I regularly travel from Tampa to Fort Lauderdale in my P3D-. The total trip is 260 miles and since I tend to have a lead foot and there's a good stretch of open road across alligator alley and the rest of I-75, I will charge about halfway. I also don't usually have a 100% charge at the start.
Enter: Corona Virus
I've been hardcore social distancing. Working from home... no-contact deliveries, I hadn't spoken face to face with another human in 10 days. And now, I'm driving to Fort Lauderdale. 310 miles of range is a bit of a farce at highway speeds, but checking ABRP and the in-car-nav, I'm thinking I can get there in one trip with a full charge and not have to stop anywhere along the way to charge.
260 miles, which is basically LA to Las Vegas.
One road. One Car. One Man. One cat. No stopping.
Get on the road and Rhapsody is telling me to charge at our usual spot. She doesn't know we're pushing it to the limit. A quick "remove charging stops" and we're set. Jump on the highway and traffic is a tenth of what it usually is during rush hour. I've got her set in Chill mode today just to take the top off of the acceleration and save those precious kWh.
Now the speed limit on I-75 in Florida is 70mph, so I'm trying to stay between 65-75 mph to not be a hindrance. I'm also constantly fighting my instincts to let her run. AP and NoA help. There's also a special person waiting for me in Ft. Lauderdale, so I'm "motivated".
It's also 85 degrees outside. So I've got the A/C running -- just comfortable, not meat locker -- which hits the juice too.
I hit my stride and am cruising outside along, looking for my secret weapon -- semi trucks. My goal is to cozy up behind a truck and use that sweet, sweet low pressure zone to cut down on my air resistance and my wh/mi. I jump from semi to box truck to large trailer... making some great time and also cutting 40 wh/mi off of my usual expense.
3 hours later, as i pass the toll into Alligator alley, I check my status.
There's a single super charger in Alligator alley. It's a 250kW charger about 2/3 of the way across. My energy graph says I should have about 10 miles left at my final destination on the other side. 10 miles. 3% battery. And it's getting dark.
10 miles of buffer... 9...8.... I slow down. 9 miles of buffer... back up to 10...11. I'm doing 65 now. The cooler air is heavier and there are no trucks to draft. I'm approaching Ochopee. The last chance to charge. I glance at my precious hand sanitizer...
"Not today," I say to my feline passenger and spur on.
My battery is single digits. 8%...7%...6%... past the toll plaza.... 5%... into Ft. Lauderdale. 4%... off the highway.
I'm inching along, still expecting to see the battery drop, but it's holding at 4%. Turning through the side streets... slow on the accelerator.. hard on the regen.
3% I'm on the road.....
I can see the house...
Turn into the driveway.
And Parked. 3% left.
Officially, 261.7 miles in 3:56 at an avg of 245 Wh/mi. I went from 97% bat to 3% battery. I got down to 200 Wh/mi for a good stretch there while drafting. Very happy with the range. Slight changes in speed, acceleration, temp and wind resistance really add up.
Odometer and Cat Tax
Enter: Corona Virus
I've been hardcore social distancing. Working from home... no-contact deliveries, I hadn't spoken face to face with another human in 10 days. And now, I'm driving to Fort Lauderdale. 310 miles of range is a bit of a farce at highway speeds, but checking ABRP and the in-car-nav, I'm thinking I can get there in one trip with a full charge and not have to stop anywhere along the way to charge.
260 miles, which is basically LA to Las Vegas.
One road. One Car. One Man. One cat. No stopping.
Get on the road and Rhapsody is telling me to charge at our usual spot. She doesn't know we're pushing it to the limit. A quick "remove charging stops" and we're set. Jump on the highway and traffic is a tenth of what it usually is during rush hour. I've got her set in Chill mode today just to take the top off of the acceleration and save those precious kWh.
Now the speed limit on I-75 in Florida is 70mph, so I'm trying to stay between 65-75 mph to not be a hindrance. I'm also constantly fighting my instincts to let her run. AP and NoA help. There's also a special person waiting for me in Ft. Lauderdale, so I'm "motivated".
It's also 85 degrees outside. So I've got the A/C running -- just comfortable, not meat locker -- which hits the juice too.
I hit my stride and am cruising outside along, looking for my secret weapon -- semi trucks. My goal is to cozy up behind a truck and use that sweet, sweet low pressure zone to cut down on my air resistance and my wh/mi. I jump from semi to box truck to large trailer... making some great time and also cutting 40 wh/mi off of my usual expense.
3 hours later, as i pass the toll into Alligator alley, I check my status.
There's a single super charger in Alligator alley. It's a 250kW charger about 2/3 of the way across. My energy graph says I should have about 10 miles left at my final destination on the other side. 10 miles. 3% battery. And it's getting dark.
10 miles of buffer... 9...8.... I slow down. 9 miles of buffer... back up to 10...11. I'm doing 65 now. The cooler air is heavier and there are no trucks to draft. I'm approaching Ochopee. The last chance to charge. I glance at my precious hand sanitizer...
"Not today," I say to my feline passenger and spur on.
My battery is single digits. 8%...7%...6%... past the toll plaza.... 5%... into Ft. Lauderdale. 4%... off the highway.
I'm inching along, still expecting to see the battery drop, but it's holding at 4%. Turning through the side streets... slow on the accelerator.. hard on the regen.
3% I'm on the road.....
I can see the house...
Turn into the driveway.
And Parked. 3% left.
Officially, 261.7 miles in 3:56 at an avg of 245 Wh/mi. I went from 97% bat to 3% battery. I got down to 200 Wh/mi for a good stretch there while drafting. Very happy with the range. Slight changes in speed, acceleration, temp and wind resistance really add up.
Odometer and Cat Tax
