Greetings and a Q about range and highway speeds

[X.l.r.8]

What is this 40’s you speak of

The best first journey is in Range mode, because it just gets better from there. I babied mine back and when I got to drive it I realized what all the fuss was about. We have the advantage of being able to make full use of 80A destination chargers or HPWC’s so if you start listing the local chargers make sure you check what their max output is. I have a list of all the chargers in all directions that have max charging in case I need to charge on route. It removes all anxiety and allows you to play a little on the roads. The Can Sr is probably the most valuable of the two Can’s you can use a Tesla J1772 adaptor in a Can Sr although not officially supported and to be honest, having both means you are well covered in all charging conditions. In Canada we have a lot of Sun Country 80A J1772 chargers so I considered the Can Jr a solid requirement.
I drive 100km each way daily and my motto is drive it till you need to charge, and know where at least 2 charging stations are within range.

 

[gregd]

Not sure about your part of the country, but out here on the West Coast most of the J1772 chargers seem to be 30 amps, 208v, and the Tesla destination tend to be 40 amps, 208v. So, it's going to be slow, either way. Best, as the OP has, is to have both JR and SR adapters.

One technique I've used is to visit the local Tesla service center. They sometimes have a couple of 80 amp destination chargers out front for the Sales department's use with their test drive cars. Ask nicely, and they might let you plug in for a bit. Nothing attracts potential customers like having a shiny Roadster sitting by their front door.

 

[Steve in SLO]

I behaved myself pretty well on the way home. I tend not to go too crazy until I am alone on the road, and there was no time or place for that, especially on these roads with my son in the car.
@ViperDoc: I do have a CAN Sr, which is what allowed me to charge at the 8 kW Tesla charger at the Fess Parker inn. Still, it ain’t no supercharger.

 

[slcasner]

As I mentioned, there are some 16kW Destination Chargers available. That makes a big difference.

 

[Steve in SLO]

Will definitely be on the lookout for the 16kW chargers!

 

[hanknum]

Congrats on your purchase Steve. Sorry I didn't read this thread sooner... I live in Santa Barbara and you could have charged at my house, or it would have been fun to hook up with another Roadster owner.

I love the SLO life. I graduated from Poly many moons ago. I've only had #187 for just over a year now. I traded my 308 GTS for it... straight across not a single dollar changed hands. Time will tell if this was good for me or the other guy. I was looking for a low maintenance sportscar and this fit the bill.

Stock the Roadster understeers like a you know what. I have done some mods to reduce it and it is much more enjoyable... you can check my previous threads.

Let me know if you come down this way. My wife and I did take the Roadster up to Avila then SLO last year. We charged at a hotel, but not the one we were staying at (Avila La Fonda doesn't have chargers, but the hotel down the street had one and was available to guest at ALF). We also charged at the parking structure in downtown SLO. There are two sets of chargers in the structure... most you pay for, but there are two in south part of the structure that are free.

Good luck,

Henry

 

[Steve in SLO]

Hi Henry,
Thanks for checking in on the thread. Oddly enough, I went to UCSB, so looks like we did an opposite town switch.
I sold a 2004 Porsche GT3 to get the Roadster, and have no regrets whatsoever. I made a fair amount of money on it after owning it for 11 years, and I was ready for my next “modern classic“. Agree the roadster has a lot of understeer built-in, but I also found that early-mid turn throttle-lift oversteer followed by throttle application coming out of the corners helps rotate the car and tuck the front end in...very similar to a number of stock Porsches.
Will definitely let you know next time we are down your way.

 

[hcsharp]

Hi Henry,
Thanks for checking in on the thread. Oddly enough, I went to UCSB, so looks like we did an opposite town switch.
I sold a 2004 Porsche GT3 to get the Roadster, and have no regrets whatsoever. I made a fair amount of money on it after owning it for 11 years, and I was ready for my next “modern classic“. Agree the roadster has a lot of understeer built-in, but I also found that early-mid turn throttle-lift oversteer followed by throttle application coming out of the corners helps rotate the car and tuck the front end in...very similar to a number of stock Porsches.
Will definitely let you know next time we are down your way.

Slightly OT but do either of you (Henry or Steve) have the adjustable suspension? It's not very hard to tune out some or most of the understeer. If you want help let me know I'll be in SB at some point this year.

 

[Steve in SLO]

@hcsharp: thanks, that is a great offer and I may take you up on it. I haven’t dug into the roadster enough to know if I have adjustable suspension or not. Will put it up in the year when I change to LED headlights and figure it out.

 

[hanknum]

Slightly OT but do either of you (Henry or Steve) have the adjustable suspension? It's not very hard to tune out some or most of the understeer. If you want help let me know I'll be in SB at some point this year.

Hi Henry,
No adjustable suspension on mine. LMK, when you are in SB and would love to GTG with you. We can call Timothy and have a mini Roadster gathering.
Thanks.

 

[hanknum]

Figured it was probably something to do with the hands-free phone, but don’t have the JVC manual.
Regarding the cold cabin: Heated seats did help. When I got home I read that I needed to push the heater button to activate the heat/cool dial. Rookie move, surely not my last.

Hey Steve,

Yeah lmk when you are in town... I'll do the same when I go up to SLO. BTW, what heater button are you talking about? I've got a 1.5 so I don't know if they are the same, but my heat doesn't seem to work.

Henry

 

[Steve in SLO]

Hi Henry, it”s a deal!
The heater button is shown in the photo. The temperature control dial above the button only works if you have either the air conditioning (the button to the left of the heater button), or the heater button itself activated. Otherwise you’re twiddling it for nothing.

 

[hanknum]

So that's what that button does... I'll have to give it a try.

Thanks.

 

[dhrivnak]

So that's what that button does... I'll have to give it a try.

Thanks.

Remember the heat button, the fan button and the heat control ALL need to be set for heat. If you turn on the heat but do not have the fan on, or the temp control all the way to cool you still will not get heat.

 

[hanknum]

Remember the heat button, the fan button and the heat control ALL need to be set for heat. If you turn on the heat but do not have the fan on, or the temp control all the way to cool you still will not get heat.

Rats!

I tried the heat button, fan speed, and temp control knob, but still no heat. I'm not too concerned as it doesn't get all that cold here in SB... but would still like it to work.

 

[dhrivnak]

Rats!

I tried the heat button, fan speed, and temp control knob, but still no heat. I'm not too concerned as it doesn't get all that cold here in SB... but would still like it to work.

Then unfortunately it sounds like you have a bad heater element. Rare but possible.

 

[gregd]

On the 2.x cars, the heat control needs to be above mid-point in order to turn on the heater. Not sure about the 1.5's.

 

[hanknum]

I'll try again next time I drive it. But, I did have the temp knob at full heat, the heat button on, and played with the fan speed... and nothing.

 

[dhrivnak]

I'll try again next time I drive it. But, I did have the temp knob at full heat, the heat button on, and played with the fan speed... and nothing.

Just a FYI as it takes a few minutes for the heat to come out. But you can also have a bad wire or heater element.