Extend range

[beachmiles]

If you drive with the AC on all the time it turns out you are also driving with the cabin heater on to a tune of a constant 1-2kw. I found a way to disable the cabin heater and keep the AC on my 80 mile daily commute in LA on mostly freeways I averaged an extra 5 miles of range. So that could translate into an extra 15 miles of range for you.
Also pick a large sub/truck to follow on the freeway with a follow distance of 1 or 2 to get some more range via drafting.
Disable the cabin heater in the M3 by unplugging the CAN connector to the cabin heater : TeslaModel3

 

[toolman335]

Did you have this commute before you got the car? If so, someone gravely misinformed you that this car was a good fit. It would drive me insane. Even if you could make it by hypermiling, you'd barely get by and it would not be enjoyable. You have the perfect commute for the LR! Wow sorry to hear this man.
70-75 mph is your main problem. That would kill 20%, and the other 10% is the other things people have mentioned.

 

[TydalForce]

A quick search of Clovis, CA shows it's 32 degrees F right now. Cold weather's a significant impact on the battery. This will improve when it becomes warmer.
A way to help mitigate this if you're not doing so already is to set your time of departure, so it warms the cabin and battery before you leave. This, of course, is only really a benefit if it's plugged in at this time.
Also since I don't see this mentioned yet, make sure Regen Braking is set to Standard.

 

[WCJC]

Thanks for the ideas! I was wondering how to calculate range using wh/mi so around 200 is optimal....I am at around 260. I changed to chill mode and will use the seat heater instead of the AC. I was at 43 psi tires so I upped it that should help maybe a little. For the trolls, a SR+ is still plenty fine for me as I stated in original post I have chargers at work to use, I am just trying to see how I can further extend my range for my situation besides speed. The 99 freeway is not the safest freeway to travel, and setting the cruise control to 75 allows me to balance the slow drivers with the speed demons.

 

[coconutboy84]

Thanks for the ideas! I was wondering how to calculate range using wh/mi so around 200 is optimal....I am at around 260. I changed to chill mode and will use the seat heater instead of the AC. I was at 43 psi tires so I upped it that should help maybe a little. For the trolls, a SR+ is still plenty fine for me as I stated in original post I have chargers at work to use, I am just trying to see how I can further extend my range for my situation besides speed. The 99 freeway is not the safest freeway to travel, and setting the cruise control to 75 allows me to balance the slow drivers with the speed demons.

Dude we’re not trolling, we’re just telling you the truth. I own an SR+ myself.

 

[Paddy3101]

Thanks for the ideas! I was wondering how to calculate range using wh/mi so around 200 is optimal....I am at around 260. I changed to chill mode and will use the seat heater instead of the AC. I was at 43 psi tires so I upped it that should help maybe a little. For the trolls, a SR+ is still plenty fine for me as I stated in original post I have chargers at work to use, I am just trying to see how I can further extend my range for my situation besides speed. The 99 freeway is not the safest freeway to travel, and setting the cruise control to 75 allows me to balance the slow drivers with the speed demons.

IMHO, you are probably better off NOT trying to stretch the range, or charge 100% all of the time.

Charge to 90%, Accept that you are going to need to stop to re-charge and grab a coffee for 15-20mins to top off (assuming somewhere convenient). You can easily make up that time over a full re-charge by driving at 75, rather than trying to hyper-mile it at 60mph.

Also, much kinder on the battery.

 

[toolman335]

Definitely not trolling lol
You do NOT want to consistently charge to 100%. Doesn't the car give you a warning when you do that? Mine does, but maybe that's because it thinks I'm an idiot

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

What settings or adjustments can I do to extend my range on SR+? I get about 170 instead of 250 on a charge, that’s a big gap. I travel a fixed 236 mile commute 3-5 times per week so I know my range is off. It is mostly freeway and I travel about 70-75mph which is standard for this freeway. Service center wasn’t much help but after the first leg my range is depleted and I have to fully recharge to make it home. 30% range loss seems extreme so there must be some sort of settings I can do to reduce the usage per mile? The road is flat.

If you can warm up the battery to between 15C to 35C while charging and leave immediately after completion of your charge to 100%. You should get 80%ish efficiency even in -5C to 0C weather. However, the Model 3 does not display battery temperatures. You need a 3rd party scanning device and app to get that information.

Lithium Ion's sweet spot is between 15C to 35C. Less than 15C = sluggish (thus our winter efficiency of 60%). More than 35C, you're burning them up and accelerating degradation.

 

[Fresnel]

If you can warm up the battery to between 15C to 35C while charging and leave immediately after completion of your charge to 100%. You should get 80%ish efficiency even in -5C to 0C weather. However, the Model 3 does not display battery temperatures. You need a 3rd party scanning device and app to get that information.

Lithium Ion's sweet spot is between 15C to 35C. Less than 15C = sluggish (thus our winter efficiency of 60%). More than 35C, you're burning them up and accelerating degradation.

how do you check the temp of the battery?

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

how do you check the temp of the battery?

See this: scan my tesla - Adapters

 

[acarney]

What settings or adjustments can I do to extend my range on SR+? I get about 170 instead of 250 on a charge, that’s a big gap. I travel a fixed 236 mile commute 3-5 times per week so I know my range is off. It is mostly freeway and I travel about 70-75mph which is standard for this freeway. Service center wasn’t much help but after the first leg my range is depleted and I have to fully recharge to make it home. 30% range loss seems extreme so there must be some sort of settings I can do to reduce the usage per mile? The road is flat.

Assuming the 236 mile is round trip, I think you’re doing ok for an SR+. If you’re doing 260 Wh/mi that means even charging to 85% gets you 163 mile range. You need ~118 miles to get to your chargers at work. That gives you a 45 mile buffer for colder days and the like. As long as you trust your work chargers as being reliable and available I would charge to 85 to 90% most days. 32 amp at 208 should be ~6.5kW/hr. It should take you about 7 hours to recharge back to 90%. I would then preheat the cabin to 70F or something for a decent time (30 minutes or so, heat soak the material and everything). Then take off any jacket or whatever and get in the car and use the seat heater. Turn back on the climate control when you need and try to see if 66 to 68 is comfortable for you with some seat heat.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

I changed to chill mode

This won't help you at all, just FYI. (Obviously, this is assuming you are accelerating at a rate where you would not be limited by chill mode.)

For the trolls, a SR+ is still plenty fine for me as I stated in original post I have chargers at work to use,

You did not state this in your original post (though I can see why you thought so - it was unclear what you meant by "needing to fully charge"). As long as those chargers are free all day your situation should be fine.

setting the cruise control to 75 allows me to balance the slow drivers with the speed demons.

If you draft off of trucks with mudflaps you'll get your efficiency improved somewhat. But if you're able to fully recharge at work it should not be a problem.

Your above, as mentioned by @acarney, shows that you will get the following results with an 85% charge:

85% charge is 213rmi, assuming your battery is at 250 rated miles at 100% (in your case I would switch your display to rated miles, as it is more direct and easier to use with calculations which you may need to do more frequently than most users).

0.85*250rmi*200Wh(trip)/rmi)/ 260Wh (trip)/mi = 163 miles of range at that consumption (to 0%).

118miles @ 260Wh(trip)/mi = 30.68kWh(trip) => 30.68kWh(trip)/200Wh(trip)/rmi = 153rmi

So you'll arrive with 213rmi-153rmi = 60rmi. Which as mentioned above, is ~45 miles of actual buffer (60rmi * 200Wh(trip)/rmi / 260Wh/mi = 46 miles)

 

[HyperionMark]

I know this seems normal for a lot of California people, but as a midwest guy, a 2 or 3 hour commute just seems bonkers.

 

[DaveRZ]

I know this seems normal for a lot of California people, but as a midwest guy, a 2 or 3 hour commute just seems bonkers.

Totally agree! My wife and I can't wait to leave SoCal. Of course, from what I've read, more and more states are "fed up" with people coming from CA.

I've been driving a long distance to work for 20 years now, and in that 20 years its gone from 45 min each way to now 1.5 hours there, 2-2.5 hours back. Meanwhile, THOUSANDS of new houses and apartments are being built each year with no new roads going in...

 

[jjrandorin]

Totally agree! My wife and I can't wait to leave SoCal. Of course, from what I've read, more and more states are "fed up" with people coming from CA.

I've been driving a long distance to work for 20 years now, and in that 20 years its gone from 45 min each way to now 1.5 hours there, 2-2.5 hours back. Meanwhile, THOUSANDS of new houses and apartments are being built each year with no new roads going in...

@DaveRZ where are you commuting to? I live in your neck of the woods (temecula) and commute daily to Oceanside CA. It used to be around 45 minutes each way, and is now about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes each way.. but I take the streets home instead of the 15.

 

[HyperionMark]

Totally agree! My wife and I can't wait to leave SoCal. Of course, from what I've read, more and more states are "fed up" with people coming from CA.

I've been driving a long distance to work for 20 years now, and in that 20 years its gone from 45 min each way to now 1.5 hours there, 2-2.5 hours back. Meanwhile, THOUSANDS of new houses and apartments are being built each year with no new roads going in...

Dang man, that sucks. I work from home, but my wife had a 15 minute commute in the last place we lived (pretty large city). We moved to a smaller town and now it's about 7 or 8 minutes depending on time of day.

 

[toolman335]

There is no way I could handle commutes that long. You guys are mental warriors.
I used to live really close to work with an 8 minute commute.
Now I live12 minutes away. 13 on a bad day. Life is rough now.

 

[DaveRZ]

@DaveRZ where are you commuting to? I live in your neck of the woods (temecula) and commute daily to Oceanside CA. It used to be around 45 minutes each way, and is now about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes each way.. but I take the streets home instead of the 15.

North end of Murrieta (near Menifee border) to Sorrento Valley (120 mile round trip). For most of the last 15 years I was able to work from home 60% of the time, but not anymore. Hence the Tesla purchase.

 

[Victoria3]

Life is way too short to waste that much of it commuting!

 

[Rex Kramer]

Life is way too short to waste that much of it commuting!

I agree. Sadly it's one of the sacrifices we make so that we can remain close to our families.