Model X Range

[VOTS01]

Hi

I posted a couple of weeks back my surprise at almost not making the trip from Melbourne to Phillip Island and back again in a P100D.

At the time I thought it was the use of seat warmers and air conditioning but following another trip this weekend the same almost happened.

Starting off at 91% we ended the 300km round trip with 7% to spare (was far more careful this time). Extrapolating the 280wh/km to a full charge would seem to indicate that a P100D is only good for ~360km range? This is some 35% below what Tesla claim.

Admittedly there are some mitigating factors -

• We have 22'' tyres.
• It was cold (around 12C).
• Most of the route is at 100km/h.
• There were two adults and three children.

I was driving carefully (although could not use AP as it would not function on most of the trip due to road classification and roadworks) and kept air conditioning load to a minimum.

Not using seat warmers and racheting back the A/C helped (at least we had 7% left at the end of the trip this time) - but I would have expected the car to make it there and back far more easily.

I guess my question is - do people have similar experience with the X range (what is your average wh/km on a trip) and what strategies are there for improving range?

 

[Burnt Toast]

Tip 1: Start with 100%

 

[PJF000]

Tip 2: Make sure regen is on max

 

[Shock-On-T]

Tip 3: have lunch there at the cafe with destination charger!

 

[stphw]

Tip 4: turn range mode on.

Plugging your data into EV Trip Planner, it comes up with 204Wh/km (with 20 inch tires). Something seems a bit stage.

 

[WarpedOne]

Most of the route is at 100km/h.

This is the cause.

Average speed of EPA highway test cycle is 77 km/h. You averaged say 90km/h, 16% higher. Energy consumption rises with sqare, so you used 35% more energy than you would by going EPA average speed.

Because physics.

what strategies are there for improving range?

Drive slower, minimize usage of brakes.

 

[nagypite]

22" wheels => -10% range

 

[NovemberXray]

I have a Model X P90DL with 22" tires and have made many long trips. The distance display for range I find to be less helpful, a bit like the distance remaining in a ICE vehicle it's based on recent average and ideal circumstances. It was consistently overly optimistic, so I always leave mine on energy so that I see battery percentage on the instrument cluster. I have found that a simple formula of 1% = 3km is the safest way to ensure peace of mind and adequate charge at destination.

Were you using the trip planner? It's usually quite accurate plus or minus 10% worst case. I always charge until I have at least 15% estimated remaining at my destination. And anywhere you go out of town, that you're going to park for more than an hour check for local charges you can use to provide extra buffer.

 

[Murbs]

A significant drag on range is cold weather and using the aircon to heat the cabin. Unlike cooling, whereby the car uses a conventional heat pump air conditioner to cool the cabin, heating uses simple resistive heaters fed by current from the battery. In an unrelated charging experiment on Sunday I worked out that the heater running full-bore uses about 4kW. If that energy use is applied to a 300km trip at 100km/h, then the total energy used in heating would be about 12kW and could help explain part of your reduced range.

By way of comparison of 300km trips, I drove my X90 from Perth to Bunbury and back again a couple of weeks ago and averaged 205 Wh/km over 340km with a total energy use of 69.7kWh. From memory, the outside temperature was about 28C and I stuck to the speed limit which was between 100 and 110 km/h. My real battery pack capacity is 83.8kWh.

 

[joninmelbourne]

280wh/km does seem high. On a similar trip to Sorento my S 75kwh gets down to 170wh/km. Driving more slowly is a massive improver of range. If you could bare to drive at 90km/h instead of 100+ you would see a dramatic improvement.

 

[RichardMcN]

I have a Model X P90DL with 22" tires and have made many long trips. The distance display for range I find to be less helpful, a bit like the distance remaining in a ICE vehicle it's based on recent average and ideal circumstances. It was consistently overly optimistic, so I always leave mine on energy so that I see battery percentage on the instrument cluster. I have found that a simple formula of 1% = 3km is the safest way to ensure peace of mind and adequate charge at destination.

Were you using the trip planner? It's usually quite accurate plus or minus 10% worst case. I always charge until I have at least 15% estimated remaining at my destination. And anywhere you go out of town, that you're going to park for more than an hour check for local charges you can use to provide extra buffer.

Interesting ... 1% per 3km is a range of 300km
A 90 battery really delivers close to 80kWh so you are getting 80,000/300 = 267 Wh/km which is close to the 280 of @VOTS01 .
That is still way more than a Model S though.
.

 

[VOTS01]

Thanks All

Coming to the realisation that I should have gone for the smaller rims (lesson for next time!) and as a result need to be careful with speed and use of heaters for the longer trips as these seem to both have the greatest impact on the battery.

It does make me realise how much more efficient the S is.

 

[Shock-On-T]

Then again, the bigger rims do look good. I've been thinking of going to 21s for my Model S, range be damned!

 

[VOTS01]

Then again, the bigger rims do look good. I've been thinking of going to 21s for my Model S, range be damned!

I have 21'' rims on my model S (and painted satin black). They do look gorgeous but its a harsh ride and so easy to damage on a kerb (as witness to that I'm taking the car in to get one rim sanded / resprayed on Tuesday).

If only larger rims improved range ....

 

[NovoCasGreeny]

We had similar issues between Melbourne and Albury-Wodonga. We left with 85% charge at 4 am and 5 oC outside. I was hoping to skip Euroa but the heater just sucked the battery far to quick. I lost 15% over my calcs between Melb and Euroa. Thus far the heater has been the biggest blight on range, then the cargo pod, then air conditioning.

 

[Shock-On-T]

I have 21'' rims on my model S (and painted satin black). They do look gorgeous but its a harsh ride and so easy to damage on a kerb (as witness to that I'm taking the car in to get one rim sanded / resprayed on Tuesday).

If only larger rims improved range ....

Funny thing is I had a loaner the other day and didn't realise it had 21s until halfway through the day.
Felt the same as my 19s?! Maybe I'm just an insensitive oaf...

 

[VOTS01]

Funny thing is I had a loaner the other day and didn't realise it had 21s until halfway through the day.
Felt the same as my 19s?! Maybe I'm just an insensitive oaf...

Yes. Oddly the 22'' on the X feel smoother than the 21'' on the S. Perhaps there is more to the harsh ride than rim size.

 

[360C]

I have a P100DL Model X running on the 22' wheels. It's only 6 weeks old so I've only covered 1700 km's; but the average energy usage to date is 294 Wh/Km.
The Model X is the EV equivalent of the old 4mpg American muscle cars. My P85DL Model S has an average energy use of 215 Wh/Km
measured over 20,000 km's. The type of usage is the same for both cars.

In the real world both cars have an indicated range of within 30-40km of each other, despite the Model X having a much bigger battery capacity.

 

[360C]

Yes. Oddly the 22'' on the X feel smoother than the 21'' on the S. Perhaps there is more to the harsh ride than rim size.

I agree, my Model S runs the 21" wheels and my Model X on the 22" wheels has a much better ride quality. I have driven a Model S
on 19" wheels back to back with my Model S on 21" wheels and the difference in ride quality was startling.