Battery size headache!!

[No2DinosaurFuel]

Depends on how much you value time for those once a week trip.

Here is how I look at it:
High speed, weather, terrain, temperature, degradation of battery, detours etc can cut your range down to 4/5 (optimistic) of the EPA actual. So you are really only counting on 190 or so miles even at 100% charge. This means you will have to stop at a supercharging station almost every time.

There is 26 weeks in a year. Let's say you stop at supercharging stations 80% of the time. The other 20% you either got lucky and the weather is nice or whatnot or you went slower than expected and saved enough energy to make it. This means you stop at supercharging stations 21 times out of the year.

While the wait for supercharging is not long, you do have to slow down, exit, enter the station, get out, plug in, and wait for 10-15minutes to charge and then unplug and get back in and drive back on the highway. Guess how long all this takes each time. I would say at least 20 minutes each if you are super fast. So all in all, you spent 400 minutes over the course of the year just doing this.

Now let's take the alternative with the X90D. You might occasionally stop at supercharging stations on those wicked days, so lets keep it simple and assume you only stop there 20% of the time vs the 80% if you got X75D. This comes out to be 5 times. So you spend 100 minutes.

So all in all, is your $10K worth the 300 minutes/year in time saving assuming you don't care about anything else you gain if got the X90D over the X75D.

 

[Rockster]

Depends on how much you value time for those once a week trip.

Here is how I look at it:
High speed, weather, terrain, temperature, degradation of battery, detours etc can cut your range down to 4/5 (optimistic) of the EPA actual. So you are really only counting on 190 or so miles even at 100% charge. This means you will have to stop at a supercharging station almost every time.

There is 26 weeks in a year. Let's say you stop at supercharging stations 80% of the time. The other 20% you either got lucky and the weather is nice or whatnot or you went slower than expected and saved enough energy to make it. This means you stop at supercharging stations 21 times out of the year.

While the wait for supercharging is not long, you do have to slow down, exit, enter the station, get out, plug in, and wait for 10-15minutes to charge and then unplug and get back in and drive back on the highway. Guess how long all this takes each time. I would say at least 20 minutes each if you are super fast. So all in all, you spent 400 minutes over the course of the year just doing this.

Now let's take the alternative with the X90D. You might occasionally stop at supercharging stations on those wicked days, so lets keep it simple and assume you only stop there 20% of the time vs the 80% if you got X75D. This comes out to be 5 times. So you spend 100 minutes.

So all in all, is your $10K worth the 300 minutes/year in time saving assuming you don't care about anything else you gain if got the X90D over the X75D.

In addition to this thinking, I also ask myself what the bigger battery will mean in peace of mind. Will I grow to be annoyed at these more frequent stops, beyond the objective time spent? Also, will having a bigger battery that is more resistant to degradation permit me to keep the car longer, thus amortizing my cost over a greater period? I tend to keep cars for quite a while, long after they're paid off. Spending an extra $10,000 now to delay a replacement vehicle by a few years might be compelling.

 

[Milin1609]

Depends on how much you value time for those once a week trip.

Here is how I look at it:
High speed, weather, terrain, temperature, degradation of battery, detours etc can cut your range down to 4/5 (optimistic) of the EPA actual. So you are really only counting on 190 or so miles even at 100% charge. This means you will have to stop at a supercharging station almost every time.

There is 26 weeks in a year. Let's say you stop at supercharging stations 80% of the time. The other 20% you either got lucky and the weather is nice or whatnot or you went slower than expected and saved enough energy to make it. This means you stop at supercharging stations 21 times out of the year.

While the wait for supercharging is not long, you do have to slow down, exit, enter the station, get out, plug in, and wait for 10-15minutes to charge and then unplug and get back in and drive back on the highway. Guess how long all this takes each time. I would say at least 20 minutes each if you are super fast. So all in all, you spent 400 minutes over the course of the year just doing this.

Now let's take the alternative with the X90D. You might occasionally stop at supercharging stations on those wicked days, so lets keep it simple and assume you only stop there 20% of the time vs the 80% if you got X75D. This comes out to be 5 times. So you spend 100 minutes.

So all in all, is your $10K worth the 300 minutes/year in time saving assuming you don't care about anything else you gain if got the X90D over the X75D.

Make sense.. Thanks a lot!!

 

[Milin1609]

In addition to this thinking, I also ask myself what the bigger battery will mean in peace of mind. Will I grow to be annoyed at these more frequent stops, beyond the objective time spent? Also, will having a bigger battery that is more resistant to degradation permit me to keep the car longer, thus amortizing my cost over a greater period? I tend to keep cars for quite a while, long after they're paid off. Spending an extra $10,000 now to delay a replacement vehicle by a few years might be compelling.

Thanks Rockster.
Now, I am leaning towards a bigger battery after reading these valuable inputs. Appreciate everyone who involve in this discussion.

 

[gfb107]

How long do you stay when you make this roundtrip, and is there any possibility for charging while you are there? I would think a few hours in order to justify the 3+ hours of driving. You wouldn't need to add a lot of charge while there to make the return trip comfortable. Plugging into a NEMA 14-50 while you are working/meeting/visiting would add more than 25 miles of range each hour, so even plugging in for 1 hour might be enough to make the return trip comfortable, without having to drive out of your way to the SuperCharger. Several hours plugged into a NEMA 5-20 might do the same, although when conditions are really unfavorable you might still have to go out of your way to the SuperCharger and charge for 20-30 minutes.

 

[Milin1609]

How long do you stay when you make this roundtrip, and is there any possibility for charging while you are there? I would think a few hours in order to justify the 3+ hours of driving. You wouldn't need to add a lot of charge while there to make the return trip comfortable. Plugging into a NEMA 14-50 while you are working/meeting/visiting would add more than 25 miles of range each hour, so even plugging in for 1 hour might be enough to make the return trip comfortable, without having to drive out of your way to the SuperCharger. Several hours plugged into a NEMA 5-20 might do the same, although when conditions are really unfavorable you might still have to go out of your way to the SuperCharger and charge for 20-30 minutes.

Good thought.. Since it is a place where outside plug may not be available, I would not consider that option. But when these kind of charging become widely available, this is very well possible. May be by then, there may be a supercharge available half way my trip.. Will make the trip super easy,,,Thanks for the input..

 

[Camera-Cruiser]

Get the bigger battery. Just the savings in time getting on and off the freeway is worth it. Of the very few times I tried a Supercharger (to see what it was all about), it took me 17 minutes from freeway to Charger, 30-35 minutes at charger and another 12 to 15 minutes to get back on the freeway. So as much time getting to and from charger as charging.

Now I did not need the charge, so I could have done a 10 minute bump and been on my way, but that still means I would have expended 40 minutes total for the small benefit. 40 minutes in Los Angeles is either going forward 40 miles (rarely), or more likely 8 to 10. Either way, the bigger battery really helps get to and from your destination without this additional trouble. You've done the math, and you are right on the edge. The bigger battery will really save you a headache later.

I won't even mention that sitting on the sidelines charging up for 40 minutes in Los Angeles is the easiest way for traffic to build up early afternoons, and add another 30-60 minutes to a terrible drive.

 

[gordo]

90kwh no question based on your 200 mile weekly trip. Rated miles are not easily achieved in my experience, unless you'll always be traveling 65mph in 70 degrees with little payload, inclement weather, wind, elevation changes or need for climate control. As soon as you start checking off any of those boxes, you'll be glad you have the extra range, especially a few years from now when your battery will have degraded a few percent.

 

[jason1466]

Don't forget battery is not the only consideration to range. It seems (not sure if it has been proven) that the bigger wheels option will take away more miles than a 90 to 75 battery choice. Also, the bigger motor plays a part to reduce the otherwise simple battery math. For what it's worth, I look at it as "It's 20 miles difference for 10K." When it was 37 miles difference for 70 to 90, I was going to choose the 90, but now choosing 75 with a smaller motor, 0-60 1.2 seconds slower of course. I know I will pay a 20 mile price on my annual long distance vacations, but otherwise nightly charging will do nicely for all my DC Metro driving. Maybe we can upgrade to a 150 battery and 400+ mile range in 10 years . For the OP, if I had a 200 mile trip to do every week, then I would probably go for the 90 as others have said.

 

[Milin1609]

Thank you all.
I finally decided and ordered 90D Midnight Black metallic color. Now, it's waiting time!!!!

 

[systemcrashed]

Thank you all.
I finally decided and ordered 90D Midnight Black metallic color. Now, it's waiting time!!!!

I think that was the right choice.

 

[loganintx]

Thank you all.
I finally decided and ordered 90D Midnight Black metallic color. Now, it's waiting time!!!!

My color as well. I really like the way it looks in the pics I've seen so far. Have yet to see one this color in person though.

 

[timf]

Thank you all.
I finally decided and ordered 90D Midnight Black metallic color. Now, it's waiting time!!!!

I assume you mean Midnight Silver from your profile picture? There's that which is more of a grey and Obsidian Black which is truly black.

 

[Camera-Cruiser]

Thank you all.
I finally decided and ordered 90D Midnight Black metallic color. Now, it's waiting time!!!!

Fantastic! You will never question battery size again until Tesla announces the 100, a week before your delivery date!

Seriously, though. Enjoy it!

 

[Milin1609]

I assume you mean Midnight Silver from your profile picture? There's that which is more of a grey and Obsidian Black which is truly black.

Yup!! that's true. It is Midnight Silver....

 

[Eresan]

I final config day was the same day tesla announced the 75d. I originally selected 90d during that finalizing week, saw the 75d came out with the same price as 70d in my config page which was 80k instead of 83k. That's $13k price difference with only 20 miles range difference. I then chose 75d on the last minutes.

I thought I got a deal saved 3k, but every day after that I am thinking about that extra 20 miles in all kinds of situation. I feel so bad, I couldn't take it no more. I called tesla, they waved $500 change fee upgraded to 90d, now I am happy and able to get it earlier.

 

[shelbri]

One thing I didn't see mentioned is resale. I believe the larger battery will command a higher resale and will also have more people interested since range anxiety is common for first time buyers. So don't think of it as costing $10k more because it will likely only cost 1/2 that in the end.

Good luck with the purchase. I have 48k miles in 1.5 years and will not go back to gas.

 

[Milin1609]

Great advise my Tesla friends.
I am glad, I did order the 90D after listening you guys. Without this forum, I would have gone with smaller battery pack. Could have been a wrong decision. Thanks again. Now that, l o n g wait time!!!!

 

[Blue Millenium]

Wow!! What a place to be to get an advise about Tesla?
Thank you so much friends. Yes, there is a supercharger, only 2 miles from my home and one in Savannah. but the Savannah one, is about 20 miles far from where I generally go. So, if I don't go there, in reality, it will be a 200 miles round trip. This is where it becomes tricky. I would love to have bigger battery, but $10000 seems a stretch. I still have today to decide. so, today will be the day for me to think about TESLA, nothing else.. LOL!! Thanks you so much all of you for your kind advises.

What did you end up doing?

 

[goneskiian]

What did you end up doing?

Did you read the thread? They already answered that question.