Arizona - Phoenix and Tucson Corridor

[ZBB]

A/C consumption is better than expected. But it can be significant -- I have noticed that a) if the temps are above 110, and b) you don't pre-cool the car on shore power before heading out that both the cabin and battery heat pumps come on and the range will drop pretty quick for the first ~10-15 min while the car cools down. After that, it goes back to normal.

During the late June super hot temps we had, I noticed the car used an "extra" ~10 miles of range on my ~60 mile commute than it has been using either before or after those super hot days... But that was only on 2 days of commuting so far... The rest of the summer has been fine...

Also, we drove up to Congress to watch the procession of the Yarnell fire Hotshot crew on Sunday. I did my first range charge for that (I have a 60), and we drove 153 miles, with cruise set at ~5 over the limit and averaged 286 Wh/mile. Range dropped by 159 miles -- so we "lost" 6 miles of range vs rated. We pre-cooled before leaving, and used range mode to reduce power to the A/C unit. Temps were 99-103 on the way up to Congress. We were parked for nearly 2 hours, of which we sat in the car with the A/C on for about 15 minutes, and drove to a restaurant for a late lunch, then drove home with temps in the 108-112 range. Car was never hot -- even with the range mode setting on. I'm very happy with those results...

 

[phat78boy]

If you are traveling to/from Tucson then the Picacho Peak (Bowling Travel Center) charger is your best bet. It's a dual 70A charger. You will need to have a ChargePoint card or call the 1-800 number located at the charger. There is also a charger near Casa Grande along the highway. There are 3 Blink chargers at the Outlets at Casa Grande, but at 30A and the fact that the outlets are practically deserted does not make this a prime location. You can use the Recargo website to find more chargers. Also the Recargo Tesla website is formatted for the Model S 17" screen and can be used from your car. Recargo also has an iOS and Android app that allows better filtering than their website.

Also, when you actually arrive in Tucson there are at least 50 charging stations around town. Use Recargo to find them.

Thanks for the information. I frequent the JW Marriott in Tucson and that will probably be one of my first few trips in my new beauty. Now to get more resorts on board with installing charge stations.

 

[fluxemag]

I have a "40" kWh car and was thinking of taking it to Sedona or Payson. Sedona is 125 miles, Payson is 80. My full charge is 144 miles, but I usually get much less than that the way I drive (370Wh/mi). When the car was taken to service, the history showed he had it around 270Wh/mi, so I know it's possible. My biggest concern is the hills coming out of the valley, not much you can do about that. I know I can make it to Payson, but Sedona seems a stretch. I suppose if I had to I could stop at an RV park in Cordes Jct. I never planned on road tripping this car, and it's probably not even practical to try. Waiting 5 hours at an RV park in Sedona for a refill doesn't sound like the best use of time there.

As for the AC, I think it's excellent. The pre-cooling is the best feature possible for our climate. I even leave it running when I'm doing errands, so it never heats up while I'm in the store. My wife is very jealous of that! Come on Gen3!

I wonder if pre-cooling power usage is factored into the Wh/mi calculation.

 

[ZBB]

Flux -
Play around with this site: EVTripPlanner It was pretty accurate for the trip I did up to Congress and back on Jul 7 -- I used slightly less kWh than it suggested I would.

I'm going to guess a trip up to Sedona will be tough -- and you'd need to plan to stop to charge. You could stop at the outlets in Anthem -- they have a Blink charger. Then stop again in Camp Verde (there's an RV park the other side of I-17 from Cliff Castle Casino -- so you could grab a bite or go bowling or gamble the time away...)

I'd also recommend pre-cooling, turning on range mode (reduces power to the HVAC), and drive no more than 5 over the posted limit (although you may not want to exceed 75 on I-17 just to be safe).

Edit -- I just put a route to Sedona in from my house (we're about as far north as you can get and still be in Scottsdale). Sedona is 103 miles from my house. Using a 1.1 speed multiplier (which equates to ~5 over posted limit), temp of 100 degrees with thermostat set to 71, and a 600lb payload (ie 3 adults and some luggage), EV Trip Planner shows it will take 42 kWh of energy to get to Sedona. The return trip is 34.

Anthem to Sedona shows only 37kWh used with the same conditions -- so a stop at the outlets may work for you...

 

[araxara]

I have a P85 and I travel a few times a month from Tucson to Pinetop. My lifetime energy usage is 293 Wh/mi at about 11,500mi. The net elevation gain is 4000ft and it's a 200 mile one-way trip. The energy usage on the way up is around 325 Wh/mi and 238 Wh/mi on the way down. I keep my speed at about the speed limit +2mph going up hills (using CC) and about the speed limit +4mph going down hills. Average speed for the whole trip is 55mph.

I would say you should drive up to Payson first to get the feel of the car and energy usage. Scottsdale elevation is about 1250ft. Payson is about 5000ft. You should get about the same Wh/mi as I get. A great website you can use to plan your trip is EVTripPlanner and choose the "Route Energy Planner". The website takes into account your car type, wheels and other factors (in advanced mode). For my trip, it's off by about 17% listing my Wh/mi at 385.

 

[fluxemag]

Thanks to both of you for the replies. I'll check out EVTripPlanner right now. I agree, based on your calculations stopping in Anthem would be a must from S. Scottsdale to Sedona.

 

[johndoe74]

I am approaching 6000 miles and thinking of rotating the tires, but the Tesla service center has not opened yet. My previous cars' tires are all rotated at the dealership or at Costco. I am not planning to have them rotated at Costco though. For those who have rotated their tires, where would you recommend? Thanks.

 

[phx182flyer]

I just used Discount Tire. Their rack is not programmed for the Tesla- they just did it with floor jacks. Used hand tools per my request, and had the correct torque numbers (129ft/lbs). All for no charge. They all got a thrill out of the car as well.

 

[irishstoutaz]

I know the official customer facing Service Center is not open yet but the temp SC is open and would imagine they are able to rotate tires... you may want to give them a call.

I am approaching 6000 miles and thinking of rotating the tires, but the Tesla service center has not opened yet. My previous cars' tires are all rotated at the dealership or at Costco. I am not planning to have them rotated at Costco though. For those who have rotated their tires, where would you recommend? Thanks.

 

[araxara]

I am approaching 6000 miles and thinking of rotating the tires, but the Tesla service center has not opened yet. My previous cars' tires are all rotated at the dealership or at Costco. I am not planning to have them rotated at Costco though. For those who have rotated their tires, where would you recommend? Thanks.

I had my tires rotated at 7500mi by Tesla at their temporary service center last month. I drove up from Tucson and waited for the tire rotation and also got a charge for my trip back. Just because it's their temporary service center doesn't mean they can't do the service.

 

[Tyl]

Anyone near Buckeye able to check out US 10 and S Watson Rd area for Supercharger station construction? ... and, if not there, along US 10 in that area? I'm sure we cannot be too far away from AZ superchargers. I checked out Buckeye at S.Watson Rd about a month ago, but could not locate any SC construction as yet although, there are many great locations for them right in that area.

.......Blythe? The SCS map sort of makes it look like the SCS may be on our side of the border with CA. I run city/county permit information from time to time with no avail. I'm hoping that we all are on the hunt for SCS's. It is critical, IMO that the SCS network be built out ASAP. I, for one, need to travel regularly from PHX to LA & SF Bay Area. I'm looking forward to the SCS highway to make the journey effortless in my MS. ...as with Burlington WA and Centralia WA, Fort Myers FL and Port St. Lucie Fl will probably go online next week within days of one another. Let's hope our Arizona corridor truly is online by winter!!! ... at the latest! I'm thinking Blythe, Buckeye, Gila Bend area, Yuma, and Casa Grande areas are the most likely. Any thoughts/feedback?

 

[BlueTan85]

If one doesn't have twin chargers, could one still take advantage of the 70A ChargePoint charger at Picacho Peak, maybe just not getting as many amps out of it?

 

[NuclearPowered]

Anyone near Buckeye able to check out US 10 and S Watson Rd area for Supercharger station construction? ... and, if not there, along US 10 in that area? I'm sure we cannot be too far away from AZ superchargers. I checked out Buckeye at S.Watson Rd about a month ago, but could not locate any SC construction as yet although, there are many great locations for them right in that area.

I live in the area. I'll check it out. Watson makes the most sense for a SC but the red dot covers most of West Phoenix

 

[napabill]

Anyone near Buckeye able to check out US 10 and S Watson Rd area for Supercharger station construction? ... and, if not there, along US 10 in that area? I'm sure we cannot be too far away from AZ superchargers. I checked out Buckeye at S.Watson Rd about a month ago, but could not locate any SC construction as yet although, there are many great locations for them right in that area.

.......Blythe? The SCS map sort of makes it look like the SCS may be on our side of the border with CA. I run city/county permit information from time to time with no avail. I'm hoping that we all are on the hunt for SCS's. It is critical, IMO that the SCS network be built out ASAP. I, for one, need to travel regularly from PHX to LA & SF Bay Area. I'm looking forward to the SCS highway to make the journey effortless in my MS. ...as with Burlington WA and Centralia WA, Fort Myers FL and Port St. Lucie Fl will probably go online next week within days of one another. Let's hope our Arizona corridor truly is online by winter!!! ... at the latest! I'm thinking Blythe, Buckeye, Gila Bend area, Yuma, and Casa Grande areas are the most likely. Any thoughts/feedback?

With the previously announced SC location in El Centro, I doubt Yuma will be used. Gilla Bend would seem logical. That's my hope, anyway. From NorCal I'd travel to Palm Desert, spend the night. Then on to El Centro, Gilla Bend, and Tucson destination. Perfect!

 

[AudubonB]

Chiming in from the Wickenburg area, I am hoping that the Las Vegas-Kingman-Wickenburg-Phx artery gets a nod. From the minuscule-scale full-nation map that Tesla's website shows, it appears that will be the case by their 2015 roll-out, but I'm of the opinion that map is mostly to be used as a guideline.

W'burg also is en route to/from esp. the Phoenix northern suburbs to the LA/San Diego region; elsewhere on these forums I read that some Scottsdale, etc., types prefer that route to the interstate corridor. Always prettier, of course

 

[jomo25]

I too am surprised that the SC maps only show a LV-PHX path being built out in the final stages. I'd think that would make a lot of sense early on. And with great natural spots to stop at already (W'burg, Kingman) it should be a no brainer.

I'm taking the "Fall 2013" timeline for the PHX to LA/SD routes with grains of salt. But if anyone at Tesla understands that fall-spring are the PEAK times to travel to the PHX area, you'd think they'd want to get those in by November for sure. Of course, I want them so I can roadtrip out of PHX, but plenty of people might want them to get here...

 

[ZBB]

I'm guessing we won't see anything on the AZ Superchargers until most of the "summer" ones go live. If they are avail by Nov 1, and the NorCal to Oregon gap is also closed by then, we're planning to drive up to BC and back over Christmas...

If one doesn't have twin chargers, could one still take advantage of the 70A ChargePoint charger at Picacho Peak, maybe just not getting as many amps out of it?

Single charger equipped cars can only charge up to 40A, but that charger will work. Will be ~1/3 faster than a 30A station...

 

[fluxemag]

My car used to charge to 144 when I got it, now it's 140. And that's right when it finishes charging. It has nothing to do with estimating based on my driving habits, because otherwise it would read around 110 miles. However, it didn't tick down to 138 for probably 5 miles this morning. The battery is probably hot sitting in my garage next to an ICE heating block. In retrospect insulating my garage was a mistake, but it is nice to turn on the AC when I'm working out there. The car reads around 104 degrees in the morning.

This is all just data for the rest of you. I only drive 40-60 miles a day, so it's really not significant to me. More curiosity about how these things are being calculated.

 

[AudubonB]

I'm confused as to why you are now thinking it a mistake to have insulated your garage?????

 

[fluxemag]

The AC is almost never on in there, it's a separate unit from the house. I use it for woodworking in the summer. In the winter it's very nice in the garage, because my wife's ICE keeps it warm and the insulation holds it in. In the summer, no heat can escape the garage and it's much warmer than it is outside. I think the answer is to have a screen door on one side and a few vents on the other so I can get some ventilation. Running the AC all the time would be wasteful and expensive. I could always open the garage door, but there are other issues. The extreme temperature in the garage (over 108) has caused the scheduled charging to fail, because the center screen processor gets too hot and the car loses communication. This isn't speculation, it's from the engineering logs. The fix is going in the next firmware, which will activate the fan behind the screen more often.