Can't I charge the 60D to 100%

[energy7]

I was thinking: From my understanding, it's best to charge your Tesla to 90% battery capacity in order for it to last longer. Since the 60D has the battery large enough for the 75 onboard, why would you need to charge the 60 to only 90%? Since I'm only able to use 85% of the onboard battery as it is, would it really make a difference on battery life if I charged my 60 to 100%?

Also, I finally took the car for a long drive yesterday, going from San Jose to Walnut Creek. I left the house with 191 mile capacity, made a stop for coffee and then straight back and forth. Round trip is roughly 120 miles but when I returned home, I had roughly 20 miles left (not very impressive). It was a very cold day, weather was in the low 40's, heater was on as were seat warmers but I'm still surprised that in reality I had about 150 miles of charge our of the 191 I left with.

 

[nagypite]

Charge it to 100% for a long drive

1 - you need the max range
2 - you won't damage the battery because your 100% is only 86%

 

[Naonak]

Yes, charge your 60D to 100% if you want - it will still be something like 86% of its actual capacity, so there will be no degradation due to 100% charge on a 60D, as opposed to other models that would have that degradation.

 

[mblakele]

What kind of Wh/mi did you get for that 120 mile drive? That should help explain why you projected 140 miles instead of the 190 EPA rated range miles.

Temperature could be part of it, but in my experience it's minor unless you're in the snow. On my commute I'm only using about 2% more capacity now than I was in summer. Speed is much more important:

Wind can also be very important, because a headwind will effectively add to your ground speed. So driving 65 mph with a 10 mph headwind is like driving 75 mph with no wind. As you can see from the chart, that makes a difference.

My own solution to this is to change the readout from range miles (RM) to percentage. Watching my RM count down as I drive only contributes to range anxiety, plus a constant need to remind myself that RM are not the same as road miles. Percentage is something I'm used to from other devices, and doesn't seem to worry me the same way.

On a daily basis all I need to know is that I'll use about 30% for my commute, round trip. Shorter trips around town are less efficient, but it doesn't really matter. For longer road trips I'll set the destination in the car's navigation and use its estimates to decide when and where to charge. And sometimes I'll plan it out in EV Trip Planner too.

 

[energy7]

What kind of Wh/mi did you get for that 120 mile drive? That should help explain why you projected 140 miles instead of the 190 EPA rated range miles.

Temperature could be part of it, but in my experience it's minor unless you're in the snow. On my commute I'm only using about 2% more capacity now than I was in summer. Speed is much more important:

Wind can also be very important, because a headwind will effectively add to your ground speed. So driving 65 mph with a 10 mph headwind is like driving 75 mph with no wind. As you can see from the chart, that makes a difference.

My own solution to this is to change the readout from range miles (RM) to percentage. Watching my RM count down as I drive only contributes to range anxiety, plus a constant need to remind myself that RM are not the same as road miles. Percentage is something I'm used to from other devices, and doesn't seem to worry me the same way.

On a daily basis all I need to know is that I'll use about 30% for my commute, round trip. Shorter trips around town are less efficient, but it doesn't really matter. For longer road trips I'll set the destination in the car's navigation and use its estimates to decide when and where to charge. And sometimes I'll plan it out in EV Trip Planner too.

There really wasn't much wind, it was just cold. I generally kept the speed on the freeway around 70 mph, avoiding sudden acceleration. I definitely got a bit of range anxiety along the way, doing my best to keep the battery maximized. I left Walnut Creek with 104 miles estimated charge and came home after a 58 mile drive with 20 miles left. Kind of disappointing as I would have expected more.

 

[ucmndd]

Charge it to 100% for a long drive

1 - you need the max range
2 - you won't damage the battery because your 100% is only 86%

I think it's important to point out that posts like this are purely speculatory and there's no hard data on this and likely won't be for some time (at least until someone is willing to pony up the $9k for an upgrade and perform it under specific conditions that would allow us to put this to rest).

For more speculation on this subject look for posts referencing the "top limited" vs. "bottom limited" debate.

Adding my own speculation to the mix, I think it's probably safe to 100% charge the 60 all the time, but if I was an engineer I'd likely choose to take that "60 kWh" of usable charge right out of the middle. Knowing what we do about lithium batteries, this seems to be the smartest choice for long term battery health. So my SWAG is that "100%" on a 60 is likely 93%ish SOC, and "0%" is likely 7%ish.

 

[Canuck]

There really wasn't much wind, it was just cold.

Colder air is denser so it takes more effort to overcome drag which consumes more energy.

 

[BBB4000]

I was thinking: From my understanding, it's best to charge your Tesla to 90% battery capacity in order for it to last longer. Since the 60D has the battery large enough for the 75 onboard, why would you need to charge the 60 to only 90%? Since I'm only able to use 85% of the onboard battery as it is, would it really make a difference on battery life if I charged my 60 to 100%?
.

Just picked up my MS60D and I am wondering the exact same thing.

 

[soccerMX]

Also, I finally took the car for a long drive yesterday, going from San Jose to Walnut Creek. I left the house with 191 mile capacity, made a stop for coffee and then straight back and forth. Round trip is roughly 120 miles but when I returned home, I had roughly 20 miles left (not very impressive). It was a very cold day, weather was in the low 40's, heater was on as were seat warmers but I'm still surprised that in reality I had about 150 miles of charge our of the 191 I left with.

you just answered your own question..."191"miles is achieved on near perfect conditions and the speed limit

 

[justg0]

The other day, I made a long trip on my new 75D. Started with 100% charge. Temperatures were around 34F. Climate control was set to 70F and heat warmers and heated steering wheel. 2 other passengers plus luggage in trunk. There was wind plus light snow along the way. I drove above 70mph most of the time, at times 80+, so I was not in anyway trying to conserve battery.

When we reached the supercharger, which was after 155 miles of driving, the battery was showing 11% left. I think I averaged about 380 wh/mi or more.

You can see the range you get is a lot lower than what is advertised, depending on the driving conditions. Other times when I average 300 wh/mi, I get the advertised range, though I don't drive like that too often

 

[fasteddie7]

There's some pretty extensive research on this at this thread:
Tesla Motors: PLEASE stop lying about specifications (60 to 75 upgrade)