First long trip in a MY. Am I being overly cautious on ABRP?

[Tha_Ape]

MYLR going a little over 800mi. I'm using ABetterRoutePlanner, but I'm wondering if my settings are too conservative.

What I put in:
Starting charge at 95% (may be 100%)
Reference consumption at 65mph = 330Wh/mi (default was 298, but I dont know what reality is)
Charger Arrival SoC = 15% (is that too conservative?)
Charger Max SoC = 95%
Reference Speed = 120% (I go about 10-15 over)
Temperature = 55deg (likely will be higher)
Weather = Rain (dont know if it will actually rain, so I put it in there in case)

The furthest I've ever driven this car in one trip is like 80mi. I usually charge to 70% and recharge at home when it drops to 50%. Never used a supercharger before other than to make sure it worked (1min). I know it wont HURT using those settings above, but I dont want to overly restrict myself either. If I charge to 100% I know to do set departure, unsure if I want/need to charge to full.

My current 30mi avg Wh/mi is 220, but I also havent been driving on highways a lot. Mostly 40-50mph.

I guess what I'm asking is can I trust ABRP, or do I need to build margin in myself?

 

[NWMY]

I've found that program to be slightly more conservative than the car's trip planner. While trip charging on a Supercharger, I'll plug in the next Supercharger as a destination and head on once it's showing a 20% or better SOC reserve to get there. Less nail biting in case you meet headwinds, go faster, etc.

 

[cpa]

I do not understand how to use ABRP. It is not intuitive to me at all.

I've owned an S since 2014 and a 3 since 2018. This is what I can tell you from personal experience:

I do not rely solely on tech to tell me what or what not to do. I think it is a great guideline, and I think it helps assuage our consciences. But then I am approaching my eighth decade on this planet.

The best thing in my opinion is to plot out your course on a paper map (LOL) or some other method that gives you a lot of detail. Use PlugShare to see the various Superchargers and destination chargers that are available on your route. Look at the Superchargers along your route. Perhaps one location is suitable for lunch while another one is not. (In other words try to combine necessary stops with Supercharging.)

You need to determine for yourself how your driving style compares with an algorithm. While algorithms consider elevation gains and losses, they do not discern how you drive nor do they factor in weather. Personally, I would leave using conservative methods until you compare the calculated results with your actual results. Once you get the feel, you can become slightly more aggressive and charge less in order to arrive with a lower (say 15%) state of charge.

For me, I usually charge to 60-70% and expect to arrive with 15-20%. If I know the road well, I even shave my arrival percent closer to ten.

There is a handy "trip" graph in the energy section of the touchscreen. That is invaluable. Once you dial into your destination, pop that up to look at. The graph will show your starting state of charge and slowly declines to your expected state of charge upon arrival. You can compare the algorithm to your actual driving as you cruise along. If you see your reserve declining rapidly, slow down! On the other hand, if your arrival percentage remains constant or increases, you can speed up.

Finally, it is much easier for me to determine my overall route with suggested stops. Then I can dial in to see whether I want to bypass one or not. There are certain highways that require going station-to-station, especially here in the West. But in the East, there are more opportunities to choose among the Superchargers along the way.

And, don't ignore destination chargers! Sometimes a place will have chargers available for patrons while they eat or spend the night.

 

[GtiMart]

I found ABRP to be very precise in its estimate, IF I am precise in my parameters. I suggest using somewhat of a worst case scenario when pre-planning a trip. That will let you figure out roughly what needs to happens, when and where you need to charge to make it etc. When you're close to leaving for the trip, you can plan again with more precise parameters, you will know the proper temperature, wind, road conditions etc.

15% charger arrival is what I use by default. It leaves room for road blocks etc. If ABRP gives me a bad plan, I might reduce this to see if it gives a better plan. If it does, I might drive a bit more conservatively to make sure I make it. It's just a tool, use it as such.

In comparison, the car's planner overestimates the SOC arrival by 10-15% for me, with my driving style. When I charge at a supercharger, I charge for more than what the car thinks is needs, by 10+%

 

[threeputts]

While trip charging on a Supercharger, I'll plug in the next Supercharger as a destination and head on once it's showing a 20% or better SOC reserve to get there.

I've found this is the simplest method, although I'll vary the buffer % from 10% to 20% according to the length of the leg, about 1% for every 10 miles in distance to the next charger. I leave the estimated % displayed on the nav while driving and if it's dropping too fast I can slow down.

My impression is the car estimates arrival % assuming you will be driving the speed limit and not using AP, but I'm not sure.

 

[Tha_Ape]

Thank you all for the responses! I'm looking forward to going a long distance in this car (its basically why I chose it over the competition).

 

[GtiMart]

Get accustomed to ABRP plans and how the car behaves and predicts SOC arrival for YOU. Once you understand how it behaves in your use case, you'll stop being stressed.

 

[E-curb]

I too have a MYLR, now with over 25k miles and have taken several long road trips using ABRP. Based on my experience, yes, you can trust ABRB.

Looking at your numbers, you are doing what I did my first long trip: Adding a safety margin to multiple parameters. You already are specifying you never want to get below 15% and, to me, that is all the safety margin you need to add. Other than that, use realistic "best guess" figures. For example:

Reference consumption of 330 wh per mile at 65 MPH is high. The 298 figure is better but based on my real world driving measurements, I use 277 and it's never been a problem.

Use your real starting charge: If you are going to charge to 100%, enter 100%. I usually do this, then lower it to 90% in ABRP and run the route a second time. If going from 100% to 90% does not change where I will make my first charging stop, I go with 90% as too many 100% charges will, over time, reduce your batteries range a little.

The 120% speed is too high for me. I use 107%, but that depends on how you really drive. 107% is based on going 75 on interstate. I do go over 80 at times to get away from clumps of trucks and it doesn't reduce my range enough to matter.

On the Interstate, I use cruise control (auto pilot) 95% of the time so my speed does not vary a lot. I do believe that that if you tend to speed up and slow down a lot, that can lower your range compared to more steady speed.

Even with ABRP, I still use the navigation system in my MY and set the next supercharger as my destination. This gives me real-time confidence while driving and also preconditions the battery before charging, if needed.

Your 15% charge setting gives you a 35 mile safety margin. Plus, you can go another 20 miles after the display says "0%". I've never gone less than 7% and don't want to, but that's reality. When I did go down to 7%, that was just as ABRP predicted.

 

[threeputts]

Plus, you can go another 20 miles after the display says "0%"

Where do you get this from?

 

[GtiMart]

The Model 3/Y do have a bottom buffer. 0% displayed SOC does not mean completely empty batteries. I don't remember the exact number of kWhs. Let's say 3kWh. At a consumption of 300wh/m, you would only do 10 miles. You cannot rely on it as being precise as the BMS can become slightly miscalibrated. THere are cases of people that have ended up stranded at higher than 0% SOC I think. I suggest not relying on it, but you car could possibly continue to drive under 0%, yes...
The other thing is, the voltage of the batteries is very low in that case. If you put a too high demand, the car might shutdown to prevent damage. You would need to drive extra gently in that buffer to maximize your chances of making it.

EDIT: You can look at this for some additional information: Tesla saves more range at 0% than other EVs, test finds

 

[804son]

You may well be right..... I don't know and I hope I never find out

 

[Ken_Y]

Depends on the # of superchargers along your route. I drove my SR to Mammoth Lakes (300 miles), Zion (600 miles) and SD (120 miles) from LA without any issues. I didn't really over plan either aside from plotting it using the in car map and ABRP. Personally, I make judgement calls based on the arrival state of charge. If the estimated SoC is decreasing, I slow down. If it decreases to the level where I am uncomfortable (under 10%), then I may make a detour to top up at a SC that wasn't in the plan.

 

[v8eater]

I find my bladder doesn't last as long as the charge of the car. I really try to time charging stops with bio breaks.

 

[E-curb]

Where do you get this from?

Electrek:

Tesla claims EPA range can be achieved on its electric cars by draining battery beyond zero-mile range

In response to an independent range test, Tesla has reportedly claimed that the EPA range on its vehicles can be...

electrek.co

 

[naD alseT]

MYLR going a little over 800mi. I'm using ABetterRoutePlanner, but I'm wondering if my settings are too conservative.

What I put in:
Starting charge at 95% (may be 100%)
Reference consumption at 65mph = 330Wh/mi (default was 298, but I dont know what reality is)
Charger Arrival SoC = 15% (is that too conservative?)
Charger Max SoC = 95%
Reference Speed = 120% (I go about 10-15 over)
Temperature = 55deg (likely will be higher)
Weather = Rain (dont know if it will actually rain, so I put it in there in case)

The furthest I've ever driven this car in one trip is like 80mi. I usually charge to 70% and recharge at home when it drops to 50%. Never used a supercharger before other than to make sure it worked (1min). I know it wont HURT using those settings above, but I dont want to overly restrict myself either. If I charge to 100% I know to do set departure, unsure if I want/need to charge to full.

My current 30mi avg Wh/mi is 220, but I also havent been driving on highways a lot. Mostly 40-50mph.

I guess what I'm asking is can I trust ABRP, or do I need to build margin in myself?

Let me chime in on a few items:
- My MYLR consumption on trips (50 to 80 miles in one direction, at 50% 70mph, 30% 60mph, and rest city-ish, mild heat or air conditioning) is roughly 270 Wh/mi. For longer trips, I "plan" on 280 Wh/mi with a 'drop dead' limit of 300 Wh/mi.
- (my 9,900 mile average is 253 Wh/mi, but only 1/2 of a winter is in that average)
- DO NOT go over speed limit...speed kills (to use an 80's reference)
- Arrival SoC, I use 20%, but 15% is a good, it give you a good 30 - 40 miles of emergency range)
- Supercharge to 80 (85% if needed), after that SoC, the charging rate drops like a rock!!
- No need to initially charge to 100% (depending on your first SC stop distance), but if you do, make sure you leave within a few hours of hitting 100% (do NOT let the battery pack sit at 100% for long periods of time)

 

[Rocky_H]

I'm a seat-of-the-pantser. As long as where I am going is along interstates that do have Supercharger coverage, then I don't pre-plan anything. What I do on the day of is going to be different than any preplanned schedule anyway. I shoot for about 15% arrival margins and just go with that. When I feel like eating and what is at each place kind of determines when I will take longer stops for meals. I just got back a few days ago from a two week vacation trip that was about 1,800 miles. Only one spot I knew was longer than the range of the car, so I used my CHAdeMO adapter there at a Greenlots station where there wasn't a Supercharger.

 

[TomServo]

And one tip I would offer, when you first start off your consumption will be very HIGH, as soon as I get on the highway and up to the POSTED speed limit, I usually stay in the right lane (and draft a bigger vehicle if I can) until my wh/mi settles down. Then I keep an eye on the Trip tab on the Energy Screen to see if my arrival SOC % is increasing or decreasing. if it's increasing as is often the case, I'll build a slightly bigger buffer before I set sail. Only ONCE have I arrived at a charger or destination with less SOC than predicted.

 

[GtiMart]

Good point. You don't have to do the speed limit though... I see the car's estimate adjust after a few minutes of driving allegedly over the speed limit. It seems like the biggest adjustment is fairly early and I can almost trust it after a few minutes. I certainly cannot trust the initial estimate until I've driven a bit.

 

[WattsappMTL]

I find ABRP to be reliable for predicting road trip consumption. Did you know that you can link it directly to your vehicle and allow the app to populate your reference consumption value for you? It will know your current SoC too. I use 10% arrival charge for Supercharger stops and have been completely comfortable with that. Unlike an ICE vehicle, if you get slowed down in traffic your trip consumption is actually likely to go down in an EV, so there isn't much downside risk. Unless Superchargers are really far apart, you can double-check the car's predicted arrival SoC at your destination charger as you are approaching the one before it. If you don't like the prediction you can always pull in and top up there. You may be surprised at the impact that wind has on consumption rate - if you want an accurate prediction you should always take it into account. Be a bit conservative if you're not sure.

ABRP also does a good job of optimizing charging stops to give the lowest total trip time. It takes advantage of the fact that the battery charges fastest when the SoC doesn't get too high. It might add one extra charging stop on a long trip to avoid high SoC situations, but you'll still get to your destination faster.

 

[Teslitored]

Hi... I'm expecting to get my MY sometime this month...

Just curious why you guys prefer to use ABRP over the Tesla navigation???

Is the Tesla navigation no too accurate??