Just did LA to Las Vegas in a Model X 60D with 22in wheels

[mike2016]

Starting point is 91748 Rowland Heights area, with 180 miles of charge.

I used the in-car navigation for supercharging planning, and was charging until the car tells me it's got enough juice to leave

Stop 1 - Barstow (~75 miles distance from starting point)
- some traffic for the first 30 miles until I got to the I-15, 40 mph avg
- then 70-85 mph until I got to Barstow
- 40 miles of charge left when i arrived
- charge time 40 minutes (only 2 other cars charging, 16 stalls available)
- charging started at 230mi/hour then stayed at around 170mi/hour
- charged to 170 miles

Stop 2 - Primm (~115 miles distance)
- mostly 80mph for the first 20 miles or so until the car says "stay below 65mph to reach destination"
- as the big climb came and the energy usage went up, i got panicked and was doing 70mph for a while , then 65mph.
- after the big climb, I got only 10 miles left but i could see Primm in sight, and the rest of the drive was all downhill. so i took it up to 85mph and it was mostly "regen" all the way until the road was level.
- arrived Primm with 6 miles left.
- charged until 65 miles (~15mins) , as the rest of the drive was about 30 miles, the car didn't tell me it's ready to go this time

Destination - MGM Grand, Las Vegas
- Arrived with less than 20 miles of charge
- I first went to Bellagio for some errands, then headed to MGM for stay, had 12 miles left
- Finding the chargers was a pain in the ass. I circled the self parking several times and couldn't find it.
- went to valet and was told they don't offer EV charging. They gave me direction to the chargers.
- Finally found the chargers at the Uber/Lyft waiting lobby, yes in the freaking waiting area in front of bunch of people waiting for rides.
- There were only 3 spaces - 1 Tesla charger, 2 x Chargepoint chargers. ALL OCCUPIED!
- Luckily, as I drove past the chargers the first time trying to figure out how to get in there, one Tesla was leaving. so i circled back and plugged into the chargepoint charger. It was free. but charging was rather slow. 14mi/hour.


For those of you who arrive with little charge left, I recommend charging at the supercharger at the beginning of the strip before you go to the hotel for final stay. otherwise you will have a hard time finding a destination charger. None of the hotels have enough EV chargers.

 

[mike2016]

Continued....

sorry i couldn't finish the first post due to computer problem.


So on the return trip, it was a bit of a struggle.

I left Las Vegas with full charge of 194 miles. Thanks to MGM for the free charger, and I got lucky.

Arrived Primm and charged for about 10 minutes (as told by the car), continued the trip with about 165 miles of charge.

From Primm to next stop Baker is about 115 miles.
- I thought I had more than enough juice, so I was doing 80-85mph until the car tells me I had to keep the speed below 75mph.
I ignored it for a while, as I had more "miles" to cover the distance. then the car says I had to slow to 65mph.... so I slowed to 75mph. then car says 55mph.... I ignored it again... until I had 40 miles of range left, and there were 30 miles of distance to cover. and a climb was coming...
- when the charge went down to 20 miles of range, the car says "charge now to reach destination".... okay, i was kind of worried. basically it's saying i didn't have enough juice to reach Barstow. I thought, ok there's only 20 miles or so to go, F it let's try. I slowed the car down to 55mph. after a few miles, the warning disappeared, now the car thinks i can make it. yay!

- I arrived Barstow with 3 miles remaining.

Supercharging with very low SOC will take a while. When I first plugged in, the car was not charging at all... until 5 minutes later, it was charging at 1-2mi/hour. I thought the car was broken. then I waited it out, the charge rate went up, finally it was doing about 150mi/hour.

- Charge time 40 minutes , charged to 120 miles of range.


Barstow to Home

Knowning there are other superchargers in town, I wasn't worried about going fast so I was doing 85-90mph. as it was getting late, I wanted to go home.
- arrived home with 10 miles left.



Conclusion

it was quite a pain in the ass. the speed and the wheel size was big factor in efficiency. My avg energy usage on highway was never below 350kw. city driving is usually the 400+. I had a S 75D loaner for a few days and it was always below 300.

If you are going to do a long trip, don't do it in a 60D + 22in wheels. The worst combination. You basically have to stop every 120miles. and every stop is going to take 30-40 mins to charge.

 

[mike2016]

Forgot to add. 90% of the trip was on Autopilot (V1).

 

[wycolo]

22 inch wheels have a different rolling radius than standard wheels?
--

 

[GWord]

22 inch wheels have a different rolling radius than standard wheels?
--

Not by much (1% larger, approx.)

 

[outie]

Your pain is not about wheel size, but your speed and repeatedly ignoring the warnings. You were going at 80-85 which uses significantly more energy. The rated range you see is based on ~320Wh/mi and is not adjusted to your average/current consumption.

I am surprised at your bravery nonetheless.

 

[IdaX]

Your pain is not about wheel size, but your speed and repeatedly ignoring the warnings. You were going at 80-85 which uses significantly more energy. The rated range you see is based on ~320Wh/mi and is not adjusted to your average/current consumption.

Since drag goes as v^2, you use less energy by going 70mph the whole way rather than starting at 85 and ending at 55. Reassuring that the system was robust enough to get you there!

 

[nnick01]

Back in the beginning of April I drove from the California Bay area to Joshua Tree, spent a couple days there. Then to Vegas (NV). Went to Hoover Dam and whatnot for a day. Then to Zion National Park (UT). Then to Bryce Canyon (UT). Back to Death Valley and then back to the Bay Area. I drive a MX100D with the standard wheels. We drove a total of ~2200 miles and it was a family of 4. We had ZERO, absolutely ZERO range issues. We drove at all the normal speeds we would of drove in an ICE (65-80mph).

For example, from San Jose to Joshua tree we only had to stop at 2 superchargers. The total trip took about 9 hours and that includes the lunch we had at Harris Ranch (while supercharging) and traffic when we were in LA (google maps says 7 1/2 hours with zero traffic and zero stops from San Jose to Joshua Tree).

 

[mike2016]

Your pain is not about wheel size, but your speed and repeatedly ignoring the warnings. You were going at 80-85 which uses significantly more energy. The rated range you see is based on ~320Wh/mi and is not adjusted to your average/current consumption.

I am surprised at your bravery nonetheless.

the 22in wheels do use a bit more energy, combined with higher speed and lots of elevation changes... not fun.
I never did such a long trip in the X. but even in normal daily usage, I never got more than 150 miles. my energy usage is always 400+.

Since drag goes as v^2, you use less energy by going 70mph the whole way rather than starting at 85 and ending at 55. Reassuring that the system was robust enough to get you there!

at 70mph, even semi trucks were passing me.... lol. and it just felt like i was never going to get there at that speed.

Back in the beginning of April I drove from the California Bay area to Joshua Tree, spent a couple days there. Then to Vegas (NV). Went to Hoover Dam and whatnot for a day. Then to Zion National Park (UT). Then to Bryce Canyon (UT). Back to Death Valley and then back to the Bay Area. I drive a MX100D with the standard wheels. We drove a total of ~2200 miles and it was a family of 4. We had ZERO, absolutely ZERO range issues. We drove at all the normal speeds we would of drove in an ICE (65-80mph).

For example, from San Jose to Joshua tree we only had to stop at 2 superchargers. The total trip took about 9 hours and that includes the lunch we had at Harris Ranch (while supercharging) and traffic when we were in LA (google maps says 7 1/2 hours with zero traffic and zero stops from San Jose to Joshua Tree).

That's pretty amazing. San Jose to Joshua tree is like 500 miles. your rated miles are pretty much dead on.
My car never gets more than 150 miles out of a full charge, even for daily usage.

 

[Maaz]

I wonder how your trip would have went if Yermo and Baker Chargers were up and running.

 

[Wshowell]

My question is, how much time did you gain by driving 85 versus time lost using more energy and being forced to charge longer? I suppose the only way to really test this would be to do a Tortoise and Hare test with identical vehicles with one traveling at the speed limit (tortoise) and the other at speed limit+++ (hare). Anyone have data on this?

 

[David99]

My question is, how much time did you gain by driving 85 versus time lost using more energy and being forced to charge longer? I suppose the only way to really test this would be to do a Tortoise and Hare test with identical vehicles with one traveling at the speed limit (tortoise) and the other at speed limit+++ (hare). Anyone have data on this?

This has been done many times. The ideal speed depends on battery size, distance between Superchargers and weather conditions. At normal conditions and about 90 miles distance between Superchargers, your ideal speed is between 80 and 90 mph. The lower the distance between Superchargers or the more energy you need due to weather or pulling a trailer, the slower your ideal driving speed.

 

[mike2016]

I wonder how your trip would have went if Yermo and Baker Chargers were up and running.

Baker would've been the best spot, considering one has full charge leaving vegas to LA, can blast through all the uphill at 90mph or faster and get to Baker to fill up, then continue all the way to LA area without stopping. the trip from Vegas to Baker used the most energy per KW/mile due to uphill.

My question is, how much time did you gain by driving 85 versus time lost using more energy and being forced to charge longer? I suppose the only way to really test this would be to do a Tortoise and Hare test with identical vehicles with one traveling at the speed limit (tortoise) and the other at speed limit+++ (hare). Anyone have data on this?

The charging time was about the same estimated by the car nav. It's just I arrived with less than "estimated" battery %. The car was being conservative. I kept driving faster than I was told to, until the the nav told me to slow down even further, I followed the instructions, and I made it.

 

[kvelarde23]

Nice write up. I tried to make only 1 supercharger stop when going from Rancho Cucamonga to Vegas and back but it seems I have to stop at both Barstow and Primm just to play it safe in a MX75D. I tend to keep my speed at 80mph using cruise control.

 

[Amp Dup]

My "range anxiety' kicks in big-time by 20% charge. At 10% I think I would hyperventilate and pass out!
Your experience puts me in mind of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer goes for a test drive with a car salesman. Its all about their exhilaration of driving after the fuel gauge says 'empty'. The salesman says, "I never felt so alive!"

 

[williamd314]

I just made the same trip. Rancho Cucamonga at 100%, stopped Barstow for 1hr to charge (the Chili's is pretty nice, actually), stopped in Primm to top off (since Vdara didn't have EV charging with valet), drove to Vdara. Had dinner at Lazy Dog, and let it charge up full while eating dinner.

Drove back: filled up a bit in south Las Vegas Supercharger, bumped the charge in Primm, stopped in Barstow for 30-40 minutes to charge (played in the parking lot), and then drove the rest of the way home.

Lessons learned (that I can tell you ran afoul whereas I tried to stay on the safe side):

1. Charge to 100% to start your trip, but change it to 90% during the trip. Supercharging along the trip goes more smoothly when you ''quick charge" the bulk of the battery that charges quickly. You'll spend as much time waiting for the last 10% to charge as you will getting to 85-90%.

2. Use the Superchargers along the trip, and accept the charging time as a part of the trip. Let the battery charge up as much as time permits, but give it time to fill.

3. The car is driving itself, so who really cares if you're going 80mph, 75mph, or 70mph? Battery efficiency works better at lower speeds, and the car drives itself, so who cares if you get there 10 minutes early?

 

[outie]

3. The car is driving itself, so who really cares if you're going 80mph, 75mph, or 70mph? Battery efficiency works better at lower speeds, and the car drives itself, so who cares if you get there 10 minutes early?

Apparently there are people who care. Furthermore, I've seen people (on this forum) saying that you must drive 80mph to keep up with the traffic or risk being tailgated/passed here in SoCal.

 

[Saltyamateur]

I made it from Rancho Cucamonga charger to the Primm charger on a single charge in a X60D. Had no choice, because the Barstow station was vandalized during the Thanksgiving weekend 2016. I have the standard 20in wheels and used some drafting behind big rigs. Arrived in Primm with less than 5 miles left. It was almost at 0 miles at the top of the hill, but got a few back on the coast downhill.

 

[BrokerDon]

I made it from Rancho Cucamonga charger to the Primm charger on a single charge in a X60D. Had no choice, because the Barstow station was vandalized during the Thanksgiving weekend 2016. I have the standard 20in wheels and used some drafting behind big rigs. Arrived in Primm with less than 5 miles left. It was almost at 0 miles at the top of the hill, but got a few back on the coast downhill.

Definitely DRAFT if you're running low on charge. We hit a MONSTER headwind / dust storm between Barstow and Primm on our way to Las Vegas from Orange County. Tesla navigation correctly warned me we'd come up short so I found a nice big high profile vehicle (Sprinter van) doing 80 mph, set Autopilot following distance to "1" and "drafted" the Sprinter all the way to Primm. Good thing I did since not only did we make it AT SPEED but the dust storm turned into a total crazy blowing BROWN OUT then rained MUD. Gotta love / hate desert weather !!!

 

[mike2016]

For those who plan on taking your Tesla to Vegas, be warned and don't expect to have charging station at your hotel !!!

I got extremely lucky at MGM, as I pulled up a Model S was leaving so I took the spot. otherwise my car would be sitting without charging with less than 10 miles of charge for the next 2 days. it seems the hotel didn't care about EV chargers, they just found a random spot and throw them in there. it was at an extremely awkward spot which didn't even make sense.

Have at least 30 miles or so of charge upon arrival at hotel. There are superchargers at the south end of the strip or downtown Las vegas, either direction is about 10 miles. but factor in daily loss , emergency ...etc.


for 60D owners in Socal who go to Vegas often, it's probably time to upgrade to 75D lol... the 35 miles or so extra range really makes a difference, one less stop for charging for sure.

this is the only time I had run the battery down like this lmao. i don't go to vegas as often as I used to, and i don't use it for long distance. so the 60D range serves me well for 99% of the time. and there are superchargers within 30 miles of anywhere I go in Socal so i'm good. my avg wh/mile is always 400+ lol