Arizona Superchargers (location speculation, discussion)

[Cottonwood]

Cottonwood and others, how are you all managing to get approx. 250 miles on a charge. I can't seem to get more than 210. Just drove to PA from DC, with HVAC off, cruise control on, range max on. drove 60 on 55 mph speed limits and 70mph in 65 mph speed limit areas. Started with 259 after a range charge. Drove 204 to PA and had only 7.5 miles range left.

I just got off the phone with Tesla support and they told me to charge after 180 miles, as the ranges I am getting is about right for a P85 with 21 inch wheels and Michelin Pilot tires (which he said reduces range by about 15 miles compared to the 19 inch wheels).

I would really like to know your secrets, as I want to take a trip from the DC area to Gilbert, AZ. Thanks

Here is a good blog on the subject: The Rules of Model S Road Tripping - Blogs - Tesla Motors Club - Enthusiasts & Owners Forum

The three most important points are:

1. Slow down. This means making your maximum speed 55 mph until you have your goal made! Set 55 as your personal range speed limit.
2. Get a set of 19's for your long road trips and put the Michelin Primacy tires on them. They are both worth a few percent in range and those improvements are cumulative.
3. Set your regen to standard, and really work to avoid using the brake peddle as much as you possibly can. Heating up the brakes does nothing for range.

May the wind be at your back! :wink:

 

[roblab]

Cottonwood and others, how are you all managing to get approx. 250 miles on a charge. I can't seem to get more than 210. Just drove to PA from DC, with HVAC off, cruise control on, range max on. drove 60 on 55 mph speed limits and 70mph in 65 mph speed limit areas. Started with 259 after a range charge. Drove 204 to PA and had only 7.5 miles range left.

I just got off the phone with Tesla support and they told me to charge after 180 miles, as the ranges I am getting is about right for a P85 with 21 inch wheels and Michelin Pilot tires (which he said reduces range by about 15 miles compared to the 19 inch wheels).

I would really like to know your secrets, as I want to take a trip from the DC area to Gilbert, AZ. Thanks

While you might gain a few percent and spend several hundred dollars on new rims and tires, that's not the problem.

The single most important range user is speed. Setting cruise on 60 mph gets you very close to 300 miles per charge. I do it easily and often, but nearly everyone I mention it to, including those on this list, are almost repelled by thinking of going actually *shudder* LESS than the speed limit. Well, make your choice. Slow down and enjoy the drive, or drive out of your way to interim super charging stations, take time to refill the car, and still get to your destination SLOWER than I would doing 60.

That's how you do it. Of course, if your car will not do LESS than 85 mph, then you have to get lower range. Physics still applies.

 

[Cottonwood]

The single most important range user is speed. Setting cruise on 60 mph gets you very close to 300 miles per charge. I do it easily and often, but nearly everyone I mention it to, including those on this list, are almost repelled by thinking of going actually *shudder* LESS than the speed limit. Well, make your choice. Slow down and enjoy the drive, or drive out of your way to interim super charging stations, take time to refill the car, and still get to your destination SLOWER than I would doing 60.

That's how you do it. Of course, if your car will not do LESS than 85 mph, then you have to get lower range. Physics still applies.

I completely agree! That's why I put Speed as my #1 item.

However, when I took my 21's off and put on the snow tires on 19's, it was worth at least 15 or 20 miles of range, and that is with studded snow tires! :biggrin:

For those interested in the physics, aerodynamic force is proportional to airspeed squared! Force times distance is work whether you measure that in Joules or Watt-Hours; therefore W-hr/mile used to overcome aerodynamic drag is proportional to speed squared. There are other contributors to your Wh/mi, but at highway speeds, aerodynamic drag is the biggest.

Read here, Roadster Efficiency and Range | Blog | Tesla Motors, for a good description about all of this. Its written for the Roadster, but all the concepts are the same, just with different scale factors.

Change your airspeed from 55 to 77 mph and you double the aerodynamic force on the car.

Remember that it is airspeed and you see why even moderate headwinds hurt and moderate tailwinds help; big headwinds will crush your range. When I am deciding if I can make it to a destination, I pull the WUnderMap up from WUnderGround.com. It displays wind vectors on the 17" from 1,000's of personal weather stations; just remember that it is a standard weather display, and the little lines are arrows pointed the way the wind is blowing.

May the wind be at your back! :wink:

 

[Frankrb]

Looking for tips. Planning a trip in my S 85, from Las Vegas to Albuquerque next week, no superchargers, but having trouble finding level 2 (Nema 14-50 or J1772) in Flagstaff, for an overnight. Planning RV park charging in Kingman, and Gallup, but Flagstaff, is not cooperating. Anyone know a hotel in Flagstaff with EV charging?

 

[nwdiver]

Kingman Travel Lodge has NEMA 14-50... $15 or free for guests, same owners as Sunrise RV.
USA RV Park in Gallup is Awesome
Flagstaff KOA has cabins. $10 for EV charging... image it's probably free if you rent a cabin...

 

[napabill]

In reviewing the SuperCharger Map on the TM site, it appears to me that of the SC sites will be Gila Bend. Casa Grande looks to in the next phase, based on the map. Gila Bend has the advantage of being of use to both PHX and TUC destinations. And just a couple of miles west of the Hwy 85/I-8 intersection is the 280 MW Solana Generating Station, one of the largest solar production facilities in the world. Seems like a good fit to be in that neighborhood!

 

[jomo25]

Quartszite might be the first SC *in* AZ. But Quartszite isn't much use without something in Blythe/Plam Springs/Indio/Cabazon range IMO. So, hopefully, one of those goes online in the same time frame.

 

[ZBB]

Quartszite might be the first SC *in* AZ. But Quartszite isn't much use without something in Blythe/Plam Springs/Indio/Cabazon range IMO. So, hopefully, one of those goes online in the same time frame.

I asked about that in one of the other SC threads, and Tyl said that Tesla confirmed that Indio is also under construction... I-10 & Jackson St...
Tesla Supercharger network - Page 202

With Quartzsite and Indio, we can connect to the I-5 corridor... A couple more in Southern CA (Riverside and one near San Diego) and detours to Hawthorn won't be needed too...

 

[jomo25]

Or a Chademo Adapter.

Great to hear about Indio, I must've missed that!

OK, we need scouts, with pics!

 

[Monsoon]

Yuma Location Announced

Excerpt today from the Yuma Sun (not a publication I read frequently):

Tesla Motors Inc., the makers of the Tesla Model S electric vehicle, are working with city officials to install eight charging stations at the Hilton Garden Inn Pivot Point Conference Center, 310 N Madison Ave. [Yuma, AZ]

The charging station will have four regular chargers and four superchargers. Superchargers can charge up to 50 percent in 20 minutes, according to Tesla.

Each supercharger station has its own dedicated meter from the local utility and Tesla pays for all operating cost, including electricity.

"Tesla is very focused on providing free long distance travel across the country," Alexis Georgeson, spokeswoman for Tesla, told the Yuma Sun.

"Many of these Arizona supercharger stations, including Yuma, will support the cross-country route from Los Angeles to New York which will be completed by the end of 2013," she said.

Read more: Yuma becoming a charging hub for electronic vehicles | fisker, charging, yuman - Supercharged - YumaSun

 

[Tyl]

Indio CA is in the 'soon' category... I didn't hear Kevin say it was under construction yet. ... and Yes! we will need it and another one in Ontario area to connect with Northern California and beyond. I'm keeping my eye on all of them through friends in the local areas... along with Oxnard CA. I'll be doing some personal checking of the sites once I'm back in the area. Surf's up! and the soft breezes of the islands are calling :smile: ..... hey... someone's got to do it :wink:

... and I agree... nothing says it better than photos.... even from me!!

 

[jomo25]

Thanks for Yuma article. Another nugget of info:

"The opening of our Yuma supercharger and the additional five stations slated to open in Arizona are a testament to our dedication to the market and the strength of our customer base in the area," Georgeson added."

So, 6 total locations.

 

[emupilot]

Indio is in Riverside County, which has an on-line building permits system here: http://www.rctlma.org/online/content/reports.aspx. They have weekly reports of issued and finalized permits (but not archived) and archives of project applications and approved projects. I searched for Tesla, charger, and Indio without finding anything. It's probably worth checking the weekly updates each weekend.

 

[ZBB]

Thanks for Yuma article. Another nugget of info:

"The opening of our Yuma supercharger and the additional five stations slated to open in Arizona are a testament to our dedication to the market and the strength of our customer base in the area," Georgeson added."

So, 6 total locations.

Well... Tesla's map shows 9 in 2015... The placement of those on the map doesn't make much sense (way too many on I-8...). So let's take a guess at where the 6 will be:

Known:
Yuma, Quartzsite

Likely:
Kingman, Casa Grande (or Gila Bend)

Guesses:
Williams, Holbrook -- opens up I-40. But makes it tough for a 60 to get from Phoenix to Williams...

 

[Cottonwood]

Well... Tesla's map shows 9 in 2015... The placement of those on the map doesn't make much sense (way too many on I-8...). So let's take a guess at where the 6 will be:

Known:
Yuma, Quartzsite

Likely:
Kingman, Casa Grande (or Gila Bend)

Guesses:
Williams, Holbrook -- opens up I-40. But makes it tough for a 60 to get from Phoenix to Williams...

OK, I put my money on fleshing out Elon's road trip path, so with Farmington, NM known, here is my intelligent, hopeful guess for 3 more, new stations for Arizona coming soon:

1. Avondale, AZ — Grey dot west of Phoenix on Tesla Map
2. Payson, AZ — Strange grey dot NE of Phoenix on 2015 map. Much like the Mt Rushmore detour, I think that this is for Elon.
3. Holbrook, AZ — Good long term option for I-40, and connects to Gallup, NM, and then to Farmington, NM for Elon.

Take a look at Hawthorne, CA to Farmington, NM - Google Maps to see how this gets Elon from LA to Farmington with ease in an 85 full of family. The longest segment is 138 miles from Hawthorne to Indio, and being the start, he can have a range charge for that.

The reason that I am hopeful is that I want to do a Supercharged road trip with my son to Southern California from Pagosa Springs, CO, only 100 miles from Farmington, NM. It would be wonderful to backtrack Elon's path for this trip! Hawthorne, CA to Pagosa Springs, CO - Google Maps :biggrin:

 

[thranx]

In response to my query, received this today, 3 Nov, at 11 am:


hi, the Tesla station will be behind Carl's Jr. southside of I-10, Exit 17


~Rain

Shanana Rain Golden-Bear, Publisher/Editor


Desert Messenger

Quartzsite's FREE Community Paper

PO Box 3185, Quartzsite, AZ 85359


928-916-4235

 

[Tyl]

Thanks thranx...

Carl's Jr address is:

1451 W Main St, Quartzsite, AZ ‎

 

[Sgt Barone]

Awesome! Is there anyone around that area who can possibly go take a look?

 

[araxara]

hi, the Tesla station will be behind Carl's Jr. southside of I-10, Exit 17

Hmm. The Carl's Jr. is to the North of I-10, not the South. The south side has a Luv's Travel stop. I always stop at the Luv's when going to CA. Maybe they mean south of Carl's Jr, but it would be North of I-10?

 

[thranx]

Good point. Either side, the SC will be mere seconds off the Interstate.