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Is AC powerful enough for AZ summers?

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I did note, however, that the air fans are only on when the 2nd and 3rd rows are occupied.

That is only if you have the rear HVAC set to Auto. You can force it on and then the second row door fans and the third row fans come in. In my experience the second row fans on the back of the center console sync with the front HVAC settings.

We discovered this because our child seat in the second row and our dogs in the third row apparently weren't heavy enough to trigger the rear HVAC on auto and we have to turn it on manually.
 
Here in AZ we should be up in the 100's in less than two weeks. Thinking of calling Tesla rep to see if she could let a Model X bake in the late afternoon sun for a couple of hours so I can come down and see how it preconditions and cools. Still not a 110+ degree test but if it's more than adequate at 103 degrees I'll be satisfied.
Great idea... Please post your experience
 
Also, to fellow AZers, anyone take the trek to Tucson or flagstaff in an X yet? How'd the hill up the 17 impact range? What's your average wh/mile?

Not Tucson or Flag, but we just did a drop from Chandler to Heber (bit past Payson and not far from Holbrook where the supercharger is) and it handled the mountains with ease. Used ~380-400 wh/mi average going up, we left with ~90% battery and arrived at ~18%.
 
Three years with my MS. On a 112º day in Arizona you will want to keep a baseline minimum amount of energy, say 50 miles of range. When it is extremely hot and you are traveling between superchargers or home as you get low on energy (<50) the car will reduce A/C cooling; probably to maintain battery pack cooling management. My experience comes from lessons learned. Traveling from supercharger to supercharger on a 112º day I was running to almost zero miles to get the rapid s u p e r c h a g e. As I did so I noticed the cabin getting very warm and the A/C and fan almost off as my mileage remaining declined close to empty! Duh! Supercharged and planned to arrive at the next supercharger with at least 50 miles remaining and had no further issues staying comfortable and, at times, chilly. In any extreme, hot or cold, the car manages the battery pack first and us well, second. Note the stories from those folks that live in extreme cold. Interior heating takes a toll on range also as the battery pack takes priority.
 
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Three years with my MS. On a 112º day in Arizona you will want to keep a baseline minimum amount of energy, say 50 miles of range. When it is extremely hot and you are traveling between superchargers or home as you get low on energy (<50) the car will reduce A/C cooling; probably to maintain battery pack cooling management. My experience comes from lessons learned. Traveling from supercharger to supercharger on a 112º day I was running to almost zero miles to get the rapid s u p e r c h a g e. As I did so I noticed the cabin getting very warm and the A/C and fan almost off as my mileage remaining declined close to empty! Duh! Supercharged and planned to arrive at the next supercharger with at least 50 miles remaining and had no further issues staying comfortable and, at times, chilly. In any extreme, hot or cold, the car manages the battery pack first and us well, second. Note the stories from those folks that live in extreme cold. Interior heating takes a toll on range also as the battery pack takes priority.

Good to know, thanks.
 
Three years with my MS. On a 112º day in Arizona you will want to keep a baseline minimum amount of energy, say 50 miles of range. When it is extremely hot and you are traveling between superchargers or home as you get low on energy (<50) the car will reduce A/C cooling; probably to maintain battery pack cooling management. My experience comes from lessons learned. Traveling from supercharger to supercharger on a 112º day I was running to almost zero miles to get the rapid s u p e r c h a g e. As I did so I noticed the cabin getting very warm and the A/C and fan almost off as my mileage remaining declined close to empty! Duh! Supercharged and planned to arrive at the next supercharger with at least 50 miles remaining and had no further issues staying comfortable and, at times, chilly. In any extreme, hot or cold, the car manages the battery pack first and us well, second. Note the stories from those folks that live in extreme cold. Interior heating takes a toll on range also as the battery pack takes priority.
Sounds like Star Trek..."Computer, re-route all power from life-support to propulsion..."
 
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This is a big concern of mine, having over the last 30 years lived in Ariz, Central Cal, and now in Texas. I have already had an SUV with an under-sized A/C compressor that was inadequate when the engine was at idle.

I have no experience with an EV HVAC system, but concerned that to save electrons, the A/C compressor may be inadequate, especially for the larger Model X cabin.

SInce no private owner has ever driven an X in the heat of summer, this upcoming season will be the first test.

My decision to purchase an X is hinged on this and look for feedback from others, as well as a test drive one afternoon in June or July.

I welcome all feedback from S and X owners.

It has only hit 90 here in DFW area... according to my home weather station. I have turned off Range mode and drive around with my MX on Auto for all settings. It has seemed fine so far
 
The variable speed scroll compressor is far more efficient than the piston ones used by ICE cars. However, you may or may not like the auto settings and have to adjust them manually. The A/C is powerful enough to cool the battery when Supercharging--cooling the cabin is child's play by comparison.
Sounds like the hardware is quite adequate - and all the "me-too" are confirming. Just select the right fan speed and all these cooling issues are handled by the scroll compressor. Gosh - I like good engineering!!!!
 
I use 3M coating at 70% on my S and also use the Tesla aftersale sunscreens. Those have made it work well even without precooling in the hot humid South Florida summer. AZ is hotter and dryer/

I have no automotive experience in both places in summer but I have aircraft experience. At 128 degrees a few years ago leaving PHX airliners could not start engines, but I could. Cooling in AZ was faster and easier to maintain that it was later the same day when I was starting at a Miami area airport with temperature of 96 and humidity of 95%. I only recall that because I wrote it all in my logbook. BTW, the A/C in the airplane in question was an automotive unit.

I will be surprised if the X will have a serious problem so long as you tint the huge window and precool.
 
I use 3M coating at 70% on my S and also use the Tesla aftersale sunscreens. Those have made it work well even without precooling in the hot humid South Florida summer. AZ is hotter and dryer/

I have no automotive experience in both places in summer but I have aircraft experience. At 128 degrees a few years ago leaving PHX airliners could not start engines, but I could. Cooling in AZ was faster and easier to maintain that it was later the same day when I was starting at a Miami area airport with temperature of 96 and humidity of 95%. I only recall that because I wrote it all in my logbook. BTW, the A/C in the airplane in question was an automotive unit.

I will be surprised if the X will have a serious problem so long as you tint the huge window and precool.
Tell me your opinion on Coating. Others say gotta have wraps, bras, cquartz, xcel...."mines the best" and at prices that range from $5,00 to $15,000.
Do they hold up? do they protect better than a paint job at 50,000 miles? is it worth it? your opinion please.
 
Tell me your opinion on Coating. Others say gotta have wraps, bras, cquartz, xcel...."mines the best" and at prices that range from $5,00 to $15,000.
Do they hold up? do they protect better than a paint job at 50,000 miles? is it worth it? your opinion please.
1. I did no additional tinting other than to purchase a few greens squares from Sporty's Pilot Shop for the front window. No A/C problems.
2. I did wrap the car with Suntek and it's just fine after over three years and 70K miles. I had every painted surface wrapped and it's saved the paint numerous times--rubs from other cars just wipe off with bug and tar remover. (Too bad about the hail damage but that's what happens in Texas).
3. I've never had an aftermarket paint job that was anywhere near as good as the original in terms of looks or longevity. Anything you can do to keep the original paint in good condition is money saved. (and a good paint job is about 3X to 4X the cost of Xpel or Suntek).
 
1. I did no additional tinting other than to purchase a few greens squares from Sporty's Pilot Shop for the front window. No A/C problems.
2. I did wrap the car with Suntek and it's just fine after over three years and 70K miles. I had every painted surface wrapped and it's saved the paint numerous times--rubs from other cars just wipe off with bug and tar remover. (Too bad about the hail damage but that's what happens in Texas).
3. I've never had an aftermarket paint job that was anywhere near as good as the original in terms of looks or longevity. Anything you can do to keep the original paint in good condition is money saved. (and a good paint job is about 3X to 4X the cost of Xpel or Suntek).
Thanks. I've never wrapped, just tinted windows and thought that was repeatable. Tint shop showed me his edge wrapping - looked OK, but I thought not worth the price/effort for the protection. I was hoping for just the user history you just shared.
 
Thanks. I've never wrapped, just tinted windows and thought that was repeatable. Tint shop showed me his edge wrapping - looked OK, but I thought not worth the price/effort for the protection. I was hoping for just the user history you just shared.
Note that the main thing about the protection film is how it's applied, it's still more an art than a science. Look carefully at the previous jobs before choosing an installer.
 
Tell me your opinion on Coating. Others say gotta have wraps, bras, cquartz, xcel...."mines the best" and at prices that range from $5,00 to $15,000.
Do they hold up? do they protect better than a paint job at 50,000 miles? is it worth it? your opinion please.
I did a complete job with everything. I bought a demo car that had had some rough treatment so Fist Impression of Saraspta, FL did the whole job. I chose them because they are the sponsored link for Florida Tesla Enthusiasts and I'd seen several cars they'd done. It has been worth it to me already. A careless driver bumped into me and my only damage was replacing the film. Some time ago I backed carelessly and bumped a post. It looked terrible but everyhing cleaned away with mild dishwashing soap. Then washing the car is a breeze but it rarely gets dirty.

Frankly you need to be a bit obsessive to do this:

Here is the link to my job:
2015 P85D Multi-color red...Get your popcorn ready because this one was a big project
 
We parked our silver exterior with black interior MX outdoors in Novato,CA on 2016/05/29 for about 5 hours in the mid-day. Weather Underground says that was a 82 degree high day. It was a very sunny day, regardless of the temps. Getting back into the car it was quite hot. The instrument cluster was reading in the 90's (I'm not sure where this exterior sensor is located).

The AC seemed inadequate, at some point we rolled down the windows to get the car to cool off. Then I noticed that the fan was set to auto, but was only at 6/10. I turned the fan up manually and things seemed a bit better. I'm not sure why "auto" isn't more aggressive initially when the car is clearly very hot?
 
We parked our silver exterior with black interior MX outdoors in Novato,CA on 2016/05/29 for about 5 hours in the mid-day. Weather Underground says that was a 82 degree high day. It was a very sunny day, regardless of the temps. Getting back into the car it was quite hot. The instrument cluster was reading in the 90's (I'm not sure where this exterior sensor is located).

The AC seemed inadequate, at some point we rolled down the windows to get the car to cool off. Then I noticed that the fan was set to auto, but was only at 6/10. I turned the fan up manually and things seemed a bit better. I'm not sure why "auto" isn't more aggressive initially when the car is clearly very hot?

That really sounds like range mode is on. Range mode reduces both compressor power and fan speed to make the car consume less energy - and recent findings suggest it runs the battery warmer, too - which may or may not have adverse effects to longevity.