My Real World "Factor"

[proxy]

New Model S owner here, loving every minute with it.

As I get to know the car, I'm not trying to drive in any ideal way whatsoever... air con is on (outside is about 40F), seat warmer's on, UI screen is at a nice brightness, and most importantly, I accelerate assertively because it's so fun to drive this car.

Given that, my consumption of miles is about 1.5x the stated distance. So, for example, if I have go 20 miles on the highway, my meter will go from from 200 to 170, consuming 30 miles off the battery meter.

I don't want to change how I drive, so I'm thinking of my 210 mi MS 60 more as a 140 mi battery in practical terms. Is this a common experience here for fellow drivers?

 

[proxy]

Went to post a similar question at the Tesla.com forums and what do you know, another driver had the exact same question, and there were some great answers. Tried to delete this thread but for the life of me, couldn't figure out how.

Anyway, here's the thread that helped...

Picked up my 90D Model S today, LOVE IT!, one concern? | Tesla Motors

 

[ecarfan]

Your air con is "on" at "40F"? Wow, you like it cold. Note: the brightness level of the center display screen has no impact on driving range, the amount of power involved is minuscule. What matters is how fast you go on the freeway/highway, running the cabin heat, and to a lesser degree how fast you accelerate. Your climate is so moderate that air temps have little effect. Rain and headwinds can have a big effect on range.

I don't want to change how I drive, so I'm thinking of my 210 mi MS 60 more as a 140 mi battery in practical terms. Is this a common experience here for fellow drivers?

You can get the stated EPA range by going 60-65 on a flat dry road with no headwind in moderate temperatures.

 

[Electric700]

Congrats Proxy! I agree with Ecarfan's response.

 

[andrewket]

Decreasing the frequency of speed changes helps, too. Regen is not 100% efficient. Much better to coast to slow down then to regen. Increasing your following distance will allow you to smooth things out. If you watch the energy graph you want as much of a straight line as you can. This is of course if you're trying to maximize range. If you don't need the range, drive it like you stole it.

 

[RAW84]

I'm thinking of my 210 mi MS 60 more as a 140 mi battery in practical terms. Is this a common experience here for fellow drivers?

Yes.

 

[joebiker25]

Most of my driving is commuting to work in traffic. Occasionally, when the HOV lane opens up I will blast it to 80 ish mph and still find my average WH to be below 300 and rated miles pretty close to actual driven...plus or minus 5% at worst.

 

[Yinn]

I don't want to change how I drive, so I'm thinking of my 210 mi MS 60 more as a 140 mi battery in practical terms. Is this a common experience here for fellow drivers?

Don't change if you don't want to. You didn't need a Tesla to be a hypermiler, and you don't need to be a hypermiler to own a Tesla.

I believe the rated energy factor is ~305wh/mi. We are using an average of ~380wh/mile. Or consuming 25% more energy than the rated amount, good for about 169 average range.

In a slightly colder temp than you, we are using everything. We use the mobile app to heat the car up before we leave places. We're using the radio, seat warmers, steering wheel warmers, with all climate settings on Auto for 70 degrees.

Here's the thing, we don't always use 169+ miles of range. Nor do we always hit 380wh/mi. (Last leg: 255wh/mi over 15mi, good for 250mi) You'll get used to what you need. When you need to go easier. When you need to do a full charge, etc.

You'll get used to it. Got home today with 8 mi, didn't change my style or get nervous.

(Haven't charged for 2 days prior to leaving)

 

[mblakele]

If the difference between range miles and actual miles bothers you, change the display to percent.

 

[EVie'sDad]

You can also try enabling Range Mode, which reduces power to the front motor at highway speeds, and maintain a constant speed, not accelerating or decelerating much will also improve your range. I dim the dash and use seat warmers instead of AC where possible, but don't hesitate to use the defrosters to prevent fogging over of the windows. I have virtually lost all range anxiety and often perform at or far above epa estimates, extending my travels further without worries. Acceleration is fun but should not be abused or used too often, and maintain predictable control for the drivers around you as safety on the roads is paramount to you and those you love.

 

[sdorn]

No range anxiety here, and my car performs as I expected it to with respect to battery consumption. Having said that I am experiencing a similar pattern where my rated miles drop by 1.5 - 2.0 miles for every actual mile driven. My car is always in Ludicrous mode though and I'm not afraid to step on the gas when my lane opens up. So far my average usage has hovered near 400 wh/mi per the gauge on the dash.

I am planning a trip on Sunday though from Atlanta to Chattanooga and back, and I may or may not charge in Chattanooga depending on the parking situation. I will charge to 100% before leaving and drop the car down into sport mode and turn range mode on. I should be able to do the round trip to the Tennessee Aquarium and back and still have 10% - 20% remaining battery per the popular EV trip planning sites. It will be a fun experiment. We were never able to take the Leaf on any trips outside Atlanta.

 

[JMG]

I believe the rated energy factor is ~305wh/mi.

The rated energy factor is actually closer to 280 wh/mi. I did a 100 mile drive not that long ago, average under 300 wh/mi and still used more battery miles vs road miles.

 

[justg0]

The rated energy factor is actually closer to 280 wh/mi. I did a 100 mile drive not that long ago, average under 300 wh/mi and still used more battery miles vs road miles.

For a 75D, they say rated miles as 259. So 75000/259 = 289.575 wh/mi. Did I do my math right?

So if you can get that wh/mi, you should be able to drive 259 miles in 75D.

You can plug in your total capacity and current wh/mi and compute your real range. In my case right now I average 380 wh/mi (don't judge me) and so my real 100% range is 197 miles.

 

[Yinn]

The rated energy factor is actually closer to 280 wh/mi.

Well buggers. 35% more than rated for me. ~155mi range. Either way, hasn't really been an issue so far.

 

[proxy]

Ha. Just realized here were a bunch of responses here.

Yeah, to be clear, I'm fine with the range being less than optimal, as I know I don't drive optimally.

And in no way am I going to change how I drive. Accelerating in this thing is the most fun I've had driving a car!

Just curious to know other experiences. =)

 

[Saghost]

In my experience, the range looks a lot worse in the first twenty minutes or so of driving in cool weather as the battery and cabin warm up. What you're seeing is real - but not representative of what would happen if you took a real road trip.

 

[RAW84]

The rated energy factor is actually closer to 280 wh/mi. I did a 100 mile drive not that long ago, average under 300 wh/mi and still used more battery miles vs road miles.

It varies by model. Also don't forget, the 'average' you see only refers to usage while driving. It ignores vampire drain and any usage outside of driving.

For a 75D, they say rated miles as 259. So 75000/259 = 289.575 wh/mi. Did I do my math right?

So if you can get that wh/mi, you should be able to drive 259 miles in 75D.

You can plug in your total capacity and current wh/mi and compute your real range. In my case right now I average 380 wh/mi (don't judge me) and so my real 100% range is 197 miles.

Calculations are fuzzy math to me. The best way to get the wh/mi to achieve rated miles is to look at the energy graph and compare rated mi to projected mi and observe the avg wh/mi. For my P85D, rated mi = projected mi at 308 wh/mi