MS Performance at Altitude

The altitude would not cause issues like the lack of oxygen does for an ICE, but getting to the altitude could cause issues, both in range and in cooling.

 

No suffering at all. EVs shine at altitude as oxygen is not required for combustion. At highway speeds, you will get better range than at sea level as the air resistance is less.

 

I have driven to the top of both Mt. Evans and Pikes Peak. No problems at all EXCEPT the lack of oxygen made ME queasy. Mac

 

I just took my car over Loveland and Independence Pass this last weekend(as well as Vail Pass on the way home). The car performed beautifully going up there!

 

Yikes. The road is pretty narrow in spots. Hopefully there wasn't a lot of traffic!

 

I say every Colorado Tesla owner should jam the Pikes Peak Hill Climb in 2016...

 

Nah, it's plenty wide :smile:

I was up over Loveland Pass several times in the last few weeks and going back that way next week. I'm there more in the winter than the summer, and I think it's a scarier drive this time of year as the contours of the drop-offs are more visible and you can really see how far down it is all around you. When it's all white, it's hard to judge the distances.

 

Let's see, I have done:

1. Trail Ridge Road
2. Eisenhower Tunnel
3. Vail Pass
4. Hoosier Pass
5. Fremont Pass
6. Poncha Pass
7. Wolf Creek Pass
8. Independence Pass
9. Mt Evans

With a little luck, I will do Lizard Head, Red Mountain, Molas, and Coal Bank Passes before the end of the month.

For a good list of Colorado Passes, see List of mountain passes in Colorado - Wikipedia

The electric drive loses no performance to the altitude, except for some loss in cooling efficiency when pushed very hard. The regen on the descent regains most of the energy used on the climb. The steeper the descent, the more the loss in energy going up and down, but even relatively steep descents like the west side of Wolf Creek regain most of the energy. If above about 70% SoC, the sustained regen can run into the same charging limits as on a Supercharger; I have hit this on the east sides of Wolf Creek and Independence after leaving with 100% SoC from Pagosa and Aspen. Normally short bursts of regen never show a regen limit below 95-97% SoC.

A Tesla is a wonderful mountain car!!!

 

Was some traffic, but nothing major. I-70 had the usual traffic jam. Thank god for TACC.