Extreme Cold driving/battery, etc...

[daviddavid]

how is the heat working? Many Y owners in the Midwest are reporting that their heat does not work due to a faulty sensor.

Not sure. On the way up, everything was fine. Temp was around -5 or so at worst. This morning on the way back, it was cold in the car from Tomahawk to Wausau. Seat heaters kept things tolerable though. Then at the Supercharger it got really hot in the car right away. BUT the temp on the drive was -21 this morning. In fairness, not sure what works at that temp.

Battery loss was significant though. It is about 49 miles to Wausau. Had about 50% loss for this leg. Makes me a little worried about the Wausau to Madison leg that is 150 miles. Right now we are charging up to 100% for this (longest leg) of our trip.

 

[daviddavid]

I wonder if this idea of going slower holds true when you are subjected to -20F conditions? Usually if I have range anxiety, I slow down and everything works out great....BUT does this hold true at -20?

 

[Big Earl]

I wonder if this idea of going slower holds true when you are subjected to -20F conditions? Usually if I have range anxiety, I slow down and everything works out great....BUT does this hold true at -20?

View attachment 634734

I think it does still hold true, especially if you’re going into a head wind.

 

[Pianewman]

Maybe there should be an Autopilot setting for Wh per mile/km. You would set the maximum speed, minimum speed and your desired Wh consumption. The car would automatically adjust speed for the current conditions.

I know where you're going with this, but my first reaction was...was...HAHAHAHA!!! Autopilot would drop the speed to 45mph!!!

You have a good point. I'd think it would require a lot of data, constantly updating.

 

[jcanoe]

I know where you're going with this, but my first reaction was...was...HAHAHAHA!!! Autopilot would drop the speed to 45mph!!!

You have a good point. I'd think it would require a lot of data, constantly updating.

In this scenario if you set the minimum speed to 62 MPH you might not meet the Wh/mi objective but the speed would never drop below 62 MPH so your efficiency would be as good as it could be under the circumstance.

 

[ratsbew]

Can you please comment on the cabin heat effectiveness? Was it blowing hot air or just lukewarm air?

 

[VikH]

Not sure. On the way up, everything was fine. Temp was around -5 or so at worst. This morning on the way back, it was cold in the car from Tomahawk to Wausau. Seat heaters kept things tolerable though. Then at the Supercharger it got really hot in the car right away. BUT the temp on the drive was -21 this morning. In fairness, not sure what works at that temp.

Battery loss was significant though. It is about 49 miles to Wausau. Had about 50% loss for this leg. Makes me a little worried about the Wausau to Madison leg that is 150 miles. Right now we are charging up to 100% for this (longest leg) of our trip.

View attachment 634732

Based on ABRP you probably need 85-90% SOC to make it to Madison Hy-Vee SC. Did you make it?

 

[Schumpeter]

Anyone know the daily (idle) drain of the car during these extreme cold temperatures? Qite curious about losses while parking and not using my car. We expect some unusual cold temperatures in the Netherlands the coming week.

 

[jcanoe]

Anyone know the daily (idle) drain of the car during these extreme cold temperatures? Qite curious about losses while parking and not using my car. We expect some unusual cold temperatures in the Netherlands the coming week.

Turn off Sentry Mode and Summon/Smart Summon if you have FSD. Expect 1% per day loss of charge while parked.

 

[patnshan]

My heat works perfectly. I am in Milwaukee, where it's been near or below zero for a week now. I recommend preconditioning while plugged in as much as you can. Tell the car which supercharger you plan to stop at, so it preconditions prior for efficiency. In extreme cold I would plan on 180 mile range to be safe. I got about 200 ish on a very long road trip (2700 miles), but it wasn't quite this cold.

 

[lyrebird]

Going to drive my son for his hockey tournament this weekend from Chicago suburb to Indianapolis. Little worried. Couple factors,

this is my first state-crossing trip using my Y,
it is the coldest time in a year,
and there are not many SC in the route, especially in 65.

The last SC before my destination is West Lafayette, which is 160 miles away from home, and 60 miles away from my destination. From what I can tell, 160 miles is on the verge.

Debating if I should stop at Merriville, which is in the middle of my home and the West Lafayette.

 

[Big Earl]

Going to drive my son for his hockey tournament this weekend from Chicago suburb to Indianapolis. Little worried. Couple factors,

this is my first state-crossing trip using my Y,
it is the coldest time in a year,
and there are not many SC in the route, especially in 65.

The last SC before my destination is West Lafayette, which is 160 miles away from home, and 60 miles away from my destination. From what I can tell, 160 miles is on the verge.

Debating if I should stop at Merriville, which is in the middle of my home and the West Lafayette.

I'd charge to near 100%, hit the road and see how it goes. If you have enough to make it to Lafayette, great - stop there. If it looks like you're cutting it close by the time you're approaching Merrillville, stop there for a few minutes to ensure you make it to Lafeyette.

 

[ratsbew]

You should basically ALWAYS stop at every supercharger with the exception of when you depart home with 100%...it's okay to skip them if you can make the next one with 10%. Once you are down to 10% it's proven that doing 10%-50% and hopping every charger is the fastest way to go. Plus you get stretch breaks every 60-90 minutes.

 

[tstolze]

Going to drive my son for his hockey tournament this weekend from Chicago suburb to Indianapolis. Little worried. Couple factors,

this is my first state-crossing trip using my Y,
it is the coldest time in a year,
and there are not many SC in the route, especially in 65.

The last SC before my destination is West Lafayette, which is 160 miles away from home, and 60 miles away from my destination. From what I can tell, 160 miles is on the verge.

Debating if I should stop at Merriville, which is in the middle of my home and the West Lafayette.

Remember your range goes up fairly quick when you slow down, even 5 mph will make a difference.

 

[Pianewman]

You should basically ALWAYS stop at every supercharger with the exception of when you depart home with 100%...it's okay to skip them if you can make the next one with 10%. Once you are down to 10% it's proven that doing 10%-50% and hopping every charger is the fastest way to go. Plus you get stretch breaks every 60-90 minutes.

^^^THIS!

I wouldn't be worried about this. Plan to charge to 100% in Merriville if you're worried about making it to West Lafayette

I have a friend, 90k miles early Model3, coast-to-coast several times. This is his travel philosophy.
In the winter, I'd expect it to be even more critical. There's a reason Super chargers are space the way they are (in populated areas, that is!)

 

[lyrebird]

Thank you guys! I guess I will charge at Merriville. 20 mins is not a big deal as we are not in any hurry.

 

[patnshan]

I concur. The northern IN stops are quite nice. Doesn't hurt to stop at more for a shorter time for piece of mind and assurance you will make it.

 

[ratsbew]

Let us know how it goes!