There are all kinds of factors working against you when driving in very cold temps - lots of battery capacity goes toward heating the cabin and the battery itself; Several non-temp related factors can also come into play as mentioned above (driving at higher speeds, headwinds, altitude, and amount of regen, per setting). I would surmise that Tesla's range and capacity numbers assume that all Tesla owners live in southern California (you know, where it never rains); maybe they should just state the assumptions used in making a range estimate. I have thought for some time that Elon wears a pair of California-tinted glasses.
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90D Battery seems much smaller than rated..
- Thread starter gearchruncher
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Agree. I also feel that I was not properly informed, or even misled, about the range. In my case I was told that my range would be lower in the winter, but was assured that 200 miles was within the capacity of the 90KWh battery. even in cold weather (I was told 450KWh/mile is a very conservative target). The part I was very surprised to discover is that what is described as a "90KWh" car on the website actually has a 85KWh battery with about 82KWh usable capacity. This 10% difference happens to be very important to me as I have a 200 mile round trip to my vacation home (which is where I have to charge on weekends). 180 mile range, plus about 15 miles lost in the garage during the week, means I have to stop at the supercharger. Hopefully this will not be a problem in the summer...
Fortunately this is a phenomenal car, and I forget all this every time I drive it! I think most of us would have still bought our cars if we were properly informed. However Tesla needs to be upfront about usable battery capacity and realistic range. It might even motivate those of us that must have a certain range to buy higher capacity cars!
Is there a 110V plug-in option in the garage during the week? Not only would it curb the losses, it would gain you back some range. For a 2012 Model S 85 kWh vehicle, I get full in less than 3 days on 110V @ 10A or more.
Gearcruncher, it is better for your battery to not let it sit fully charged. As I read your post it seems that you may have done that, just an FYI.
Another suggestion is, in cold conditions, try to have your charge end just before you depart. This way the battery is warm(er) and the the battery does not have to heat itself. You can also heat the cabin ahead of time on shore power.
I know I am not specifically answering your questions, just some cold weather suggestions.
Another suggestion is, in cold conditions, try to have your charge end just before you depart. This way the battery is warm(er) and the the battery does not have to heat itself. You can also heat the cabin ahead of time on shore power.
I know I am not specifically answering your questions, just some cold weather suggestions.
krazineurons
krazineurons
we recently did our first trip in the X and on the onward journey we depleted our battery like anything and had same dilemma as yours. However in the return I did a few things to drive around 340w per mile in 32F weather and found it helpful, I learnt it by reading cold weather efficiency related threads here on Tmc, it was tedious for sure and I agree tesla should let owners know of the potential range losses and also automate the tedious steps we did.. Here's what I did:
1) use range mode while driving, it basically rebalances torque distribution and hvac power, but also doesn't let the battery warmer run thus saving energy. More experienced folks here can educate me on how it works but it was useful.
2) turn off climate and turn it on briefly when needed either to defog the windshield or if cabin temps go lower.
3) use seat heaters to the max advantage to keep everyone warm
4) drive under the speed limit, and keep an eye on the range graph and make sure your acceleration doesn't cause sudden spikes.
5) trust the nav's estimated battery remaining
These 5 things helped me great deal to plan a trip without range anxiety, it sure deprived me of the driving fun but am thinking once AP gets active, that's all I will need to do..
1) use range mode while driving, it basically rebalances torque distribution and hvac power, but also doesn't let the battery warmer run thus saving energy. More experienced folks here can educate me on how it works but it was useful.
2) turn off climate and turn it on briefly when needed either to defog the windshield or if cabin temps go lower.
3) use seat heaters to the max advantage to keep everyone warm
4) drive under the speed limit, and keep an eye on the range graph and make sure your acceleration doesn't cause sudden spikes.
5) trust the nav's estimated battery remaining
These 5 things helped me great deal to plan a trip without range anxiety, it sure deprived me of the driving fun but am thinking once AP gets active, that's all I will need to do..
Never. I don't know how a non-geek would feel trying to get range out of this thing. Take today for instance, over a 135 mile trip, the round trip estimate was off by 26 points. Said I'd come back with 43%, came back with 17%
krazineurons
krazineurons
That's weird, I do not know what stats does the nav use to calculate the battery, but in the energy app I use average over 30miles and not the instantaneous graph. Perhaps that does the trick?
@brianman, there is no 110V at my garage unfortunately. It is a public garage, and Tesla is reaching out to NYC garages to install metered chargers, so there is hope...
@Evbwcaer, good suggestions. I normally set charge limit to 90% and raise to 100% before I drive back to NYC, timed so that I leave as soon as it reaches 100%.
@krazineurons, this 5-pronged strategy gets me to about 370-380wh/mile in comparable weather, but haven't been able to approach 340. Maybe because I drive at 65 rather than stay under 55. You are right about the nav--I like it to give me 1% buffer for each 10 miles I am away from charging, up to 5% for more than 50 miles. If it drops below that, I adjust my driving.
I have read a lot of conflicting advice on range mode. I usually turn it off while charging or in the first 15 minutes of a long drive to heat the battery, and then turn it on for the torque benefits.
This is a lot of hoops to go through, and I wish there was more transparency from Tesla on this topic before buying. The battery does feel too small compared to what Tesla marketing made me expect.
@Evbwcaer, good suggestions. I normally set charge limit to 90% and raise to 100% before I drive back to NYC, timed so that I leave as soon as it reaches 100%.
@krazineurons, this 5-pronged strategy gets me to about 370-380wh/mile in comparable weather, but haven't been able to approach 340. Maybe because I drive at 65 rather than stay under 55. You are right about the nav--I like it to give me 1% buffer for each 10 miles I am away from charging, up to 5% for more than 50 miles. If it drops below that, I adjust my driving.
I have read a lot of conflicting advice on range mode. I usually turn it off while charging or in the first 15 minutes of a long drive to heat the battery, and then turn it on for the torque benefits.
This is a lot of hoops to go through, and I wish there was more transparency from Tesla on this topic before buying. The battery does feel too small compared to what Tesla marketing made me expect.
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