Driving Melbourne to Brisbane in 45 Celcius heat

[Grenadine]

So we are driving from Melbourne to Brisbane inland starting Friday. Will be in Forbes Friday night and near Taree Saturday night via Dubbo. Should be a good test for the car. Has a panoramic sunroof *gulp*.

Any tips/tricks for the heat anyone wants to impart? Not going via Sydney as there will be a traffic nightmare this weekend.

Current forecasts are:

 

[strykeroz]

So far have been driving in 39 and 40C days here without any issues inside the car. Have the AC set to 20C and Auto but not recycle and the occupants are kept chilled with fresh air without the fan blowing so loud it inhibits conversation or drowns out the tunes. I thought I'd need to wear a hat in summer but that's not been the reality.

Initially we left the car on what I think is the default - use the AC to keep the unoccupied cabin below 40C, but that does nasty things to your available range when you stop for a break. We lost 90km over lunch at Boonah a few weekends ago with just that setting and sentry mode on. I often use VENT to crack the windows while parked but now have the cabin protection turned off. Being able to pre-chill the cabin before returning to the car is a welcome bonus though.

It's lunchtime and Sparky is parked outside now, interior is showing 64C by the app, and the windows are open to vent...welcome to Brisbane!

 

[begg]

Driving to Sydney from Bathurst on Wednesday for a noon appointment due to the AC refusing to work since the last software update.
I think it will be very early departure dodging bushfires. I have had a the fault for a few weeks and a Tesla without AC in the Bathurst summer is very hot and noisy.

 

[paulp]

Watch those tyre pressures. The heat and speed will elevate them considerably. I had 44 deg on the glass roof last year. No issue.

 

[ICUDoc]

I get 600km out of a battery in my Raven, Grenadine, with four passengers, luggage and AC on low fan. So I think you'll be good, no tricks or tips needed.
Have a fun and safe trip.

 

[strykeroz]

It's lunchtime and Sparky is parked outside now, interior is showing 64C by the app

2pm and the interior (still vented since I parked first thing) showing 68C on the app. @begg I don't envy your lack of AC.

 

[Grenadine]

Now predicting 46 in Forbes. What the actual...F....

Got one of these delivered today so some anxiety should be taken out.

Complete Spare Tire Kits | Tesla, BMW, Camaro, Corvette, Dodge...

Though changing a tyre at 46 degrees is my idea of a nightmare...

On the upside, since cold temps can restrict range, I imagine warm temps help it, right?

 

[aegidius]

Got one of these delivered today so some anxiety should be taken out.

How was the postage and how long did you wait? Have you tried jacking the car and fitting the wheel? Looks like a good solution if it works.

 

[Kiwiadventure]

I would rather be in New Zealand and enjoy a nice 24c -28c. Best time to visit Australia is Easter and first couple of weeks November.

 

[Blue heaven]

Watch those tyre pressures. The heat and speed will elevate them considerably. I had 44 deg on the glass roof last year. No issue.

Good point, I might start a new thread on this.

 

[HighlyCharged]

A good quality tint and roof sun shades have reduced the cabin heat in mine quite considerably, I would recommend doing that anyway to take the strain off the AC and get more range. Maybe more important in my SR+ anyway

 

[MC3OZ]

Now predicting 46 in Forbes. What the actual...F....

Got one of these delivered today so some anxiety should be taken out.

Complete Spare Tire Kits | Tesla, BMW, Camaro, Corvette, Dodge...

Though changing a tyre at 46 degrees is my idea of a nightmare...

On the upside, since cold temps can restrict range, I imagine warm temps help it, right?

With the cold, it is probably multiple things, lower tire pressure, needing to hear the battery, heat takes more power than cooling..

The best test I could think of was leaving my car parked outside with climate running on a reasonably warm day.
That seemed to use 1% of an SR+ battery in 30 minutes...
My previous (probably incorrect) estimate was 5% per hour...
There are multiple factors but generally I expect the AC to consume a modest amount of range, I'm intending to monitor this on a long trip as I think with recirculate, you need to measure over 1-2 hours to get an accurate reading...

I brought one of those Tesla puncture repair kits, that squirts Goo into the tire. I'm hoping that if I need it it works... I've only had the car 2-3 months so the tires are fairly new...

For the first road trip I'm planing on getting to most chargers with around 20% battery, if AC uses 5-10%, I still have a margin for error...
Chargers being busy in the holiday season might be a slight problem, but I'm hoping that is just an extra wait here and there.

 

[MC3OZ]

A good quality tint and roof sun shades have reduced the cabin heat in mine quite considerably, I would recommend doing that anyway to take the strain off the AC and get more range. Maybe more important in my SR+ anyway

'
What did you get tinted?

 

[Vegas]

I would rather be in New Zealand and enjoy a nice 24c -28c. Best time to visit Australia is Easter and first couple of weeks November.

Yes New Zealand's great - please stay there.

 

[paulp]

I would rather be in New Zealand and enjoy a nice 24c -28c. Best time to visit Australia is Easter and first couple of weeks November.

Depends which part of australia you are visiting

 

[HighlyCharged]

'
What did you get tinted?

Just the sides. The shades cover the roof.

 

[Crustyman]

I brought one of those Tesla puncture repair kits, that squirts Goo into the tire. I'm hoping that if I need it it works... I've only had the car 2-3 months so the tires are fairly new...

Just be aware that apparently once you use the "goo" the tyre cannot be repaired as it can't ever be balanced properly so you essentially ruin a tyre for the sake of being able to keep driving on it. Some people have gone out and got a puncture patch kit and compressor instead in the hope of avoiding using the goo and ruining the tyre completely.

 

[Candleflame]

I have driven Model 3 through the desert at up to 46 degrees. I dont think non reflective tinting will make much of a difference unless you get a tint and IR filter on the windscreen. I am not sure if a 100% VLT tint with IR filter will make much difference on the front screen as this probably absorbs quite a bit of radiation already and reflective tints are afaik illegal in australia as they can dazzle other road users. In summer the sun is on top of the car and light enters the cabin from the top where most of the heat comes from conduction not convection. The stock tint on the sunroof is good enough to prevent radiation from coming in.

The sunlight entering the cabin is a significant source of heat on the skin. To really feel comfortable you need to have the aircon on 6 or 7 or set auto to 21 degrees. I find in the Model 3 it actually is most comfortable to aim the fan down on the legs for some reason.
AC on such high levels does impact range. Probably uses around 1.5-2kw/hour. Once it goes past 16:00 AC usage goes down massively and ironically once the sun is down you don't really need much aircon at all despite it still being 35 degrees outside!

Always put the A/C on recycle. Without even ICE cars can struggle!

Consumption at 80km/h midday is around 135W/km as you can see below.

Changing a tire at 46 degrees heat is fine btw. I have done it before on my old car- Once it goes above 35 it's all the same *sugar* and you try to get it done as quick as possible. However, I must stress that modern tires are not really prone to punctures, in my case the tires were old and needed to be changed. I was gonna do it after my road trip and payed the price.

 

[lennier]

Now predicting 46 in Forbes. What the actual...F....

Got one of these delivered today so some anxiety should be taken out.

Complete Spare Tire Kits | Tesla, BMW, Camaro, Corvette, Dodge...

Though changing a tyre at 46 degrees is my idea of a nightmare...

On the upside, since cold temps can restrict range, I imagine warm temps help it, right?

Yep with thinner air you'll get a bit more range all else being equal.

 

[Grenadine]

Got to work out how to secure this spare tyre...if it cannot be secured then the idea of a 20kg projectile in the car is not appealing...

Anyone got ideas on how best to do it?