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First Road Trip Thoughts!

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Trip
We went from Kent, Ohio to Durham, NC (about 520miles) in one day – just two of us (sans kids)! Then return a couple of days later. The 8:20 or so drive took about 9:20 with stops.

Car
Wow! Everyone knows and experiences the acceleration from 0mph to 40mph but no one told me that the acceleration from 60mph to 80mph is the same and so bad ass!!! So easy (and fun) to pass a fast car up a hill on the freeway! This car is fast, period. And so fun to drive on a long drive.

Charging
Started at home with 97%. Used both ABRP and the onboard computer. Gotta say, the onboard computer kind of makes it the world’s biggest no brainer! Didn’t really use ABRP much. Just did what the computer said and was within a couple of percent of battery projections.

On the way down, we had two stops, about 30 mins each. Both short enough that we got a bio break, some food, and a stretch. Ended the trip at about 15%. Went to nearby SC to fill up again – it was only a few mins away and I did a work call from the car during the 20 min charge. Got to 95% and total spent on SC was $60.

On the way back, we had three stops, but shorter! We were toying with skipping the last one as it seemed that we could make it, but with single digit battery left. But in the end, we did charge for a few mins. Got home with about 22%.

Only one stall in all the stops was non-functional. Never had to wait for an SC.

Did a short Charge Point charge at a local garage in Durham to “top off” the day before the drive home. That was ridiculously inexpensive, but also very slow. I think 15% or so in 2 hours. But Charge Point app and system is really good. Mostly Teslas at the charging station! It was a good experience to do it!

Dollars for dollars, with current gas rates, we spent about half as much for the trip as we would have in my wife’s Volvo XC-90 (which uses premium gas).

Quirks – hits and misses!
The excessive beeping is pretty annoying. Lane keeping, beep every single time you double tap to set cruise, etc. It would be awesome to not have so much beeping. The lane keeping function is remarkably spot on, so this made the long drive very very easy! Seats are wonderfully comfortable (and I am a very picky person in terms of seats due to lower back issues). The mapping app is superb. The satellite view is really good to have and fun. The web browser is also really good! I didn’t think this was a needed app in the car, but damn, useful and fun! The rear luggage compartment cover, although made of good materials and good idea with the magnet, is functionally dumb as hell and likely living in the garage till the car is sold! :) Wish in Facetime mode (iOS), the car would use the screen to show the image and the in-car camera as the front camera – would be fun (I do realize the limitations here…).

Sharing a few pictures...

IMG_1270 Large.jpeg
IMG_1346 Large.jpeg
IMG_1310 Large.jpeg
IMG_1281 Large.jpeg
 
Trip
We went from Kent, Ohio to Durham, NC (about 520miles) in one day – just two of us (sans kids)! Then return a couple of days later. The 8:20 or so drive took about 9:20 with stops.

Car
Wow! Everyone knows and experiences the acceleration from 0mph to 40mph but no one told me that the acceleration from 60mph to 80mph is the same and so bad ass!!! So easy (and fun) to pass a fast car up a hill on the freeway! This car is fast, period. And so fun to drive on a long drive.

Charging
Started at home with 97%. Used both ABRP and the onboard computer. Gotta say, the onboard computer kind of makes it the world’s biggest no brainer! Didn’t really use ABRP much. Just did what the computer said and was within a couple of percent of battery projections.

On the way down, we had two stops, about 30 mins each. Both short enough that we got a bio break, some food, and a stretch. Ended the trip at about 15%. Went to nearby SC to fill up again – it was only a few mins away and I did a work call from the car during the 20 min charge. Got to 95% and total spent on SC was $60.

On the way back, we had three stops, but shorter! We were toying with skipping the last one as it seemed that we could make it, but with single digit battery left. But in the end, we did charge for a few mins. Got home with about 22%.

Only one stall in all the stops was non-functional. Never had to wait for an SC.

Did a short Charge Point charge at a local garage in Durham to “top off” the day before the drive home. That was ridiculously inexpensive, but also very slow. I think 15% or so in 2 hours. But Charge Point app and system is really good. Mostly Teslas at the charging station! It was a good experience to do it!

Dollars for dollars, with current gas rates, we spent about half as much for the trip as we would have in my wife’s Volvo XC-90 (which uses premium gas).

Quirks – hits and misses!
The excessive beeping is pretty annoying. Lane keeping, beep every single time you double tap to set cruise, etc. It would be awesome to not have so much beeping. The lane keeping function is remarkably spot on, so this made the long drive very very easy! Seats are wonderfully comfortable (and I am a very picky person in terms of seats due to lower back issues). The mapping app is superb. The satellite view is really good to have and fun. The web browser is also really good! I didn’t think this was a needed app in the car, but damn, useful and fun! The rear luggage compartment cover, although made of good materials and good idea with the magnet, is functionally dumb as hell and likely living in the garage till the car is sold! :) Wish in Facetime mode (iOS), the car would use the screen to show the image and the in-car camera as the front camera – would be fun (I do realize the limitations here…).

Sharing a few pictures...

View attachment 909331View attachment 909330View attachment 909329View attachment 909333
Nice writeup. Is "Joe Mode" turned on to help with excessive beeping?
 
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On the way down, we had two stops, about 30 mins each. Both short enough that we got a bio break, some food, and a stretch. Ended the trip at about 15%. Went to nearby SC to fill up again – it was only a few mins away and I did a work call from the car during the 20 min charge. Got to 95% and total spent on SC was $60.



Are you saying you managed to charge from 15% to 95% in 20 minutes at a supercharger? I’d like to see that charging curve or data? That’s pretty great.
 
Trip
We went from Kent, Ohio to Durham, NC (about 520miles) in one day – just two of us (sans kids)! Then return a couple of days later. The 8:20 or so drive took about 9:20 with stops.

Car
Wow! Everyone knows and experiences the acceleration from 0mph to 40mph but no one told me that the acceleration from 60mph to 80mph is the same and so bad ass!!! So easy (and fun) to pass a fast car up a hill on the freeway! This car is fast, period. And so fun to drive on a long drive.

Charging
Started at home with 97%. Used both ABRP and the onboard computer. Gotta say, the onboard computer kind of makes it the world’s biggest no brainer! Didn’t really use ABRP much. Just did what the computer said and was within a couple of percent of battery projections.

On the way down, we had two stops, about 30 mins each. Both short enough that we got a bio break, some food, and a stretch. Ended the trip at about 15%. Went to nearby SC to fill up again – it was only a few mins away and I did a work call from the car during the 20 min charge. Got to 95% and total spent on SC was $60.

On the way back, we had three stops, but shorter! We were toying with skipping the last one as it seemed that we could make it, but with single digit battery left. But in the end, we did charge for a few mins. Got home with about 22%.

Only one stall in all the stops was non-functional. Never had to wait for an SC.

Did a short Charge Point charge at a local garage in Durham to “top off” the day before the drive home. That was ridiculously inexpensive, but also very slow. I think 15% or so in 2 hours. But Charge Point app and system is really good. Mostly Teslas at the charging station! It was a good experience to do it!

Dollars for dollars, with current gas rates, we spent about half as much for the trip as we would have in my wife’s Volvo XC-90 (which uses premium gas).

Quirks – hits and misses!
The excessive beeping is pretty annoying. Lane keeping, beep every single time you double tap to set cruise, etc. It would be awesome to not have so much beeping. The lane keeping function is remarkably spot on, so this made the long drive very very easy! Seats are wonderfully comfortable (and I am a very picky person in terms of seats due to lower back issues). The mapping app is superb. The satellite view is really good to have and fun. The web browser is also really good! I didn’t think this was a needed app in the car, but damn, useful and fun! The rear luggage compartment cover, although made of good materials and good idea with the magnet, is functionally dumb as hell and likely living in the garage till the car is sold! :) Wish in Facetime mode (iOS), the car would use the screen to show the image and the in-car camera as the front camera – would be fun (I do realize the limitations here…).


Unlike what so many would say isn't reality, what you've done is indeed a completely normal, expected trip.

Yep, Charge to 100% to start a trip, no need not to. Will not damage your battery.
The best planned Supercharger stops are the ones that you coordinate with bio-breaks. Empty bladder, fill car, fill belly, stretch legs.

Yes, the onboard nav is conservative. It ends to keep you above 10% everywhere. Even if you go to 0%, slowing down just 5 mph increases the range significantly.

Just a little clarification. ChargePoint is a company, the have J-1772 plugs as well as DF Fast chargers. I believe that you stopped at a J-1772 plug from the amount of charge added. And be aware, J-1772 charge rates can vary dramatically, so don't assume that your next one will be as good.

And Plugshare.com is historically the best place to find J-1772 locations or CHAdeMO, CCS, or Superchargers.

I often use the browser to bring up rain-alarm.com radar. Unlike so many other sites, this is just simple radar.

At least the beeping isn't as bad as working in most fast food locations.
 
We just did a similar 550 trip of Long Island to Blacksburg VA and back, with three days in between. Simply put perfect! My aha moment was with autopilot and autosteer where no steering and no pedal pushing left a body physically undeterred and able to last for more driving hours. Low point was there is no SC in Blacksburg but was prepared with EVGO and preformed CCS at 50 kw. Crazy that this CCS at 50 kw is level 3, whereas I do 48 kw as level 2 at home. Everyday I have a Tesla ecosystem experience that reinforces we belong to the best EV nation, Tesla Nation!
 
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We just did a similar 550 trip of Long Island to Blacksburg VA and back, with three days in between. Simply put perfect! My aha moment was with autopilot and autosteer where no steering and no pedal pushing left a body physically undeterred and able to last for more driving hours. Low point was there is no SC in Blacksburg but was prepared with EVGO and preformed CCS at 50 kw. Crazy that this CCS at 50 kw is level 3, whereas I do 48 kw as level 2 at home. Everyday I have a Tesla ecosystem experience that reinforces we belong to the best EV nation, Tesla Nation!
Just a minor clarification:
Traffic-aware Cruise Control (TACC) + Autosteer = Autopilot (basic)
 
Trip
We went from Kent, Ohio to Durham, NC (about 520miles) in one day – just two of us (sans kids)! Then return a couple of days later. The 8:20 or so drive took about 9:20 with stops.

Car
Wow! Everyone knows and experiences the acceleration from 0mph to 40mph but no one told me that the acceleration from 60mph to 80mph is the same and so bad ass!!! So easy (and fun) to pass a fast car up a hill on the freeway! This car is fast, period. And so fun to drive on a long drive.

Charging
Started at home with 97%. ề Gotta say, the onboard computer kind of makes it the world’s biggest no brainer! Didn’t really use ABRP much. Just did what the computer said and was within a couple of percent of battery projections.

On the way down, we had two stops, about 30 mins each. Both short enough that we got a bio break, some food, and a stretch. Ended the trip at about 15%. Went to nearby SC to fill up again – it was only a few mins away and I did a work call from the car during the 20 min charge. Got to 95% and total spent on SC was $60.

On the way back, we had three stops, but shorter! We were toying with skipping the last one as it seemed that we could make it, but with single digit battery left. But in the end, we did charge for a few mins. Got home with about 22%.

Only one stall in all the stops was non-functional. Never had to wait for an SC.

Did a short Charge Point charge at a local garage in Durham to “top off” the day before the drive home. That was ridiculously inexpensive, but also very slow. I think 15% or so in 2 hours. But Charge Point app and system is really good. Mostly Teslas at the charging station! It was a good experience to do it!

Dollars for dollars, with current gas rates, we spent about half as much for the trip as we would have in my wife’s Volvo XC-90 (which uses premium gas).

Quirks – hits and misses!
The excessive beeping is pretty annoying. Lane keeping, beep every single time you double tap to set cruise, etc. It would be awesome to not have so much beeping. The lane keeping function is remarkably spot on, so this made the long drive very very easy! Seats are wonderfully comfortable (and I am a very picky person in terms of seats due to lower back issues). The mapping app is superb. The satellite view is really good to have and fun. The web browser is also really good! I didn’t think this was a needed app in the car, but damn, useful and fun! The rear luggage compartment cover, although made of good materials and good idea with the magnet, is functionally dumb as hell and likely living in the garage till the car is sold! :) Wish in Facetime mode (iOS), the car would use the screen to show the image and the in-car camera as the front camera – would be fun (I do realize the limitations here…).

Sharing a few pictures...

View attachment 909331View attachment 909330View attachment 909329View attachment 909333
Thanks for sharing. Great write up
1. what is ABRP?
2. total spent on SC was $60.
Are U saying the total charging costs in $60 for the total trip? Assuming the total trip is about 1200 miles, with an ICE running at 30mpg which is roughly equal to 40 gals or $120 on gas at $3/gal . Am I correct?
 
We just did a similar 550 trip of Long Island to Blacksburg VA and back, with three days in between. Simply put perfect! My aha moment was with autopilot and autosteer where no steering and no pedal pushing left a body physically undeterred and able to last for more driving hours. Low point was there is no SC in Blacksburg but was prepared with EVGO and preformed CCS at 50 kw. Crazy that this CCS at 50 kw is level 3, whereas I do 48 kw as level 2 at home. Everyday I have a Tesla ecosystem experience that reinforces we belong to the best EV nation, Tesla Nation!

Clarification. You can only do 48amps at home, which 48amps * 240v = 11.5kw of AC charging. So the EVGO 50kw station is about 4x faster than your home charging. They use KW because it's universal.

AC charging at home requires the car to use an internal charger built into the car to charge the battery. You're just giving that internal charger an AC source, then the internal charger converts it to high voltage DC to charge the batteries.

DC fast charging at Electrifiy America or EVGO uses a DC voltage directly connected to the batteries. The car's charge computer then negotiates an amperage and voltage to charge at.

Here's a good picture:
ChargePoint-AC-DC-UK.jpg
 
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Thanks for sharing. Great write up
1. what is ABRP?
2. total spent on SC was $60.
Are U saying the total charging costs in $60 for the total trip? Assuming the total trip is about 1200 miles, with an ICE running at 30mpg which is roughly equal to 40 gals or $120 on gas at $3/gal . Am I correct?

ABetterRoutePlanner.com now you know why everyone abbreviates it.

In my book it's an okay and valid way to plan a trip. It takes a lot of things into consideration when calculating and can show you where any problem areas are.

But I seldom go the exact same route at the exact same time as I plan on a road trip. The car's nav system does as well as ABRP these days.

$60 does look to me to be the Supercharging costs for that trip. First (and maybe some other) legs aren't usually done at Superchargers, first leg is done at home.

I think that $10/200 miles is in the ballpark of many Supercharger rates, but the rates do vary from state to state. (and country)
 
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Thanks for sharing. Great write up
1. what is ABRP?
2. total spent on SC was $60.
Are U saying the total charging costs in $60 for the total trip? Assuming the total trip is about 1200 miles, with an ICE running at 30mpg which is roughly equal to 40 gals or $120 on gas at $3/gal . Am I correct?
1. A Better Route Planner app and site. A lot more options than the on board system.
2. Yes. I was computing for 25mpg and at $4/gal. Round trip was 1080 miles plus a tiny bit of driving in Durham. Hopefully I didn’t totally goof up the math.
 
1. A Better Route Planner app and site. A lot more options than the on board system.
2. Yes. I was computing for 25mpg and at $4/gal. Round trip was 1080 miles plus a tiny bit of driving in Durham. Hopefully I didn’t totally goof up the math.

25MPG is a bit backwards. There are cars like the Rav4 Hybrid which are $15k cheaper and comparable to a Model Y that can get 38mpg average in the real world. (1080 miles/38mpg) * $4/gal = $113. So an EV is still half the cost of a modern gas car on the same road trip.
 
On the way down, we had two stops, about 30 mins each. Both short enough that we got a bio break, some food, and a stretch. Ended the trip at about 15%. Went to nearby SC to fill up again – it was only a few mins away and I did a work call from the car during the 20 min charge. Got to 95% and total spent on SC was $60.



Are you saying you managed to charge from 15% to 95% in 20 minutes at a supercharger? I’d like to see that charging curve or data? That’s pretty great.
Yes, that was about it! Maybe it was 25 mins. I didn’t look up on the screen but rather just time it with my zoom call!

Near home, before charger was installed in garage, at local SC, it was exactly 30 mins from 4% to 95%!!