Until next time, see you on the track!

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