Best speed for road trips?

[Zcd1]

Did a 400-mile each way road trip the other day with my daughter. I’ve done the trip many times previously but it was her first Tesla road trip.

The car suggests that the trip can be made with a single LONG charging session around mid-way, but experience has shown me that 2 shorter sessions takes slightly less time overall and is also kinder to my body (and bladder). Cruising speeds are mid 70s and higher, so the car’s range is ~230-240 miles. On the return trip I asked my daughter whether she wanted to stop once or twice and she said breaking the trip up into 3 sections was “nicer”. I agree.

She also got a kick out of being able to watch funny cat videos on YouTube while Supercharging, as well as “Dog Mode”, which kept our cats comfortable in their carrier in the back seat while we used the facilities and grabbed a snack.

And she REALLY liked TACC and how easy it is to use.

 

[XLR82XS]

Those cat YouTube videos are hilarious!

 

[Barzin A]

There was a lot of analysis done in the early days of supercharging - basically, as long as you can reach the next supercharger, you should drive as fast as you dare. It gets you to the supercharger quicker and with a lower battery %. The supercharger adds range faster than you use it/lose it through driving which more than offsets arriving with a higher SOC.

There were some fairly complex mathematical analysis-es done, but 'faster the better' always was the underlying message

this probably is the case in California or less harsh weather states. I live in BC Canada and if I do that I will end up calling a tow truck due to the effect of climate. on top of the speed, I'm driving, outside temperature, wind speed, drag alteration ( adding ski rack or even worse bike rack on the roof) changes the ranged
I am still collecting data on my model 3 and experimenting until I can come up with an accurate pattern however here is what I got so far if you are looking for a little more accuracy:

0- usually check the wind speed and direction using Windy (or any other apps) on my route,

--> if it is a 25 Km/h headwind or less :
1-set my next SC in a way I get there with 10% to 15% SOC. ( for temperatures below 0 deg celsius I add 8% to my arrival SOC)
2-drive the speed limit
3-once I'm at the 2/3 mark to reach SC ( 1/3 distance to get there) if the estimated arrival SOC is less than 15%, I slow down, if more speed up. I usually do that proportionally, ex: if it is 8% at 2/3 mak to get to SC, I slow it to 75 Km/h but if it's 13%, I slow it to 85 ish Km/h.
4-at SC I charge 40% to 65% ( depends on the SC layout on your route, sometimes I'm too close to the next SC and quite far from the next one so you have to adjust for that)

--> if it is a 25 Km/h headwind or more
1-set my next SC in a way I get there with 20% to 25% SOC. ( for temperatures below 0 deg celsius I add 8% to my arrival SOC)
2, 3, and 4 same as above.

note the direction of the wind really matters a lot. only consider the headwind ( and not the tail wind). Ex: if you are driving from St. Louis to Cincinnati your overall path is east, and right now I get east blowing wind for 30 Km/hr, which is a tailwind which is sweet as I don't have a headwind.

 

[oreobbq]

this probably is the case in California or less harsh weather states. I live in BC Canada and if I do that I will end up calling a tow truck due to the effect of climate. on top of the speed, I'm driving, outside temperature, wind speed, drag alteration ( adding ski rack or even worse bike rack on the roof) changes the ranged
I am still collecting data on my model 3 and experimenting until I can come up with an accurate pattern however here is what I got so far if you are looking for a little more accuracy:

0- usually check the wind speed and direction using Windy (or any other apps) on my route,

--> if it is a 25 Km/h headwind or less :
1-set my next SC in a way I get there with 10% to 15% SOC. ( for temperatures below 0 deg celsius I add 8% to my arrival SOC)
2-drive the speed limit
3-once I'm at the 2/3 mark to reach SC ( 1/3 distance to get there) if the estimated arrival SOC is less than 15%, I slow down, if more speed up. I usually do that proportionally, ex: if it is 8% at 2/3 mak to get to SC, I slow it to 75 Km/h but if it's 13%, I slow it to 85 ish Km/h.
4-at SC I charge 40% to 65% ( depends on the SC layout on your route, sometimes I'm too close to the next SC and quite far from the next one so you have to adjust for that)

--> if it is a 25 Km/h headwind or more
1-set my next SC in a way I get there with 20% to 25% SOC. ( for temperatures below 0 deg celsius I add 8% to my arrival SOC)
2, 3, and 4 same as above.

note the direction of the wind really matters a lot. only consider the headwind ( and not the tail wind). Ex: if you are driving from St. Louis to Cincinnati your overall path is east, and right now I get east blowing wind for 30 Km/hr, which is a tailwind which is sweet as I don't have a headwind.

You forgot to add checking the humidity and also sand down the tires for better rolling resistance. If I had to do all that, it'd be back to an ICE for sure.

 

[Sukhshanti]

Based on Bjorn's video it is 118mph, I would advise you to buy a radar detector if you plan to do this

 

[threeputts]

The answer is on the website:

 

[Gulfcoaster]

when in doubt, flat out

LOL

 

[Big Earl]

Just keep in mind that unless you have free supercharging, driving faster gets more exponentially more expensive. It seems obvious, but it's still worth mentioning for those who decide to drive 80 - 90 MPH to save time on a trip, then get surprised with a bigger than expected charging bill.

 

[mrfiat74]

I had an issue last year going from Flagstaff to Gallup. I was driving at 79 mph. The car said I would make it to Gallup, but started telling me to slow down to 70 mph, then 65, then 55... Needless to say I was a bit stressed out. I had a 50 amp RV adapter in the car and was thinking about having to use that, but then I looked on the Tesla app and it said there was a Supercharger in Holbrook. That saved my butt.

It was super annoying that the car didn't tell me to stop in Holbrook. There was about a 40 mph head wind. Makes me leary of going long distances in the M3P. I use my 2003 Jetta TDI with its 725 mile range for highway trips instead.

 

[smatthew]

I had an issue last year going from Flagstaff to Gallup. I was driving at 79 mph. The car said I would make it to Gallup, but started telling me to slow down to 70 mph, then 65, then 55... Needless to say I was a bit stressed out. I had a 50 amp RV adapter in the car and was thinking about having to use that, but then I looked on the Tesla app and it said there was a Supercharger in Holbrook. That saved my butt.

It was super annoying that the car didn't tell me to stop in Holbrook. There was about a 40 mph head wind. Makes me leary of going long distances in the M3P. I use my 2003 Jetta TDI with its 725 mile range for highway trips instead.

The car get better at estimating electricity usage every so often. There have definitely been improvements since last year.

 

[mrfiat74]

It would be nice if it took the wind into account.

 

[Zcd1]

It would be nice if it took the wind into account.

It would, but it doesn’t for now.

ABRP includes that feature though…

 

[mswlogo]

The answer is on the website:

View attachment 791073

That -100 mph should get you the most economic speed.

 

[KenC]

this probably is the case in California or less harsh weather states. I live in BC Canada and if I do that I will end up calling a tow truck due to the effect of climate. on top of the speed, I'm driving, outside temperature, wind speed, drag alteration ( adding ski rack or even worse bike rack on the roof) changes the ranged
I am still collecting data on my model 3 and experimenting until I can come up with an accurate pattern however here is what I got so far if you are looking for a little more accuracy:

0- usually check the wind speed and direction using Windy (or any other apps) on my route,

--> if it is a 25 Km/h headwind or less :
1-set my next SC in a way I get there with 10% to 15% SOC. ( for temperatures below 0 deg celsius I add 8% to my arrival SOC)
2-drive the speed limit
3-once I'm at the 2/3 mark to reach SC ( 1/3 distance to get there) if the estimated arrival SOC is less than 15%, I slow down, if more speed up. I usually do that proportionally, ex: if it is 8% at 2/3 mak to get to SC, I slow it to 75 Km/h but if it's 13%, I slow it to 85 ish Km/h.
4-at SC I charge 40% to 65% ( depends on the SC layout on your route, sometimes I'm too close to the next SC and quite far from the next one so you have to adjust for that)

--> if it is a 25 Km/h headwind or more
1-set my next SC in a way I get there with 20% to 25% SOC. ( for temperatures below 0 deg celsius I add 8% to my arrival SOC)
2, 3, and 4 same as above.

note the direction of the wind really matters a lot. only consider the headwind ( and not the tail wind). Ex: if you are driving from St. Louis to Cincinnati your overall path is east, and right now I get east blowing wind for 30 Km/hr, which is a tailwind which is sweet as I don't have a headwind.

You've done a lot of data collecting, but ABRP, abetterrouteplanner.com, will factor all of those things into its model, which uses real-world data. Yes, temp from your car, speed from your car, inside temp/outside temp, wind speed and direction, and yes, you can tell it if you've put on a rack, etc. The free version doesn't factor in wind, but the $5/month does. I took a 4400 mile trip this past year, and it was spot-on accurate, thanks to the wind data.

 

[Redbrick]

What is the most optimal speed for a Model 3 on a road trip?

I have been trying to figure out the answer before a cross country road trip and it is not a simple question. Traditionally, with an ICE car the faster the better because they can refuel at +6,000 miles of range per hour. But speeding in an electric is somewhat counterproductive, you use up your range faster than you can make up for it with more frequent charging. So... what is the ideal speed to travel the most distance in the least amount of time on a trip requiring many charging stops?

In my brief research using abetterroutplanner.com it seems that 74 mph is the ideal speed but I am curious if anyone has some more concrete data to support this.

I drive 65mph on highways....I wind up being the fastest on the slow lane.... With aero caps on....I'm good.

 

[pl8dlikafiddle]

If you want to save a few bucks and shoot for efficiency, drive 65mph.

Fastest from start to finish will always be driving the fastest you can stand/willing to risk, arriving between 5-15% state of charge, and leaving with no more than 65% unless needed for a longer supercharger hop.

One couple with a similar car eventually asked me how I was slowly pulling away from them during a road trip (arriving at SC earlier and leaving earlier little by little each session). They claimed they were road tripping in the 30-80% state of charge range going 70-75mph, while I was operating in the 10-60% state of charge range…and driving 75-80mph. By the fourth SC stop, I was pulling out by the time they were pulling in.

Warning - when traveling sustained 75+mph, charge 10-15% above what your car is projecting your arrival SoC is to avoid being forced to slow down.

 

[jwharnish]

Agreed, fastest travel speed will save the most time. If you are trying to minimize overall travel time.

Based on your Avatar, I would have guess your answer would have been 88mph!

 

[one2many]

In a country without speed limits on some roads,
I do not see much difference between 81 and 100mph.
So the easy answer is 100mph. Over 100 the car starts to
lift a bit, not bad but. It does work well for passing slow pokes.

 

[SageBrush]

It would be nice if it took the wind into account.

Wind *is* taken into account, but not when the car is stationary.

Think about it this way:
At the Supercharger, a new destination will figure you are driving the speed limit, there is no wind, water, snow or mud, and you are not using AC.
After you are driving for a few minutes at speed, your actual driving speed and road/weather conditions will cause arrival SoC changes.

Your mistake is ignoring the dropping arrival SoC until the car tells you to slow down. The much better way for stress free driving is to incrementally slow down until the arrival SoC stabilizes.

 

[one2many]

Well I love how these posts end up in the
"cannonball run". The bandit will be driving a S plaid and
we will never catch up, and will have the hot partner.
Drive at a speed you like and consider temp, weather an so on.
No need to kill yourself and the others with you for an on the rails
experience. Stop and enjoy the outdoors. For me I like a terror ride,
funny no one like to go with me. Well its beer time so never mind.

Im going off the rails on a crazy train.