Performance vs Charge

[fiksegts]

Does the Model S performance stay the same as the car runs down the charge in the battery? For example, is 0-60 time the same when there is 270 miles left vs 100 miles left on the battery?

thanks!

 

[stevezzzz]

The pack voltage starts to sag as the state of charge (SOC) drops. As the voltage sags it takes more and more current to get the rated performance from the motor. At some point, the car's electronics will start limiting performance to avoid damaging the battery; there was a thread a while back reporting a power limitation was imposed at 30 miles remaining. Will you still see a 4.4 sec 0-60 time down to that SOC? I don't know, but I kind of doubt it. For one thing, the extra current needed will tend to overheat the battery pack sooner, rather than later. Cottonwood started an interesting thread about his experience at the track; bottom line is that you want to be at the highest possible SOC for best performance.

Behavior when getting low on range

Colorado Track Day - November 3, 2012

 

[Todd Burch]

The pack voltage starts to sag as the state of charge (SOC) drops. As the voltage sags it takes more and more current to get the rated performance from the motor. At some point, the car's electronics will start limiting performance to avoid damaging the battery; there was a thread a while back reporting a power limitation was imposed at 30 miles remaining. Will you still see a 4.4 sec 0-60 time down to that SOC? I don't know, but I kind of doubt it. For one thing, the extra current needed will tend to overheat the battery pack sooner, rather than later. Cottonwood started an interesting thread about his experience at the track; bottom line is that you want to be at the highest possible SOC for best performance.

Behavior when getting low on range

Colorado Track Day - November 3, 2012

Completely agree with stevezzzz. It will be best at full SOC. (Probably better at Range vs. Standard mode charge). It will probably decline some as SOC decreases, but probably not significantly until you get toward the bottom of the pack's capacity. With 100 miles left, you probably have close to full performance.