How Tesla can maximize your miles, especially in an emergency

[donorrusa]

I have a Dec 2013 P85 which has been driven to both ends of US Route 1 and from Rehoboth Beach, DE to San Francisco and the Pacific beaches. The Tesla super-chargers today make those trips much easier than they were even 2 years ago, but there still can be times, especially in northern Maine and other places that do not have extensive super-charger locations, when the driver of the car could be aided by software that would limit KWH per mile to ensure making their destinations.
My suggestion to the King of Prussia service center starting 3 years ago, and again at the Tesla factory when I visited there 2 years ago seems to have fallen on deaf ears.
We all know the value of cruise control, but how easy would it be to offer additional software in the "controls" to limit the KWH per mile?
Coming through Colorado two years ago I faced a 220 mile gap between chargers through mountainous conditions. I had to turn off the cruise control and spent several hours trying to maintain a maximum of 200 KWH/mile utilizing my right foot to constantly adjust the "foot pedal" for the many hours it took to travel this distance. My overall KWH/mile during this leg of the trip was 158, but my leg and foot were worn out.
I would have loved to have had the car (computer) control this function.

 

[jaguar36]

Tesla gives you plenty of tools to do this already. They have a 'Reduce speed to X to reach your destination', the energy graph and the wh/mi display.

A hard wh/mi limit would be silly. What would it do if you came upon a hill?

Besides, minimizing energy usage is easy, just stay as close to 45mph as you feel comfortable and follow a big truck as close as is safe.

 

[SpudLime]

There is also a button to assist with range. So the combo is not enough?

 

[ucmndd]

I think you mean "range mode" + "chill mode".

 

[donorrusa]

Dear Jaguar36,
I was amazed by the tone of your reply.
It appears that you did not understand my original explanation.
I know how to maintain 45 MPH, but setting the car to cruise at that speed while going up and down elevations does not guarantee it will not exceed the maximum watts per mile that I know is required to allow me to achieve the total miles needed.to reach my destination.
MPH is only one factor and I am happy it can be automatically achieved by cruise control..
There are times on a level highway that my car is doing 65 MPH and reporting it is using only 200 watts/mile. Three hours of using my foot to maintain the 200 watt per mile requirement for that mountainous leg of my cross country trip, as described in my original comments, was unnecessary, since it could have easily been been provided by software that would allow limiting the watts per mile (another huge factor) to whatever an owner requires. Temperature variations can also be large, but they are part of the watts per mile being reported,
Yes, the car has to slow down on very long hills, but so do the trucks you suggest I follow. I would suggest to you that arriving at the bottom of a hill at 45 MPH will guarantee using at least 800 watts per mile to maintain that pace on a relatively tame upslope.
I am fully aware of the very good software tool, (that I was thankful was finally developed), that shows my chances of making my destination, and several times have used my foot pedal to change the projected outcome from "iffy" to solid green.
Setting my speed control to 45 MPH is not a good option. Setting it at the speed limit and then being able to set (limit) the watts per mile is a perfect solution.
I suggest you try harder to fully understand what is being presented, especially if you again find it necessary to belittle a suggestion by calling it "silly".
We all need to respect other views and provide positive inputs that can advance this forum.

 

[Eevee]

I think the issue is that such an option could lead to driving too slowly to be safe.
Also, I can't imagine what kind of 'emergency' would warrant this option.

 

[N..8]

I've thought about this while doing my daily commute. They would need to put in safe guards to not allow the car to drive below a certain speed and such. They could also put in a min level so you couldn't pick a kWh that would be just too hard for the car to achieve. They've already added the max speed which some people said was not needed, so this isn't too far fetched.

 

[DigAdrenaline]

Well, rather than just adjusting speed, it could also use climate control, lighting, stereo, etc. my guess is there are watts to be shed in many ways, even with the computers and their connectivity.

I agree with the OP. I’d be happy to even see an “aggressive” setting for Range Mode. Where it really works to limit everything. Or better, an advanced setting where I can choose “minimal - optimal - restrictive” settings for everything.

At the extreme end, maybe power down the mcu and stuff even...

I routinely drive where there are no superchargers and in the cold. I’d give up ambient lighting for 5 minutes less waiting at a 30 amp charger.

 

[N..8]

They could also just add an app that we could pop up that shows us what all the systems are drawing. Breaking things down to see where the usage is going would be nice.

 

[DigAdrenaline]

Can the climate control be shut off for everywhere except the driver?

 

[roblab]

Dear Jaguar36,
I was amazed by the tone of your reply.
It appears that you did not understand my original explanation.
I know how to maintain 45 MPH....

I've done tons of driving myself, although not on the east coast. About 160,000 miles to be more exact, and I have been in places where I had to cut my speed to make a certain distance. We already have several aids, but I personally choose to just drop my speed a little, and, hill or high water, I've always made it easily.

Unless you are trying to push an envelope, such as trying to go as fast as you can (looks like it) with minimum energy (why??) there should be no problem. Cutting your speed 5 mph raises your range. With your amount of experience, you should be able to estimate your range using the speed setting, so an extra way of setting to a Kw/H would be unnecessary. And most people drive by watching speed, not Kw/H. Why can't you? Nowhere in my life have I had to set cruise at 45 mph to "make it".

I know, you are amazed at the tone of my reply. Well, there you go.

 

[BrokerDon]

Coming through Colorado two years ago I faced a 220 mile gap between chargers through mountainous conditions.

What Colorado route was this? We traveled from SoCal to Denver in our Ludicrous 2015 P85D and never had "range anxiety" issues on I-15 or I-70 except when we detoured completely off these interstates through Zion, Monument Valley, and Moab. Our longest Supercharger leg was ~ 200 real miles in March between Page AZ to Blanding UT which we easily made by:

1. using EVtripPlanner for routing since it calculates kW usage based on additional factors the Navigation doesn't (payload, ambient air temperature, inside HVAC temperature, headwinds, tire/wheel combo, etc.)
2. verify no strong headwinds and/or high / low ambient temperatures in weather forecast
3. selecting Range Mode
4. slowing down ~ 10 mph the first half of this 200 mile trip leg
5. closely monitoring our estimated remaining charge at our upcoming destination (usually Superchargers) to try to keep it > 15%

... to target arriving at all our destinations (especially Blanding UT) with > 15% charge. I'd even located an RV park with a 50A 240V 14-50 outlet in Monument Valley on PlugShare about 2/3rd's of this trip leg just in case our kW consumption was higher than EVtripPlanner estimated.

We've also used Autopilot to "draft" higher profile medium size trucks & vans like Mercedes Sprinter vans to dramatically decrease our kW/mile consumption when the Navigation "remaining miles at destination" dropped below 15%. This has happened twice in strong (30+ mph) headwinds, and "drafting" these larger vehicles got us to our destinations with little fanfare.

Planning and monitoring energy usage enroute while driving long distances in sparsely distributed Supercharger areas are the keys to minimizing / eliminating "range anxiety". Driving a Tesla is more like flying: Flight Plan strongly recommended to avoid running out of fuel.

YMMV

 

[Graffi]

I agree with the OP, the extra setting would be nice to have in those few occasions that it is needed.

On our last cross-country we decided to use I-10 West all the way to I-8. Going through the Fort Stockton Supercharger only a day or two before it with live was "FUN". We charged to 100% at Ozona, then drove 55 mph on AP until a nice truck passed us going about 65 mph. We then increased our speed and let the AP keep us drafting behind the truck all the way to Fort Stockton. We needed the restroom by this time so we got off and actually plugged in (even without power) for a photo.

When we got back on the I-10W again we repeated the same. However, this next truck was driving at 75 mph. Looking back I should have waited for a slower truck, but since we used so much less electricity going from Ozona to Fort Stockton that I felt we had sufficient reserve to make the let from Fort Stockton to Van Horne.

Well, we followed that truck until about 25 miles remained when the truck exited the freeway. At that time we slowed down to 55 mph, then 50 mph, then 45 mph. By the time we got to the exit we had already been an Zero miles remaining for some time. After the exit I was very careful to not use any more electricity than necessary, so we basically crawled from the freeway exit to the hotel. Because we were so deeply discharged it took quite a while to get the car to accept much of a charge. When we finally reached about 10 to 15% (I do not remember which), I moved to a different stall and started over. This time it went to full charge rate (96kWh) fairly quickly and in a little more time we were ready to head to El Paso.

Lesson Learned: Even though one leg of the trip allowed you to increase your reserve, make sure that you continue to increase that reserve on the next leg. You never know what will come up further up the road. If we had followed a truck only going 65 mph, rather than 75 mph, we could have arrived at Van Horne with a large reserve, rather than running for miles on Zero (which is not good for the battery). Speed KILLS range.

 

[scottm]

Can the climate control be shut off for everywhere except the driver?

Range mode ON does wonders for making the passenger colder than the driver, even when HVAC is synch'd.

 

[scottm]

I have a Dec 2013 P85 which has been driven to both ends of US Route 1 and from Rehoboth Beach, DE to San Francisco and the Pacific beaches. The Tesla super-chargers today make those trips much easier than they were even 2 years ago, but there still can be times, especially in northern Maine and other places that do not have extensive super-charger locations, when the driver of the car could be aided by software that would limit KWH per mile to ensure making their destinations.
My suggestion to the King of Prussia service center starting 3 years ago, and again at the Tesla factory when I visited there 2 years ago seems to have fallen on deaf ears.
We all know the value of cruise control, but how easy would it be to offer additional software in the "controls" to limit the KWH per mile?
Coming through Colorado two years ago I faced a 220 mile gap between chargers through mountainous conditions. I had to turn off the cruise control and spent several hours trying to maintain a maximum of 200 KWH/mile utilizing my right foot to constantly adjust the "foot pedal" for the many hours it took to travel this distance. My overall KWH/mile during this leg of the trip was 158, but my leg and foot were worn out.
I would have loved to have had the car (computer) control this function.

The model 3 has chill mode, and all models have valet mode, which both work to limit max power output.

Range mode is really a bit of a mystery, but it could conceivably have a power limiting feature added to it, to really eek out the maximum distance for a given charge. OR make a separate setting called Gutless mode that clips power same way as if the battery is frozen.

Also you've probably already figured out Low regen setting is best for highway cruising when range matters and its clear sailing on relatively flat to mildly undulating roads. On mountain down hauls flip the setting back to standard regen if you find yourself wanting to use brake pedal.

Another thing in emergency is to cut HVAC completely and tolerate cabin as is. IF the windows fog up you may need fan on windscreen just to see so turn on HVAC upper fan only, turn off AC, and dial Temp down to LO, and fan on 5 or whatever. .and crack a side window a bit if necessary. this keeps resistive heater off. Forget about back window defroster, stop looking out the back window.