CA South Bay Area to Kirkwood ski resort in one shot with Model 3 AWD LR

[marcmerlin]

Some of you may remember that I tried this in my model S 90D some years back, and it wasn't possible without a supercharger stop in Manteca.
Marc's Blog: cars - Driving from the South Bay Area to Kirkwood in a Tesla Model S 90D

With the model 3 AWD LR (and obviously the RWD even more as long as you don't hit snow, because chains must kill the 20 mile range advantage that car has), it is possible to make it to kirkwood in one shot (leaving from south bay, 85/280 10mn from mtv campus).
3 years after my first attempt in the model S, my first successful non stop drive, which included a snow storm (which in itself does kill range, it likely made me lose 6 or 7% and I arrived with only 9%):
Marc's Blog: cars - First Non Stop Tesla Drive to Kirkwood

- The 91% straight shot drive also allowed me to compute that my usable battery capacity is 72KWh, making a full battery 75Kwh if you add a 3Kwh buffer.
- Return drive would be a mere 35% of the battery thanks to the downhill.
- Obviously, do not leave your car overnight in the snow without it being plugged in, your battery will discharge a lot trying to keep itself warm

Marc

 

[Kermit]

It depends greatly on the road conditions. A lot of snow on pavement = lots of rolling friction. Stop and go (e.g. waiting for avalanche clearance or chain control inspection) eats range, as does defrosting/defogging the windows. I think Mtn View to South Lake Tahoe is doable in clear traffic and dry roads, but this winter has been anything but clear and dry.

 

[marcmerlin]

Yes, there is no question that this will not work every day in every condition. I make this very clear in my post.
I did show how snow and cold affected my expected range quite a bit. I arrived with 9% instead of a computed 20% when I left
I also talk about defrosting, so I think you may not have read my page before you replied

 

[Reid]

Thanks Marc! We chatted on a friend's FB feed a few weeks back. Just took our RWD LR 3 up to Kirkwood from Redwood City, leaving with 315mi range (~100% though it hadn't quite stopped charging, might have been able to get 1mi more out of it). This was over Easter weekend.

Arrived with 70mi range left. Drove more gently than usual, but (for me) that still means doing 60 most of the way up 88. Temps were probably 40-60 range the whole way.

Charged to 90% and left sunday evening with 285mi left. Kept sitting on the regen limit around 265mi range. Not sure why it didn't regen all the way back to 90% (285ish).. possibly ambient temps in the low 40s, possibly planned downhill drive, possibly been putting too much energy into the system. But if we hit a slight uphill and drained it to, say, 262mi, it would faithfully regen back to 265 then sit there.

Got home with 140ish left.

I'd be nervous about doing it in one shot in the winter. If you got turned around at the Spur, it's 109mi down 88, up 49, over 50, to the Hard Rock Supercharger in South Lake. Would probably have to stop for some Chargepoint somewhere along the way.. for 60-90mins. Otherwise you'd have to go ALL the way down 88 and into Manteca. Neither option is great. So, I guess, if you have a single worry about the Spur being closed, stop in Manteca on the way up. If you get hit by a surprise closure, in an emergency, it's probably better to stop at the RV park or another Chargepoint type place on 49/50... versus having to backtrack way to Manteca. Or just grab a room at the casino in Jackson, throw it on the charger, and try again in the AM.

Ive never had a surprise spur closure but I did have to turn up 49 on the way up once in a blizzard, made it over 50 and Luthur Pass to Kirkwood, but it was a 5.5h trip vs the normal 3.25h.

 

[marcmerlin]

Thanks Marc! We chatted on a friend's FB feed a few weeks back. Just took our RWD LR 3 up to Kirkwood from Redwood City, leaving with 315mi range (~100% though it hadn't quite stopped charging, might have been able to get 1mi more out of it). This was over Easter weekend.

I think you arrived with just over 20% left? That sounds about right given the warmer weather and that you drove more slowly than me (and didn't hit snow)

Charged to 90% and left sunday evening with 285mi left. Kept sitting on the regen limit around 265mi range. Not sure why it didn't regen all the way back to 90% (285ish).. possibly ambient temps in the low 40s, possibly planned downhill drive, possibly been putting too much energy into the system. But if we hit a slight uphill and drained it to, say, 262mi, it would faithfully regen back to 265 then sit there.
Got home with 140ish left.

I've left KW with 60% and still made it. The drive home is pretty easy with all the regen. As you said, if you charge too much, you actually miss some of that regen.

I'd be nervous about doing it in one shot in the winter. If you got turned around at the Spur, it's 109mi down 88, up 49, over 50, to the Hard Rock Supercharger in South Lake. Would probably have to stop for some Chargepoint somewhere along the way.. for 60-90mins. Otherwise you'd have to go ALL the way down 88 and into Manteca. Neither option is great. So, I guess, if you have a single worry about the Spur being closed, stop in Manteca on the way up. If you get hit by a surprise closure, in an emergency, it's probably better to stop at the RV park or another Chargepoint type place on 49/50... versus having to backtrack way to Manteca. Or just grab a room at the casino in Jackson, throw it on the charger, and try again in the AM.

Yes, the Spur is tricky that way. There is a chargepoint at the bus station in jackson which is not too hard to hit when going downhill. You then get enough to make it to 50, but it would still suck. I hope I never have to do this

Cheers