Hello from MN

[CorneliusRox]

Hello everyone,

I just picked up my '21 M3P. My name is Corey, I'm a mechanical engineer with am automotive background. I've largely been into Audi's and diesel trucks, but decided to check out the Model 3 Performance this go around!

I ordered the car in early March. When receiving it, my son and I drove it straight to get tint and PPF. We then brought it home in a rain storm, installed the fun bits I already had waiting, and snapped some pictures!

First thoughts, I really love the car.

Some things I was disappointed about and were not communicated well even though I specifically asked the SC these questions:
1) NEMA 14-50 charging at home. I specifically asked what I needed besides wiring it up and the SC Team Member told me everything I needed was in the charging bag. Well, there was only a 120V adapter... I have no problem buying a NEMA 14-50 adapter, but it's taking 1.5 weeks to get here. In the mean time 4-5 miles of range an hour is killing me. I have to take my truck to work one of the days this week because of it.
2) The range. I didn't expect to get >300 miles of range, but I expected around 250 or so with cruise control interstate driving. I'm getting closer to 120 miles doing 78mph with heat and music on. Any advice guys? Turn the acceleration to 'Chill'? I know I could slow down, but adding time to my commute isn't something I want to sacrifice.
3) Supercharging is slower than expected. The pitch they gave me was "V3's charge at 250kW and you can be in and out in 15min!" Yeah, that's not exactly true. 250kW for the lowest part of the battery charge and in ideal conditions. I was really thinking it'd be easy to road trip if we just stopped at V3 Superchargers for 15min a stop. If it's 30min every 100-150 miles, that's going to really add up. We commonly drive from MSP to Detroit, but that'll add ~3.5 hrs to the trip.

We didn't get rid of my wife's Jetta or my truck, so we'll likely be choosing one of them for road tripping right now, but I'm really hoping that side of the experience gets better. Or hopefully the point their at right now is a stepping stone and in ~5 years we'll be seeing 1,000 mile range ratings!

Thanks,
Corey

 

[CorneliusRox]

they're*

 

[emiliorescigno]

Welcome fellow Minnesotan!

It appears you've learned the first truth about Tesla: the service center employees don't know all that much. The NEMA 14-50 adapter used to be included with the Model 3, but hasn't been since early 2019 or so.

The rest of your troubles are definitely all due to the cold, particularly because you don't yet have 240V charging at home. The NEMA 5-15 (120V) is so slow that it really can't even keep the battery fully warm when it's a bit colder outside, and it takes *a lot* of energy to get the entire cooling system and battery pack up to temperature. Supercharging speeds are highly dependent on battery pack temperature as well - you're probably never rolling in to a supercharger even close to full temp. Something else helpful: turning on the cabin heat in the app will also turn on the stator heaters to help get the battery up to temperature using power from the grid. You can do this using the 120V, but it actually draws more power than it can provide; things will be much nicer once you have 240V.

Last but not least, it's fun to explore MN a bit with an EV. You'll get a lot of funny looks:

 

[CorneliusRox]

Welcome fellow Minnesotan!

It appears you've learned the first truth about Tesla: the service center employees don't know all that much. The NEMA 14-50 adapter used to be included with the Model 3, but hasn't been since early 2019 or so.

The rest of your troubles are definitely all due to the cold, particularly because you don't yet have 240V charging at home. The NEMA 5-15 (120V) is so slow that it really can't even keep the battery fully warm when it's a bit colder outside, and it takes *a lot* of energy to get the entire cooling system and battery pack up to temperature. Supercharging speeds are highly dependent on battery pack temperature as well - you're probably never rolling in to a supercharger even close to full temp. Something else helpful: turning on the cabin heat in the app will also turn on the stator heaters to help get the battery up to temperature using power from the grid. You can do this using the 120V, but it actually draws more power than it can provide; things will be much nicer once you have 240V.

Last but not least, it's fun to explore MN a bit with an EV. You'll get a lot of funny looks

Thanks for the info!
I have been using the phone app to turn on the cabin heaters. Honestly, that was a HUGE selling point for me. I've got some young boys and I wanted to be able to pre-heat the car without leaving or opening the garage. It's good to know it actually preheats the driveline too. Yeah, the 120V is underpowered and when I turn on cabin heat, it not only stops charging, but eats up a few miles.
You've got me more excited about the car now. Summer should equal more range, and 240V should equal faster charging but more range due to conditioning the system before leaving.

Is that a picture of you on Mille Lacs Lake? Here's one of my old Mustang in Duluth. Fun times for sure!

 

[emiliorescigno]

That picture is actually from Lake of the Woods this winter. Since it seemed like it may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, we took a trip on the ice road across Lake of the Woods to the Northwest Angle. Pretty sure that's a first for an EV in some capacity.

(But I definitely have done a bit of Ice Rallycross as well, including with the Tesla - ask me for some details next winter!)

 

[CorneliusRox]

Ah, very nice. I venture up to Roseau from time to time. Maybe I'll try and take my car next winter trip and try it out.

Two questions:
1) What sort of range vs advertised do you get when it's MN winter?
2) What tires are you using?

 

[emiliorescigno]

Ah, very nice. I venture up to Roseau from time to time. Maybe I'll try and take my car next winter trip and try it out.

Two questions:
1) What sort of range vs advertised do you get when it's MN winter?
2) What tires are you using?

1) As always, it depends. My car is a 2019 so it has a slightly smaller battery, resistive heat, and it's a stealth, so I have 18" wheels with aero caps. In the bitter cold depths of winter, 150 miles is probably realistic, and then it fades higher until springtime when I can get pretty close to 275ish miles. I don't keep super close tabs on it though. The biggest range hit happens right when you set off, getting the battery up to temp. On longer trips, the second leg of the journey coming off a warm supercharge session, it's not as bad, even when bitterly cold.

2) For winter I have Continental VikingContact 7s, and summer I have Michelin Pilot Sport 4Ses.

 

[CorneliusRox]

1) As always, it depends. My car is a 2019 so it has a slightly smaller battery, resistive heat, and it's a stealth, so I have 18" wheels with aero caps. In the bitter cold depths of winter, 150 miles is probably realistic, and then it fades higher until springtime when I can get pretty close to 275ish miles. I don't keep super close tabs on it though. The biggest range hit happens right when you set off, getting the battery up to temp. On longer trips, the second leg of the journey coming off a warm supercharge session, it's not as bad, even when bitterly cold.

2) For winter I have Continental VikingContact 7s, and summer I have Michelin Pilot Sport 4Ses.

That's good to know. I've got my 240V setup running now. What a difference. But I was surprised that the battery warm up pulls a full 32A plus some from the battery! Letting it warm up for 10-15min seems to be making a huge difference though.