900 mile Supercharger road trip

[MikeW]

We wanted to try out the Superchargers with our new Model S P85 so during Thanksgiving break my family took a road trip from Northern California to LA and back. I'm finally getting around to posting this.


In hindsight I wish I had a time lapse video of the charging screen, since it starts out fast for the first 20 minutes or so, and I wish I had kept better track of the Wh/mi for each leg of the trip. The car gets surprisingly good mileage on the highway when using cruise control at 70 MPH.


Summary
Stop 1 @ Harris Ranch: added 137 miles of range in 60 minutes
Stop 2 @ Tejon Ranch: added 121 miles of range in 45 minutes
Stop 3 @ SpaceX: added 75 miles of range in 36 minutes
Stop 4 @ Tejon Ranch: added 138 miles of range in 48 minutes
Stop 5 @ Harris Ranch: added 157 miles of range in 59 minutes
Stop 6 @ Gilroy: added 89 miles of range in 26 minutes


Day 1
07:04 Cupertino, CA odometer 927 mi, range 240 mi - standard charge, did not range charge.
Drove 148 miles to Harris Ranch, via CA 85 - US 101 - CA 152 (Pacheco pass 1300 ft), and I-5
09:40 Harris Ranch odometer 1075 mi, range 82 mi
Start charging at the Supercharger, took a walk around the place and got something to eat at the Subway.
10:40 charged to 219 mi range, or 137 mi added in 60 minutes.
10:45 left Harris Ranch
Drove 116 miles to Tejon Ranch via I-5. The speed limit is 70 MPH, and we averaged a bit higher :wink:
12:23 Tejon Ranch odometer 1191 mi, range 76 mi
13:02 charged to 188 mi, adding 112 mi in 39 minutes -- not bad!
13:08 charged to 197 mi, stopped charging, for a total of 121 mi in 45 minutes
Headed to LA, up a steep part of I-5
13:24 at Tejon Pass (elevation 4144 ft) odometer 1206, range 157
We used 40 miles of range to go 15 miles. Wh/mi was literally off the chart! Plenty of power uphill at 65-70 MPH!
15:35 arrived at Dana Point, CA (on the coast between LA and San Diego). odometer 1321, range 49 mi
The hotel only had 120V, after two whole days charged up to range 209 mi, i.e. it took two days for what the Supercharger could do in about an hour.

Day 2 (not counting two days at the hotel)
We left the hotel in the afternoon and headed back north.
17:05 at SpaceX, odometer 1402 mi, range 126 mi -- started charging
17:28 charged to 180 mi
17:37 charged to 196 mi
17:41 charged to 201 mi, stopped charging, for 75 mi range in 36 minutes
Went to visit some friends who live near Pasadena, used some range demonstrating the 0-60 times :biggrin:
Stopped at a hotel in Santa Clarita right off I-5. I forgot to ask about charging so we did not charge overnight.

Day 3
08:45 odometer 1464, range 106 mi
We were 37 miles from Tejon pass. I went about 60 MPH to conserve range. Turns out I did not need to worry.
09:22 at Tejon Pass, odometer 1501, range 49 mi -- all downhill from there!
09:38 at the Tejon Ranch Supercharger, odometer 1517, range 52 mi -- started charging
09:48 charged to range 90 mi, or 38 mi added in 10 minutes! -- 225A @ 364V
09:58 charged to range 107 mi, 55 mi in 20 minutes
10:26 charged to range 190 mi -- stopped charging for a total of 138 mi in 48 minutes
Traffic was getting worse so we didn't want to wait any longer. We headed north on I-5. Traffic got so bad we exited and took some local roads.
12:46 at Harris Ranch again, odometer 1641, range 51 mi -- started charging, got lunch
13:27 charged to range 178 mi
13:40 charged to range 200 mi
13:45 charged to range 208 mi -- stopped charging for a total of 157 mi in 59 minutes
Traffic on I-5 was terrible so we decided to take the scenic route: CA 33 - CA 198 - CA 25 past Pinnacles National Monument. This is about 15 mi longer than the direct route. It was great! For about two hours there was no traffic at all. The road is one lane each way and curvy in spots. In the valley we averaged about 50 MPH. At one point I looked at the Energy display and it said 241 Wh/mi over the last 30 mi, I should have taken a picture!
16:30 at Gilory Supercharger, odometer 1767, range 63 mi -- started charging
16:56 charged to range 152 mi -- stopped charging for a total of 89 mi in 26 minutes
Headed to Laser Quest in Mountain View
17:40 odometer 1809, range 104 mi
Home is about 10 miles more, I forgot to note the details.

 

[Rodolfo Paiz]

Beautiful. Seems like the Superchargers are giving you about 160 miles of range per hour based on those numbers. It'll be interesting to see how that number changes over time as they improve the technology, fine-tune the systems, and we get more data. IIRC the stated goal was 150 miles within the first half-hour, so this is slower than expected... but a lot better than what any other option can provide in this day and age.

Plus, you got almost 600 miles of range for free, which is $20 worth of electricity in Miami but probably costs a lot more at California rates; and you saved about $150 in gasoline. Not bad at all!

Thank you for logging all that, and taking the time to share.

 

[hvb]

Thanks for all the info! And welcome to the forum.

 

[kendallpb]

Summary
Stop 1 @ Harris Ranch: added 137 miles of range in 60 minutes
...
Stop 5 @ Harris Ranch: added 157 miles of range in 59 minutes
...

Day 1
07:04 Cupertino, CA odometer 927 mi, range 240 mi - standard charge, did not range charge.
Drove 148 miles to Harris Ranch, via CA 85 - US 101 - CA 152 (Pacheco pass 1300 ft), and I-5
09:40 Harris Ranch odometer 1075 mi, range 82 mi
Start charging at the Supercharger, took a walk around the place and got something to eat at the Subway.
10:40 charged to 219 mi range, or 137 mi added in 60 minutes.

...

Day 3
12:46 at Harris Ranch again, odometer 1641, range 51 mi -- started charging, got lunch
13:27 charged to range 178 mi
13:40 charged to range 200 mi
13:45 charged to range 208 mi -- stopped charging for a total of 157 mi in 59 minutes

I presume the difference in charging rates is how much charge you already had, due to the "slows down the more you get" aspect. (picking out of details) With 82 miles, you got 137 in 60 minutes; with 51 miles, you got 157 miles in 59 minutes (one minute less but 20 miles more!). Great info, thank!

 

[Mike_Schlechter]

Great post, and very cool trip. I am not really excited to see where on the East Coast the super chargers show up.

 

[vfx]

...
Stopped at a hotel ... I forgot to ask about charging so we did not charge overnight.....

On a road trip in an electric car this is frikk'in amazing!

 

[Tommy]

Yes, thanks for the report. I plan on using these chargers as well and this gives me a good reference point. I am going to bookmark this thread, this is a good reference thread and will get pushed to the back pages as new threads are added.

 

[tdelta1000]

We wanted to try out the Superchargers with our new Model S P85...

Summary
Stop 1 @ Harris Ranch: added 137 miles of range in 60 minutes
Stop 2 @ Tejon Ranch: added 121 miles of range in 45 minutes
Stop 3 @ SpaceX: added 75 miles of range in 36 minutes
Stop 4 @ Tejon Ranch: added 138 miles of range in 48 minutes
Stop 5 @ Harris Ranch: added 157 miles of range in 59 minutes
Stop 6 @ Gilroy: added 89 miles of range in 26 minutes

Thanks for sharing and chronicling your trip. The information gives us a better understanding of how well the Supercharger network is functioning.

 

[Rodolfo Paiz]

Stopped at a hotel in Santa Clarita right off I-5. I forgot to ask about charging so we did not charge overnight.

On a road trip in an electric car this is frikk'in amazing!

Yes, I noted that as well. Range anxiety? We don't got no steenkin' range anxiety! :biggrin:

 

[sublimaze1]

How many of the California Superchargers are solar?

 

[napabill]

How many of the California Superchargers are solar?

6 as of today, folsum, gilroy, harris ranch, tejon, barstow, LA

 

[PureAmps]

Day 3
08:45 odometer 1464, range 106 mi
We were 37 miles from Tejon pass. I went about 60 MPH to conserve range. Turns out I did not need to worry.
09:22 at Tejon Pass, odometer 1501, range 49 mi -- all downhill from there!
09:38 at the Tejon Ranch Supercharger, odometer 1517, range 52 mi -- started charging

Thanks for sharing this. I'm planning a similar trip in April for my kids' Spring Break that will include a few days in Disneyland and some time in Palm Springs to visit my parents. I only have two concerns about the trip. The first is the lack of any hotels in Anaheim that offer EV charging. There are several Walgreens, but not a single hotel with a Level 2 charger?!?!?! So I'll be stuck with a 120V plug, but should work out ok as I'm there for a few days.

The second concern is the drive from La Quinta, CA to the Tejon pass. That is a lot of uphill driving while I'm near the end of my range (205 mile driving distance from La Quinta, CA to the Tejon pass). Based on your numbers, I feel a little better. It seems the climb up the grapevine consumed about 20 extra "miles" of range. So if I drive conservatively, stop in Santa Clarita at a Walgreens to juice up for an hour, I think I should be able to make it no problem.

I'm really hoping that Tesla will install another supercharger in Ontario, CA. The Ontario Mills Mall would be a great location, right off of both I-10 and I-15.

 

[MikeW]

How many of the California Superchargers are solar?

Tejon Ranch

SpaceX

Gilroy and Harris Ranch do not have the solar roof as shown above, they are not as easy to find. At Gilroy they are next to the Sony store. For Harris Ranch, the Tesla web site says near the Harris Ranch Inn and Restaurant, but a better description is it in the same building as the Subway / Shell gas station.

I have not been to the Folsom or Barstow Superchargers yet.

Another thing: Harris Ranch has only one Supercharger. Luckily it was not in use when we got there! Gilroy, Tejon, and SpaceX have parking for 6 chargers but only 2 are hooked up at each location. We never had to wait, we were the only one using them every time we charged.

 

[Jason S]

Does Harris Ranch still have the Roadster charger, or was it converted?

 

[Electroman]

I have taken the liberty to put the data in a spreadsheet for us to get a clear picture of how closely the range calculations match the actual miles driven.

 

[ken830]

mkjayakumar.... That's great!

MikeW... One thing I missed... Was it ever stated which "range" reading you are referring to? Ideal? EPA? or projected (5/15/30 mi)?

 

[chrisn]

Awesome as proof of concept, and "free" is a nice price for fuel. On the other hand, in three days you made six stops totaling 4.5 hours (not including non-charging "overhead" time of maybe another 30-45 mins) versus an ICE car where you would have made three stops and could have refueled fully during just the "overhead" time. So you spent an extra 4.5 hours of a three day trip-- not immaterial.

Clearly, you offset the inefficiency during some stops with eating (gotta eat-- although Subway might not be my first choice), but still would be annoying to some customers.


I am nit-picking and, as a gadget guy / early adopter, I think it's super awesome that your trip is even possible, but, to "normal" people, they might not consider the "slow and non-ubiquitous recharging" problem to be 100% solved.

 

[MikeW]

Does Harris Ranch still have the Roadster charger, or was it converted?

Yes the Roadster charger is still there.

- - - Updated - - -

mkjayakumar.... That's great!

MikeW... One thing I missed... Was it ever stated which "range" reading you are referring to? Ideal? EPA? or projected (5/15/30 mi)?

@mkjayakumar: yes, thanks for a much better presentation!

My car has the firmware with "Standard" vs "Projected". "Standard" has been renamed to "Rated" in the latest firmware. The range numbers in the table are for "Standard/Rated" mode.

 

[MikeW]

this is awesome - could you add a "range added per minute" column?

 

[Electroman]

Here is an updated chart. I noticed I made an error in overall 'range error percentage'. Range error is 15% which is pretty impressive. I guess you can reduce that to under 10% if there are no hills and avoiding 0 to 60 demos . And make it zero differen if one can maintain 60 mph

Also the charging rate of miles/min tells you that you put more miles when you start with a low charge. You will be on the road much quicker if you add 150 miles from 30 to 180, rather than 100 to 250. This comes in pretty handy if you are doing a trip repeatedly and know the route very well, then you will get more comfortable driving to a supercharger with less range left. Over all MikeW did a great job of collecting the data meticulously to give the confidence to the rest of us on how effectively we can use Model S for long trips.

-Jay