Pacific Place (Seattle) Ground Clearance?

[coreym]

Have any Model S owners with the standard suspension and 19" wheels parked at Pacific Place and exited on the 7th Ave. side?

I park at Pacific Place for work every day and before I order my MS, I wanted to make sure I didn't need to order the air suspension to be able to make it out of the garage. I've seen plenty of cars cut it close coming out, and I'm not sure how the MS 6" ground clearance translates in real world driving.

I appreciate any insight.

 

[hvb]

I have air suspension and park at Pacific Place all the time without having to raise the car. The caveat is I always leave using the 6th Ave exit. I can't imagine the 7th Ave exit would be any different, though.

 

[kunal]

I can't attest to how the drive into Pacific Place is in the MS, but in my Ferrari F430 it's totally fine. Being that the F430 is lower than the MS, I wouldn't worry about ground clearance on the MS.

 

[tokuro]

I have 19inch with standard suspension. I've entered from 7th and exited from other one just fine.

 

[coreym]

Thanks for the responses. I'm going to stick with the standard suspension then.

Can't wait to order.

 

[Seattle]

But are you getting the second charger? I got the air suspension, but I really wish I had gotten the second charger. The main thing you got back in the day out of the air suspension was a car much faster from the factory Today it doesn't matter.

 

[hvb]

But are you getting the second charger? I got the air suspension, but I really wish I had gotten the second charger. The main thing you got back in the day out of the air suspension was a car much faster from the factory Today it doesn't matter.

I regret not getting the twin chargers, too.

 

[coreym]

I regret not getting the twin chargers, too.

What situations are you guys running into where you wish you had the twin chargers? I was planning on the S85, which should give me plenty of range to cover my commute and any side trips on most days. And I figured on road trips, I'd be aiming for recharging at Superchargers anyway, since I'm not sure how long I'll be able to convince an impatient wife and two kids to stop and recharge along the way.

And for Issaquah/Sammamish who did you guys use for installing the HPWC?

 

[hvb]

I want twin chargers mainly for trips up to Victoria and the Olympic Peninsula. There will soon be a 80A Clipper Creek EVSE right in the heart of Port Angeles, which would be great for getting a quick charge during lunch. Last time we were in that area, we had to use the Forks 101 RV Park which charged us $38 for 2 hours on a NEMA 14-50. I would most definitely pay $1500 to avoid spending that much time stuck in a car with two young children. Unfortunately, as onerous as that experience was, it does not justify the $3600 post factory installation.

 

[onesixeight]

wish I had gotten the second charger. .

I'm getting the 2nd charger installed. For me, I take a lot of trips down to Portland and the ability to get 50/mi charge vs 24/mi an hour is a big time savings at Tesla Washington Square. Without it, it makes day trips down to OR almost impossible.

The superchargers are going to be a big help, but Washington Square is a much better place to hang out for the wife vs the Centralia outlet and McDonalds.

 

[tokuro]

What situations are you guys running into where you wish you had the twin chargers? I was planning on the S85, which should give me plenty of range to cover my commute and any side trips on most days. And I figured on road trips, I'd be aiming for recharging at Superchargers anyway, since I'm not sure how long I'll be able to convince an impatient wife and two kids to stop and recharge along the way.

And for Issaquah/Sammamish who did you guys use for installing the HPWC?

I used these guys. http://www.accurate-electric.com/ to install 14-50 plug. Though I did get twin charger, I have no plan to install HPWC in my garage any time soon. Instead, I got additional umc cable which is connected to that plug at all times.

 

[coreym]

Thanks for the insights. I hadn't really thought about the Tesla store in Portland, but that's a great point. I'm hoping once we actually have a MS, it won't take long to convince my wife that it's a better road trip choice than her fuel inefficient SUV--having all the charging options covered would likely help that, so I'm going to reconsider on the twin chargers.

And thanks for the link, tokuro. I'll give them a call.

 

[Puyallup Bill]

Yes, do indeed get the second charger. Just one time at an >40 Amp EVSE will make you a believer.

 

[dfitz206]

BTW (back on subject), I hit bottom (slightly) on the 7th ave exit (not entering, only exiting) of Pacific Place in Standard (air suspension). Raised it the next time to high and cleared it just fine.

 

[coreym]

BTW (back on subject), I hit bottom (slightly) on the 7th ave exit (not entering, only exiting) of Pacific Place in Standard (air suspension). Raised it the next time to high and cleared it just fine.

Thanks, dfitz206. It seems like the only people who bottom out entering off 7th are going too fast. But exiting, a surprising number seem close to scraping on the way out.

If air suspension is what it takes to keep my car from scraping every day, that alone would justify the extra expense.

 

[PhilBa]

I don't know if air suspension is truly worth it but I have it and was able to park in a location that has high parking bumpers (U Village, I hate that parking lot). I did not scrape because I put the car on extra high and pulled into the space. My kids were high-fiving and fist bumping 'cause their mom had just scraped the bottom of her new (but terrible obsolete) ICE there the day before. Heh heh, small victories...

 

[tokuro]

BTW (back on subject), I hit bottom (slightly) on the 7th ave exit (not entering, only exiting) of Pacific Place in Standard (air suspension). Raised it the next time to high and cleared it just fine.

good to know. I will be exiting only from 6th then. entering from 7th & 6th are fine.

 

[ChrisPDX]

I'm planning to spend a weekend in downtown Seattle next month. Assuming the Centralia supercharger is on-line by then, I'll be taking my Model S up there. My plan is to park in Pacific Place on Saturday, connect to one of their ChargePoints and let it top off the battery overnight. I would then pick the car up on Sunday and drive home. It appears their parking rate is very reasonable over the weekend (especially compared to the hotel's $30 a day rate). Plus with all their ChargePoints, I'm hoping it won't be an issue getting a charger either. Any feedback on there being any potential issues with this location?

 

[coreym]

Any feedback on there being any potential issues with this location?

Obviously, I don't have a MS yet, but parking there every day I can tell you that I've never seen every EV charging station filled, so that shouldn't be an issue.

If you have the standard suspension and exit on the 7th Ave. side, I'd be curious to hear if you have any problem with clearance.

 

[deonb]

Thanks, dfitz206. It seems like the only people who bottom out entering off 7th are going too fast. But exiting, a surprising number seem close to scraping on the way out.

If air suspension is what it takes to keep my car from scraping every day, that alone would justify the extra expense.

FWIW. Raising and lowering suspension is definitely the button I reach for second-most in the car (after skipping over songs). Even if I didn't need it at home (which I absolutely do), I still otherwise use it at least twice a week in various parking lots / drop-offs / gravel roads, or just visiting anybody else whose driveway goes downhill from street level. I really can't wait for this feature to become geo-fenced.

It's also convenient at various drive-troughs where raising the suspension helps a little bit to get the car up to counter level - or at least be able to look the barista/server in the eye. I feel like over the last 15 years drive-throughs became taller, didn't it? It used to be that a drive-through was uncomfortably low for an SUV and you had to bend down out the window. Now it's fine for an SUV but too high for a car.

This city overall is really built for SUV's, and the air suspension helps a lot with that.

Speaking of Seattle being built for SUV's... (bit off topic) - I've never owned a sedan in the U.S. before. When I was here on business before, and I rented a car in Seattle, it annoyed me to no end that like 60% of other cars on the road here where SUV's and big pickups and they always blocked my view so I couldn't see ahead. I'm a bit claustrophobic which means I ended up not enjoying the driving experience in the rental sedans. So over the years I always ended up buying SUV's just to be able to have a clear-sky view, and always have for the last 15 years. If you can't beat them - join them. So I was really concerned before buying the Model S about having my view blocked constantly - I had "view-anxiety" rather than "range-anxiety". Model S however have solved the view problem in a rather ingenious way. It just puts all those darn SUV's in the rear view mirror instead .