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How to increase range on MX?

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I bought a new 2022 refreshed MX with 20" wheels and will soon need to replace my first set of tires. Since I sometimes tow a 3500lb fishing boat/trailer, I assume that I need to keep 10" rear tires. I use about 800 Wh/mi while towing. I charge to the 100% limit before I go fishing, but my favorite fishing spots are within 15 miles of my max round trip range, and a couple are just about 10 miles beyond my max range. With normal battery degradation, I'll soon be short of all my destinations. So, I'm definitely interested in replacing tires and wheels with longer range options. I live in southern Missouri where snow is usually limited and NO superchargers are available anywhere near these fishing spots. What are some options to increase range within reason, that is, considering wheel and tire limitations for towing with an MX?
 
I bought a new 2022 refreshed MX with 20" wheels and will soon need to replace my first set of tires. Since I sometimes tow a 3500lb fishing boat/trailer, I assume that I need to keep 10" rear tires. I use about 800 Wh/mi while towing. I charge to the 100% limit before I go fishing, but my favorite fishing spots are within 15 miles of my max round trip range, and a couple are just about 10 miles beyond my max range. With normal battery degradation, I'll soon be short of all my destinations. So, I'm definitely interested in replacing tires and wheels with longer range options. I live in southern Missouri where snow is usually limited and NO superchargers are available anywhere near these fishing spots. What are some options to increase range within reason, that is, considering wheel and tire limitations for towing with an MX?
The first thing I would do, is get a top quality wheel alignment. I have been told, the cars are not machine aligned coming out of the factory. A good alignment job will optimize your energy usage. Also make sure they are inflated properly, slightly high pressure might help. What is your energy usage without the trailer at roughly the same speed?

As far as tires are concerned, I doubt there is anything better than the OEM Continentals 20 inchers. Some folks claim very poor lifetime from the OEM tires, although I have always gotten over 40,000 miles from mine (if I didn't break them first <sigh>). But I don't think I have heard anyone claiming poor energy efficiency. It is very difficult to compare energy consumption between different tires.

Any chance you could help get a destination charger installed somewhere near your favorite lake?
 
I second the destination charger suggestion. An RV park might also be able to help you charge. While having something at one of your stops would be nice, you can also stop anywhere on your return trip for enough charge to make it back. If all you need is a few extra miles the slow charging should not take too long.

The old standby is to slow down. That has a big impact on range if you're normally at highway speeds, and I think that would be especially true for towing. The other thing to try is to follow a big semi at a normal AP following distance (though the closer the "better"). That can also save a significant amount.

The last thing that comes to mind is to be sure Sentry is turned off and that you are allowing the car to sleep when you are parked. That saves a lot overnight, but may not be significant if your stops are shorter.
 
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A destination charger isn't presently available anywhere near my destination, and it's the type of area where I'll probably not see another EV for another 20 years. There is a destination charger located about 20 miles from my home but I'd have to disconnect the boat/trailer to gain access to it, charge at a 6.5 KW rate, and then reconnect the boat/trailer-- would be a pain in the .... not to mention that I'm already dog tired by the time I return that far.

I keep the tires at 47psi regardless of towing or not. I seem to use about 365 Wh/mi normally, and use about 800 Wh/mi when towing with the speed between 60-65, with no passengers. Naturally, I prefer to take my three buddies, and that adds another 700 lbs including their gear. Since Tesla turns off autopilot when in tow mode, it's super hard to keep the speed constant, especially when towing up and down hills.

I've read that some MX owners prefer Scorpion zero all seasons but I haven't been able to see anything about what that does to the electric usage rate. I certainly don't need my Wh/mi to get any higher. I'm barely making it back from my trips now, and I'd hate to spend >$1000 for tires that leave me stranded. That's a hard lesson.
 
A destination charger isn't presently available anywhere near my destination, and it's the type of area where I'll probably not see another EV for another 20 years. There is a destination charger located about 20 miles from my home but I'd have to disconnect the boat/trailer to gain access to it, charge at a 6.5 KW rate, and then reconnect the boat/trailer-- would be a pain in the .... not to mention that I'm already dog tired by the time I return that far.

I keep the tires at 47psi regardless of towing or not. I seem to use about 365 Wh/mi normally, and use about 800 Wh/mi when towing with the speed between 60-65, with no passengers. Naturally, I prefer to take my three buddies, and that adds another 700 lbs including their gear. Since Tesla turns off autopilot when in tow mode, it's super hard to keep the speed constant, especially when towing up and down hills..
it changes the default, but you can manually turn tow mode off.

365 wh/mile is quite high for modest speeds (60-ish). In my 2018, I am usually below 300. A 2022 should be much better than that (I am expecting 250ish). If your readings are true, I‘d get an alignment. You might also want to check the alignment of the trailer (but I have no idea how that is done, perhaps a trailer shop).

The RV park idea is a good one. A 50 amp RV outlet is our good old 14-50.
 
interestingly, my MX still used up about 40 miles of battery charge while it sat in the parking lot while I went fishing for 6 hours last week, and sentry mode was turned off. I don't understand that.

I will get the alignment checked--that's a good idea.

Do you have cabin overheat on? That will run your AC.

I've seen 500 wh/mi towing a max load open trailer doing 55 up various terrain. Speed/aero are your worst enemy. Tires, wheels, alignment, etc all add up but the single most important variable that you can control is speed.
 
it changes the default, but you can manually turn tow mode off.

365 wh/mile is quite high for modest speeds (60-ish). In my 2018, I am usually below 300. A 2022 should be much better than that (I am expecting 250ish). If your readings are true, I‘d get an alignment. You might also want to check the alignment of the trailer (but I have no idea how that is done, perhaps a trailer shop).

The RV park idea is a good one. A 50 amp RV outlet is our good old 14-50.

Trailers don't require alignments. Hell, you don't even need to balance the wheel/tires.
 
If possible, consider making aerodynamic and rolling resistance improvements to the boat and trailer. For example, can you reduce the width of the trailer tires or remove/fold a windshield on the boat? If you aren't already, reduce speed to 55 MPH. I've found that anything over that significantly impacts energy consumption when towing.
 
Great ideas! My take-homes are:
1. Make sure cabin overheat is off.
2. Get an alignment.
3. Fold down the center boat window when towing.
4. Keep towing speed between 55-60.
5. Check RV parks for 14-50 outlets near destinations.

The great aspect is that none of these cost anything except the alignment which is a good thing to do regardless!
I'm a little surprised that I haven't received any recommendations about tire or wheel options, but maybe the stock ones are as good as it gets for efficiency.
 
A destination charger isn't presently available anywhere near my destination, and it's the type of area where I'll probably not see another EV for another 20 years. There is a destination charger located about 20 miles from my home but I'd have to disconnect the boat/trailer to gain access to it, charge at a 6.5 KW rate, and then reconnect the boat/trailer-- would be a pain in the .... not to mention that I'm already dog tired by the time I return that far.

I keep the tires at 47psi regardless of towing or not. I seem to use about 365 Wh/mi normally, and use about 800 Wh/mi when towing with the speed between 60-65, with no passengers. Naturally, I prefer to take my three buddies, and that adds another 700 lbs including their gear. Since Tesla turns off autopilot when in tow mode, it's super hard to keep the speed constant, especially when towing up and down hills.

I've read that some MX owners prefer Scorpion zero all seasons but I haven't been able to see anything about what that does to the electric usage rate. I certainly don't need my Wh/mi to get any higher. I'm barely making it back from my trips now, and I'd hate to spend >$1000 for tires that leave me stranded. That's a hard lesson.
Tow mode stops AutoPilot but does not stop TACC. No problem keeping constant speed.
 
The trailer has low pressure tires but that's almost unavoidable--When inflated beyond 35lbs, it bounces all over the road like a ping pong ball on porcelain floor tile.

The overall pressure is less important than the tire pressure relative to the specified sidewall max. Honestly, I'd just drive slower and see if you can bring your wh/mi down to the 500 range. But, at the end of the the day if you are pushing the limits of the car and stressing over it I would just bring a gas/diesel truck. I don't have any issues towing with the X, but the infrastructure just is not there. I'd rather take my diesel truck and not have to deal with charging, hitching/unhitching, etc. Hobbies like boating should be fun, not stressful. My 2 cents.
 
I had the tires on my MX rotated and wheels aligned yesterday. Yes, the right front wheel was way off of alignment. I also drove 20 miles down the road to the only charging station along the route to my fishing spots. It turns out to output only 3.5 KW. I call these a "CINO"--a Charger In Name Only. I'm anxious to see how much MX range improvement I get on my next fishing trip.

I'll also play around with increasing the tire pressure on my boat trailer. That's more tricky since it starts to bounce around too much when the tire pressure is up to specs at 45psi.

Not sure if I'll ever let someone else do a tire rotation again--it took 1.5 hours of waiting at the tire store, and even then I caught the worker trying to rotate the tires front to back instead of side to side. It was one of the major brand stores so they should have known better. Now I'm worried that they may have failed to tighten the lugs up to specs. I'll check that today but I get upset when I have to double check everything.

Now I need to get an alignment on my MY. We only use it around town so range isn't an issue, but premature tire wear is always an issue.

Thanks for all your suggestions.