First road trip in my M3P

[Josie67]

I took my first road trip with my new M3P, and I must say I was extremely impressed. My girlfriend, brother and I packed up the Tesla with fishing gear and headed on a 560mile round trip up to the Sierra Mountains in Nevada from the San Francisco Bay Area. I left with a 100%SOC and made it to Reno, Nevada (200miles) with 18%. Keep in mind that we went from sea level up to an altitude of 7,200 feet at Donner Pass before dropping back down to Reno at 4,500 feet. I charged back up to 60% and made it to the lake outside Sparks, Nevada (30 miles). We spent 3 days fishing and driving back and forth another 100 miles, and on the return trip, we made it back to Reno and charged it back to 100% while we ate breakfast. From Reno, we made it back home with a 34% SOC (lots of downhill and regen breaking). The car was extremely stable, and with Autopilot running most of the way, the drive was smooth, comfortable, and not taxing. It’s by far the best car I’ve ever driven in my 55 years of existence. Both my girlfriend and brother said they were extremely comfortable, even when they switched off sitting in the back. The M3P has so much power that it didn’t even feel like we were going uphill; the entire ride felt like we were on a flat road.

 

[Mattallica]

Sounds like a lovely trip - hope you all had fun?

From your first photo (car facing right) it looks like your boot has a huge gap around it? Surely that can't be normal and the boot was not fully closed properly (for an auto-boot that must be a bug?).

 

[Stranger Dings]

I took my first road trip with my new M3P, and I must say I was extremely impressed. My girlfriend, brother and I packed up the Tesla with fishing gear and headed on a 560mile round trip up to the Sierra Mountains in Nevada from the San Francisco Bay Area. I left with a 100%SOC and made it to Reno, Nevada (200miles) with 18%. Keep in mind that we went from sea level up to an altitude of 7,200 feet at Donner Pass before dropping back down to Reno at 4,500 feet. I charged back up to 60% and made it to the lake outside Sparks, Nevada (30 miles). We spent 3 days fishing and driving back and forth another 100 miles, and on the return trip, we made it back to Reno and charged it back to 100% while we ate breakfast. From Reno, we made it back home with a 34% SOC (lots of downhill and regen breaking). The car was extremely stable, and with Autopilot running most of the way, the drive was smooth, comfortable, and not taxing. It’s by far the best car I’ve ever driven in my 55 years of existence. Both my girlfriend and brother said they were extremely comfortable, even when they switched off sitting in the back. The M3P has so much power that it didn’t even feel like we were going uphill; the entire ride felt like we were on a flat road.

Yes, one of the unexpected things I have found is the effortless hill climbing capability. It is truly amazing. It doesn’t feel as though there is any particular effort behind it. Amazing.

 

[Spacep0d]

One thing about EVs is that they don't run out of O2 density at altitude like ICE cars because they don't need to 'breathe' to go. It's amazing. Glad the M3P did so well. Concur on the power and effortless hill-climbing!

 

[bjrosen]

Don't charge to 100% if you can avoid it. There should have been enough Superchargers on that route to have allowed you to charge to a lower level. Charging to 100% is bad for the battery and charging past 80% is slow. When road tripping it's better to take more short stops than few long ones, you'll spend less time supercharging and and having a break to stretch your legs and go to the bathroom is welcome.

 

[Rothgarr]

Don't charge to 100% if you can avoid it. There should have been enough Superchargers on that route to have allowed you to charge to a lower level. Charging to 100% is bad for the battery and charging past 80% is slow. When road tripping it's better to take more short stops than few long ones, you'll spend less time supercharging and and having a break to stretch your legs and go to the bathroom is welcome.

Meh. I never charge beyond 80% in my regular charging. But if I'm going to depart for a long trip, I'll always charge to 100% right before we depart. In the two years I've owned my Model 3 I'd charged to 100% maybe 5 or 6 times. I can't imagine this having any measurable difference in degradation.

 

[PianoAl]

Were you puzzled by that supercharger in Reno? It's in a fenced-in lot, and the only way to get to it is via a parking structure. It's not clear that the parking structure is free. We charged there on the way from California to Denver and then on the way back, and the first time I had to walk around the block to figure out how it worked.

That was our first long trip, and I say this to people who say trips in an EV are a pain because you have to stop and charge: One has to stop anyway to stretch your legs or eat. All of our stops were welcome breaks.

BTW, we took the route through Grand Junction when driving back, and it was much nicer although a little longer.

Don't charge to 100% if you can avoid it.

True, but I don't worry too much about that. I've done it once (twice?) when I was going to leave immediately after charging. Yes, it's slower, but usually when we're supercharging, we're eating a meal. Wife doesn't like it when we're below 15% getting to the next supercharger.

My thinking is that by the time the battery starts degrading, the car will be old technology.

 

[pnwadventures]

I think the worries of occasional charges to 100% are overstated, especially with good hygiene (immediately departing upon reaching 100%).

 

[TexasTezla]

I sometimes charge to 100% before the off on long trips. Just as long as you start off and don't let 100% sit there, you wont have any issues. Don't forget the Tesla battery guarantee!

 

[Gasaraki]

Sounds like a lovely trip - hope you all had fun?

From your first photo (car facing right) it looks like your boot has a huge gap around it? Surely that can't be normal and the boot was not fully closed properly (for an auto-boot that must be a bug?).

That's within spec.

 

[Gasaraki]

Don't charge to 100% if you can avoid it. There should have been enough Superchargers on that route to have allowed you to charge to a lower level. Charging to 100% is bad for the battery and charging past 80% is slow. When road tripping it's better to take more short stops than few long ones, you'll spend less time supercharging and and having a break to stretch your legs and go to the bathroom is welcome.

Charging to 100% is bad only if you do it a lot and/or you let it sit at 100% for awhile. You you need to go on a road trip, charge to 100% then hit the road shortly after.

It is good to let the car charge to 100% once in awhile because the BMS is able to see the max capacity of the battery. If you never charge to 100%, the BMS doesn't know the max capacity anymore and it's guesses will be even more off.

 

[Snade]

Great report. Thanks for posting. I have the same car.

You ordered the right M3P colors and kept the right wheels.

Cheers,

Snade

 

[Josie67]

Yes the supercharging area in Reno was weird. We literally drove around the block three times before we realized it was inside the parking lot lol.

 

[Ferengii]

Were you puzzled by that supercharger in Reno? It's in a fenced-in lot, and the only way to get to it is via a parking structure. It's not clear that the parking structure is free. We charged there on the way from California to Denver and then on the way back, and the first time I had to walk around the block to figure out how it worked.

We charged up in that Reno fenced lot yesterday (currently on a round trip from Denver to the SF Bay Area via I-80) and had the same issue. We drove around the block a couple of times before discovering the alleyway entrance to the lot opposite the garage. PlugShare information clearly explained this, but I didn’t see that until we managed our way inside.