Commuting in a Model 3 SR+

[kelvin 660]

To maximize the battery/motor warranty you should drive less than 100,000 in 8 years or 12.500 miles a year (35 miles a day). Therefore, ideally your commute should be less than 18 miles, each way.

But what would the maximum safe commute of a SR+ be, if you are only charging overnight?

Given that the battery capacity of a SR+ is 47.5 kW/h (usable) and only using from 90% to 10%, in winter with a battery that has degraded by 30%, the maximum available battery will be;

47.5 x 70% x (90% - 10%) = 26.6 kW/h

In the winter, with temperatures around zero C, I am getting around 360 W/m (mixed motorway and town driving), so that would give me a range of 26.6 kW/h / 0.36 kW/m = 74 miles (or 37 miles each way). Of course, in the summer you will have a much greater range…

What happens if the motorway is blocked for 1 hour and you must sit in the car?

Well, I warmed up my car by driving it 60 minutes and then left it sat on the drive with the heater set to 20 C. The outside temperature was 0 C and the car consumed 10% of the battery in 1 hour.

This is equivalent to 47.5 x 10% = 4.75 kW/h @ 360 W/m = 13.2 miles range lost!

Taking everything into consideration, and with a good safety factor, I would be happy using a SR+ to make a maximum daily commute of 60 miles. I guess a 90 mile commute would be fine in a Long Range M3…

What commute (daily mileage) do most people do in their M3 (when not in lockdown)?

 

[davidmc]

To maximize the battery/motor warranty you should drive less than 100,000 in 8 years or 12.500 miles a year (35 miles a day). Therefore, ideally your commute should be less than 18 miles, each way.

But what would the maximum safe commute of a SR+ be, if you are only charging overnight?

Given that the battery capacity of a SR+ is 47.5 kW/h (usable) and only using from 90% to 10%, in winter with a battery that has degraded by 30%, the maximum available battery will be;

47.5 x 70% x (90% - 10%) = 26.6 kW/h

In the winter, with temperatures around zero C, I am getting around 360 W/m (mixed motorway and town driving), so that would give me a range of 26.6 kW/h / 0.36 kW/m = 74 miles (or 37 miles each way). Of course, in the summer you will have a much greater range…

What happens if the motorway is blocked for 1 hour and you must sit in the car?

Well, I warmed up my car by driving it 60 minutes and then left it sat on the drive with the heater set to 20 C. The outside temperature was 0 C and the car consumed 10% of the battery in 1 hour.

This is equivalent to 47.5 x 10% = 4.75 kW/h @ 360 W/m = 13.2 miles range lost!

Taking everything into consideration, and with a good safety factor, I would be happy using a SR+ to make a maximum daily commute of 60 miles. I guess a 90 mile commute would be fine in a Long Range M3…

What commute (daily mileage) do most people do in their M3 (when not in lockdown)?

I do 40miles each way a day, 80miles in total (Leicester to Derby) and have a SR+

Over 25k miles so far and has not been a problem (thats inc 2 winters now)

I charge at work and not at home (I have on street parking)

I once hit a huge accident on the M1 going home and was sat in traffic for 3hrs and still no problem

 

[SR-Plus]

I thought the SR+ had a battery of circa 55kwh with a useable amount of 50kwh?

Anyway I thought I’d be commuting 15k pa but lockdown has really reduced my mileage since March 2020 so this is working in my favour with 100k warranty. And then after lockdown, maybe more opportunities to work from home so maybe going forwards I can budget for 10k pa. and then I won’t stick to the same job for the next 9 years so I guess anything can happen. It’s too long to think about. Maybe I might change the car within that time.
Also battery degradation charts for Tesla’s aren’t showing 70% retained even after 100k miles.

 

[Jason71]

Sounds a little pessimistic.
if you hit 30% degradation in less than 8 years they will have to give you a new battery. and if you are really basing it on that you have to assume also that there will be a lot more chargers around in 8 years in case of emergency.
360wh/mile seems excessive especially on an SR+. last winter I was at 300 in an. This winter I am over 360 but only because my average journey is about 4 miles right now. how fast are you going on the motorway?
Are you running the heater on auto? It is a bit of a battery hog if its a 2020 model but that's fine if you have plenty of range but if it becomes an issue then I would suggest. Preheat well Using shore power. Then when you set off , if its just you turn the passenger temp down. the rear blowers off the fan to 1-2 and the heated seats up to 2-3. I don t find that uncomfortable at all when travelling long distances alone and its much more efficient.

 

[Mr H]

My commute is 8 miles, i have the heating on full along with the heated seat

 

[mrobins64495]

I do 140 miles commute a day in my LR and drop around 40%. I’d of thought the standard should be fine for a 90 Mile

 

[M3noob]

To maximize the battery/motor warranty you should drive less than 100,000 in 8 years or 12.500 miles a year (35 miles a day). Therefore, ideally your commute should be less than 18 miles, each way.

But what would the maximum safe commute of a SR+ be, if you are only charging overnight?

Given that the battery capacity of a SR+ is 47.5 kW/h (usable) and only using from 90% to 10%, in winter with a battery that has degraded by 30%, the maximum available battery will be;

47.5 x 70% x (90% - 10%) = 26.6 kW/h

In the winter, with temperatures around zero C, I am getting around 360 W/m (mixed motorway and town driving), so that would give me a range of 26.6 kW/h / 0.36 kW/m = 74 miles (or 37 miles each way). Of course, in the summer you will have a much greater range…

What happens if the motorway is blocked for 1 hour and you must sit in the car?

Well, I warmed up my car by driving it 60 minutes and then left it sat on the drive with the heater set to 20 C. The outside temperature was 0 C and the car consumed 10% of the battery in 1 hour.

This is equivalent to 47.5 x 10% = 4.75 kW/h @ 360 W/m = 13.2 miles range lost!

Taking everything into consideration, and with a good safety factor, I would be happy using a SR+ to make a maximum daily commute of 60 miles. I guess a 90 mile commute would be fine in a Long Range M3…

What commute (daily mileage) do most people do in their M3 (when not in lockdown)?

You're over thinking it

 

[Dilly]

My retired commute is so long that I use more battery checking for updates

 

[GRiLLA]

You've combined worst possible cases, maximum battery degradation, lowest Wh/mile, being stuck in traffic for an hour, commute 7 days a week and enjoy a balmy 20 degree heated car and even in an exceptional situation you want to arrive home with 10%.

 

[Alan J]

To maximize the battery/motor warranty you should drive less than 100,000 in 8 years or 12.500 miles a year (35 miles a day). Therefore, ideally your commute should be less than 18 miles, each way.

But what would the maximum safe commute of a SR+ be, if you are only charging overnight?

Given that the battery capacity of a SR+ is 47.5 kW/h (usable) and only using from 90% to 10%, in winter with a battery that has degraded by 30%, the maximum available battery will be;

47.5 x 70% x (90% - 10%) = 26.6 kW/h

In the winter, with temperatures around zero C, I am getting around 360 W/m (mixed motorway and town driving), so that would give me a range of 26.6 kW/h / 0.36 kW/m = 74 miles (or 37 miles each way). Of course, in the summer you will have a much greater range…

What happens if the motorway is blocked for 1 hour and you must sit in the car?

Well, I warmed up my car by driving it 60 minutes and then left it sat on the drive with the heater set to 20 C. The outside temperature was 0 C and the car consumed 10% of the battery in 1 hour.

This is equivalent to 47.5 x 10% = 4.75 kW/h @ 360 W/m = 13.2 miles range lost!

Taking everything into consideration, and with a good safety factor, I would be happy using a SR+ to make a maximum daily commute of 60 miles. I guess a 90 mile commute would be fine in a Long Range M3…

What commute (daily mileage) do most people do in their M3 (when not in lockdown)?

Before Lockdown I commuted a Total of 30 Miles a Day including last Winter and with no Home Charging I just charged at Public Chargers a couple of times a week with no issues. Like others I do think you've combined several worst case scenarios and it will be easier than you imagine.

 

[Rustybkts]

Just drive it as often as possible!

 

[Rooster6655]

In the winter, with temperatures around zero C, I am getting around 360 W/m (mixed motorway and town driving), so that would give me a range of 26.6 kW/h / 0.36 kW/m = 74 miles (or 37 miles each way). Of course, in the summer you will have a much greater range…

A recent journey at around 5 degrees in a LR I managed to get 180 miles driving non motorway miles, if I was careful and drove slower I would expect more like 210-220 miles but the only reason to do that would be if range was a real issue on that journey.

 

[Limey]

Had mine since 2019 - I'd trust 150 miles in winter - 200 summer.

 

[mrobins64495]

A recent journey at around 5 degrees in a LR I managed to get 180 miles driving non motorway miles, if I was careful and drove slower I would expect more like 210-220 miles but the only reason to do that would be if range was a real issue on that journey.

Those are some pretty low numbers? You must of been doing a consistent 80-90mph?

 

[dakaix]

Well, I warmed up my car by driving it 60 minutes and then left it sat on the drive with the heater set to 20 C. The outside temperature was 0 C and the car consumed 10% of the battery in 1 hour.

This is equivalent to 47.5 x 10% = 4.75 kW/h @ 360 W/m = 13.2 miles range lost!

This calculation is fundamentally flawed, and doesn't answer the question of consumption while in traffic.

By leaving the vehicle parked with "keep climate on" what you were actually doing was heating the battery and running the cabin heater. It is unlikely that you achieved a high enough temperature in 60 minutes of normal driving for the pack to have reached it's preheated temperature (~25C) if the car started at an ambient of 0C. Remember, only "Camp mode" runs the heater without keeping the battery at temperature. Otherwise if HVAC is on and the car is locked it'll be heating the battery.

Last January Bjorn Nyland was caught in a snow storm in his 2019 Model 3, and camped for several hours at 0C. Using the CAN bus data he recorded average battery consumption of ~2kWh. Not the 4.75kWh you're claiming.

In fact if you have a recent MY2021 Model 3, fitted with the Octovalve and heat pump, the car now uses heat scavenging to extract heat from the battery and use it to maintain cabin air temperature - avoiding having to run the heat pump. Even if you'd needed to run that the consumption is still 30-50% less than the older Model 3s.

 

[ACarneiro]

My commute is 50 miles each way. That uses about 40% battery in the summer and 50% battery in the winter. I am not a slow driver.
Range anxiety? What's that?

 

[tsh2]

The most important factor is where is your 'near to home' supercharger? I have one 7% charge from home on my typical long round-trip route, so when I'm aiming for 10% back home, I have 17% margin to make it to this charger - and I'll think about stopping if I have under 20% when I get there just to build in a bit of margin for the final leg.

A round trip of 80 miles is comfortable enough that I don't need to start with over 80% charge in an SR+

 

[Rooster6655]

Those are some pretty low numbers? You must of been doing a consistent 80-90mph?

No i said non motorway miles so max 60mph, this is realistic in the cold weather for non motorway, the car is performance

 

[mrobins64495]

No i said non motorway miles so max 60mph, this is realistic in the cold weather for non motorway, the car is performance

No i said non motorway miles so max 60mph, this is realistic in the cold weather for non motorway, the car is performance

Interesting. I thought it was generally more efficient around town than over the motorway A roads etc.

I struggle to get less than 200 from my LR at when above 60 and at 65ish it pushes 300-320 miles.... I’m slightly surprised there is such a divergence between the two models. Who knew

 

[Rooster6655]

Interesting. I thought it was generally more efficient around town than over the motorway A roads etc.

I struggle to get less than 200 from my LR at when above 60 and at 65ish it pushes 300-320 miles.... I’m slightly surprised there is such a divergence between the two models. Who knew

On B roads for a long journey upto 60mph, if it was on the motorway at 65 then yes 300 miles could probably be achieved, but on B roads there can be a lot of accelerating and decelerating.