How much do you value SR+ to LR (AWD) range upgrade?

[Black306]

What do people mean by LR (stealth)?

I'm not seeing where someone stated "LR (stealth)" in this thread, but typically people talk about a Performance without the PUP (Performance Upgrade Package) as a "stealth." An LR and Performance have the same battery.

 

[BigNick]

$0. Not because of range fitting an owner’s needs, but because of Tesla’s current behavior. There is no guarantee once you buy it, that it won’t be taken away in the future.

 

[JBHemlock]

$9k is (in my mind) barely worth it for the AWD LR over the SR+. I did get the SR+, but that's because I mainly use mine for commuting and driving around town, and because Washington State has a tax break bonus that applied to the SR+ but not the LR, making it more like a $12k difference.

 

[hmmwv]

Just did two round trips from Seattle area to Portland, about 170 miles each way, two adults with fully loaded trunk and frunk, both times in high 40s temp and encountered rain/shower the entire way. Due to the weather I was doing 65mph most of the way, I arrived with 15% to 17% battery (charged to 100% but when left I had about 98% battery). I'm really happy with the SR+, the real world range we experienced is better than my expectation, and is more than enough to cover our needs.

 

[rdskill]

I have yet to have someone remotely come close to 200 miles.

Well.... now you have . July 26th, 2019 - 230 miles between Superchargers. Outside temperature: 101F

I have the SR+ and last June-July I made a 6,100 mile trip from South Florida to South Idaho and back. On the way back (I was off the beaten SC path for some of it) I went from the SC in Trinidad Colorado to the SC in Amarillo Texas. A distance of 226 miles by A Better Route Planner. My actual mileage was just over 230 (1 rest stop and 1 wrong turn). The SC in Amarillo is tricky to find based on GPS map. The pin was off.

I charged to 97% in Trinidad and arrived in Amarillo with only 4% battery left. I kept at 70mph, then 65, 60, 55 and the last 20 miles I was at 50. First time I was glad to see a 35mph speed limit sign coming into town.

 

[Atari2600]

Where is the not enough option? Major parts of Ohio still have no charging infrastructure period (south central) and I still ending up plugging into an electric range outlet (50ft 14-50 extension cable)to charge up before my return trip. 120v is too slow.

400 mile range would be nice.

 

[ElectricIAC]

As someone who owns two with similar range to the above mentioned (MR and P3D+) and has tested them in same conditions I can say the actual range difference isn’t as drastic as “officially” rated once you factor in the AWD cars higher battery draw particularly past 75mph..

Now....if you have a trip where you require a SC stop or multiple SC stops: This is where LR AWD models currently shine as they better allow you to take advantage of the SC charging profiles so instead of having to charge the MR/SR+ to ~80% to make the next stop you can stop at ~60% on the AWD and continue on. If you don’t road trip a lot, stop and enjoy the scenery and take in the extra charge on your MR/SR+ otherwise go for the biggest battery you can afford.

 

[klezmerman]

As a happy SR+ owner I can honestly say that I -- on rare occasions -- do miss having more range, especially in the winter. However, our extended road trips are pretty rare and we usually can plan around it. I recently completed a 1000 mile cold weather road trip through upstate New York without incident.

The performance of the SR+ in snow with snow tires is as good as any of my previous AWD cars so that aspect seems to be a non-issue. And the SR+ is faster than any previous car I've owned so the extra performance is also unimportant to me.

Bottom line: I'm glad I saved the $9k and went with the SR+.

 

[Jeff Davlt]

Just did two round trips from Seattle area to Portland, about 170 miles each way, two adults with fully loaded trunk and frunk, both times in high 40s temp and encountered rain/shower the entire way. Due to the weather I was doing 65mph most of the way, I arrived with 15% to 17% battery (charged to 100% but when left I had about 98% battery). I'm really happy with the SR+, the real world range we experienced is better than my expectation, and is more than enough to cover our needs.

This is great to know. I live outside Seattle and my sister is down in Vancouver, WA. The trip is always my gauge for how big a battery I’ll need. Still leaning toward a LR, but at least I know SR+ could work.

 

[Jeff Davlt]

This is great to know. I live outside Seattle and my sister is down in Vancouver, WA. The trip is always my gauge for how big a battery I’ll need. Still leaning toward a LR, but at least I know SR+ could work.

Although I usually am pushing 75-77 for most of the trip which certainly would impact range.

 

[postersw]

The SR+ may be a better value than the LR AWD, but in Seattle you will never regret spending that extra $ for the bigger battery.
Why?
1. In Seattle at this time of year we average only 70% of rated range (driving normally with heat at 70 deg). So if you charge your car to 90%, you conservatively get .7*.9*310 or roughly 200 miles.
2. In WA there are not that many superchargers. If you want to go into the mountains, or one of the parks like Mt. Rainier, you will really need that full range, because it means that you can get 100 miles away from home.
3. You may not need that extra range in GA (where the temperature is more moderate and it is fairly flat), but in WA you will appreciate it.

 

[huangm777]

My initial order was a SR+, but I changed it to a P3D- later. I just took a trip from the Inland Empire to the CA/AZ border. Those extra miles made the difference between a single SC stop vs two. I was very, very glad for it.

My opinion is that for anything that you cannot easily upgrade later (whether it's RAM/SSD space on Apple computers, or the battery range on a Tesla), you buy the most you can afford. There's never too much of things like range and storage—you will end up in a situation where the extra capacity will save your bacon. That's why I'm glad I didn't go with FSD. That can be added later. You can't add a battery without changing the car.

 

[ElectricIAC]

Well.... now you have . July 26th, 2019 - 230 miles between Superchargers. Outside temperature: 101F

I have the SR+ and last June-July I made a 6,100 mile trip from South Florida to South Idaho and back. On the way back (I was off the beaten SC path for some of it) I went from the SC in Trinidad Colorado to the SC in Amarillo Texas. A distance of 226 miles by A Better Route Planner. My actual mileage was just over 230 (1 rest stop and 1 wrong turn). The SC in Amarillo is tricky to find based on GPS map. The pin was off.

I charged to 97% in Trinidad and arrived in Amarillo with only 4% battery left. I kept at 70mph, then 65, 60, 55 and the last 20 miles I was at 50. First time I was glad to see a 35mph speed limit sign coming into town.

Elevation drop and a likely tailwind made that possible. No way do you make it going the other way.

 

[hmmwv]

Although I usually am pushing 75-77 for most of the trip which certainly would impact range.

Speed will have a greater impact on range than temperature and rain, if you do 75-77 the whole way and in rain and in winter then with a SR+ you will arrive with much less battery then I did (maybe 5-7%).

 

[Jeff Davlt]

The SR+ may be a better value than the LR AWD, but in Seattle you will never regret spending that extra $ for the bigger battery.
Why?
1. In Seattle at this time of year we average only 70% of rated range (driving normally with heat at 70 deg). So if you charge your car to 90%, you conservatively get .7*.9*310 or roughly 200 miles.
2. In WA there are not that many superchargers. If you want to go into the mountains, or one of the parks like Mt. Rainier, you will really need that full range, because it means that you can get 100 miles away from home.
3. You may not need that extra range in GA (where the temperature is more moderate and it is fairly flat), but in WA you will appreciate it.

I do this math ALL THE TIME, hoping it will change and I will be satisfied with a SR+. But for some reason it always comes out the same. Mmm. Still hoping to find a LR RWD that makes sense.

 

[Kognos]

Well.... now you have . July 26th, 2019 - 230 miles between Superchargers. Outside temperature: 101F

I have the SR+ and last June-July I made a 6,100 mile trip from South Florida to South Idaho and back. On the way back (I was off the beaten SC path for some of it) I went from the SC in Trinidad Colorado to the SC in Amarillo Texas. A distance of 226 miles by A Better Route Planner. My actual mileage was just over 230 (1 rest stop and 1 wrong turn). The SC in Amarillo is tricky to find based on GPS map. The pin was off.

I charged to 97% in Trinidad and arrived in Amarillo with only 4% battery left. I kept at 70mph, then 65, 60, 55 and the last 20 miles I was at 50. First time I was glad to see a 35mph speed limit sign coming into town.

Context is everything - and I absolutely won't refute that chargers are not perfect everywhere, but as I tell my boss (constantly): "exceptions do not redefine the rules". I stand by my original contextual statement that 200 miles is just fine for around the city travel and if you're making long distance trips, you need to account for things like this - but if it isn't your daily, constant need, it's not a reason to spend 9000 bucks on it.

I've done travel down the west coast and never even got stressed. If I were traveling the same route as you I'd be looking for random chargers or take the more scenic route. 90 more miles and some more time and you can add in L2 non-tesla chargers and get some sweet country travel too.

Trust me, I agree with the problem here but my point is that this is a one-off and not a real reason to spend the money on long range. As vacations go, when I planned out both the vacations and the car with my family, I told them I'd rather save the 9k and spend the extra hour driving and charging and seeing the country and having more money for trips than worry about range. Smaller controlled hops on occasion is a choice, but I also don't vacation or take long trips that often either.

We're kind of spoiled by gas stations everywhere, but at the same time, I tend to just navigate to the next charger without stress -- I wouldn't try to do a 240-mile hop unless it was an emergency and I had no choice. And I don't take vacations like that, personally.

It's super cool that you made that though. I'd call that brave.

 

[ElectricIAC]

TBH I’d worry about that leg (downhill or uphill) even in our P3D+ but of course it’s average consumption is higher than that of an SR/+. Brave is an understatement.

 

[BigNick]

Four disagrees with my post so far.

Doesn’t change the fact that Tesla is currently doing some seriously shady shiz to 85 owners.

Some 85 owners have had so much range loss from battery voltage capping (NOT degradation) that their range is less than that of a 60.

Sudden Loss Of Range With 2019.16.x Software

 

[rdskill]

It's super cool that you made that though. I'd call that brave.

Naw… I could have stopped at a number of RV campgrounds. They are cool about letting you charge. Just would have to sit there 2 hrs for lunch. I finally did have to stop at a campground with the Chademo adapter didn't work yet. The owner did not charge me for charging.