M3 performance lifetime average Wh per mile

[gearchruncher]

I'm sure that will go up, as I like to stomp the right pedal whenever I get a chance.

FYI, accelerating hard doesn't really increase your energy use. The motors are not that much less efficient at higher powers. Lots of ICE engines are more efficient at higher powers too.

The thing that really eats energy is using the brakes, or heater. This literally converts your energy into heat. Acceleration converts your energy into motion, which either gets you distance, or can be regenned into the battery if you don't use the brakes.

 

[Apprunner]

FYI, accelerating hard doesn't really increase your energy use. The motors are not that much less efficient at higher powers. Lots of ICE engines are more efficient at higher powers too.

The thing that really eats energy is using the brakes, or heater. This literally converts your energy into heat. Acceleration converts your energy into motion, which either gets you distance, or can be regenned into the battery if you don't use the brakes.

Sustained high speeds is the biggest factor in high wh/mi. Acceleration doesn't help but its typically only for short bursts. The worst is high acceleration at already fast speeds....hence my mid 300 average

 

[gearchruncher]

I also live up on a steep (about a 1,000 ft in ~0.4 mile

1000 ft climb in 2,100 ft? That's a 48% grade.
The steepest road in OR is a 20% grade (Brynwood Hillclimb, one of the steepest roads in Oregon)

using about ~5 miles of range going up

5 miles of range is about 1.25kW. You did this in 0.4 miles, which means you used 3,125Wh/mi during the climb. You should reset your trip meter at the bottom sometime and see if this is accurate.

 

[gearchruncher]

Sustained high speeds is the biggest factor in high wh/mi. Acceleration doesn't help but its typically only for short bursts. The worst is high acceleration at already fast speeds....hence my mid 300 average

My 500+ Wh/mi average over 3k+ miles tells me that braking is more important than speed..... I got that because I actually race my car, and you don't win races unless you use the brakes. My on-track use is over 2,500 wh/mi, and I never get above 90 MPH.

Why would high acceleration at high speed, when the motor's peak energy use is lower be worse?

 

[Apprunner]

My 500+ Wh/mi average over 3k+ miles tells me that braking is more important than speed..... I got that because I actually race my car, and you don't win races unless you use the brakes. My on-track use is over 2,500 wh/mi, and I never get above 90 MPH.

Why would high acceleration at high speed, when the motor's peak energy use is lower be worse?

Your car is already fighting a ton of friction at speeds past 80mph. Full throttle at those speeds cause a ton more energy to push the car past all that air resistance. That is my experience when i'm driving fast and measuring energy output.

 

[gearchruncher]

Your car is already fighting a ton of friction at speeds past 80mph. Full throttle at those speeds cause a ton more energy to push the car past all that air resistance.

You mean air resistance. Not friction. And there is no "pushing past all that air resistance." You have that force pushing on you the whole time you are at that speed, not just as you change speed.

It has nothing to do with acceleration. It takes more energy to maintain any higher speed. You'll use the same energy if you go from 80 to 90 at 20% throttle as 100%.

Yes, driving at 80 all the time will give you mid 300's. But how you accelerate to there is basically irrelevant.

 

[Apprunner]

You mean air resistance. Not friction. And there is no "pushing past all that air resistance." You have that force pushing on you the whole time you are at that speed, not just as you change speed.

It has nothing to do with acceleration. It takes more energy to maintain any higher speed. You'll use the same energy if you go from 80 to 90 at 20% throttle as 100%.

Yes, driving at 80 all the time will give you mid 300's. But how you accelerate to there is basically irrelevant.

I see what you are saying. It should in theory take as much energy to get to a certain speed if you use max throttle vs. light throttle if the motors have the same efficiency at higher power. I guess my energy use accelerating at higher speeds has everything to do with friction (or air resistance..same thing) at higher speeds vs. the actual acceleration.

 

[nstig8]

> if you aren't in the mid 300s, you are driving it wrong...

Only ~700 miles on my '21 so far and I'm at 275 wh/mile. No winter miles yet and most of my driving so far involves taking kids to soccer practice (or at least it feels that way) so I have an excuse.

 

[N54TT]

august 2018 build, 52k miles, my lifetime is 321. I avg about 340 in the winters, living in the tristate and doing multiple ski trips. During the summer I avg closer to low 300’s. Climate is set to auto@70deg year round, in the winter the heater is a battery hog. Most of my driving is highway ~70/75mph. If I drop it even to 65 my wh/mile goes down quite a bit. I’m also on aftermarket winter and summer wheel sets.

 

[mpgxsvcd]

2022 Model 3 Performance with the 20” UberHeavy wheels. 268 Wh/mi lifetime but 237 Wh/mi lately. I also did an 11.43 1/4 mile at the track and 0-60 mph in 3.04 seconds with rollout subtracted.

I am getting lightweight 18” wheels this weekend. Hopefully that will make me faster and more efficient.

 

[afadeev]

Lifetime: 285 Wh/mi
Summers (on PS4S's): 322 Wh/mi
Winters (on Micheline X-Ice and Hakkapeliitta R3): ~260 Wh/mi

Winter observations are counter-intuitive, since winter driving tends to consume more energy for battery and creature heating. However, winter tires are less grippy, I tend to drive slower in the snow and take other car for highway skiing trips.
Winter/summer designation corresponds to the type of tires I have on the car. The switch is driven by ambient temps (<40F at night -> switch to winter tires), not just calendar.

 

[gearchruncher]

I am getting lightweight 18” wheels this weekend. Hopefully that will make me faster and more efficient.

Narrator: It won't.

 

[mpgxsvcd]

Narrator: It won't.

Are you certain of that?

 

[Lindenwood]

In 33 days of ownership, I have done almost 3400 miles, about half of which has been on road trips at 80mph (350ish wh/mi).

The rest is daily ops, driving it like I stole it.

 

[gearchruncher]

Are you certain of that?

I am 100% sure on performance. Lighter wheels on these cars is completely imperceptible.
Efficiency improvement will depend 100% on the shape and offset of the wheel and the tires used, not the weight of the wheel.

Since we're still updating this thread... I'm at ~7000 miles on my trip computer and still at ~505wh/mi. I think I'm still winning this competition. Or is it losing?

 

[mpgxsvcd]

I am 100% sure on performance. Lighter wheels on these cars is completely imperceptible.
Efficiency improvement will depend 100% on the shape and offset of the wheel and the tires used, not the weight of the wheel.

Since we're still updating this thread... I'm at ~7000 miles on my trip computer and still at ~505wh/mi. I think I'm still winning this competition. Or is it losing?

I will post my data when I get the wheels. These aren’t just lighter wheels they are 18” wheels instead of the 20s. I think it may be a bigger difference than you think.

 

[euro.r]

245 wh/mi with 17,388. I’ve usually got one of my 3 kids in the car with me and traffic here can be horrendous.

I’m still ashamed though.

 

[gearchruncher]

I will post my data when I get the wheels. These aren’t just lighter wheels they are 18” wheels instead of the 20s. I think it may be a bigger difference than you think.

Unless you keep identical tires, wheel widths, offsets, and basic spoke shapes, you won't have any idea what made the difference in efficiency.
I know they won't make any difference in acceleration.

 

[mpgxsvcd]

Unless you keep identical tires, wheel widths, offsets, and basic spoke shapes, you won't have any idea what made the difference in efficiency.
I know they won't make any difference in acceleration.

It doesn’t really matter what makes the difference in efficiency as long as it makes the car more efficient.

Just curious why you are so certain it won’t improve performance? There are plenty of tests using smaller lighter wheels and tires that show improvement in performance.

I expect it to get me about .1 seconds 0-60 mph and .2 seconds in the 1/4 mile. .1 seconds would get me under 3.0 seconds for 0-60 mph with rollout subtracted. .2 seconds would get me down to 11.2 for the 1/4 mile. If that happens I would consider those worthwhile improvements.

Both of the videos below demonstrate how much improvement can be gained by switching to smaller and lighter wheels and tires.

 

[JimShaw]

Purchased a 2019 SR. Kept it for a little over two years with 14,000 miles when sold and it was exactly 200 wh/mi

Now that I have a 2022 Performance, I'm afraid to even look