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How to save a lot of time on long trips

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I don't think that is due to inadequate cooling in the car - I believe it is inadequate cooling of the superchargers. Lots of people are having this issue at many different chargers this year (me included). I never saw this issue with my car before this summer.

Weird Supercharger Incident (Reduced Charge)

Same here. I used to drive through the Nevada/California/Arizona deserts a lot and always got full power. That was about 2 years ago. More recently I seem to get reduced power more. I assumed my battery is just getting older, but now I see many others experience the same.
 
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Same here. I used to drive through the Nevada/California/Arizona deserts a lot and always got full power. That was about 2 years ago. More recently I seem to get reduced power more. I assumed my battery is just getting older, but now I see many others experience the same.

I hear stories of Chademo chargers overheating because of an air filter being clogged. Do Superchargers have filters? If so, it would make sense that this didn't happen before but now it is.....perhaps the filters need to be cleaned? Just a thought.
 
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I don't think that is due to inadequate cooling in the car - I believe it is inadequate cooling of the superchargers. Lots of people are having this issue at many different chargers this year (me included). I never saw this issue with my car before this summer.

Weird Supercharger Incident (Reduced Charge)

There are situations where the car will preferentially cool the battery pack not the cabin when supercharging in extreme heat thus I suspect charge rate would be throttled due to state of battery temperature as well.

As for cutting it close on range, I like to start the drive conservatively and increase speed as conditions allow knowing that burning off that extra range towards the end of the trip is quickly refilled in the first few minutes of Supercharging. It also feels better than trying to stretch the range by slowing down at the end of the leg due to range concerns.
 
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There are situations where the car will preferentially cool the battery pack not the cabin when supercharging in extreme heat thus I suspect charge rate would be throttled due to state of battery temperature as well.

Certainly true and I'm sure there are conditions whereby the car may reduce charging rate due to heat.

However, in my experience supercharging in hot climates for the last 3 summers is that the car's cooling system is adequate to handle full supercharging at ambient temperatures of over 100 degrees.
 
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I hear stories of Chademo chargers overheating because of an air filter being clogged. Do Superchargers have filters? If so, it would make sense that this didn't happen before but now it is.....perhaps the filters need to be cleaned? Just a thought.

I have never seen a filter at any Supercharger so I assume they don't have one. They have pretty large heat exchangers and fans. I doubts it's a heat issue.
 
First, great thread. I am a new owner, 75D(one week yesterday) from the 3rd quarter sales blitz and couldn't be happier. I guess like all new owners I am having range anxiety and have some questions. Forgive me if these are answered in other threads (I will admit I got lazy but it also seemed that this thread was perfect for what information I need).

I am on the first half of a round trip between the Atlanta area and Santa Rosa Beach Florida. Using the trip planner, I get routed through using Superchargers in Auburn, AL (incidentally this is one as noted that is way off the highway 10 - 15 minutes), Evergreen, AL and DeFuniak Springs, FL. I have been making this trip for over 20 years in the past and the trip down in my Tesla added about 2.5 hours to my normal ICE drive time. This was both because of time spent charging and the rerouting through Evergreen, AL.

My questions are this:
  1. The distance between the Auburn SC and DeFuniak SC is about 180 miles this should be very doable with a 85 - 90% charge at Auburn and the same at DeFuniak coming back. Am I reading this correctly or am I cutting it too closely?
  2. Is there anyway to override the trip planner to force the routing directly to DeFuniak getting the predictive value of its energy calculation?
  3. What is a reasonable buffer that I should plan on when planning a single leg of a trip without charging resources available?
Again, great thread and thanks for your thoughts and experience.
 
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First, great thread. I am a new owner, 75D(one week yesterday) from the 3rd quarter sales blitz and couldn't be happier. I guess like all new owners I am having range anxiety and have some questions. Forgive me if these are answered in other threads (I will admit I got lazy but it also seemed that this thread was perfect for what information I need).

I am on the first half of a round trip between the Atlanta area and Santa Rosa Beach Florida. Using the trip planner, I get routed through using Superchargers in Auburn, AL (incidentally this is one as noted that is way off the highway 10 - 15 minutes), Evergreen, AL and DeFuniak Springs, FL. I have been making this trip for over 20 years in the past and the trip down in my Tesla added about 2.5 hours to my normal ICE drive time. This was both because of time spent charging and the rerouting through Evergreen, AL.

My questions are this:
  1. The distance between the Auburn SC and DeFuniak SC is about 180 miles this should be very doable with a 85 - 90% charge at Auburn and the same at DeFuniak coming back. Am I reading this correctly or am I cutting it too closely?
  2. Is there anyway to override the trip planner to force the routing directly to DeFuniak getting the predictive value of its energy calculation?
  3. What is a reasonable buffer that I should plan on when planning a single leg of a trip without charging resources available?
Again, great thread and thanks for your thoughts and experience.


I just use the evtripplanner estimate. They are a lot more accurate than the tesla's IMO. In dash nav would say I can't make it and need to charge, but I just ignore and go directly and I always make it. My rule of thumb is to add around 20-40 Rated Miles on top of what evtripplanner tells you it will need to make it. Make sure to use the most accurate conditions. i.e. temperature, weight, speed, etc when available.

With the 20-40 miles Rated miles buffer, I usually find myself either using slightly less due to traffic or right on. I have yet to arrive with less than 20 rated miles.
 
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bxr's answers:

1. 180 is very doable. As suggested, play around with EV trip planner to get some idea of total trip time with and without the third charge. That will give a real good indication how to minimize total trip time. If it works out to skip you can always plan to have a sit down mean for the long chargers (or whatever else helps you pass the time).
2. I don't use trip planner, I just use nav and I route directly to each charger. It's more manual that way, but if you know the trip it helps out in the end by allowing you to better monitor your in process energy useage.
3. It kind of depends on how involved you want to be. I manage my trip/conditions very closely, so I'll typically start a [known] leg with a 15% mileage buffer in fair weather-that's 115 miles charged for a 100 mile leg by the way, not 15% charge + my leg. I adjust up for hot/cold/rain/wind. I start my trip at a reasonable speed (72 in 65) and incrementally adjust speed up if my margin starts to grow. Especially once you get a few laps of the same trip under your belt, you'll feel more comfortable squeezing your margin.

The best way to start gathering data, as noted, is to use EV trip planner for estimates. Then, take notes (even if they're mental).

If youre not that kind of person, just wait for a 20-25% range buffer before you set off.
 
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Is there anyway to override the trip planner to force the routing directly to DeFuniak getting the predictive value of its energy calculation?

if I've understood correctly I think one answer would be to start a new "journey" and just click on the DeFuniak supercharger icon (on the map) as your destination, instead of letting the NAV choose the intervening Superchargers between you and your destination.

Worth checking what evtripplanner has to say about it (including setting it to 1.1 or 1.2 speed adjustment, if you are inclined to go a "bit over"!! the limit. The first time I used it I keep increasing the fraction until it showed me the Wh average for the trip that matched my normal driving habit, and then I've stuck with that setting since)

I watch the Trip Energy Display TAB and adjust my speed if it starts to go red. Here in UK there is high probability my journey will hit a traffic jam, or roadworks, which will improve my Wh average :) so I set off fast and only slow down if the graph starts looking bad ... usually a delay takes care of the range anxiety for me :)
 
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Thanks for the great feedback.

I played around with EV Trip Planner and it says I can make it as long as I keep my speed factor under 2.0 (I played with it a bit). I also have a couple of shortcuts that can shave a few miles off the trip. I also found that I can disable charging stops on the built-in planner and the planner will give me a route, unfortunately it's not the one that I usually take. It also says I am going to fe a few miles short of the Auburn SC.

I'm curious if any Atlanta owners have made the trip and which route they took. I'll have to wait to see if any owners from Atlanta see this.

Again, thanks.

BTW, as far as my SC experiences so far:

Auburn, AL - Quite a ways from I-85 but fairly convenient to McDonalds and Waffle House. It's in a Mall parking lot but at 6:00AM that is of no value.
Evergreen, AL - Convenient to the interstate (I-65) in the parking lot of a Hampton Inn with a Cracker Barrel in an adjacent property.
DeFuniak Springs, FL - Quite a ways from I-10 in the older part of the town. Not much open around the SC even at noon on a Monday.

Please let me know if there is a better place to put this kind of information.
 
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Please let me know if there is a better place to put this kind of information

I put a comment in Plugshare when I'm at a charger, particularly if something is broken or goofy, and even with no comment knowing that someone has charged there recently is helpful (well ... not needed for superchargers, but for all the rest it helps with the who-knows-if-it-is-working anxiety)
 
I,too, am a newbie having taken delivery last week of Sept. (60D). I am taking my first long trip next week and will arrive at my destination with less than 10%. That is against all advice I have read on this forum. Should I re-route out of my way to make another supercharger stop?
My destination has an overnight charger, but I'm not used to taking those chances.
 
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I,too, am a newbie having taken delivery last week of Sept. (60D). I am taking my first long trip next week and will arrive at my destination with less than 10%. That is against all advice I have read on this forum. Should I re-route out of my way to make another supercharger stop?
My destination has an overnight charger, but I'm not used to taking those chances.
Hard for others to give you solid advice because it comes down to YOUR personal risk tolerance. I also suspect you want your first road trip to have as little anxiety and as much joy as possible.

Personally, 10% on my first trip was too small of a buffer, but I know others will disagree with me. Realize you can always go slower to help, but you can also have unforeseen things come up that could make the 10% less... Depending on what tool you used to calculate, e.g. Tesla's does not consider outside temps (colder costs you mileage), and none account for cross or head winds, or big rain/snow effects... personally, I'd plan for the interim stop so that is in your head, and when you get to your final destination, if you didn't need to really do it, you'll know for the next time.

Good luck, and congrats on that new MS!
 
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I,too, am a newbie having taken delivery last week of Sept. (60D). I am taking my first long trip next week and will arrive at my destination with less than 10%. That is against all advice I have read on this forum. Should I re-route out of my way to make another supercharger stop?
My destination has an overnight charger, but I'm not used to taking those chances.
Yes, or maybe there's level 2 charging you could stop at for an hour that is on your route while you eat or something. If you have headwind, rain, or something else unexpected you'll be screwed if your plan for the ideal scenario leaves you with less than 10% remaining. You always need a plan B.
 
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I am taking my first long trip next week and will arrive at my destination with less than 10%

I'd prefer 20%, and then drive at 75 - 80 MPH if I want to.

When i find myself with 10% (like last night, had to go 30 miles out of my way on return trip unexpectedly, and was late on outgoing leg and, ermmm ... used up rather a lot of energy getting there!!) I set the NAV and look at the TRIP tab on energy graph and drop my speed to 60MPH.

If the arrival percentage doesn't improve, and particularly if it goes below 10%, I drop to 55 MPH and draught a big truck / bus. If it picks up to 10% I return to 60 MPH.

That said, if it was at 10% at the start of a long trip I'd stay at 60 MPH or even 55 MPH until I had, say, 15% ... or the distance to destination was getting close (i..e there comes a point where I am happy with a safety margin of 10 miles, rather than 20 - 30 miles. Last night I was back at 75 MPH about 15 miles from destination)
 
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I,too, am a newbie having taken delivery last week of Sept. (60D). I am taking my first long trip next week and will arrive at my destination with less than 10%. That is against all advice I have read on this forum. Should I re-route out of my way to make another supercharger stop?.

It depends on how you got that 10%, and it depends on the actual trip--mostly the volitility of weather and your ability to hold a sensible speed. It also depends on how out of the way the supercharger route will take you.

EV trip planner is a good resource for estimates, because it has a few knobs to turn (payload, speed factor, wheels), so if you haven't yet I'd suggest running a few scenarios to bound your case.

Check plugshare--are there bailouts on your route? If you try to make it and find that you're going to fall short, a slow charge is better than no charge. Just having that mental security blanket will help tremendously. You could also just plan a meal around a slow charge (if there's a charger near a restaurant). Even just 30-45 min on an L2 will give you a few % buffer.
 
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the best way to minimize charging times on long trips is to plan your stops before leaving, try to schedule the stops where you might need to do a max charge to meal breaks, otherwise just charge enough to make your next stop. the x factor in that plan is weather and unexpected detours. your trip planner will be invaluable, trust it.
I disagree. The Tesla trip planner is very poor compared to evtripplanner or just figuring it out yourself.
 
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