A Better Route Planner vs Tesla route planner

[SammichLover]

The Tesla website is a marketing tool, and unfortunately isn't properly updated.

Given how pessimistic its estimates are, and how poor the routing choices it makes are leading to unnecessarily crazy long drives out in the upper Western states, it isn't even that good at that.

 

[SammichLover]

BTW I never really used ABRP because when I first tried using it it wouldn't offer routes to me that I manually calculated (and then later empirically confirmed) were viable along the East side of the Rockies, traveling North-South. I switched to Nav supplemented with manual because it was more accurate, and a touch braver. To use ABRP I had to hack and tweak the variables to the point that they were nonsense, and I was basically already in manual mode. It is possible that ABRP has improved, though. That's been over a year, now.

 

[SammichLover]

Yeah, I really hate the car's preferences for fewest stops and longest charging times at each one so it can try to skip over Superchargers.

The post 150kW charging patch the LR got better on this but I manually overrule that all the time. Kinda depends on what sort of stops you like, if you want less but real sit-down meal stops it is ok.

I expect with the SR+ it'll be like the prior situation with the LR, to keep in the faster charging zone you want to stop more often.

Fortunately Nav will faintly show the intermediate SC on the map, so you just manually change to them. Plus as long as you don't overcharge it'll give you the next SC most of the time, anyway, once you're mid-trip.

 

[jsight]

I have no experience charging an SR+ and normally highly recommend ABRP, but those charge times seem a bit short to me (especially given the distance covered). Actually, while ABRP does optimise for reduced total charge time, I do find it's a bit too optimistic on how long it takes to charge.

I find this blog post by ABRP to be interesting:
Faster Tesla Supercharging - How does it actually perform?

Notably the charge curves used by their algorithm is not the average, but bordering on the best case scenario. I've often wondered how the charge times compare to the real world, but I rarely see this discussed.

 

[BEPA400]

I have had a Tesla since 2013. I have never been stranded with a fully discharged battery. I have run out of gasoline numerous times. I have range anxiety numerous times on my Ducati with a 4 gal tank.,

Lol same with me on my KTM 690 I think it’s a 3 gal tank! Always carry a 1L gas can!

 

[SammichLover]

I find this blog post by ABRP to be interesting:
Faster Tesla Supercharging - How does it actually perform?

Notably the charge curves used by their algorithm is not the average, but bordering on the best case scenario. I've often wondered how the charge times compare to the real world, but I rarely see this discussed.

A lot depends on the SC, mostly on how many others are there. As long as your pack is up to temperature the car side of the equation will match those curves very closely. These days if you're already driving, and ambient temperatures are above freezing, the BMS generally ensures it'll be at optimum charging temp by conditioning ahead as long as you tell Nav you're intending to SC.

When you get down around freezing point the pack will start getting off that optimum curve. However the big question is whether or not you'll get stuck paired with someone in another stall. The Nav will let you peek ahead but that can swing as vehicles pull in and out (and there used to be glitches where the map had persistent "phantom" cars at SC, showed more than really were there, don't know if this is still the case).

 

[Watts_Up]

You may want to think about getting the long range version because it will charge faster.
I got the SR+ and it is fine, but if you plan on keeping the car for a while it would be awkward if you later wanted the faster LR version.
I don't regret getting the SR+ because I was hesitant to purchase at all, or would have delayed purchasing.

I would also strongly recommend getting a long range:

- This will improve your passengers trip agreement with shorter and lesser number of charging stops.
- Also during winter, the snow or the heavy rain and wind will affect your range may be between 20 and 40%.
- Incidentally, a four wheel drive will be safer to drive in winter.
- If you keep your car for a long time, battery degradation will be less an issue with a larger battery.
- The additional cost of a larger battery and AWD will be recover with a higher price when selling your car.

Since many people start to upgrade to the Model Y there will be certainly some used Model 3 available, if budget is the main concern.
I have a LR AWS for almost two years and still look like new. The only time I went to the service center was to get the new 3.0 FSD computer.

 

[HTWOMS]

Newbie question ...
Picked up my M3 yesterday, with full navigation for the next 30 days, and downloaded the Tesla app ....as I am having my coffee and watching the news, I’d like to have the ability to route an upcoming road trip w/o going into the car. I’m sure I’m just missing it, but looked through the forums and can’t find reference to it.

Any one know if you can plan a trip via your Tesla app (like Waze) or do I have to be in the car using navigation?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Watts_Up]

Newbie question ...
Picked up my M3 yesterday, with full navigation for the next 30 days, and downloaded the Tesla app ....as I am having my coffee and watching the news, I’d like to have the ability to route an upcoming road trip w/o going into the car. I’m sure I’m just missing it, but looked through the forums and can’t find reference to it.

Any one know if you can plan a trip via your Tesla app (like Waze) or do I have to be in the car using navigation?

Thanks in advance!

Tesla has a Web page called 'Go Anywhere' but it is more a marketing tool, it doesn't give you too much options like ABRP.

Also the NAP (Navigation on AutoPilot) inside the car don't let choose your itinerary and way-points,
and is designed to use the minimum number of Superchargers, witch is not optimum.
You should try to reach a Supercharger with about 10% left and charge to only 60% 70% for faster charging.

Tesla provides also a Web page called 'Find US' giving the location of the chargers and Service Centers.

I would recommend looking at the web page 'Supercharge.info' which contain an updated list of current and future Chargers.

 

[user212_nr]

Newbie question ...
Picked up my M3 yesterday, with full navigation for the next 30 days, and downloaded the Tesla app ....as I am having my coffee and watching the news, I’d like to have the ability to route an upcoming road trip w/o going into the car. I’m sure I’m just missing it, but looked through the forums and can’t find reference to it.

Any one know if you can plan a trip via your Tesla app (like Waze) or do I have to be in the car using navigation?

Thanks in advance!

A Better Routeplanner

 

[GtiMart]

I think a lot of people plan the overall trip with ABetterRoute Planner, but use the in-car nav to navigate to the next SC. ABRP is the overall view of your trip, that you can do in your living room. Your plan can change "en route"...

 

[user212_nr]

I think a lot of people plan the overall trip with ABetterRoute Planner, but use the in-car nav to navigate to the next SC. ABRP is the overall view of your trip, that you can do in your living room. Your plan can change "en route"...

It is necessary with ABRP to set the next supercharger as the destination. Tesla's navigation tool is weak in the sense that it doesn't allow you to configure it, and I'd feel better not using it for a long trip.

 

[jerry33]

It is necessary with ABRP to set the next supercharger as the destination. Tesla's navigation tool is weak in the sense that it doesn't allow you to configure it, and I'd feel better not using it for a long trip.

I've always just set wherever the next stop is in the Nav system--Supercharger or not. I have around 65K trip miles using the Nav system. However, I plan the route in the house (that is I look to see what overnight stops I'm going to make, and which roads to take), or just get in and drive.

 

[Gasaraki]

Im thinking about buy a model 3 SR+. My one reservation is the time it takes to charge on a road trip. I am looking at a trip from Chicopee, MA to Richmond, VA. When I use the route planner at the Tesla site it has me stopping 4 times to charge for a total charge time of 150 minutes. FYI, I have to use a model X with 255 mile range as there is no option for a SR+.
Conversely, when I use the Better Route Planner app it has me stopping 4 times to charge for a total of 52 minutes. The better route planner does allow me to choose the SR+ as the car I will be using.
Why is there such a drastic difference? Which one is correct and why?
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View attachment 547198

The Tesla website is WRONG. Please don't even look at that.
Use ABRP and make sure it configured correctly and the in car nav. Don't use the Tesla website.

 

[Gasaraki]

Yeah, I really hate the car's preferences for fewest stops and longest charging times at each one so it can try to skip over Superchargers. It creates unnecessary range anxiety by trying to cut it close. For instance, I had the car telling me to charge all the way up to 100% and arrive with 7% just to needlessly skip a Supercharger. That's terrible! And it plays into that problem of human nature. We can make 10-15 minutes disappear like nothing and not notice it with a few little entertainment things on our phone or going to get a drink. But getting into the 40+ or 50+ minute times, really increases the chances that you will run out of quick things to kill time, and get bored and really notice it and be bothered by it.

Yes, it is really stupid for Tesla to do that.

One, it make people sit at a Supercharger for too long, that other people can't use it if it's busy.
Two, charging rate slows down as charge level goes up. The nav should never keep people at a SC past 80% unless it required to get the the next supercharger.
Three, frequent 15-20 min charges give you faster travel times than fewer but longer stops. So the Tesla nav is actually making the trip longer than necessary.

That is why I use the Tesla nav to plot to the next supercharger, not the whole journey. I use ABRP beforehand to plot the whole journey to get an idea on what superchargers I need to stop at. I like ABRP because I can tell it what charge level I want to arrive at my destination with. If i'm going on vacation I don't want an almost dead car when I get to my destination.

 

[teasla]

Tried to use ABRP. The interface on the iOS app sucks really back.

 

[GtiMart]

If ios isn't great for abrp, since you're home in planning, use a pc, a tablet, anything that works. You can run it on the car's web browser if you want too.

 

[jerry33]

Yes, it is really stupid for Tesla to do that.

One, it make people sit at a Supercharger for too long, that other people can't use it if it's busy.
Two, charging rate slows down as charge level goes up. The nav should never keep people at a SC past 80% unless it required to get the the next supercharger.

Which happens far too frequently in the Supercharger Deserts.

Three, frequent 15-20 min charges give you faster travel times than fewer but longer stops. So the Tesla nav is actually making the trip longer than necessary.

Only true if there is almost no time between leaving the freeway and getting to the Supercharger. An extra 15 minutes to get to and leave the SC location vs. an extra 15 minutes charging doesn't change the arrival time one iota.

That is why I use the Tesla nav to plot to the next supercharger, not the whole journey.

I do this as well, but not for that reason.

I use ABRP beforehand to plot the whole journey to get an idea on what superchargers I need to stop at.

I tried ABRP, but it seemed way too difficult to use and not particularly informative (compared to the way EV Trip Planner used to be). I just tried it again to see if it had improved, but after putting in the information, it just sat and spun. Perhaps if I waited an hour I'd get an answer. Google maps plus Supercharge.info give a better experience. EV Trip Planner used to be the go-to, but it hasn't been updated in some time, so it's not useful for anyone with a more recent Tesla.

 

[sjmcman]

You should try to reach a Supercharger with about 10% left and charge to only 60% 70% for faster charging.

Completely agree!

 

[Gasaraki]

Im thinking about buy a model 3 SR+. My one reservation is the time it takes to charge on a road trip. I am looking at a trip from Chicopee, MA to Richmond, VA. When I use the route planner at the Tesla site it has me stopping 4 times to charge for a total charge time of 150 minutes. FYI, I have to use a model X with 255 mile range as there is no option for a SR+.
Conversely, when I use the Better Route Planner app it has me stopping 4 times to charge for a total of 52 minutes. The better route planner does allow me to choose the SR+ as the car I will be using.
Why is there such a drastic difference? Which one is correct and why?
View attachment 547197
View attachment 547198

PLEASE don't use the Tesla website. It is not for trip planning. The car's computer is way more accurate.

However the car's computer is also not very efficient with the charging times on long trips. It stays at chargers for too long. You should be stopping more often and charging for shorter times.
I would trust ABRP for planning your whole trip then use the car's computer to plot to each individual supercharger stop.