I was Almost Killed in my Tesla! Complete Brake Failure at 170mph!!! 

On the topic of helmet yes, I should have had a helmet on but be advised you are not always required to wear a helmet and full gear every time you go on a closed course especially if your not racing or pushing the car to its limits. I entered the track just wanting to do two laps and see how the brakes were feeling since I didn't want to push it on public roads. Where I messed up was pushing the car up to that speed after feeling confident in what I was feeling so far. As you can see in the video I wasn't using the brakes much at all and the regen is insanely strong which did 80-90% of the "braking". The car without warning had a sudden loss of brakes and that should never happened. (Brake failure happened to me in a prior video ((Plaid vs Taycan)) when the car was 100% stock and brand new but it did give quite a bit of a warning with a warning on the dash and soft brake pedal feel) That was my mistake 100% for not having a helmet on this time and I told the crews in one way or another I was not going to be racing the cars that day or pushing hard laps. I am truly sorry for setting a bad example and allowing my Right Foot get the best of me. But for everyone to assume the car had some residual "waterlogged damages" is just simply false. The car was verified by Tesla multiple times and a third party repair shop to be road worthy and safe to drive. Let me state some simple facts 1. Car had a Clean bill of health to be road worthy so, it had no residual damages from the water stunts or any other use. 2. Car was lighted so it should brake and perform exponentially better than in stock form. Lighter cars brake better. 3. Tires were all DOT legal and at proper pressures 4. Car was in "Track Mode" As quoted Direct from Tesla "With Plaid Track Mode our goals were simple: achieve the quickest lap time for a production electric vehicle at Germany’s Nürburgring, and allow individual adjustability of stability control, handling balance and regenerative braking to give drivers more authority over vehicle control at the RACETRACK." The Car is clearly being marketed and sold as a high performance car that is faster than any "Sports & Supercars" on the road. The brakes are clearly inadequate no matter what bots, trolls and other fan boys like to comment especially when they have never been in one of these cars, let alone driven one, launched on and then the fewest yet, driven on on a track in "Track Mode" 5. Brake upgrades were completed, bled and burnished according to Tesla's in car break in procedure. I was never going to race the car with the blended fluid. The Fluid used was just used to get the car back on the road and burnish the brakes. I repeat I was not racing in that video. Did I push it up to its stock limits? Yes, I did...Its Stock Limits and the stock fluid failed. 6. Use of stock fluid was my failure point, and I learned a valuable lesson that dot3 fluid has no place in a car that is to be used on the track or in "Track Mode"...So, with that said by all "he's an idiot for using Junk stock Fluid" then your saying the car has a critical flaw? By all means the car as shown in stock form can and will boil the brakes. Almost every car review of the car describes in great length the car is "under braked". I was trying to add safety and performance to my Tesla Plaid by removing and upgrading its inferior stock brakes but I missed one stock item...The Stock Brake Fluid.

Upgraded brake fluid (Motul 600, Motul 660 or Castrol SRF) is pretty much the first thing to do before heading to the track. Why were you out there on DOT3 and how did nobody stop you? Also... drag radials on the rear? and mismatched tires up front? Airbags disabled, but no roll cage, helmet, Hans device, harnesses? There are so many errors here. I'm glad you survived, but this was so entirely reckless.

Dear Chet, plz don’t die

Glad you are okay. But going 150+mph on untested brakes, no helmet, no safety gear whatsoever in a car that is hacked up obviously not a great decision. I really hope you learn from this experience and help others to cultivate a healthy relationship with safety gear.

Haha saw a Facebook post titled “Clown crashes Tesla Plaid not wearing helmet”

Video title should be " I almost killed myself because I'm a moron and don't use basic safety equipment"

Glad you were able to walk away from this one. Running OEM fluid, especially DOT 3, in a car that is getting tracked, with carbon brakes is a terrible idea - you'll boil it immediately. Endless RF650, Castrol SRF, or Motul RBF600/660/700 are the industry standard for these applications.

Note to self, dont do a break job at home then do 170 into a turn.

Brake Failure Video: 1300HP Comet video This guy: Hold my beer

Glad you’re ok. Driving like that in a car that’s been submerged, gutted, without even a helmet at those speeds seems very foolish, and I believe you’ve done emt work in the past? Leaves me scratching my head.

Bro why did you not have any safety gear on???? You were testing new brakes!!!! I am so glad you are okay!! I hope you learned a valuable lesson uncle chet!! You are good and we learn from our mistakes!! Bless up and RESPECT 👊

It's people like this that require everything to have a warning label of what not to do. That being said hope you heal fast.

The dramatic music like Dale Earnhardt or Ken Miles just died 😂

Damn Chet that looks scary as hell I'm glad you're all right man I hope you get better next time please wear a freaking helmet

Who pushes there car to 160+ on a race track wearing zero protective gear? The fact that you are alive is a testament to the Tesla you were driving.

Holy shit bro! So happy our boy is alive!!!

That Tesla deserves credit, not blame. That rigid structure and safety design is the reason you are alive DESPITE not wearing any safety gear. And the breaks that failed.....were installed by you. The Tesla should get some credit here, not blame

ILL EXPLAIN IN THE NEXT VIDEO = LET ME MAKE A BUNCH OF EXCUSES FOR MY STUPIDITY

Darwin award candidate right here....

You spent $10k on carbon ceramics and didn't put in $30 high-temp brake fluid before going on track? Carbon ceramics help, changing the brake fluid is essential. This was 100% your fault dude... Glad you’re OK though.

Caption should say "I almost killed myself after modifying the breaks on my Tesla"

Got to remember to take a page from cleetus. Any time you're on the track wear proper safety wear. That was scary. Glad you're able to walk away. Guess you don't need those replacement motors now lol..

As a car guy, this was one of the scariest to witness videos I’ve seen ever on RU-vid. Thank God you are alive Chet. The gasp… the scream…. The sheer speed and impact. I am so thankful that you survived, though this could be a valuable safety lesson that could maybe save someone’s life. I am shook.

3 different types of tires, rears with zero lateral grip, puts 20K in brakes but doesn't upgrade to a high temp fluid (like what literally everyone does before tracking their car, also upgraded brakes add more heat to fluid.). Goes without a helmet or cage in a stripped 1100hp car. So so many different kinds of stupidity in this video.

His name is Uncle Chet. Only a matter of time until he drove through a wall.

Chet, you almost had a permanent “Tick tock, you’re done” moment. Glad you’re still with us.

It is unlikely any claim Chet makes against Tesla could succeed in court. It doesn't matter who modified the brakes or what kind of brake fluid it had. The car was so heavily modified and very obviously not designed to be used in the way that it was when it failed, track mode or not. Tesla will likely succeed in a defamation case against Chet if he actually persuades anyone that Tesla is to blame. Clearly, Chet will have millions of views on this video. That was probably his goal from the very start. Chet should not benefit financially from crashing then blaming Tesla for it IMNSHO.

Damn Chet, watching this video and hearing you after you hit those tyres had me flash back to when I hit a wall. I’m really glad you’re still with us. I hope you’re back out racing soon but hey let’s next time make sure you got safety gear on and a cage. Cause a simple brake check could have been even worse.

Title should say I almost killed myself due to lack of common sense. Next video he going to track the car on autopilot from the back seat. Stay tuned

Yeah, it was definitely the Tesla and not your complete and utter disregard for safety gear. Glad you weren’t seriously injured, but calling out Tesla is one of many dumb things going on here.

So glad you are still alive man. Amazing that you essentially walked away with relatively minor injuries. Take your time getting better. Love your content. Not that it would have made a difference in this case but you should definitely always wear your safety gear at the track especially in a car with no cage that can do 150+

You have absolutely no one but yourself to blame. You are lucky to be alive. You can’t blame Tesla either after heavily stripping and modifying their car.

The fact that you lived to tell the story even though you actively removed pretty much all safety equipment is a testament to automotive evolution. Thank you, engineers!

Glad ur ok but common sense CHET!!! U took this thing under water and now your tryna so high speed runs I didn't doubt soentning horrible would happen. Think twice next time brother

Glad you're alive. I don't know you or your channel. This accident brought me here. Glad you were on a closed course but WHERE WAS YOUR GEAR MAN!? Not even a fucking helmet and you're doing 160+ ! Not good bro. Glad you're still with us.

You're so lucky to walk away from that. This 100% could've been avoided, you literally did everything possible for this "failure" to happen. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Glad you're ok, man

Tesla should use this as a selling point. I can’t think of a lot of cars that can do this. The fact that it kept him alive and he didn’t have a airbag.

Glad you okay bro but that was a death trap bro! No helmet, no airbags, no safety at all, 160 testing new brakes? Once again I’m glad you okay. I hope your next one have safety first on accessories ❤️

As someone who has made the same mistake, I'm glad you're alright. I wrote off my first Evo (and my pelvis in 5 places) on a standard street DOT4 brake fluid, because I looked at the temperature range and the dry boiling point was like 20 degrees off of entry level racing fluids so I said eff it... And got extremely lucky that I don't have to drive with hand controls. Racing brake fluids have different additive packages that cause the fluid to handle heat MUCH differently than street fluids, which are designed to handle, at worst, some pleb dragging their brakes a bit down a 5% grade for a few miles. Unfortunately that's something that some of us have learned the hard way. Just because a car has a track mode doesn't mean that it's ready out of the box to go chase lap times, as the factory fluids will always be catered to the most common use case.

I’m glad he’s ok but I’m embarrassed for the total lack of safety and care this crew had for his life. That car should never have been allowed on a track in the condition it was in let alone allowing a driver to go on course without a helmet. It’s the reckless endangerment you RU-vidrs show the world which paints legitimate crews in a negative light, stupidity like this increase our insurance costs, track rental fees and ems requirements. Do better…..

Thank goodness for that tire wall. Wishing you a speedy recovery! I know everyone is already saying it, but that cage + harness is super important, we want you healthy and fast for many years to come.

this is what happens when you combine money and no talent and no clue. completely shocked this guy made it out alive.

I am so glad you are okay. That said, (I know, here we go) there is just so much wrong with this. The title implies, as your comment does, that this was Tesla's fault. If this were a stock car in stock condition, it would almost make sense. That is not what we have here. The second any part was replaced on the vehicle with aftermarket, it is fully on you if any part of that system subsequently fails (or at a minimum fully on you to provide evidence with zero room for doubt as to a specific failure to a component installed by the manufacturer.) The simple act of bleeding and reinserting the brake fluid itself could have caused this issue if done improperly, allowing contaminants into the system. You can't replace 98% of the system, do all the work entirely yourself, then point the finger at the manufacturer without providing irrefutable evidence that nothing you did could have caused the failure. And all of that is aside, even if, IF there were irrefutable evidence this failure was on the OEM, they still would not have been the cause of you almost losing your life. The cause of that would be the fact that 99% of all life safety equipment was removed from the vehicle, and the driver insisted on driving in a fashion requiring safety equipment while putting zero effort into doing so. That said, I would have a lot more respect for a person owning up for their own faults rather than trying to lay the blame fully on someone else for them doing something so dangerously dumb. You changed out the brake system, removed all safety equipment, then proceeded to test an unproven system in track conditions at full performance with no PPE. The title should read, "I did something really dumb and almost died." Again, I'm really happy you're okay, but you really need to accept the lions share of the blame here unless you can prove otherwise. I work in construction. If some guy changes the rungs on a ladder, and falls and splits his head open because the ladder fell apart, it's not the manufacturers fault that guy used the stock clips, or didn't wear a harness or hard hat. It's that guy's fault.

Will Chet be reimbursing the police and firemen? Tax dollars at work.

Damn that screaming gave me chills, I'm really glad you're okay Chet, keep it up dude you're videos are super entertaining, I look forward to when you've recovered fully and back at it. Love ya dude.

"Tesla plaid brakes fail" *doesn't have tesla brakes. Never heard of Tesla's brake fluid failing with Tesla's brakes. You can in no way blame this on tesla. Car is completely gutted with aftermarket rims. That being said, Tesla is developing carbon ceramic brakes so they can unleash the cars 200+mph top speed. $20k option

At least wear a helmet before going 170mph😂, glad you’re okay though

LOL, this dude smiling while he says "Oh shit the brakes are too hot, oh shit" lol

Holey shit Chet that was insane. So glad you are all good bro. I'm tripping on the rotors being broken like they are seems odd but forgot they are carbon ceramic? So grad you are ok brother for real. Maby Elon hit the fuck uncle Chet button? Lol

Glad you're ok. Could have been alot worse. And a real safety setup would have been the difference. Helmet ?? Real 5 point?? 170 mph 5000 pounds and your just laughing away. That tank could have easily become a casket.

Guess you didn't bleed the brakes properly... All jokes aside glad you're okay and that you're still with us

This guy definitely voted for trump.

Man, you should thank Tesla for making that much rigid body of the car instead of blaming them in the mismatch of their brake fluid with your brakes. This car was able to save your life even though you did everything to not let this happen.

Chet man.... you call yourself Cleetus' uncle, he ALWAYS wears his safety gear. Going 170mph almost 300km/h on a TRACK with corners, not even a drag strip, and have no seat, no helmet, no cage, no suit, no airbags.... cmon man. I am SO happy you are alive, I almost killed myself doing the same thing except on a super moto on a track without the proper gear. Was just going for a "quick test cruise" and almost died to this day have only 2 toes on my left foot. It was a wake up call for me, i hope this is for you. Anything can happen. Again glad you are safe and alive. Love you man thanks for the content. BE SAFE!

I believe this now makes you a certified wild man! That is absolutely insane you walked away like you did with out a helmet on.

I'm in no way a Tesla fan boy, I don't care for how Tesla treats their customers or staff for that matter. But did this guy really just blame Tesla's using of dot3 brake fluid for the crash? I would blame whoever upgraded the brakes to that extreme, and thought it was a good idea to leave the dot 3 fluid in there... As someone who has actually tracked a plaid model s(with the stock dot 3 fluid), you without a doubt pushed the car PASSED it's "stock limits", as the brakes would not have failed in the manner of which they did had you kept the car AT its limit. You push the car past what it could safely handle after upgrading the brakes and not upgrading the brake fluid. Yeah these cars are "under braked" for being as heavy as they are, but understanding that is part of getting to know the car's limits. Every vehicle has their weak point regardless of how much time and money or "marketing" went into their design. Driver error caused equipment failure. How many people have crashed a plaid model S because of Tesla's stock Dot 3 brake fluid? Like give your head a shake bud. That kind of mindset is exactly what is wrong with this world.

WTF. This just looks so fake. Narrating a track session? With ZERO safety gear? While going 170? And narrating through a brake failure? Borderline laughing about it? Oh yes, and "regen is SO MUCH STRONGER NOW!" Pft. Regen isn't a function of your nonsensical "big rear brake" package. Regen doesn't use the pads or rotors. I won't be looking forward to your explanation of what happened, I highly doubt you know.

remembering back to the last video where you installed the new brakes, i dont believe you properly seated the rotors/pads...its not a HUGE issue with a daily driver sort of car, but when it comes to carbon ceramic rotors you 100% NEED to properly heat cycle the rotors before actually pushing them hard, they work absolutely fantastic, IF you install and brake them in properly. im so glad you were able to walk away from that man, it honestly does say alot about the construction of the teslas also, with 50% of the structural rigidity being cut out and with no airbags, no helmet, no race seat and only the factory seatbelt, you EASILY could have never gotten back up from that one...

I’d like to make light of this situation but saying 1) I have a new respect for Tesla and their ability to keep the car in (considering the circumstances) good condition 2) I think Uncle Chet no deserves a free George fiero shirt from Cleeter 3) glad you were able to get up and “walk” away from that, 160 into a corner then rolled should have way worse outcome

why is someone driving 170 on a closed course with no helmet and suit? c'mon man? cockpit fire suppression?

How did the track officials even let him on the track with all the safety concerns?? Not even wearing a helmet!!

Damn I hate that sound. If you've lived that sound you know what I'm talking about. Glad you're "ok" man. I've had one hit that hard in my life and I carry the damage to today. Car that fast needs a full safety system. It's one thing to make a pull... another to drive it in anger. Full seat. Cage. Harness. Arm retentions

Made all the wrong moves then blames tesla? What kind of reasoning is this? Then claim “1,000hp should mean 1,000hp safety” after removing the safety features?

You are lucky to be alive and should be thankful for every day you get after a crash like that. I have seen lesser accidents kill people on a track. Safety is no joke and this was easily avoidable. So let me see if I have this straight. You took a Tesla, modified it, ripped out the airbags, swapped the brakes, weakened the structural integrity, and then took it to the track. You then decided to see how fast you could take it and did not wear any safety gear to boot. Yeah,,,, lucky to still be breathing man. This was NOT the cars fault, nor is Tesla to blame. If you are so confident that this was a manufacturing failure, please sue Tesla and then come back and let us know how much money you spent trying to win an unwinnable court case.

Take note… when you make a mockery of the racing scene… this is what happens. It’s not tesla.. it’s not fluid… it’s purely arrogance.

Stripped interior including no airbags Stock seats Stock seat belt No high-temp fluid... on a car with big brakes... Blames Tesla for not using high-temp fluid from factory. What production car meant for the street has high-temp fluid? If you manage to boil your fluid from street driving you need to learn how to drive. No roll cage No HANS device No helmet Dont be like Chet... You should thank Tesla that you'r still alive and the team for making safety the top priority in all their cars, smh.

What track in their right mind would let a driver out with no safety gear on at all knowing what kind of speed those vehicles are capable of... Also knowing of the potential fire hazard from the batteries in an accident!!!

What can you expect from a guy who calls himself "chet"

Unbelievable how you walked away from a 150+ mph crash , wishing a speedy recovery 👍 whatever the fault was you can't take all the blame , I don't understand why the track management would let on a stripped out car , without a few basic safety system checks / requirements . Eg helmet ,neck brace and racing seat with proper harness .

Chet I’m glad you’re alive and all but man I gotta say you should have at least been wearing a helmet. Can’t play if you’re not doing it safely. Rest up and take some time man. We all love you too much to loose you. Be safe brother. ❤️

I hope every one of my favorite automotive RU-vidrs see this and bring their safety games up. It’ll really suck if one of these guys gets hurt or killed. So happy Uncle Chet is basically okay.

typical american dude. Goes racing with DOT 3 brake fluid, Sorry but in germany you wouldn't be allowed to visit a race track ever. And then saying Tesla's fault. Dot3 is okay for a car in normal traffic. Going to a racetrack with it is just your fault. No standart car is made for it

It would be fascinating to see the datalogging showing actual speed at impact. Fast enough, but nothing like 170mph at impact. I like Chet and I like Tesla Plaids and I kinda feel like this car no longer existing isn't such a bad thing. Sinking a car, doing your own complete brake change, and then blaming a brake failure on the manufacturer seems like exactly what I was expecting to hear given the history between Chet and Tesla.

Glad you’re recovering. Scary as hell. Props to Tesla for building such a stout super structure, it held up great considering all of the weight reductions. Not a lot of cars that would take a shot like that and keep their shape regardless of a tire wall or not. Get well soon brother.

Certified wild man! Chet get well soon, we love you. Looking forward to breaking some records in 2.0 with a roll cage and harness.

Complete amateur all the way around... New, untested (probably unbedded) brakes, never been in Track Mode, ZERO safety gear, and "I'm hoping I bled them properly." SMH

“Oh no it says Brakes to hot” As the brakes are literally in pieces

Get well soon Chet!

As someone who has lived through something fairly similar. I got flashbacks when i heard the desperation in your yells and seen the car. Gotta do better on safety man. No speed, no car, no video is worth it. Gotta play smarter. Praying for a full and fast recovery and nothing hurts 6 months from now

No racing safety equipment, modified the brakes himself, removed all the safety equipment already in the car, then goes 170 and crashes? And then you act surprised and blame the car?

I wish you a speedy recovery dude and am thankful that it worked out as well as it did, but this is level 10 dumbarsery.

Glad you're ok bud you seem like a great dude. One love man🍻🥃

This is why you always have a second set of trained and experienced eyes on when performing maintenance on anything that deals with driving stability and braking on performance cars. I hope this guy is ok. This doesn't change the fact that he has heavily modified a new type of vehicle with a short history of third party modding and did the work himself. Furthermore, before doing prolonged stress testing at low speeds he went out and broke 150 right after putting these brakes on apparently. Like I said, I hope everyone is ok and come back to the track for more fun later on. But, I hope this guy doesn't think anything crazy like having a decent case against Tesla in court.

you got the shock at maximum 70 mph bro... No 170 mph ... Believe me if you hit the barrier at 260 Kmh you wouldn't be alive...

You got incredibly lucky man. Two things: 1) Roll Cage. 2) HELMET. I hope you're recovering well, I can't even imagine how that must have felt.

Glad u r ok man, could have been much worse considering no helmet, no fire suit, no neck support 🙏

be careful out there Uncle Chet. There is no way, you over heated those carbon breaks. no way. Something else happened. I'm patiently waiting to see what happened. regardless, you're alive and thats all that matters.

Almost believable. Where’d you get the budget to make and wreck that replica? Also, you ever thought about actor auditions? You’re pretty good off camera at least

Things like this is why we have "caution hot/may cause burns" warning labels on coffee cups.

I’m glad you’re somewhat ok man! Honestly, for the car being completely gutted with no air bags, it’s very impressive that you walked away from a crash like that with no helmet or safety equipment

Damn Uncle Chet, we need you around buddy. Wishing a full and speedy recovery. 🙏

That’s what I call a hillbilly crash test. No safety measures were considered or applied prior to this taking place

I'm guessing since you "did them yourselves" (disclaimer - I have not watched the video yet), you did not bed the new brakes properly, if at all. That said, I am really glad to see you up and walking on your own, dude. Here is to a speedy recovery.

No helmet or other safety equipment in that death trap? I do not feel sorry for you.

Really glad you're OK man (relatively speaking!), that must've been scary as hell. You and George had a hard lesson about brakes this last week. Always a good idea to give em a good shakedown before hitting high speeds. Brakes and chutes have to be the most important item to check in a racing car, maybe fire suppression systems next. I know you don't need me to tell you that...

I don't wish to be overly harsh, but ... play stupid games; win stupid prizes!

Damn that's crazy I'm glad your ok for the most part hope ypu re recovery goes by quickly

That's wild, this man's tragedy is turning into a PSA for all amateur DIY car mechanics like myself who have done tons of brake changes but never bothered with the fluid. So sad to see such tragedy but glad he's alive.

Like everyone else said, this was avoidable. Whenever you upgrade parts, weak points start to show themselves. It was your duty to upgrade the fluid along with the brakes you installed. That said, the bigger issue is safety. If you're going to go that fast at the track, you MUST have a helmet and HANS device. And if you're going to remove airbags, then you should add a seat and cage.

Not replacing the fluid with EBC dot 4 after doing a brake job was an idiot move tbh.