Percentage or Miles/Kilometers : which do you use and why?

[jerry33]

Understood. Given my unpredictable driving habits (heavy foot one minute, lazy old man driver the next minute), I just leave it on percent and refill "the tank" with electrons when its between 1/4 (25%) and 1/2 (50%) half a tank. Based on the current "Poll" numbers, it appears more people feel that way as well.

Tesla says to plug it in whenever you can. I treat it like an iPhone. Plug it in at night, it's full in the morning. You never know when you'll need that full (even if it's 80%) full tank. Doing it the way you're doing it means it has larger cycles. It's not a gas car, it shouldn't be treated like one.

 

[jebinc]

Tesla says to plug it in whenever you can. I treat it like an iPhone. Plug it in at night, it's full in the morning. You never know when you'll need that full (even if it's 80%) full tank. Doing it the way you're doing it means it has larger cycles. It's not a gas car, it shouldn't be treated like one.

Agreed. I do the same, that is plug it in every night. "A plugged in Tesla is a happy Tesla". I made the 1/4 to 1/2 tank comment, meaning when I'm on a long trip. I will Super Charge long before it gets too low (e.g., 25% capacity).

 

[darth_vad3r]

Well, it seems there are many other members on this site with different opinions about how this is actually calculated. I admit, I don't really know what the facts are, which is why as qualified my statement "as I understand," based on what I read in other posts. This quote (below) is from another recent post in a different thread, as just one of many examples.

"In fact, it's more damaging to the battery to leave it topped at 80% than it is to leave it at 70%, even if the charge controller becomes less accurate over time. There's no reason to do a full top/deep discharge cycle unless you really need to have the range be 'accurate'. Everyone should just turn off the guess-o-meter and leave it on %."

Yes, and I almost replied to that exact post earlier to say it’s not a correct use of the term “guess-o-meter” as most people understand that term to mean. On other EVs the gauge is a “guess-o-meter” that changes based on past driving, in the Tesla the only “guess” part is the estimate of kWh in the pack, and it can recalibrate and change, but it’s not a guess-o-meter in the traditional EV sense. If the calibration is not off and you drive at a precise car-specific Wh/mi, you will see the energy gauge tick down predictably.

In a guess-o-meter EV, this would only happen if you drive at an unknown “previous X miles” Wh/mi efficiency. Otherwise the guess is off. You don’t know how much to expect it to be off by becausE you don’t know what the guessed Wh/mi is. With the Tesla it’s consistent. If you want variabile guesses based on past X miles of driving you can look at the energy app consumption tab range estimates.

 

[jebinc]

Yes, and I almost replied to that exact post earlier to say it’s not a correct use of the term “guess-o-meter” as most people understand that term to mean. On other EVs the gauge is a “guess-o-meter” that changes based in driving, in the Tesla the inky “guess” part is the estimate of kWh in the pack, and it can recalibrate and change, but it’s not a guess-9-meter in the traditional EV sense.

Understood and thanks. If I may ask, how did you vote in the poll above?

 

[darth_vad3r]

Understood and thanks. If I may ask, how did you vote in the poll above?

I voted kilometres. I leave it on km 99.99% of the time. When I take a data point for stats I cycle through all 3 of km, mi, % to gather 3x the amount of data in case that might help with rounding or any other interesting errors.

I use “%” implicitly with my charge slider target at 80 or 90% lines, and I find it nice to see both km on the display and % on the trip chart to see how I’m doing on a trip.

If I have “X km” remaining I know I can easily get all of that X km if I have to by slowing down.

 

[darth_vad3r]

Another point, "km range" (or miles) on the display is more comforting (or concerning?) to passengers.

I guess this works both ways if you want to hide it from passengers leave it on "%" and they might just wonder if "30%" is enough to get where you are going ... if they see a number like "116 km" I'd like to think that's more comforting for them to know we have 'lots' of range left vs some unknown "30%" quantity. 30% might seem really low to a passenger.

I also like that the 116km is higher than what I expect to be able to get out of the car, because I don't want my passengers freaking out earlier than necessary ... OMG we need to make it 50km to the next spot and we 'only' have 100km left! (meanwhile I know that "116km" is really probably 80km at my current driving speed, and I'm totally fine pushing the limits because I trust the nav to tell me accurately if I will make it to the next destination or not (and I know I can make it get 116km out of that amount of energy if I REALLY have to, by slowing down).

 

[mknox]

AFAIK, the only really reliable way is to set a destination and look at what the Nav system tells you. Every other kind of measure only measures past behaviour. Kind of like the stock market charts.

Exactly what I do. I compare how far Nav tells me how far I have to go against how far the Energy App tells me I can go. As long as Can Go > Have to Go, I'm good.

This estimate is also useless, unless you're talking about the number out of the Navigation estimate (which is the only useful predictor I'm aware of).

Yes, that is the number I am referring to.

Which of the 6 different range predictions available from the energy app would you choose?

I always use "Rated" number. Conditions are never "ideal" enough for me to use Ideal. I also refer to the "Last 30 miles" number. Sure, it's not 100% perfect but much better than the static distance meter on the "fuel gauge".

 

[darth_vad3r]

I always use "Rated" number. Conditions are never "ideal" enough for me to use Ideal. I also refer to the "Last 30 miles" number. Sure, it's not 100% perfect but much better than the static distance meter on the "fuel gauge".

You must be referring to a car other than the Model 3, which doesn’t have “ideal” & “rated” choices.

When I said 6 choices from the energy app I meant from the last X distance, there are 6 choices, 3 in miles, 3 in km (and no they aren’t the same).

 

[mknox]

You must be referring to a car other than the Model 3, which doesn’t have “ideal” & “rated” choices.

When I said 6 choices from the energy app I meant from the last X distance, there are 6 choices, 3 in miles, 3 in km (and no they aren’t the same).

Right. Forgot I was in a Model 3 discussion thread! I use miles/last 30 miles.

 

[darth_vad3r]

Right. Forgot I was in a Model 3 discussion thread! I use miles/last 30 miles.

So you’d like a 3rd option for your distance display for range : “rated”, “ideal”, “last 30 miles projected”?

When you change from rated to ideal, is there any indication to the user which is displayed? This would be confusing to different drivers with different preferences I think (say a family sharing a car or a rental car).

One time “miles” means one thing, another time it means something else (nevermind the part where “last 30” continuously means something else).

I’d think they’d want to distinguish these on the gauge to help people not get confused. “rmi”, “imi”, “lmi”
If they all say “mi” it’d be confusing. I’m guessing reducing options and confusion is why the 3 has only “mi” and it means rated all the time. At least you can still see the energy app guess-o-meter style number if you really want to.

I like that the battery gauge is an energy gauge, and not a guess at range. I know it always means the same thing. If I drive at an exact consumption I will see it tick down exactly as I expect. Ideal and rated are the same, but with two different #’s. It would perhaps be interesting if they let you choose a number ... or use the lifetime consumption which changes very slowly, but again, I’d think these need to have an asterisk or extra letter next to the “mi” on the dash.

 

[jerry33]

I’d think they’d want to distinguish these on the gauge to help people not get confused. “rmi”, “imi”, “lmi”
If they all say “mi” it’d be confusing. I’m guessing reducing options and confusion is why the 3 has only “mi” and it means rated all the time. At least you can still see the energy app guess-o-meter style number if you really want to.

I like that the battery gauge is an energy gauge, and not a guess at range. I know it always means the same thing. If I drive at an exact consumption I will see it tick down exactly as I expect. Ideal and rated are the same, but with two different #’s. It would perhaps be interesting if they let you choose a number ... or use the lifetime consumption which changes very slowly, but again, I’d think these need to have an asterisk or extra letter next to the “mi” on the dash.

I really don't get all the angst over this. If you are in a situation where you think there might be a problem, it's easy to set the destination and have a reasonably accurate indicator with warnings if the Nav things you need to lower your speed to arrive at your destination.

For around town, it just doesn't matter in the vast majority of cases because you never really come close to having an issue.

If you are one of those who doesn't plug in every day, well, that's your problem, not the car's since the recommendation is to plug in whenever possible. (I realize there are those who can't charge at home, so plugging in daily is inconvenient).

 

[darth_vad3r]

I really don't get all the angst over this. If you are in a situation where you think there might be a problem, it's easy to set the destination and have a reasonably accurate indicator with warnings if the Nav things you need to lower your speed to arrive at your destination.

For around town, it just doesn't matter in the vast majority of cases because you never really come close to having an issue.

If you are one of those who doesn't plug in every day, well, that's your problem, not the car's since the recommendation is to plug in whenever possible. (I realize there are those who can't charge at home, so plugging in daily is inconvenient).

Your angst-detector needs recalibrating.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

I really don't get all the angst over this. If you are in a situation where you think there might be a problem, it's easy to set the destination and have a reasonably accurate indicator with warnings if the Nav things you need to lower your speed to arrive at your destination.

For around town, it just doesn't matter in the vast majority of cases because you never really come close to having an issue.

If you are one of those who doesn't plug in every day, well, that's your problem, not the car's since the recommendation is to plug in whenever possible. (I realize there are those who can't charge at home, so plugging in daily is inconvenient).

I get the impression that the % people don't really care that much, but the "miles" people have angst that the % people think that they have the equivalent information.

As you point out, the Nav trip estimate graph is the way to go on any road trip, and that's typically the only time any of this matters. That being said, a "miles" person would say that you could get surprised just before that road trip, when you find that your 100% charge only gives you 280 miles of rated range rather than the original 310 rated miles. Not that that would likely matter one way or the other (in most situations), anyway, since you'd likely never be charging up to 280 miles at any Supercharger on a road trip.

 

[JulienW]

After switching back and forth a few times I have settled on percentage. Also I can easily see Rated and Estimated range using the Stats app. Percentage just seems more natural to me and tells me what I need to know the way I like to know it.

Who knows in a month or so I may by fluke switch back and decide I like Miles but......

OT: Know this is no big deal but surprised the hell out of me.

In other battery news (AWD/19") I was stuck in sorta heavy traffic moving at a fairly consistent speed and was using AP too. I'm more of an anti hyper miler and always ready to jump start from a stop. Was stuck in traffic and just flipped on my milage and thought I was hallucinating. 5 miles per kWh is the best by far I have ever done (I also had a less efficient ELR before).

 

[KenC]

After switching back and forth a few times I have settled on percentage. Also I can easily see Rated and Estimated range using the Stats app. Percentage just seems more natural to me and tells me what I need to know the way I like to know it.

Who knows in a month or so I may by fluke switch back and decide I like Miles but......

OT: Know this is no big deal but surprised the hell out of me.

In other battery news (AWD/19") I was stuck in sorta heavy traffic moving at a fairly consistent speed and was using AP too. I'm more of an anti hyper miler and always ready to jump start from a stop. Was stuck in traffic and just flipped on my milage and thought I was hallucinating. 5 miles per kWh is the best by far I have ever done (I also had a less efficient ELR before).

View attachment 436997

We started a thread about that, after the last software update. I'm seeing sub-200Wh numbers, ie >5 miles/kWh, where I've never been anywhere near that before. I average 250Wh, and in the 280s Wh during Winter, and typically in the 220s Wh during the heat of Summer. Never a sniff at 200Wh or less. Now, since the update, every day has been about 190Wh. Weird.

 

[Kamban]

Why can't Tesla give us three options to toggle between

Miles, percentage or both miles and percentage. People can choose what they want. I bet a majority will choose both.

As to difference between estimated range and the actual miles driven, that happens for gasoline cars too. My Acura has estimated range as one of the options I can have on the dashboard and I can also set a trip meter. Many times the two do not perfectly correlate with each other, since the former depends on my driving habits and traffic conditions. Most drivers understand that. If people do not want it, they are not obligated to display it.

 

[darth_vad3r]

Why can't Tesla give us three options to toggle between

Miles, percentage or both miles and percentage. People can choose what they want. I bet a majority will choose both.

Agree.

The best compromise I’ve found, other than toggling through the display settings and change from distance to energy, is to keep the gauge on distance, and open the energy app while navigating on a trip to take a peek at percentage. The little dot on the line is always showing you the current percent.

 

[AdamVIP]

I like to have miles left but when I do navigation is estimated percentage left at the end of the trip. Is there a way to change the navigation to estimate miles left instead?

 

[JulienW]

I like to have miles left but when I do navigation is estimated percentage left at the end of the trip. Is there a way to change the navigation to estimate miles left instead?

It does't have an estimator. If so you would be adding 8 choices if you want a remaining on each.

Miles
Miles remaining
Miles estimate
Miles estimate remaining (what you are asking for)
Percentage
Percentage remaining
Percentage estimate
Percentage estimate remaining

That is a lot of choices.

 

[KenC]

Right now, it's 53% to 41% for %age SOC, more than range.