Avoiding Range Anxiety...Too Cautious?

[chipmunk]

To more directly answer your question, yes you are recommended to regularly charge the car up to a maximum of 90%. The charge screen of Model S looks like below.

 

[jerry33]

On trips, just put in the next charging stop, and charge until the trip graph turns green. This gives quite a bit of safety margin (the trip graph goes green-->yellow-->red-->black). Exception: In winter charge more as cold and bad weather could eat into the range more than the trip graph's green section indicates.

 

[int32_t]

Watch one of Teslabjorn's road trip videos. (Not all his videos are of his road trips.) Bjorn often includes detailed images of his route, road conditions, temperature, etc and plans his range extensively to make the most of his planned stops. He does stress the fact that this planning isn't 100% necessary but that he does it because he enjoys it, though.
This one might be a good place to start:

 

[MSEV]

Wow. There are some misconceptions out there.
Much of what I read above from owners is true, some speculation is not so true.
I recommend you buy the biggest battery you can afford. I did for my Model S and will do the same for my Model 3.
My 85D went 262 mi in nice summer weather with ten miles to spare (2 passengers, some luggage, one small dog).
The same car in terrible weather (wind, cold, freezing rain thick on the car, four people, four dogs, lots of luggage) could not make the 200 mi between superchargers, driving slowly. If I had gone a bit further and out of the way but used a supercharger in that alternate direction I would have done much better (I had to learn that the hard way). I have gotten the CHAdeMO adapter because there is a L3 charger between the two SCs.
Just slow down is right for longer distance.
Be very careful in cold, wind, rain, snow.
Use the trip functions within the Tesla and you will know what is happening, how far you can go, and should not be anxious. It is very accurate, very helpful. I monitor it along the way, I plan on backup stops (L2) along the way if there is any bad weather brewing (wind, alone, can count as bad weather and make a significant difference).
Charge to 100% if you are taking a trip, 90 or less if you are not.
Charge to 100% if you are on a trip if you have the time. I try to get a bit of extra energy at each supercharger, then sometimes you can skip one.
I don't have range anxiety, I have range experience. I have gone off the supercharger grid and used L2s, but that is a different story--by the time anyone has a Model 3, there will be twice as many SCs, so many less opportunities to rough it. My experiences will be from the olden days.
I wouldn't trade any of it, my experiences in my Tesla, for anything. It is different, but it is great. I can't wait to get another one.
My experience, my 2 cents.

 

[wdolson]

[QUOTE="MSEV, post: 1505990, member: 27430"
Be very careful in cold, wind, rain, snow.
Use the trip functions within the Tesla and you will know what is happening, how far you can go, and should not be anxious. It is very accurate, very helpful. I monitor it along the way, I plan on backup stops (L2) along the way if there is any bad weather brewing (wind, alone, can count as bad weather and make a significant difference).
[/QUOTE]

It does sound like you faced the proverbial "perfect storm" for EV range hits. You have a fairly heavy load, cold weather, wind, and extra weight added from freezing rain. I plan to get a CHAdeMO adapter as an insurance backup for long trips. The route we'll be taking most often has a lot of superchargers (going down to California), but my SO wants to see northern New Mexico and that will probably be our first long road trip off of the I-5 corridor.

 

[roblab]

....

The best thing about the Model S is you know exactly how much range you have remaining. The calculation is very accurate, enough to run the range down to zero (though that is not recommended). I have arrived at charging destinations in the single digits many times before, especially back in the days before there were any superchargers on the east coast (man have things improved!)

The biggest impact on consumption is speed.

Yes, Yes, and Yes!!

Most people have more than a 300 mile range right now, but they would rather drive 75 mph or more. "You might get killed doing the speed limit (or slower)," they say, completely ignoring the big rigs cruising along getting good mileage in the slow lane. Driving with TACC behind one of these easily gets you 300 mile range on an 85.

Let's remember that Tesla JUST got an EPA of 300+ miles on the 90D, over three years after they introduced the Model S. Sometimes it just takes time.

And to the airplane/airport analogy, fine and good, only usually the airports are a little over 100 miles apart. Even if Tesla announced a "300" mile range for the 3, I am sure half the people buying one will complain that these are only EPA miles, not "realistic driving" miles.

 

[johnnyS]

I have range anxiety when driving an ICE after three years with a model S. It takes a little experience. Once I arrived at the Kingman supercharger with 0 and charge now flashing on the dash. With the growth in the supercharger network it is no problem at all now.

 

[jerry33]

And to the airplane/airport analogy, fine and good, only usually the airports are a little over 100 miles apart. Even if Tesla announced a "300" mile range for the 3, I am sure half the people buying one will complain that these are only EPA miles, not "realistic driving" miles.

Anytime I only get EPA miles, I look to see what's wrong.

 

[Mark Z]

The improved range calculations were demonstrated when I drove from Shamrock, TX to NM. With the destination entered into the navigation system, the Tesla knows how far it needs to go. Because the wind was higher than normal, the car informed me to slow down or I would not make the destination. It's not that the car knows it's windy, it's because the real time kW usage while driving was higher due to the wind. In regard to elevation changes, the range estimates take that into consideration after you enter the destination into the navigation.

(In winter, I keep a down sleeping bag in any vehicle just in case a breakdown was to occur.)

 

[sandpiper]

I have been driving a Volt for the last 4 years and having that ICE for a backup has kept me from any range anxiety to speak of. With the Model 3 however I am interested in seeing how pure electric owners handle it.

I plan on approaching my long drives (more than 1 charge distance) the same way I used to handle my IFR flights back when I flew little airplanes. In an airplane you are required to plan your trip so that you land with no less then 45 minutes of fuel reserves on board (that may have changed now). This is of course in place to keep people from running out of gas which at 10,000 feet can be a rather pucker inducing experience! My thought is to plan trips to arrive with a buffer of say 30 miles of charge left. The big question is how much range you can actually expect from the stated range. On my Volt I see on the average about a 20% reduction in the full charge stated range due to weather, driving style, what have you. In the cold months running the heater that can be as much as 40%.

If that holds true then I am hoping for a 300 mile battery option so that I can expect about a 240 mile actual range leaving a 30 mile buffer so I could plan for a 210 mile trip between charging stations without feeling that "will I make it?" feeling.

Am I over thinking this? Have other Model S or X owners seen these types of numbers with actual range vs. stated range? How do current Tesla owners handle the long trips to avoid the stress of not knowing uyou are going to reach your destination?

Thanks for any feedback you may have.

Dan

Initially I looked at the same way. I was always an extremely conservative pilot when it came to IFR planning. With the S, I rapidly discovered that it wasn't nearly as stressful to push the range limits a bit. The charge gage is very accurate. And the tools that Tesla provides for estimating the remaining range are excellent. Just be prepared to slow down if actual driving conditions are such that the gap between your predicted range and range to destination starts to trend down. On a "range-challenged" trip, I travel a bit slower than I need to for the first hour and as I get closer to my destination I speed up.

 

[Lunarx]

Actively watching range and slowing down, is Range Anxiety.
Its good to see that you all manage it well.
It is harder to plan long trips w/ 200mi range vs 400mi range.

 

[Bimbels]

Range anxiety is something you have before you get an EV. It's fear of the unknown. Once you have it and know how far you can go, everything is fine. I drove 73k miles in less than 2 years with my Model S. Many long road trips. Never ran out of juice. Especially now with the trip planner in the car it's so easy.

THIS! Our model S was my first EV. I knew nothing about batteries, charging, range, zilch nada zero before we got our Tesla. I would say I'm still pretty dumb about it since I just go by what the car tells me without really caring to understand it all haha. My commute is 180 miles each way (I do it once a week) and the first few times I was slightly nervous because it was such a different experience (planning) than driving ICE.

BUT I have superchargers all along my route, one at my destination (JFK) for charging back to 90% so it's ready to go when I get back. The trip planner really takes care of everything when you're going someplace new - once you learn the chargers along your route it becomes totally routine. But even when it's not routine, the work is done for you.

I had "range anxiety" only in that I was more conservative in how much buffer I felt comfortable with when arriving at my next supercharger or home. But after driving the car for a while, I have learned it's really not necessary to have as much buffer as I was leaving, especially in good weather conditions.

 

[cpa]

Once you get a few longish legs under your belt, you will come to realize whether your driving style matches the "anticipated" driving style used by EVTripplanner and the onboard trip estimator. (All things being equal.) You will begin to understand your usage in Wh/mile. You will be able to know if your consumption in the current leg far exceeds your "average" consumption, and can slow down if need be. In addition, the energy screen shows "remaining range" based upon the most recent 30 miles driven. A quick comparison between the rated miles as reflected on the battery indicator and the rated miles remaining based upon your most recent 30 miles also helps in determining "just how far can I go." Of course if you suddenly drive into a heavy downpour or encounter stiff winds, historical data become irrelevant.

To me, about the only thing lacking is the inability for the driver to select routes, way points and detours to landmarks that are off the main road. If you enjoy making a 30-mile round trip off the main road to see something of interest, you need to factor that additional usage into your battery state of charge upon departure.

Once you complete your first road trip, you have to have someone rip your shirt off!

 

[jkk_]

Speaking of range anxiety, I reckon big part of it for use who are not currently driving EVs is that calculating the range is such a big mystery.

Tesla says that 90D will get 557km according to NEDC (346 miles). According to EPA 473km (294 miles). Then there is the "typical range" setting in EU models, which apparently translates to roughly NEDC minus 100km (not so simple, but as a rough example). Which apparently is pretty close to what you can get on average in realistic driving? Again, things vary a lot, which causes lots of uncertainty at this point for me at least.

So when Tesla states that base model 3 ought to do 215 miles or 345km then I'm assuming that in real life it would be closer to 245km or roughly 155 miles. So how much of that is really usable then? Again, depends. This makes it quite hard to estimate what is really doable with Model 3.

Thanks for all the posts though, they have been very helpful and reassuring! And I really do believe that it's not that complicated, it just feels so at this point.

Is it fair to assume that real range of Tesla EVs is roughly announced (NEDC or EPA even though even those differ) range minus 100km/60 minus? For normal driving that is (fair weather, ~60MPH / 100km/h). That would make making assumptions regarding different weathers etc more simple.

 

[Dan Detweiler]

On a full charge, driving 60 mph in good weather I would hope to do better than EPA range.

Dan

 

[jkk_]

On a full charge, driving 60 mph in good weather I would hope to do better than EPA range.

Dan

I'd hope so also

OT: Gah, sorry for all the typos in my previous post, is it really so I cannot edit it afterwards?

 

[sandpiper]

Actively watching range and slowing down, is Range Anxiety.
Its good to see that you all manage it well.
It is harder to plan long trips w/ 200mi range vs 400mi range.

Sortof... When distance to the closest supercharger is such that you have to actively manage your energy consumption, then that's what has to happen. Anxiety comes from uncertainty. If you know exactly what you have to do to make it and are simply executing then there isn't really much anxiety. Of course the only ways to truly eliminate range anxiety are: a) more range b) more superchargers. c) ICE

And in any case, the OP is a pilot. Range/fuel planning is just part of the job. You know what you have to do to get to your destination safely and legally. And while range is something that you have to think about, there's really not much "anxiety".

All that said, I'm definitely in favour of more range and more SCs!

 

[gavine]

I had range anxiety BEFORE I got my car. I had a few sleepless nights while waiting for the car to be built, thinking "what have I done?". After 2 or 3 days of ownership, the anxiety was gone. I realized my S60 had plenty of range for my typical use. Google maps and Plugshare (as stated up-thread) are your friends. Whenever we are going somewhere far, the first thing I do is look on Google maps to see how many miles away it is. If it's less than 100 miles, no worries. More than 100, then we find a charger on Plugshare near a restaurant and we charge while eating. I don't have Supercharging on my car. I find the mileage gauge to be extremely accurate.

And yes, slowing down increases range substantially.

 

[proven]

Just one thing that I recently found on a reddit thread that I wasn't aware of -

The recommended thing to do is only charge your battery to 80-85% (and that tesla cars have pre-set settings on how much to charge a battery and that's around what they're set to by default. This helps maintain capacity over time.

I had no idea, maybe some of the S and X owners can step in and confirm this, but that sort of reduces the actual range from 200 to 160 for everyday charging driving. And if you want to leave yourself a buffer than the real range maybe 130-140 Makes me think twice about just sticking with the base battery - especially since I heard upgrading the battery is the #1 thing you could do (historically) to bump you up on the production list.

That is mostly correct except that Tesla recommends a 90% charge unless you are going on a trip. Also, it is not that difficult to get the rated range (or better) if you are willing to modify your driving habits a little bit. I drive with my windows open and A/C off more often than I used to just to get better efficiency--either that or I keep the temperature higher so it's not working as hard. I also drive a little slower than I did when driving an ICE. The result? Our lifetime Wh/mi is slightly under rated range and for the last 10k miles we've beaten rated range by 10%.

There's another side benefit to driving for efficiency--a lot less anxiety and road rage. My goal is to use the brakes as little as possible and maximize the regenerative braking. This has me slowing down slightly earlier than I used to and arriving at a stop light or stop sign without hitting the brakes. Even though I no longer drive like I'm always in a hurry, I haven't really added any time to my commutes. Amazing how that happens! Now I'm confused watching most of the other drivers on the road flying up to the next red light like it's going to get them where they are going sooner. Some even dart around me to... get to the red light quicker.

 

[AZ Desert Driver]

I saw a Tow truck driving down the road with his door painted "Electric Vehicle Recharging". Not a jump start or a can of gas or a flat-tire tow, but a generator to refill wherever your luck ran out.
Not sure what fee they request, what distance they respond, how big of a generator they use....lots of things that a door sign does not include..But a Tow Truck as a savior to range anxiety. Probably not even a Tesla employee