# Tesla Model S Drive Units



## 4G63T (Jan 9, 2019)

Hi Fellow Ev And car Enthusiasts,

I need help with understanding and identifying the Model S drive units . The EV Controls T-1C has capability to control model s dual motor. However it would have to be P85D , P90D, or P100D rear drive unit coupled with front. 

Are large rear drive units only in the P85D P90D P100D and all others (rwd or awd) use a small rear drive unit ?

Is there a way to tell from part number or serial on the drive unit ? I found the Tesla VIN decoder but not really that helpful if I only have part numbers or serials only.

The reason I ask is EV controls advised to source the P85D P90D or P100D drive units for the dual motor setup I’m planning . I just don’t know much about the drive units to ensure I purchase the right drive unit I need. Perhaps I’m not very good at searching the net as I wasn’t able to find a definitive answer. 

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Mods, if this is in the wrong section please move to the appropriate sections as needed.


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

4G63T said:


> I need help with understanding and identifying the Model S drive units . The EV Controls T-1C has capability to control model s dual motor. However it would have to be P85D , P90D, or P100D rear drive unit coupled with front.
> 
> Are large rear drive units only in the P85D P90D P100D and all others (rwd or awd) use a small rear drive unit ?


Close...

A rear-wheel-drive Model S has a just large rear drive unit,
a non-performance AWD (called "Dual Motor" and indicated by "D" on the end of the designation, but no "P" in front) has a small front and a small rear drive unit, and
a Performance AWD (indicated by a "P" on the front of the designation, plus the usual "D" on the end) has a small front and large rear drive unit.

There is no 2WD Model S with a small drive unit.


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## 4G63T (Jan 9, 2019)

brian_ said:


> 4G63T said:
> 
> 
> > I need help with understanding and identifying the Model S drive units . The EV Controls T-1C has capability to control model s dual motor. However it would have to be P85D , P90D, or P100D rear drive unit coupled with front.
> ...


Thanks for the info. That is what I was not sure about is that a rwd model s can have a large rear motor. 

Do you know how I can identify if a large motor is from a rwd model s or from a Performance D ? (Without knowing the donor car VIN) 

Is there a way to identify via the drive units part number or serial number ?


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

4G63T said:


> That is what I was not sure about is that a rwd model s can have a large rear motor.


A RWD not just "can have", but "always has" a large motor.



4G63T said:


> Do you know how I can identify if a large motor is from a rwd model s or from a Performance D ? (Without knowing the donor car VIN)
> 
> Is there a way to identify via the drive units part number or serial number ?


I have no idea. Whether the drive unit came from a PxxD or a RWD car doesn't matter to the motor or transaxle. If it matters to EV Controls, it's probably a matter of controller programming; I don't know if there's a way to check that.


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## remy_martian (Feb 4, 2019)

You are majorly confused with the "D" which has nothing to do with a P car's rear drive unit.

The Performance cars will have "sport" on a paper sticker on the inverter case. Otherwise, there's no easy way to tell without a serious teardown of the drive unit. 

Maybe by part number, but I don't have those handy and they keep changing as Tesla does its scatterbrained running changes to designs and components. Like CEO, like cars.

I would have thought that the CAN codes would be the same between the regular and sport unit - might want to double check that with your pals.

BTW, Tesla VIN numbers are next to useless, IMO.


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

remy_martian said:


> You are majorly confused with the "D" which has nothing to do with a P car's rear drive unit.


As explained above, "D" means dual-motor, which is Tesla-speak for AWD. Adding the Performance option ("P") to a Dual-motor changes the rear motor from small to large.



remy_martian said:


> The Performance cars will have "sport" on a paper sticker on the inverter case. Otherwise, there's no easy way to tell without a serious teardown of the drive unit.


It doesn't take a teardown, or even any tools, to see the obvious difference between the large drive unit in a PxxD and non-P xxD Model S. This is the illustration provided by Tesla (from an enthusiast site, because from Tesla it had to assembled from multiple pages as build options were explored in the online configuration tool).










Distinguishing P and non-P rear drive units from RWD cars is another matter entirely, as they are all large drive units. As already noted:


brian_ said:


> Whether the drive unit came from a PxxD or a RWD car doesn't matter to the motor or transaxle. If it matters to EV Controls, it's probably a matter of controller programming; I don't know if there's a way to check that.


Since there were P and non-P RWD cars, and they had the same motor, there is presumably a difference in at least controller programming.


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## remy_martian (Feb 4, 2019)

^clever SPAM


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