100% charge or 90 or 95?

[ucmndd]

Moving closer not an option LOL we live on an estate - 6 acres all wooded, 100 year old mature hardwoods with a 6 car garage and 7000sq ft. 1.5 hours from Chicago you can afford that as two professionals with good jobs. A) not going to get that in Chicago, B) even remotely close would cost >$5M and if I could afford a $5M house I wouldn't be worried about a $20k battery id just buy new ones every couple of years... come on folks be realistic. We bought the car because for commuting 240 miles a day it makes financial sense and we just want to get the most out of the car and experience. Soooo, not buying a different car, not moving. The car makes the trip - just looking to optimize as we are newbies and learning about EV. The FSD makes a huge difference on energy level after driving 1.5 hours.

All good points, and as someone who lives far from work for similar reasons and has put 100k commuting miles on a Model S, I can say I'd never go back to commuting in another car. I also understand the predicament you're in, being new to EVs and having leapt and made a substantial purchase based on perhaps incomplete understanding of the challenges and limitations. It's not like you can just ditch the car and get the LR+ that would have made much more sense in your situation without a punishing financial penalty.

So you've got what you've got. To quote our consoler in chief, "it is what it is". There are a lot of people here and at Tesla that will simply tell you what you clearly want to hear, and you've received no shortage of such advice from people who have no first hand experience with what you're attempting. But as I've said all along, I think the sooner you get realistic about the situation you're in with this car, the better your (wife's) experience will be. That's gonna include acknowledging the following:

This use case will wear down the battery and degrade your max range quicker (maybe much quicker) than most. The 50 mile buffer when charging to 90% you now enjoy in temperate weather will be measurably less by the time spring rolls around next year, and less still the year after that.

This trip will regularly be impossible without charging in midwest winters. Not just here and there. Regularly.

I really do wish you the best of luck.

 

[Country Roads]

56,000 miles/year is going to tax any vehicle, but a Tesla may weather it the best. And autopilot will make the commute far more tolerable. Congrats on the new car.

 

[puresurfr2]

You bought a $100K car because it makes "financial sense"? *sugar* if you've got a 6 car garage buy a Prius Prime for $30K and never worry about range again.

I've already given you the best advice on this thread, which is find a fast moving SUV (SUV/Semi best, but any vehicle in front works), set follow distance to "1", speed to 85 or 90 (so they can't get away) and draft off them. Problem solved.

Yep, no worry about the rocks chipping or cracking your windshield or all the dings in your hood, the extra mileage will be well worth it !!!!

 

[pl8dlikafiddle]

With this 90% - 15% in good weather... when winter sets in and we are in 30F temps... do we:

1. Charge to 95%
2. Charge to 100%
3. Charge at work if her range is <45%

In my opinion, charge at work. Sucks if it’s a pay charger, but you’ll get more life out of the battery by starting the trip @ 90%, charging at work during the cold months, and returning around 20-30% versus charging to 95-100% daily and returning with 5-15%.

Also allows mileage to go out to lunch, visit clients (if required) etc.

 

[Ostrichsak]

You bought a $100K car because it makes "financial sense"? *sugar* if you've got a 6 car garage buy a Prius Prime for $30K and never worry about range again.

I've already given you the best advice on this thread, which is find a fast moving SUV (SUV/Semi best, but any vehicle in front works), set follow distance to "1", speed to 85 or 90 (so they can't get away) and draft off them. Problem solved.

Yeah but then you're driving a Prius.

The easy solution would be if she could plug in at work. Bonus if they let her install a NEMA 14-50 or HPWC somewhere. Not sure that's an option though or it would likely be done by now.

Listen, not to be callus but you seem to be doing okay financially. For half the cost of a Prius you can trade your Performance Model S in on the absolute longest range Model S you can get. Sure the financial hit will be noticable but if you're making that kind of money & a large piece of that success revolves around driving... Wouldn't you want to be happy?

You've got a few months to prepare & there's a potentially big announcement coming very soon that could mean an even longer range option. I'd chalk the loss up to the cost of education & get the right tool for the job. Your wife (and you via the transitive property) will be happier to relax & enjoy her daily commute & not add additional stress that doesn't need to be there. It sucks but that's the best solution. Be thankful you're not living paycheck to paycheck & could barely scrape together enough to buy the wrong car in the first place.

Or, do what I did... Sporty Performance car (P85DL) for me (no commute) and longer range (90D) for the wife who has a short commute 4-days a week. Best of both worlds!

 

[GreggF1]

Yeah but then you're driving a Prius.

The easy solution would be if she could plug in at work. Bonus if they let her install a NEMA 14-50 or HPWC somewhere. Not sure that's an option though or it would likely be done by now.

Listen, not to be callus but you seem to be doing okay financially. For half the cost of a Prius you can trade your Performance Model S in on the absolute longest range Model S you can get. Sure the financial hit will be noticable but if you're making that kind of money & a large piece of that success revolves around driving... Wouldn't you want to be happy?

You've got a few months to prepare & there's a potentially big announcement coming very soon that could mean an even longer range option. I'd chalk the loss up to the cost of education & get the right tool for the job. Your wife (and you via the transitive property) will be happier to relax & enjoy her daily commute & not add additional stress that doesn't need to be there. It sucks but that's the best solution. Be thankful you're not living paycheck to paycheck & could barely scrape together enough to buy the wrong car in the first place.

Or, do what I did... Sporty Performance car (P85DL) for me (no commute) and longer range (90D) for the wife who has a short commute 4-days a week. Best of both worlds!

Exactly. My wife isn't driving a Prius. She's quite pampered and will be until I die. I'd drive a rusted out Ford pickup to keep her in luxury. This new commute opportunity took us by surprise, she was looking for a bigger leadership role and this one fell in her lap. We will make due with charging at work when needed. My gal is a unicorn and loves performance cars, she came out of a 2016 600HP Jaguar F-Type R. So the long range version is just not an option - she actually enjoys knowing she has the fastest car on the road and she pushes that car when needed.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Exactly. My wife isn't driving a Prius. She's quite pampered and will be until I die. I'd drive a rusted out Ford pickup to keep her in luxury. This new commute opportunity took us by surprise, she was looking for a bigger leadership role and this one fell in her lap. We will make due with charging at work when needed. My gal is a unicorn and loves performance cars, she came out of a 2016 600HP Jaguar F-Type R. So the long range version is just not an option - she actually enjoys knowing she has the fastest car on the road and she pushes that car when needed.

You do realize that even the "slow" Long Range Model S is rated at 3.5 seconds for a 0-60 blast, right? That's the same as your 2016 F-Type R rated and I know to get a F-Type R from 0-60 in 3.5 seconds you need everything to be perfect. The real number is probably closer to 4 on realistic average conditions. The Long Range Model S has been known to go 0-60 in a few tenths faster than the rated 3.5 in RL so even the LR is faster than the Type-F R in RL. By a noticeable margin too. That 0-60 number doesn't tell the whole story either because at pretty much any speed you have the instant hit of 100% torque at any moment. ICE cars just can't compete until you get to the hyper cars costing 3-4x or more. I would say that the Long Range with over 400 miles of range and 0-60 in the mid 3's for about $20k less still would have been the right car for your needs. The problem now is that she's used to the Performance so anything less will feel slow even though that LR is still a rocket ship compared to everything else on the road. If she can charge at work then none of this is an issue. If it's not an option, you may find yourself reconsidering that LR come winter time.

 

[GreggF1]

You do realize that even the "slow" Long Range Model S is rated at 3.5 seconds for a 0-60 blast, right? That's the same as your 2016 F-Type R rated and I know to get a F-Type R from 0-60 in 3.5 seconds you need everything to be perfect. The real number is probably closer to 4 on realistic average conditions. The Long Range Model S has been known to go 0-60 in a few tenths faster than the rated 3.5 in RL so even the LR is faster than the Type-F R in RL. By a noticeable margin too. That 0-60 number doesn't tell the whole story either because at pretty much any speed you have the instant hit of 100% torque at any moment. ICE cars just can't compete until you get to the hyper cars costing 3-4x or more. I would say that the Long Range with over 400 miles of range and 0-60 in the mid 3's for about $20k less still would have been the right car for your needs. The problem now is that she's used to the Performance so anything less will feel slow even though that LR is still a rocket ship compared to everything else on the road. If she can charge at work then none of this is an issue. If it's not an option, you may find yourself reconsidering that LR come winter time.

Issue is folks convinced us the resale with high miles would be better in the performance model. We also have friends with McClarens, Porsche, Lamborghini, etc... so the ability to smoke them was desirable

 

[Ostrichsak]

Issue is folks convinced us the resale with high miles would be better in the performance model. We also have friends with McClarens, Porsche, Lamborghini, etc... so the ability to smoke them was desirable

Resale means nothing if you can't live with the thing while you own it.

 

[Big Earl]

Find someone to tailgate. I get about the same efficiency in watts/mile going 80 behind an SUV as I do going 65 on the open road.

Tailgating and drafting are both dangerous practices due to the reduced following distance. Also, the ideal of drafting someone in a $100,000+ car and risking paint damage due to rocks kicked up from the vehicle in front is just totally bonkers to me.

The commute should be fine in the summer time without any additional behavior modifications. I agree with @ucmndd that in the winter, the range penalty is probably going to be closer to 30% than 10%, requiring either charging at work or making a quick 10 minutes stop at the Supercharger on the way home. If there's snow on the road, the range penalty could be as high as 40-50%.

 

[SmartElectric]

Issue is folks convinced us the resale with high miles would be better in the performance model. We also have friends with McClarens, Porsche, Lamborghini, etc... so the ability to smoke them was desirable

Don't worry about battery degradation if you're selling the car within the next 3 years. Charge to 100% anytime you want if you aren't keeping the car for more than 5 years. Tesla has been perfecting the battery firmware over the years, and ours is doing well at nearly 8 years on.

Resale will be better on performance, I would only consider a performance car when buying used.
I suspect when the next generation Model S with triple motors hits the streets in a year or two, you'll be itching to move up to it ... it will be the new top dog.

 

[GreggF1]

Here is another reason you buy the performance model:Nikola Corp | Nikola Badger

 

[Electric700]

Here is another reason you buy the performance model:Nikola Corp | Nikola Badger

Interesting. I would go with the 100% electric Nikola truck if I were to get one. There are a lot of issues with the fuel cell version / hydrogen including safety and the fact that it's difficult to detect leaks. If hydrogen catches on fire, the flame is nearly invisible. Also it's nice and convenient to be able to charge an EV at home using a solar / wind power system (for free). It's more efficient for solar / wind energy to go straight to the battery in a 100% electric vehicle.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Here is another reason you buy the performance model:Nikola Corp | Nikola Badger

Vaporware.

 

[PremiumPackage]

Exactly. My wife isn't driving a Prius. She's quite pampered and will be until I die. I'd drive a rusted out Ford pickup to keep her in luxury. This new commute opportunity took us by surprise, she was looking for a bigger leadership role and this one fell in her lap. We will make due with charging at work when needed. My gal is a unicorn and loves performance cars, she came out of a 2016 600HP Jaguar F-Type R. So the long range version is just not an option - she actually enjoys knowing she has the fastest car on the road and she pushes that car when needed.

Got it OK, I was confused because earlier I was lead to believe this car just made the most "financial sense".

 

[SmartElectric]

Hands up who else pampers their wife. Hell, she drives the Tesla, and I drive a 2m long Smart Electric (not that I mind, love my little run about, and it allows me to chat people up in a place where Tesla's are dime a dozen).

When I told my wife "we are keeping the Tesla you love" and I was trading my Smart for the Cybertruck with 500 mile range, she's like "why keep the Model S" ... damn, so close...

 

[nwdrive]

Just charge to 100% whenever you need to. Tesla has no qualms about pushing the limits of the range they advertise, so why in the world would you go out of your way to protect their battery warranty costs? Not great for your battery, also not your problem. They sold you 348 miles, not 348 miles but only occasionally when you REALLY need it for a trip. If they need a bigger buffer to protect longevity, that’s their responsibility, not yours.

 

[eevee-fan]

56,000 miles/year is going to tax any vehicle, but a Tesla may weather it the best. And autopilot will make the commute far more tolerable. Congrats on the new car.

Tesloop’s Tesla Model S Surpasses 400,000 miles (643,737 kM) — Tesloop

 

[ucmndd]

Not great for your battery, also not your problem.

Given that Tesla offers no reasonable warranty for battery degradation, it's certainly your problem.

 

[ks1972]

Given that Tesla offers no reasonable warranty for battery degradation, it's certainly your problem.

I thought there was 70% of original capacity warranty for 8 years/150K miles.
So if OP charges to 100% every day and ends up 65% in 3 years, Tesla should honor the warranty.