Does anyone consistently get more than the rated range? After using 80% of my range and resetting trip counters a few times I'm always several miles short. That's with driving conservatively and regen at standard, connection reset to not always on to minimize vampire drain to 4 or 5 miles a day. Coming from a Chevy Volt I thought I it would be the other way around. I almost always got 40-45 miles of range out of the 35 mile estimate in the Volt easily.
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Constantly Getting More Than Rated Range
- Thread starter HustleSimmons
- Start date
It takes some experience to get better mileage than Rated. First, try not to use regen and not to use brakes at the same time. If you need to decrease speed, try to keep the power at 0kW until you get a bit closer to the car in front. Then apply regen in full. Do not use brakes until absolutely necessary.
Second, keep the car distance longer than usual. This will give you more flexibility over longer 0kW zone.
Reduce usage of battery heater. Park at warm places. Finish charging right before you leave, so the battery is warm and no need for battery heater.
Hope this helps.
Second, keep the car distance longer than usual. This will give you more flexibility over longer 0kW zone.
Reduce usage of battery heater. Park at warm places. Finish charging right before you leave, so the battery is warm and no need for battery heater.
Hope this helps.
Perhaps in the Wh/mi department, but easy to beat in the experience department. Foot-to-the-floor is a regular prescription for fun, but you won't get 248 Wh/mi average by doing that.
Thanks Hiroshiy, I'll try that breaking technique.
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Perhaps in the Wh/mi department, but easy to beat in the experience department. Foot-to-the-floor is a regular prescription for fun, but you won't get 248 Wh/mi average by doing that.
Some days I don't care about Wh/mi and open her up, others days I really would like to hit my rated range just once. Overall Jerry's average is killing mine. I'm at 315 Wh/mi lifetime.
You will not get rated range during winter time in Ohio - if you are a conservative driver think 75-80% of rated range. Better than rated can be achieved in summer only - or if you live in warmer climates. In my experience, the car optimal energy use is actually at over 70F. Cold weather reduces range substantially more than AC use.
Cottonwood
Roadster#433, Model S#S37
You can get close to rated range in winter conditions, but it takes work and care. Here is a writeup of me doing that: Realistic Range Expectations in Crummy Winter Weather - Page 2
Sparrow
S105/ Roadster 189
What is the advantage to suddenly applying full regen to stop, as Hiroshiy advises, over a more moderate use of regen over a longer period of time? Now that the toy car was added to the dash, I find that almost all of my regen braking is done without the brake lights going on until I am very close to stopped. This means that I am applying low levels of regen to get to a stop.
That's what I do too. I think it makes the numbers on the dash jump if you suddenly apply full regen so it looks better in the short run due to the way the since last charge numbers are derived. However, in the long run I don't think it helps because full regen creates more heat then slow regen so you're likely putting a bit more into the battery with less regen over a longer period of time. Rule of thumb is that the longer you take to to stop, the less energy you use.
I've been struggling with efficiency tactics. I can ace the "efficient driving" test, but so far, I'm failing the "efficient slowing down" test.
Over 8,000 miles since June, we're at 305 wh/mile in our P85, including a number of cold weather trips (and, yes, some heavy "happy foot" driving too). By driving efficiently on uphills and flats, I can usually do better than rated and get more range, but on the downhills, I can never match the energy graph. (For cold weather range preservation, the huge one is heating the car up before you unplug. On long distance trips, we see the superchargers as superheaters as well. Leave the plug with a warm, fully charged car and it will greatly help you preserve range and get you as close as possible to rated consumption.)
On the regen, here's what I've been doing (not that I'm sure this is right): My thought is that coasting (feathering the throttle so there is little to no charge or draw taking place), the car is most efficient. When regening electricity by slowing down, there are losses in that, so if you're going down a hill and heading back up it again, it seems like its better to let the car coast above the speed limit and carry through the trough with more velocity than regen down the hill at 55 mph.
I guess the real question for this is: am I losing more energy through aerodynamic losses attributed to higher downhill speed, or through system losses when regening to keep the speed lower?
Over 8,000 miles since June, we're at 305 wh/mile in our P85, including a number of cold weather trips (and, yes, some heavy "happy foot" driving too). By driving efficiently on uphills and flats, I can usually do better than rated and get more range, but on the downhills, I can never match the energy graph. (For cold weather range preservation, the huge one is heating the car up before you unplug. On long distance trips, we see the superchargers as superheaters as well. Leave the plug with a warm, fully charged car and it will greatly help you preserve range and get you as close as possible to rated consumption.)
On the regen, here's what I've been doing (not that I'm sure this is right): My thought is that coasting (feathering the throttle so there is little to no charge or draw taking place), the car is most efficient. When regening electricity by slowing down, there are losses in that, so if you're going down a hill and heading back up it again, it seems like its better to let the car coast above the speed limit and carry through the trough with more velocity than regen down the hill at 55 mph.
I guess the real question for this is: am I losing more energy through aerodynamic losses attributed to higher downhill speed, or through system losses when regening to keep the speed lower?
There will be a speed at which the aerodynamic losses equal the heat losses during regen. I don't believe anyone has calculated that number yet. My guess is that it's not all that far above 55 mph--maybe 65 or 70 tops--due to the way that aerodynamic losses increase with speed.
I know, but "driving with fleece, wool cap, and gloves on" is not part of what I consider normal driving in a 100k+ car.... You can do this if you absolutely have to. Tesla is in general wonderful, but cold-weather range limitations are real.
I've found that my body is comfortable driving with the heat lower, its my hands that get cold. I use the seat heater to keep me warm. I bought a pair of thin gloves for driving that I can also use the touch screen with, that helps a lot.
We're driving to Utah from Oregon next Tuesday. As an experiment, we bought a 3 candle camping lantern and I'm going to set it up in the center console. Should allow us to keep our hands warm when we rest our arms on the arm rests, and help keep control of window fogging. Not sure how it will go, but its worth a shot. (And yes, the heating system will be on, so fresh air will come in and CO poisoning from the candle won't be an issue.)
I've had the same thought about the whole "being cold in a $100k car" thing, but being cold and making it beats being warm until the battery runs out and then being cold while waiting for the flatbed. Teslas have limitations. Its best to understand those limitations and accept them before pushing the limits.
We're driving to Utah from Oregon next Tuesday. As an experiment, we bought a 3 candle camping lantern and I'm going to set it up in the center console. Should allow us to keep our hands warm when we rest our arms on the arm rests, and help keep control of window fogging. Not sure how it will go, but its worth a shot. (And yes, the heating system will be on, so fresh air will come in and CO poisoning from the candle won't be an issue.)
I've had the same thought about the whole "being cold in a $100k car" thing, but being cold and making it beats being warm until the battery runs out and then being cold while waiting for the flatbed. Teslas have limitations. Its best to understand those limitations and accept them before pushing the limits.
On full regen or slow regen; I think as jerry33 mentioned, if you know you are definitely going to stop, slow regen is better. But in city driving where you really don't know when your car in front really stops or start moving again, I would like to take chances and keep coasting until REALLY necessary, and then apply full regen to stop. If the car in front starts moving before you stop, you were able to take advantage of coasting.
What do you think?
That might work where drivers are polite. In the heavy traffic here, waiting till the last second is likely to get you into trouble.
Thinking about it some more, in traffic if you use a small amount of regen, you're likely to end up with a higher speed when the car in front of you starts to go reducing the power demand on the next acceleration. So I'm not sure there's an energy usage difference. If there is, it's very small.
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You are the master of saving power so I'll follow your advice and try slow regen technique for a while and see it's better for here or not.
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