Legend of Lightning Green

[Dragon]

Now I will answer the question. Yes, I did make it home! Wuhu.
Though my feet where frozen, because I turned off the heating. I wasn't on the summit top, but almost there to reach it. Did drive 50-70 kmh the rest of the way and arrived at home with 5 km of ideal range left. It is incredible how you can extend range by driving carefully. And I found out winter time cuts about 10% from the range.

I had a meeting with Eberhard and Talkredius at Nürnberg (Norimberga).
Here is a pic of our semaphore:

 

[Mycroft]

Very colorful! Sounds like you had a great time! And no expensive petrol for the win! Yeah the Roadster is expensive, but having your sporty driving and practically free fuel at the same time is very cool.

 

[Dragon]

In 1870m of height, Val D' Ultimo. Where no other sportscar was before, I would bet. Had so many little rocks hitting the door sills I didn't have the courage to check the paint.

The sign in this picture is a joke. No one will ever bother to come up there to transport away your car. In fact, it's truly impossible with the narrow road leading there.

 

[Mycroft]

You need to get some 3M plastic film to cover those sensitive areas.

 

[Dragon]

You need to get some 3M plastic film to cover those sensitive areas.

Yeah, but you can't cover everything. Because of the winter tires there can be "gigantic" stones crashing like a crazy flipper ball inside the door and all over the sills. When the paint has completely gone off, I'll only drive without the top and climb out like the Dukes, leaving the doors closed.

 

[Dragon]

A cool picture of my car, made by my girlfriend. :smile:

 

[Mycroft]

Wow! If she's not a graphics artist, she should be!

 

[mgemmell]

Hi Dragon,

Here's a funny thing... I live in Madrid, Spain, and own an identical "Lightning Green Fairytale" (nice avatar by the way).

It would be absolutely awesome to plan a trip where you come here or I go there, or both! The distances are such that some detailled planning would be needed but two lightning greens together would be fantastic.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Mark

#454 EU

 

[Dragon]

Hi!

That's great. I already wanted to plan a trip to Spain, but would have travelled the coast. The distance is "extreme", it's 2000 km to go to Madrid and another 2000 to come back.
PM me if you already have some idea on how to do that trip.

If you plan to travel near Italy I sure want to meet you.

 

[VolkerP]

I suggest a lightning green gathering in front of the Tesla Monaco store (as long as it's still there!). Hurry up, guys - Vorwärts, Arriba, pronto! And we all would like to see pictures, of course.

 

[Eberhard]

Hi!

That's great. I already wanted to plan a trip to Spain, but would have travelled the coast. The distance is "extreme", it's 2000 km to go to Madrid and another 2000 to come back.
PM me if you already have some idea on how to do that trip.

If you plan to travel near Italy I sure want to meet you.

You have to join Rafael on his trip, Tesla goes South. But hope to see you in Meran when spring is coming.

 

[mgemmell]

Dude! That is one long thread! It's 2.50am and I've finally got to the end. Now, if I am going to start talking about my experience with "Tez" should I use your thread Dragon or kick off a Spanish one? Your call...

I'll need to get thinking about that trip... wife and 3 kids may need to follow in a support vehicle though

As for long drives.... I did 330kms the other day driving around Madrid (several times) and got home, but it refused to backup intothe garage. Now I'm not sure if I completely drained the battery or if the car just knew it was home and decided to take a siesta, but I think it was a close shave!

Just to say that while your problems with getting the plates were considerable my Spanish experience was potentially worse - I paid for my car mid June and got the plates early November. Tez sat in my garage (like yours) for 2 months! Needless to say it now got several seriously good coats of wax!

I think the garage contemplation phase should be part of all Tesla deliveries. It allows the owner to become friends with the car prior to taking it out on the roads and potentially wrapping around a tree. It was the firstime I read a (car) manual cover to cover for instance.

Here is a photo so you can see just how similar our cars are... I will put more either here or in a new thread asap.

Cheers, and thanks for the great stories Dragon.

 

[Dragon]

You have to join Rafael on his trip, Tesla goes South. But hope to see you in Meran when spring is coming.

Who is Rafael and which trip? I am eager to join everyone if possible.
If you go to Meran I will be there almost 99,9999999999%. Just make sure to tell me a couple of days before. If you stay longer in this area, we can do some really nice trips all around South Tyrol. Let me know more about your plans.

 

[Dragon]

Dude! That is one long thread! It's 2.50am and I've finally got to the end. Now, if I am going to start talking about my experience with "Tez" should I use your thread Dragon or kick off a Spanish one? Your call...

I'll need to get thinking about that trip... wife and 3 kids may need to follow in a support vehicle though

As for long drives.... I did 330kms the other day driving around Madrid (several times) and got home, but it refused to backup intothe garage. Now I'm not sure if I completely drained the battery or if the car just knew it was home and decided to take a siesta, but I think it was a close shave!

Just to say that while your problems with getting the plates were considerable my Spanish experience was potentially worse - I paid for my car mid June and got the plates early November. Tez sat in my garage (like yours) for 2 months! Needless to say it now got several seriously good coats of wax!

I think the garage contemplation phase should be part of all Tesla deliveries. It allows the owner to become friends with the car prior to taking it out on the roads and potentially wrapping around a tree. It was the firstime I read a (car) manual cover to cover for instance.

Here is a photo so you can see just how similar our cars are... I will put more either here or in a new thread asap.

Cheers, and thanks for the great stories Dragon.

View attachment 3852

You can use my thread, it's free for everyone. However if you think of writing more, you should start your own. As for your car refusing to backup in to the garage... you really should take more attention, everything under the 10% of battery state COULD POTENTIALLY damage your battery. If you can, it's better not to drain too much the battery.

What regards the plate problems... well I always considered Spain to be very similar to Italy. I think of it as a sister country. The languages are similar, the mentality is similar, the climate, the chaos the governments make. :biggrin:

Needles to say, your car looks great. Which interieur do you choose and which options? I have the microfiber seats but not the advanced audio system.

 

[mgemmell]

Yeah... not sure if I tapped into the reserve or not. I was in range mode but the charge mode was standard... not sure if that is relevant though. I didn't perform any action to access reserve charge (isn't it necessary to turn the key or something to get to that last 10%? Thought I read that somewhere). Anyway, I don't plan to over or under charge often but I had been itching to find out if I really could do 350kms as every day I get 3 or 4 people asking me the range and I don't want to just repeat the marketing message. As I was driving at 120km/h and not doing much slip-streaming I think I can do 350kms (which is exactly Madrid-Valencia).

Spain and Italy are virtually identical for the good and the bad... I'm Scottish but I am very happy to be able to live here. I feel the same about Italy.

Tez has the basic black leather interior but with the advanced audio system (2 DIN). The backup camera is pretty important for parking in Madrid and my garage frankly. Also, I am a podcasting freak so I like the iphone integration the Alpine has (its not great but the BMW one is nothing to write home about either!). Above all, the bluetooth audio link is the best ... 1) because it automatically switches on my podcasts as soon as I enter the car even with the phone in my bag or pocket, and 2) because I can use the far superior apple UI on the iphone to control the sound, track, volume etc.

You have done a lot of kms already! I take Tez every day to work (I have an office with underground parking in Madrid centre. I'd not leave Tez in the street regularly.)

It is an absolute pleasure driving the car every day (thanks to all in Tesla for making this car!)... I can't get over how comfortable it is (nothing like a Lotus IMHO) and that is with the tyre pressures at 30psi front and 40psi rear as recommended in the manual for a more efficient but less comfortable ride. I regularly see sub-zero temps on the way to work these days but I never put the heating on and am getting close to ideal range (maybe 15% less). In the X5 I used to always commute using the M40 (one of the ring roads) but in Tez I love going right through the city... firstly because it is shorter and lower speeds both of which save energy, and secondly because Tez is the ONLY Roadster in Madrid (or at least it was in November) and I want people to see it and realise how awesome electric cars are!

I have so much to talk about I'll start a new thread.... I want to get ideas for vinyl stckers for the car, and also share some business and trip ideas.

Cheers

Mark

 

[Eberhard]

Who is Rafael and which trip? I am eager to join everyone if possible.
If you go to Meran I will be there almost 99,9999999999%. Just make sure to tell me a couple of days before. If you stay longer in this area, we can do some really nice trips all around South Tyrol. Let me know more about your plans.

i went with Rafael to see the black sea crossing.

http://chargehotels.de/home/tesla-goes-south/

 

[dpeilow]

Can we persuade you or him to add the UK to that list? We have a very nice charging network :smile:

If you make a loop from U around our HPCs that would be fantastic.

 

[Dragon]

New fresh pics from saturday. Had a great drive. A Mercedes almost hit me when changing lanes, but everything went well. After 11.000 km the Roadster is still fun to drive. I drove almost 4 hours around the country, only for the fun of it.

 

[Dragon]

Reconstruction of the Roadster Invasion Trip with the Vehicle log!


03/08/2012 09:22:05 - 03/08/2012 09:25:02 (00:02:57) Drive 84% -> 84% 0.0 km 2.3 kph 5.3 kph 13096 km 0.0 kWh 0.0 Ah 0.1 Ah
03/08/2012 09:25:03 - 03/08/2012 10:21:39 (00:56:36) Charge 84% -> 88% 227V 16A of 16A 3.3 kWh 0.0 Ah 0.0 Ah

Range mode charge at home to add a few more km before the great trip. After that, washing the car for about an hour. Bad idea.

03/08/2012 11:13:34 - 03/08/2012 11:46:19 (00:32:45) Drive 88% -> 79% 30.4 km 57.3 kph 126.0 kph 13125 km 6.0 kWh 1.2 Ah 16.4 Ah 197 Wh/km
03/08/2012 11:55:16 - 03/08/2012 12:27:13 (00:31:57) Drive 78% -> 64% 32.9 km 67.4 kph 108.0 kph 13160 km 8.2 kWh 1.8 Ah 23.4 Ah 249 Wh/km
03/08/2012 12:32:40 - 03/08/2012 12:33:59 (00:01:19) Drive 64% -> 64% 0.2 km 12.0 kph 24.3 kph 13161 km 0.1 kWh 0.0 Ah 0.2 Ah
03/08/2012 13:12:03 - 03/08/2012 15:22:51 (02:10:48) Drive 64% -> 33% 132.1 km 63.6 kph 127.6 kph 13296 km 17.9 kWh 12.8 Ah 61.1 Ah 136 Wh/km
03/08/2012 15:28:06 - 03/08/2012 15:28:35 (00:00:29) Drive 33% -> 33% 0.0 km 6.6 kph 12.7 kph 13296 km 0.0 kWh 0.0 Ah 0.0 Ah
03/08/2012 16:06:40 - 03/08/2012 16:09:09 (00:02:29) Drive 44% -> 44% 0.0 km 2.0 kph 3.5 kph 13296 km 0.0 kWh 0.0 Ah 0.1 Ah
03/08/2012 15:30:49 - 03/08/2012 17:39:23 (02:08:34) Charge 33% -> 72% 226V 60A of 60A 27.3 kWh 0.0 Ah 0.1 Ah

Going up the Arlberg and into a heavy snowstorm. Great begin for a road trip!

Travelling to Feldkirch and finally arriving to the HPC. Relieved that charging is possible. The parking spot was occupied by a gasoline car, fortunately the cable of the HPC was long enough.

03/08/2012 17:44:58 - 03/08/2012 18:06:13 (00:21:15) Drive 72% -> 68% 16.4 km 48.1 kph 108.0 kph 13312 km 2.7 kWh 1.2 Ah 8.1 Ah 163 Wh/km
03/08/2012 18:23:37 - 03/08/2012 19:56:21 (01:32:44) Drive 68% -> 28% 114.7 km 81.9 kph 120.5 kph 13430 km 23.0 kWh 2.9 Ah 64.3 Ah 201 Wh/km

Heavy rain approaching Zurich. The windscreen wiper drives me nuts and makes scary noises.
Arriving at the inn in Zurich. Asking the girl at the desk if there is a possibility to charge my car. She says they do not have plugs outside, but if I can bring her the battery... no, that's not possible. She asks me again, so I tell her the battery weights a half ton. That clears the situation. Dragon 0 - 1 Careful planning.

03/08/2012 20:18:11 - 03/08/2012 20:42:36 (00:24:25) Drive 28% -> 26% 7.3 km 23.1 kph 55.5 kph 13438 km 2.0 kWh 1.1 Ah 6.4 Ah 269 Wh/km
03/08/2012 20:45:03 - 03/08/2012 20:48:23 (00:03:20) Drive 25% -> 25% 0.7 km 14.5 kph 33.8 kph 13439 km 0.4 kWh 0.0 Ah 1.1 Ah
03/08/2012 20:54:36 - 03/08/2012 20:56:25 (00:01:49) Drive 24% -> 24% 0.1 km 8.2 kph 16.4 kph 13439 km 0.0 kWh 0.0 Ah 0.1 Ah
03/08/2012 20:56:26 - 03/09/2012 00:38:27 (03:42:01) Charge 24% -> 92% 228V 64A of 64A 48.6 kWh 0.0 Ah 0.0 Ah

Finally arriving at the Dolder Grand. Relieved that charging is possible. Meeting with Talkredius, emq and Mischa. Dragon 1 - 1 Careful planning.

03/09/2012 00:44:54 - 03/09/2012 01:09:18 (00:24:24) Drive 92% -> 91% 9.0 km 27.2 kph 52.8 kph 13448 km 1.4 kWh 1.1 Ah 4.6 Ah 159 Wh/km
03/09/2012 08:29:17 - 03/09/2012 08:49:03 (00:19:46) Drive 87% -> 86% 3.9 km 20.7 kph 43.0 kph 13452 km 0.8 kWh 0.6 Ah 2.6 Ah 213 Wh/km

Charged in range mode, driving back at the hotel (a bit cheaper than the Dolder Grand...) and let it sit over night outside. Bad for the battery, the car was frozen in the morning. Now approaching the Tesla Store Zurich. Dragon 1 - 2 Careful planning.

03/09/2012 09:29:30 - 03/09/2012 09:31:08 (00:01:38) Drive 85% -> 85% 0.2 km 8.1 kph 20.4 kph 13452 km 0.1 kWh 0.0 Ah 0.2 Ah
03/09/2012 09:58:03 - 03/09/2012 10:55:44 (00:57:41) Drive 85% -> 73% 56.4 km 69.2 kph 114.9 kph 13510 km 7.5 kWh 3.4 Ah 22.7 Ah 134 Wh/km
03/09/2012 11:07:31 - 03/09/2012 12:09:49 (01:02:18) Drive 73% -> 58% 69.4 km 73.7 kph 107.0 kph 13581 km 9.3 kWh 2.3 Ah 26.4 Ah 134 Wh/km
03/09/2012 12:12:13 - 03/09/2012 12:12:50 (00:00:37) Drive 58% -> 58% 0.0 km 3.5 kph 11.9 kph 13581 km 0.0 kWh 0.0 Ah 0.0 Ah
03/09/2012 13:59:23 - 03/09/2012 13:59:59 (00:00:36) Drive 58% -> 58% 0.1 km 8.1 kph 23.8 kph 13581 km 0.0 kWh 0.0 Ah 0.1 Ah
03/09/2012 14:02:25 - 03/09/2012 14:39:27 (00:37:02) Charge 58% -> 64% 228V 32A of 32A 4.1 kWh 0.0 Ah 0.1 Ah

Arriving at Bern. Almost 30 Tesla Roadster together now. After almost two hours, realizing that I could charge the car. Charged for half an hour. Stupid Dragon. But irrelevant to reach Geneva.

03/09/2012 14:42:38 - 03/09/2012 14:45:51 (00:03:13) Drive 64% -> 64% 0.2 km 6.1 kph 15.9 kph 13581 km 0.0 kWh 0.0 Ah 0.1 Ah
03/09/2012 15:13:32 - 03/09/2012 18:10:55 (02:57:23) Drive 63% -> 22% 172.3 km 65.8 kph 120.5 kph 13758 km 24.8 kWh 5.9 Ah 72.1 Ah 144 Wh/km

After some chaos and problems with the navigation tool we finally reach the parking zone at the Palexpo Geneva. Got separated in the city of Bern from the others and left with a group of ca. 10 Roadster which followed me. Then lost the others too, 3 cars remaining. In Nyon lost the other two cars too. Catching up to them later. At the Palexpo, blue car heading left, white one going straight. Followed the blue car. Lost him too. Found the service truck and realized that we were the first ones! Lol. Dragon 2 - 2 Careful planning.

03/09/2012 19:33:34 - 03/09/2012 20:08:10 (00:34:36) Drive 21% -> 19% 6.4 km 19.8 kph 63.2 kph 13764 km 1.2 kWh 1.2 Ah 4.6 Ah 191 Wh/km
03/09/2012 20:21:15 - 03/09/2012 20:23:04 (00:01:49) Drive 19% -> 19% 0.0 km 4.5 kph 9.8 kph 13764 km 0.0 kWh 0.0 Ah 0.1 Ah

Driving to the charging place with all the other Roadsters. The guardian there speaks italian. We don't have booked at the Mövenpick, neither payed for the dinner. Girlfriend is tired. I decide to go check for our hotel. A bit sorry leaving the tour group in a rush. Dragon 2 - 3 Careful planning.

03/09/2012 20:28:22 - 03/09/2012 21:04:50 (00:36:28) Drive 19% -> 17% 10.8 km 23.3 kph 68.2 kph 13775 km 1.6 kWh 1.5 Ah 5.9 Ah 149 Wh/km
03/09/2012 21:13:41 - 03/09/2012 21:23:19 (00:09:38) Drive 16% -> 16% 1.2 km 12.3 kph 53.3 kph 13777 km 0.2 kWh 0.2 Ah 0.8 Ah
03/09/2012 21:33:55 - 03/10/2012 09:39:44 (12:05:49) Charge 16% -> 47% 227V 10A of 16A 27.4 kWh 0.0 Ah 0.0 Ah

Damn, a close one. Nearly didn't find the hotel. Well hidden. The dragons sharp eye sees the plug in the garage. Asked at the reception and after some puzzled face I got a strange converter. The logs are lying, only 10A where avalaible. However at this hour and after some long trips I am thankful for every single Ampere. Dragon 3 - 3 Careful planning.

03/10/2012 09:46:33 - 03/10/2012 10:30:24 (00:43:51) Drive 47% -> 43% 15.7 km 35.8 kph 102.8 kph 13793 km 2.7 kWh 0.6 Ah 7.9 Ah 175 Wh/km TC off for 12 seconds
03/10/2012 14:55:46 - 03/10/2012 15:26:52 (00:31:06) Drive 43% -> 41% 7.3 km 25.2 kph 95.9 kph 13800 km 1.1 kWh 1.1 Ah 4.1 Ah 154 Wh/km
03/10/2012 17:06:28 - 03/10/2012 17:13:11 (00:06:43) Drive 41% -> 41% 1.9 km 24.0 kph 48.3 kph 13802 km 0.3 kWh 0.2 Ah 1.1 Ah 173 Wh/km
03/10/2012 17:28:13 - 03/10/2012 18:10:55 (00:42:42) Drive 40% -> 37% 10.5 km 24.5 kph 72.7 kph 13813 km 1.7 kWh 1.2 Ah 5.8 Ah 163 Wh/km
03/10/2012 18:10:56 - 03/11/2012 08:50:18 (14:39:22) Charge 37% -> 75% 228V 10A of 16A 33.3 kWh 0.0 Ah 0.0 Ah

Travelling again to the Palexpo and then to the lake of Geneva. Nice place, a bit windy.

03/11/2012 08:58:22 - 03/11/2012 09:34:18 (00:35:56) Drive 75% -> 66% 42.2 km 73.9 kph 94.8 kph 13855 km 6.7 kWh 0.3 Ah 17.3 Ah 159 Wh/km
03/11/2012 10:11:13 - 03/11/2012 13:02:08 (02:50:55) Drive 66% -> 13% 216.0 km 78.0 kph 103.0 kph 14077 km 30.5 kWh 1.6 Ah 82.4 Ah 141 Wh/km
03/11/2012 13:08:49 - 03/11/2012 13:43:35 (00:34:46) Drive 13% -> 7% 20.7 km 43.5 kph 79.5 kph 14099 km 3.5 kWh 0.9 Ah 10.6 Ah 171 Wh/km
03/11/2012 13:43:36 - 03/11/2012 17:53:48 (04:10:12) Charge 7% -> 88% 227V 65A of 64A 56.8 kWh 0.0 Ah 0.0 Ah

Back from Geneva to Zurich. Made 279 km with a standard ideal range of 259 km and some serious strong wind blowing against my driving direction. Now I see in the logs there were almost 7% left. Pah, really thought that was a close one. Dragon 4 - 3 Careful planning. The match ends here, I win!

03/11/2012 18:03:38 - 03/11/2012 19:53:31 (01:49:53) Drive 88% -> 45% 138.1 km 80.2 kph 121.6 kph 14239 km 27.5 kWh 3.5 Ah 75.2 Ah 199 Wh/km
03/11/2012 20:08:17 - 03/11/2012 20:09:01 (00:00:44) Drive 41% -> 41% 0.1 km 6.8 kph 10.0 kph 14240 km 0.0 kWh 0.0 Ah 0.1 Ah
03/11/2012 20:14:18 - 03/11/2012 20:16:21 (00:02:03) Drive 41% -> 41% 0.3 km 10.6 kph 17.1 kph 14240 km 0.1 kWh 0.0 Ah 0.2 Ah
03/11/2012 20:40:17 - 03/11/2012 21:14:20 (00:34:03) Drive 41% -> 30% 30.2 km 55.3 kph 88.5 kph 14270 km 7.5 kWh 2.0 Ah 22.3 Ah 248 Wh/km
03/11/2012 21:16:45 - 03/11/2012 22:29:57 (01:13:12) Drive 28% -> 20% 68.4 km 58.0 kph 140.1 kph 14340 km 4.3 kWh 10.6 Ah 23.4 Ah 62 Wh/km
03/11/2012 22:32:40 - 03/11/2012 22:33:41 (00:01:01) Drive 20% -> 20% 0.0 km 1.6 kph 2.7 kph 14342 km 0.0 kWh 0.0 Ah 0.0 Ah

Back to Italy going to Chur, then the Vereina Tunnel and up and down the Ofenpass (2000 and some meters, it was snowing again). Finally at home, giving a good night kiss to my Roadster and girlfriend.

 

[Dragon]

Added some pics.