Model 3 Mid-range is Best for Road Trips?

[TJKR]

I just completed a 550 mile, 3 day road trip from Santa Barbara Area to the Bay Area in our new Mid-Range. This was my first time using solely the Superchargers and noticed all chargers were limited to 40 min. Some cut off the charge at 40 min and some didn’t and I was able to charge more but didn’t do more than 45 min. At all places I was getting the max rate, about 110 kw which tapered to about 20-30 kw at 80-85% state of charge. At that rate and with the 40 min limit, it seems like having a larger battery is pointless and less efficient cars like the Dual Motor/Performance Model 3 or Model S and X will get the least amount of range from the supercharge. Any other Mid-Range owners observe this? At this time I am pretty happy that I didn’t spend the extra money on the bigger battery and for road tripping purposes, Mid-Range is the way to go.

 

[Derek Kessler]

Uhhhhhhhhhh... no Superchargers have time limiters on them. If it was crowded and you were approaching your needed charge to continue the trip (or your max charge setting) then you may have received notifications that charging would soon be complete and that you'd receive idle charges for staying longer, but no actual time limit.

Source: visits to 50+ Superchargers around the United States.

 

[jjrandorin]

I just completed a 550 mile, 3 day road trip from Santa Barbara Area to the Bay Area in our new Mid-Range. This was my first time using solely the Superchargers and noticed all chargers were limited to 40 min. Some cut off the charge at 40 min and some didn’t and I was able to charge more but didn’t do more than 45 min. At all places I was getting the max rate, about 110 kw which tapered to about 20-30 kw at 80-85% state of charge. At that rate and with the 40 min limit, it seems like having a larger battery is pointless and less efficient cars like the Dual Motor/Performance Model 3 or Model S and X will get the least amount of range from the supercharge. Any other Mid-Range owners observe this? At this time I am pretty happy that I didn’t spend the extra money on the bigger battery and for road tripping purposes, Mid-Range is the way to go.

As said, there is no limit, it just tapers off as you reach higher percentage. the "larger battery" cars also charge faster at home chargers as well.

Saying "having shorter range is better for longer road trips" doesnt make much sense, but if that helps you feel better about not spending the extra money, go for it.

EDIT: Re reading what I typed, it sounds harsher than I intended. I dont want to imply in any way, shape or form that there is anything at all wrong with the Mid range model 3, or that there is anything wrong with doing road trips in it.

My intention was to say basically it makes little sense to me to say a "smaller gas tank is better for longer road trips". I know there is no gas tank, before someone says that. I just dont agree with the statement that somehow, having a car that has more total range would somehow be a liability for longer trips than one with shorter range.

Now, RWD vs all wheel drive, I believe its been proven that RWD Long range cars have more range than AWD ones, so that I would agree with (that RWD LR tesla is better for a road trip than AWD tesla, as far as range is concerned).

 

[ucmndd]

Uhhhhhhhhhh... no Superchargers have time limiters on them

Many congested superchargers in CA had temporary signs over the holiday period that limited charging time to 40 minutes. This was not a technical limitation, they most certainly didn’t cut you off after 40 minutes of charging. It also wasn’t enforced - just an attempt by Tesla to keep the queue moving.

That said, I’ll agree that OP’s logic suggesting the smallest battery is “best” for road trips is dubious at best.

 

[KJD]

I just completed a 550 mile, 3 day road trip from Santa Barbara Area to the Bay Area in our new Mid-Range. This was my first time using solely the Superchargers and noticed all chargers were limited to 40 min. Some cut off the charge at 40 min and some didn’t and I was able to charge more but didn’t do more than 45 min. At all places I was getting the max rate, about 110 kw which tapered to about 20-30 kw at 80-85% state of charge. At that rate and with the 40 min limit, it seems like having a larger battery is pointless and less efficient cars like the Dual Motor/Performance Model 3 or Model S and X will get the least amount of range from the supercharge. Any other Mid-Range owners observe this? At this time I am pretty happy that I didn’t spend the extra money on the bigger battery and for road tripping purposes, Mid-Range is the way to go.

Do a road trip in really cold weather and you will understand why the larger pack is better.

 

[svp6]

Also tapering occurs once a percent charge of the battery is completed. For the long range battery pack, this translates into tapering occurring at higher number of rated miles than for the mid range.

The big question is what is the difference between rated miles and real world miles in LR vs MR. If the slower acceleration of the MR allows typical drive to be closer to the rated miles than LR, I could see that as an advantage.

 

[Az_Rael]

Uhhhhhhhhhh... no Superchargers have time limiters on them. If it was crowded and you were approaching your needed charge to continue the trip (or your max charge setting) then you may have received notifications that charging would soon be complete and that you'd receive idle charges for staying longer, but no actual time limit.

Source: visits to 50+ Superchargers around the United States.

These are the newest thing at busy superchargers:

 

[CCIE]

I just completed a 550 mile, 3 day road trip from Santa Barbara Area to the Bay Area in our new Mid-Range. This was my first time using solely the Superchargers and noticed all chargers were limited to 40 min. Some cut off the charge at 40 min and some didn’t and I was able to charge more but didn’t do more than 45 min. At all places I was getting the max rate, about 110 kw which tapered to about 20-30 kw at 80-85% state of charge. At that rate and with the 40 min limit, it seems like having a larger battery is pointless and less efficient cars like the Dual Motor/Performance Model 3 or Model S and X will get the least amount of range from the supercharge. Any other Mid-Range owners observe this? At this time I am pretty happy that I didn’t spend the extra money on the bigger battery and for road tripping purposes, Mid-Range is the way to go.

It’s good that your happy with your purchase. But, some of us in colder climates definetly need every bit of battery capacity we can get. At 0F with the heat on you’d be lucky to get 150 miles from the MR battery, and supercharging is almost useless at very low temps.

I’m glad I got a LR RWD before they were discontinued. Great efficiency, range, and charge rates.

 

[R1Fast]

OP - not offense but unless you plan to SC exclusively your argument for "having a larger battery is pointless" makes no sense, city driving included but especially where road trips are concerned. If charging @ home (which most people do) or when the time limitation lifts, your back in a range deficit compared to the LR, no way around it. But if your argument makes you feel better about going mid-range more power to you.

 

[TJKR]

California is hitting a critical mass of Tesla's where there always is a queue at peak times. I was at Dublin CA and there were 8 cars waiting to be charged. I waited till later that night to charge. Gilroy I had to wait about 10 min around lunch time. At a friend's in Dublin, he said there were 10 Tesla's on his block. We need more superchargers!

 

[jjrandorin]

California is hitting a critical mass of Tesla's where there always is a queue at peak times. I was at Dublin CA and there were 8 cars waiting to be charged. I waited till later that night to charge. Gilroy I had to wait about 10 min around lunch time. At a friend's in Dublin, he said there were 10 Tesla's on his block. We need more superchargers!

What I feel is, we need more people to actually charge at home, when they can. If superchargers were only used by people who "needed" to use them either on road trips or because they had no charging available at home (instead of people trying wanting to get free electricity because it was promised they could), we would have less of an issue with overcrowding them.

Thats expecting too much of the general public though. Early adopters might be willing to do that, but the general public, no.

Adding more super chargers in dense areas would only encourage more local people to use them while they grocery shop... but this may be part of teslas "mission" in getting people off ICE cars.

I personally feel that supercharging should be slightly annoying, so that people charge at home if they can, thereby freeing them up for people who need them.

 

[suwaneedad]

What I feel is, we need more people to actually charge at home, when they can. If superchargers were only used by people who "needed" to use them either on road trips or because they had no charging available at home (instead of people trying wanting to get free electricity because it was promised they could), we would have less of an issue with overcrowding them.

Thats expecting too much of the general public though. Early adopters might be willing to do that, but the general public, no.

Adding more super chargers in dense areas would only encourage more local people to use them while they grocery shop... but this may be part of teslas "mission" in getting people off ICE cars.

I personally feel that supercharging should be slightly annoying, so that people charge at home if they can, thereby freeing them up for people who need them.

At least the fleet of lifetime free supercharging vehicles has finally been capped and will start dying off in large numbers probably within five years. (A few, sooner, due to accidents, lease returns being flipped into loaners, etc). What's fascinating is that in the Southeast, power is so cheap both at home and at superchargers that one would have to value their time VERY little to bother with waiting even two minutes to obtain a SC stall rather than charging at home. I get that power is more costly in places like CA and the NE, but it seems like that'd just prove the "value your time" case even more so than in the SE. I also get that some people can't charge at home (apartment/etc) but at least in the SE where SCs are sparse, it'd be crazy to buy a Tesla (even a used one with lifetime free SC use) given the constraint of obtaining electrons when needed.

My wife spent 15 minutes today awaiting a SC stall in South Georgia on I-75, in Tifton. 8 stalls, an early location that provides a lifeline for all vehicles between North Florida and Macon/Atlanta. Tifton is now a bottleneck. No doubt I will hear about this 15 minute wait from her, somewhat reasonably, as an early warning to us in the SE that holiday weekend daytime road-tripping is no longer a thoughtless exercise in a Tesla.

 

[tecis]

I think the idea of superchargers is:

you charge as much as required to get to the next supercharger

If your destination is less far away t+ has a destination charging option, you charge even less

In 40 mins arriving with a 10 % battery in a LR, you'll charge about 50-60 KwH.

That should be enough IMO.

 

[ewoodrick]

This thread got off track.

I'm glad that you are happy with your car and that it suits you. So many people think that they have to have the biggest and then never use it.

But one piece of info, a bigger battery will allow you to take on more charge in a specific period, because the charging rate decrease is slower.

 

[jkoya]

These are the newest thing at busy superchargers:

Is there a financial penalty similar to an idle fee if you go over the 40 minutes ?

 

[tecis]

Is there a financial penalty similar to an idle fee if you go over the 40 minutes ?

IMO, it's more like a suggestion in order to keep congestions at superchargers low. If you look at the usual charging curve, 40 mins is pretty much the sweet spot.

 

[duanra]

I have a mid range and in most cases it is enough...however in certain area, where the superchargers coverage is not good...and it is -15c. I could have used the LR.

 

[BobRae99]

Based on what I am reading on this forum, supercharger use is hard on the battery if used regularly and especially if you charge to 100%. At least that is what the SA told me on a Model 3 test drive in Palm Desert this week.

I live in a Canadian city that sees -35C weather occasionally and -20C regularly during December to late February. I've read that cold temperature can cut range by 40%. So, for an M3 with LR battery (AWD), 500km range (300 miles) becomes 300 KMs (180 miles) at cold temps. But, wait; if you want the lowest rate of battery degradation Tesla recommends charging to 80% and recharging at 20% range remaining. So the range from 300 KMs becomes 240 kms (144 miles), and that is to zero range. If you follow the 20% range remaining as the point to recharge, you have a usable 180kms (108 miles).

So, if you live in a cold climate, I'd say for flexibility, buy the largest battery you can afford. Personally, I care more about range than I do about 0 - 60 times. I'd pay the price of a performance model without the performance, but 200 km (120 miles) more range that decreasing 0 - 60 times by 1 second. 0 - 60 in under 6 seconds is plenty quick enough for me.

 

[duanra]

I learned something lately. I live in Montreal, so cold temp also ( not winnipeg cold, but cold

Either the superchargers are about 170km apart which a MR van do, or over 300 km. In really cold weather, i am not sure the LR can fill the gap. However if I could do it again I would go for the LR just for the extra margin...

 

[Arti]

MR sucks in cold weather. Not willing to sacrifice the comfort of passengers or my speed, I had to make 2 40-minute stops on a 310 mile trip. With all ins and outs this added at least 1.5 hours to a relatively shop trip. Weather was around 30F, the avg speed around 70mph.