I autocrossed my 2023 Lucid Air Pure AWD and here are my comments

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Before the event, I Googled and didn't see any other posts anywhere about an Air being autocrossed so I figured I'd write up some of my experience for others to see.

Intro: First, for those who don't know, autocross is essentially a segment race on parking lot, runway, etc. with a bunch of cones set up to create slaloms, gates, etc. There is one car on a course at a time, and the course usually takes 30-60 seconds, depending on available space, set up of the day, etc., with speeds generally in the 30-50 mph range. This format of race strongly favors small cars like a Miata, BRZ/FR-S/GR86, karts, etc; however, there will usually be quite a few Corvettes and Mustangs, maybe some Camaros, that sort of thing. I generally take my BWM M4 convertible (F83) so I have plenty of experience, but this was my first with the Air.

I already have among the heaviest, if not the heaviest car, at my local autocross with my M4 (~4,000 lbs). However, it has wider, stickier summer performance tires (PS4S) and has a much stiffer chassis and suspension. Our Air is on the stock 19 inch tires with 245 width, so I knew traction would be an issue, especially with the ~5,000lb curb weight.

The event I was at yesterday was on an old part of a local airport, so it is long and narrow, which usually means slightly faster speeds because there's only so much to do with a long rectangular patch of concrete.

Launch Control: I used launch control for the first time yesterday (used on all six runs) and wow is it easy to activate. Sprint mode, full brake, full gas, send it. (So the only button that was actually pushed was sprint mode.) Launch mode isn't super necessary since I hit the first slalom at around 40mph, but it was still fun.

Experience: I lowered the tire pressures in all four tires to 42 psi before the first run and did not adjust throughout the day. I chalked the tires before the first run and was satisfied with the wear.

As expected, the narrow tires limit cornering G-forces, though the TrackAddict app still got me at 1.0 G at a couple points (I can do ~1.3 Gs in my M4). Braking felt pretty good since the car does have big brakes, though again, the tires limit how quickly I can brake and I had to noticeably brake earlier than in the M4. Traction control also kicked in a fair amount coming out of corners (and I really wish I could control how aggressive the traction control is). When smooth on the accelerator, and into the (short) straights, the car really does get up and go though! The Air will definitely out accelerate my M4 (and most autocross cars). And that's "only" with the Pure's 480 hp.

When street driving, I always use high regenerative braking so I started with sprint mode and high. I left foot brake but still didn't really like the feel of the high regenerative braking so I turned it to standard for the next five runs. I probably could've kept it in high and got used to it, though.

My time started at 43.2 the first run and I took about a second off each of the following three runs to get to 40.5. My final three runs were all within a tenth of a second. It was actually fairly easy to get used to the car, how it wanted to handle, where to brake, how to accelerate smoothly so traction control wouldn't annoy me too much, etc.

Model 3: There were three Model 3s at this event. Two 2018s and a 2023. One 2018 was on summer performance tires with 255 width and the other was on 245 RE-71Rs (the autocross tire). The 2023 is in a league of his own. His car is lowered, has some insane camber on the front, and has RE-71Rs in 295(!). He is consistently the "fastest car with doors" at my local club. Model 3s also weigh ~1,000lbs less than the Air so these competitors weigh significantly less and have better/wider tires so the comparison isn't great but the 2018s ran 38.7 and 40.5. I'm unsure of their experience level but they seemed to know what they were doing. The 2023 finished with 33.4, just a second off the best times that are in cars made specifically for autocross. But I'm pretty happy with how close my tire ended compared to the 2018s.

Efficiency: The car says I finished with 3.7 mi and 7 kWh used for an efficiency of 0.5 mi/kWh. After finishing each run, I exited my car and locked the doors so everything would shut off. I did not use the A/C while racing. My lifetime efficiency with almost 10k miles is 3.5 so I got about 1/7th of my normal efficiency.

My M4 gets ~23 mpg in normal driving (~27 on a highway) but only 6-8 mpg during track or autocross events. So it gets 1/3rd to a 1/4th while competing while the Air got 1/7th. Obviously fewer than four miles isn't much to go off but at least it's one data point.

Summary: It was fun and I'm glad I did it. It was also fun bringing my car out to an event with other car people because many actually knew what the car was, with varying degrees of knowledge, up to and including (not verbatim) "omg I've been wanting to get one of these and after riding with you for two runs I really want to purchase."

Will I do it again? Idk, maybe. Since I can only autocross one car at a time, I'd probably still prefer the M4. I would like to track the Air, but that's more expensive and that's where the efficiency really comes into play because I could really only do one 20-30 minute session before charging. And chargers aren't generally close to tracks (at least where I live).
 
Wild. Did you turn off stability control?
 
Lucid Stability Control settings


On the Pilot Panel, press > Vehicle
> Drive Settings, then press to select between three levels of Lucid Stability Control:


- Full - This setting is recommended for most driving conditions.


- Partial - Provides a more dynamic driving experience. Not available in"Smooth" mode.


- Off - Disabling stability control significantly reduces traction control and should only be disabled by advanced drivers on closed courses. Not available in "Smooth" mode.
 
Lucid Stability Control settings


On the Pilot Panel, press > Vehicle
> Drive Settings, then press to select between three levels of Lucid Stability Control:


- Full - This setting is recommended for most driving conditions.


- Partial - Provides a more dynamic driving experience. Not available in"Smooth" mode.


- Off - Disabling stability control significantly reduces traction control and should only be disabled by advanced drivers on closed courses. Not available in "Smooth" mode.
Well shoot. I would've loved to have know that 24 hours ago lol. Any idea if sprint defaults to partial or something?
 
I don't know that sprint adjusts anything in stability control. I remember that when ex-Stig Ben Collins ran the GT-P at Goodwood last year, he launched with Stability Control on and then switched it off for the rest of the course.
 
IMG_0140.webp

IMG_0141.webp
 
I think the worst part about this is that I've definitely seen that in the menu before too and just did not think about it at all yesterday. Oh well
 
I autocross my V60 a few times a year in Lake Elsinore. The group I race under holds events at the parking lot for the local minor league team. I'm by no means good, but I've consistently improved every time I've done this. I go with a group of coworkers driving Miatas and Porsches. They've been haranguing me to bring the Air out for some laps. And there are a fair number of modified and tuned Model 3s and S's that are absurdly fast. EVs are making some inroads into the hobbyist racing.

Thank you for taking this leap and reporting back. This may push me to bring the Air next the time we go out.
 
Oh, side note. The traction control makes a huge difference. I'd forgotten about that the first time I went out with the Volvo, and only remembered on my last lap. Turning it off shaved 3 seconds off of a previously 47 second clip.
 
Thank you for the write up. The efficiency data is great to know. I've been wanting to take my AGT to a track day but was also concerned about access and frequency of getting a charge between sessions. The chargers on track grounds are level 2 and the closest level 3 is a 15 minute drive each way from the track. Once I get out to track event, I'll be sure to record efficiency data for others.
 
Oh, side note. The traction control makes a huge difference. I'd forgotten about that the first time I went out with the Volvo, and only remembered on my last lap. Turning it off shaved 3 seconds off of a previously 47 second clip.
Yea I also turn traction control off with my M4. I'm unsure if turning stability control off would've helped as much as traction control but it's good to know for next time.

The AGT has 265s in the rear and is on summer tires, right? If so, that would help right off the bat, though it does weigh a bit more than the Pure/Touring due to the extra batteries. I'm certainly curious to hear your comparison against your Volvo if you do decide to autocross the Air. Also, great choice/taste with your Polestar :)
 
Before the event, I Googled and didn't see any other posts anywhere about an Air being autocrossed so I figured I'd write up some of my experience for others to see.

Intro: First, for those who don't know, autocross is essentially a segment race on parking lot, runway, etc. with a bunch of cones set up to create slaloms, gates, etc. There is one car on a course at a time, and the course usually takes 30-60 seconds, depending on available space, set up of the day, etc., with speeds generally in the 30-50 mph range. This format of race strongly favors small cars like a Miata, BRZ/FR-S/GR86, karts, etc; however, there will usually be quite a few Corvettes and Mustangs, maybe some Camaros, that sort of thing. I generally take my BWM M4 convertible (F83) so I have plenty of experience, but this was my first with the Air.

I already have among the heaviest, if not the heaviest car, at my local autocross with my M4 (~4,000 lbs). However, it has wider, stickier summer performance tires (PS4S) and has a much stiffer chassis and suspension. Our Air is on the stock 19 inch tires with 245 width, so I knew traction would be an issue, especially with the ~5,000lb curb weight.

The event I was at yesterday was on an old part of a local airport, so it is long and narrow, which usually means slightly faster speeds because there's only so much to do with a long rectangular patch of concrete.

Launch Control: I used launch control for the first time yesterday (used on all six runs) and wow is it easy to activate. Sprint mode, full brake, full gas, send it. (So the only button that was actually pushed was sprint mode.) Launch mode isn't super necessary since I hit the first slalom at around 40mph, but it was still fun.

Experience: I lowered the tire pressures in all four tires to 42 psi before the first run and did not adjust throughout the day. I chalked the tires before the first run and was satisfied with the wear.

As expected, the narrow tires limit cornering G-forces, though the TrackAddict app still got me at 1.0 G at a couple points (I can do ~1.3 Gs in my M4). Braking felt pretty good since the car does have big brakes, though again, the tires limit how quickly I can brake and I had to noticeably brake earlier than in the M4. Traction control also kicked in a fair amount coming out of corners (and I really wish I could control how aggressive the traction control is). When smooth on the accelerator, and into the (short) straights, the car really does get up and go though! The Air will definitely out accelerate my M4 (and most autocross cars). And that's "only" with the Pure's 480 hp.

When street driving, I always use high regenerative braking so I started with sprint mode and high. I left foot brake but still didn't really like the feel of the high regenerative braking so I turned it to standard for the next five runs. I probably could've kept it in high and got used to it, though.

My time started at 43.2 the first run and I took about a second off each of the following three runs to get to 40.5. My final three runs were all within a tenth of a second. It was actually fairly easy to get used to the car, how it wanted to handle, where to brake, how to accelerate smoothly so traction control wouldn't annoy me too much, etc.

Model 3: There were three Model 3s at this event. Two 2018s and a 2023. One 2018 was on summer performance tires with 255 width and the other was on 245 RE-71Rs (the autocross tire). The 2023 is in a league of his own. His car is lowered, has some insane camber on the front, and has RE-71Rs in 295(!). He is consistently the "fastest car with doors" at my local club. Model 3s also weigh ~1,000lbs less than the Air so these competitors weigh significantly less and have better/wider tires so the comparison isn't great but the 2018s ran 38.7 and 40.5. I'm unsure of their experience level but they seemed to know what they were doing. The 2023 finished with 33.4, just a second off the best times that are in cars made specifically for autocross. But I'm pretty happy with how close my tire ended compared to the 2018s.

Efficiency: The car says I finished with 3.7 mi and 7 kWh used for an efficiency of 0.5 mi/kWh. After finishing each run, I exited my car and locked the doors so everything would shut off. I did not use the A/C while racing. My lifetime efficiency with almost 10k miles is 3.5 so I got about 1/7th of my normal efficiency.

My M4 gets ~23 mpg in normal driving (~27 on a highway) but only 6-8 mpg during track or autocross events. So it gets 1/3rd to a 1/4th while competing while the Air got 1/7th. Obviously fewer than four miles isn't much to go off but at least it's one data point.

Summary: It was fun and I'm glad I did it. It was also fun bringing my car out to an event with other car people because many actually knew what the car was, with varying degrees of knowledge, up to and including (not verbatim) "omg I've been wanting to get one of these and after riding with you for two runs I really want to purchase."

Will I do it again? Idk, maybe. Since I can only autocross one car at a time, I'd probably still prefer the M4. I would like to track the Air, but that's more expensive and that's where the efficiency really comes into play because I could really only do one 20-30 minute session before charging. And chargers aren't generally close to tracks (at least where I live).
Great writeup, thanks for sharing! For charging limitations, bring another Lucid friend with you next time, and you can do V2V charging to top off between runs :)
 
The AGT has 265s in the rear and is on summer tires, right?

Yeah, the summer 21" tires should make a big difference. The Edmunds guys were given a lot of flak for comparing an Air GT on 19s to a C8 Corvette in their little head-to-head, then complaining about the lack of traction and sub-par braking. Still not apples-to-apples, but it would've been much closer.
 
Autocrossing a Lucid Air is a bit like fencing with a Claymore, I'd imagine.

That said, as a car enthusiast, I whole heartedly support such tomfoolery. Carry on, good sir.
 
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Great writeup, thanks for sharing! For charging limitations, bring another Lucid friend with you next time, and you can do V2V charging to top off between runs :)
Haha definitely not necessary for autocross ( I only dropped a few percent) and wouldn't be fast enough for a track day
 
Yeah, the summer 21" tires should make a big difference. The Edmunds guys were given a lot of flak for comparing an Air GT on 19s to a C8 Corvette in their little head-to-head, then complaining about the lack of traction and sub-par braking. Still not apples-to-apples, but it would've been much closer.
It's not so much 19" vs 21" as it is the width and compound. But yea if Edmunds were using the stock 19s, that's obviously not a great comparison.
 
Yeah, the summer 21" tires should make a big difference. The Edmunds guys were given a lot of flak for ...
Has anyone noticed the avatar this user uses ?
1727811465565.webp


@OCDC
'

Yes the 21" summer tires transform the car... I have a GT so rears are 265 ... it's just beautiful to drive. About to switch back tto 19" A/S because nighttime lows getting close to limit for summer compound.

1727810984302.webp
 
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