Just bought my first Model S 90D. Got a great deal on discounted inventory and should arrive in two weeks. Now being a first time owner are there any veteran owners out there able to provide me insight on what I should expect and what should be necessary for me. I live in Northern VA and commute just outside of DC everyday.
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New Model S 90D owner
- Thread starter chasercollins
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GaryREM
Member
Welcome to the family!
That's a very open question... For starters, assume you have arranged for charging at home.
That's a very open question... For starters, assume you have arranged for charging at home.
steve841
Active Member
YauKwan
Member
I often drive to north va to D.C. There really isn't any trick to it. Just drive as normal. If you charge at home you can charge to 90% and round trip is easy.
Otherwise there are several superchargers on the way to D.C. Which typically aren't crowded.
Winter weather will lower range by 30% so plan accordingly. The car handles snow like a champ.
Otherwise there are several superchargers on the way to D.C. Which typically aren't crowded.
Winter weather will lower range by 30% so plan accordingly. The car handles snow like a champ.
Get ready to enjoy autopilot in DC traffic. IMO bumper-to-bumper traffic is the best benefit of autopilot. A big stress reliever.
When AP2 first became operational and was speed restricted, I had to drive around to find traffic (and slow enough speeds) to enjoy it in. I'm no longer as much of a masochist!
When AP2 first became operational and was speed restricted, I had to drive around to find traffic (and slow enough speeds) to enjoy it in. I'm no longer as much of a masochist!
I'm about to arrange it. Should I buy the Tesla Wall connector or just have a NEMA 15-50 installed in my garage?
Got a Midnight Silver Metallica fully loaded white interior with the 19s
coqui33
Member
I agree if purchase cost is a factor. The Tesla HPWC is much more expensive than is a Clipper Creek or Bosch, if you want anything other than a simple 14-50. The reason to buy one of the wall chargers, whether Tesla or another, is that they come with cords so you need not use your portable cord that comes with the car. The choice is more about budget and convenience than it is about functionality. Any option will easily offer you enough charge speed to top off overnight. For that you will only need any connection at can provide 208/30 or more.
FWIW, I have a Bosch charger equipped with a Tesla connector. That is cheaper than the Tesla HPWC but has the same functionality unless you want higher charge levels, because the Tesla HPWC is capable of 240/80 which is much faster, say, 3-4 hours full charge. In almost all cases that is needless overkill. my 208/30 charges me to 90% from 25% in ~8-10 hours, which always is more than enough for an overnight charge.
The following article compares a number of the common charger options, excluding the Tesla wall connector:
Compare EV Chargers
In my opinion it is worthwhile to have a Tesla plug whether the Tesla Connector or a Tesla cord on a different charger. When spending all the money, having the Tesla interface with no adapter makes the whole process slightly easier. Is it financially justifiable? Yes, if you also can afford it and value simplicity. No, if you don't mind adapters.
Were I to make the decision I'd choose either a 14-50 or a Tesla Wall Connector, based entirely on how I value simplicity. For either one I'd be happy with 208/30 because higher power is rarely if ever needed at home.
Enjoy your commuting! In a Tesla you will.
####AFastTezla
Member
CONGRATS I just joined your party as well!!! I LOVE my new 90D!!! curious as to the scratches and how to avoid them...
berkeley_ecar
S 90D (fully loaded) delivered 18 Mar 2017
I just purchased an extra charging cable, which I leave permanently attached to a NEMA 14-50 outlet, for which I fabricated a nice cover from Seaboard plastic, that serves as a cable holder when the cable is not in use. The charging cable is only actually plugged in to the outlet when in use. The charging cable's connector to the Tesla hangs near the charging port in a custom holder I fabricated from a few dollars of parts from kitchen/dining containers from Daiso (a Japanese thrift store popular in the Bay Area). Works very well.
Paint protective film (PPF) such as XPel. The trade-off is that you have to take
some care with washing to avoid catching an edge of the PPF -- so I hand-wash now.
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Silverstreak
Member
My garage setup. Bought an extra portable charger with long cable.
rocketshipp85
Member
Go with the wall connector, you don't want to have to keep taking out and putting back the umc. Now it is even more expensive to buy a spare umc then to get the wall connector. Do you have the dual chargers in your car? If you do it might be worth it to see if you can have a 100 amp line to the wall connector.
No dual chargers, just the single. Looks like the Wall Charger is $550 and I saw somewhere if you purchase it the same time as your car that the cars warranty applies to the Wall Charger.
Silverstreak
Member
My Nema 14-50 was only $ 285 installed by electrician and with my extra UMC I am able to take it with me if I move. It does a great job, usually only charging a couple hours a day on average. I do keep the one that came with car in the trunk, but probably could have used it fairly easily too.
On both of my cars I have Xpel-pro and cquartz and highly recommend both. Even the 4 year MS exterior looks like brand new.
whitex
Well-Known Member
Depends on what you need. HPWC will charge your single charger car 20% faster than UMC. Which one you need really depends on how you are going to use your car:
- If you need to use your UMC ourside of your house, get HPWC as it's almost the same price. Plugging and uplugging the UMC daily is inconvenient and actually not recommended as the NEMA 14.50 sockets are often not rated for so many plug-unplug cycles and eventually break, possibly burn.
- If you often run the car very low and need to charge back up quicker in case you need to drive, get HPWC. For even faster charging you can upgrade the car to High Powered Charging which your HPWC is required for (assuming it's on a 100A circuit).
clostridium
Member
An extra UMC currently costs almost as much as an HPWC. So I got an HPWC instead. Plus you can get a longer cord with an HPWC and potentially can charge faster depending on your circuit.
