Planning trip with abetterrouteplanner.com

[gnuarm]

I've used abetterrouteplanner a number of times just to see the numbers it gives me. Nothing actually matters other than what the car really does. But this trip really surprises me. I'm traveling about 190 miles starting at 6 AM tomorrow when the temp will be 36°F. I have a model X P100D and don't plan to drive over 65 much. It will be raining which seems to be a factor in the tool as well. Starting with 87% charge it is telling me I need a 10 minute charge to reach my destination in Nashville, NC with 10% left.

This is the part of using the Tesla I find frustrating. I bought a car with 289 miles of range and I can't even use 190 of that without charging along the way. I actually have no idea if I can make it to Nashville without charging or not, but I don't plan to take a chance on it without stopping. I'm sure the car will tell me to stop, so it won't be of much use. I guess I can tell it to remove charging stops... then it will give me a % charge remaining when I arrive which seems to be fairly accurate so far. This is a business trip so I want to be able to plan when I arrive. It's also over three hours of driving, so I'll need to leave durn early to get there. Maybe I should go down tonight and get a room.

I do see abetterrouteplanner is taking a slightly longer route. Google says it is 183 miles, but still, abetterrouteplanner is telling me 471 Wh/mi. That seems very excessive.

 

[animorph]

Keep a record when you do the trip and see how it matches up with the predictions.

Then you should be able to adjust the trip planners to match your car/driving style a little better.

I was never able to get better than 14 MPG from my 21 MPG Porsche either.

 

[nctalkinghead]

What does your car's nav tell you? I find that to be better than abetterrouteplanner

 

[TexasEV]

I bought a car with 289 miles of range and I can't even use 190 of that without charging along the way.

No, you bought a car with 289 miles range ON THE EPA TEST CYCLE, not 289 miles of range when it’s 39 degrees and raining as you describe. And why not start your trip with 100% charge rather than 87%? And if range is such an issue for you because of lack of charging infrastructure where you usually travel, why did you get a P?

 

[jboy210]

No, you bought a car with 289 miles range ON THE EPA TEST CYCLE, not 289 miles of range when it’s 39 degrees and raining as you describe. And why not start your trip with 100% charge rather than 87%? And if range is such an issue for you because of lack of charging infrastructure where you usually travel, why did you get a P?

And one interesting thing about the EPA test cycle, is the highway speed is in general based on a top 60 mph. So take those EPA numbers with a huge grain of salt. After all, how many of us really go down the interstate at 60 mph?

 

[gnuarm]

What does your car's nav tell you? I find that to be better than abetterrouteplanner

It doesn't tell me anything. The car is sitting out in the cold and rain and I'm not going out there to play with the thing. abetterrouteplanner has been offered by many here as the best way to estimate trips.

I've got a very long day tomorrow. I need to drive three hours, work an 8 hour day or longer and then drive back three hours. I do have the option of driving my pickup. It does have nice seats and it needs to be driven once in a while. But I didn't buy the Tesla to leave it at home. I know I'll have to charge before heading back, but I didn't think I'd have to charge two or three times to make a 360 mile trip.

Driving this car restricts your options severely when traveling. I can't charge while eating breakfast on this trip unless I'm happy with whatever they offer at Wawa. I guess I need to accept it is still very early days and unless I'm willing to accept major compromises this car won't really be practical for trips for some years to come.

 

[gnuarm]

And one interesting thing about the EPA test cycle, is the highway speed is in general based on 60 mph. So take those EPA numbers with a huge grain of salt. After all, how many of us really go down the interstate at 60 mph?

I think you exaggerate the difference. When I drive my weekly run there is only 30 out of 120 miles that has a speed limit of 60 or higher. Most of it is 55 or less. I still get nowhere near the rated miles.

It seems everyone has there pet thing to blame poor mileage on. For some it's driving over 60. For others it's "excessive" use of the heater. For others it's short trips. Then others claim it is the cold.

As some would point out, even ICE autos vary mileage. But I've never seen remotely this much variation in mileage in any ICE I've driven and with an ICE it doesn't really matter since I can stop at a gas station pretty much any time I want if I'm anywhere other than west Texas.

 

[nctalkinghead]

One of the great things about a Tesla is the ability to set its interior temp from the comfort of your own home and then go out in the cold and rain, sit in a cozy warm vehicle and "play with the thing." But YMMV

 

[gnuarm]

One of the great things about a Tesla is the ability to set its interior temp from the comfort of your own home and then go out in the cold and rain, sit in a cozy warm vehicle and "play with the thing." But YMMV

It's charging. I don't want to burn up the kwatts as fast as I'm putting them in. Anyway, it's still outside and I'm in bed!

 

[KJD]

I've used abetterrouteplanner a number of times just to see the numbers it gives me. Nothing actually matters other than what the car really does. But this trip really surprises me. I'm traveling about 190 miles starting at 6 AM tomorrow when the temp will be 36°F. I have a model X P100D and don't plan to drive over 65 much. It will be raining which seems to be a factor in the tool as well. Starting with 87% charge it is telling me I need a 10 minute charge to reach my destination in Nashville, NC with 10% left.

It is obvious that you just like to complain about everything. Cold soak the battery and then only partial charge the thing and then complain when it comes up short. Very predictable.

We call this user error where I come from.

 

[RedMS]

So your car is showing 87% now and unplugged? If so that will be closer 80% by the time you wake up. And it will be cold soaked, which means for the first 20 mins or so you will burn up a lot of electrons.

Stop bitching and get up, plug the car in, set to 100%, and you will make the trip.

 

[RedMS]

For the record my rated 259mi S75D can only make 180ish in that temperature. Heck probably not even that as I prefer to drive over speed limit and charge more often. Hate it when semis start to pass me

 

[gnuarm]

It is obvious that you just like to complain about everything. Cold soak the battery and then only partial charge the thing and then complain when it comes up short. Very predictable.

We call this user error where I come from.

Some people can't understand simple logic. The issue is not that it is doing a "coming up short". The problem is it is coming up so far short the rated mileage can't even be seen! As to the "cold soaking", it will be charging all night to reach 87% and so not entirely cold. Then on a three hour trip, most of that will be with a quite up to temperature battery.

If you don't like a discussion, it is better to just not participate than to inappropriately complain about the conversation. This is partly for the benefit of anyone here considering an EV. Rather than hide dirty secrets about the cars I want to make sure people know just how much effort is required to use these things. Or I want to find out what I am doing wrong.

 

[gnuarm]

So your car is showing 87% now and unplugged? If so that will be closer 80% by the time you wake up. And it will be cold soaked, which means for the first 20 mins or so you will burn up a lot of electrons.

Stop bitching and get up, plug the car in, set to 100%, and you will make the trip.

What is wrong with people that they can't read? It should be 87% when I leave in the early morning, it's charging now. I very seldom charge more than 90% and I've done this trip before. It may not have been 36 degrees, but it wasn't much over 40. I was actually going a slightly shorter drive to a hotel with Superchargers. But I never had any doubt of making it and I believe reached it with 20% left while paying no attention to speed, etc. Tomorrow I'm going just 10 miles further and would have preferred to not charge until I head back. There is an Outback next to the charger there and that would be an ok place to charge for the return trip. But I might have to charge twice on the way back if I do that.

The discussion is about the trip planner giving highly pessimistic results or if it is accurate, the car being so severely compromised by the cold that it can't even travel two thirds of its rated range. No, in spite of what I've read I didn't expect that. RedMS just posted that he could do this trip in an S75D. I'd expect to be able to do it in an X P100D.

 

[suwaneedad]

I've used abetterrouteplanner a number of times just to see the numbers it gives me. Nothing actually matters other than what the car really does. But this trip really surprises me. I'm traveling about 190 miles starting at 6 AM tomorrow when the temp will be 36°F. I have a model X P100D and don't plan to drive over 65 much. It will be raining which seems to be a factor in the tool as well. Starting with 87% charge it is telling me I need a 10 minute charge to reach my destination in Nashville, NC with 10% left.

This is the part of using the Tesla I find frustrating. I bought a car with 289 miles of range and I can't even use 190 of that without charging along the way. I actually have no idea if I can make it to Nashville without charging or not, but I don't plan to take a chance on it without stopping. I'm sure the car will tell me to stop, so it won't be of much use. I guess I can tell it to remove charging stops... then it will give me a % charge remaining when I arrive which seems to be fairly accurate so far. This is a business trip so I want to be able to plan when I arrive. It's also over three hours of driving, so I'll need to leave durn early to get there. Maybe I should go down tonight and get a room.

I do see abetterrouteplanner is taking a slightly longer route. Google says it is 183 miles, but still, abetterrouteplanner is telling me 471 Wh/mi. That seems very excessive.

FWIW, I've found ABRP to be a bit conservative vs my reality. Naturally I'd rather that then the other way around. This is based on ~10 long trips so far in my 3LR.

One thing that I've found fantastic is the car's ability to accurately predict arrival % charge, and to adjust it on the fly based on actual driving conditions and battery use. Granted, I've yet to deal with heavy rain for extended periods of time on a trip like you're going to 'enjoy' in the morning, so I'm not sure if the computer can predict as well against the inefficiency of pushing heavy water out of the way for long durations, atop cool air temps and rain-laden air in front of the car. I'd have gone tonight just to get to skip the rain tomorrow altogether (regardless of vehicle being used); I hope it's not as bad as expected. Incredibly wet past month or so eh?!

 

[gnuarm]

FWIW, I've found ABRP to be a bit conservative vs my reality. Naturally I'd rather that then the other way around. This is based on ~10 long trips so far in my 3LR.

One thing that I've found fantastic is the car's ability to accurately predict arrival % charge, and to adjust it on the fly based on actual driving conditions and battery use. Granted, I've yet to deal with heavy rain for extended periods of time on a trip like you're going to 'enjoy' in the morning, so I'm not sure if the computer can predict as well against the inefficiency of pushing heavy water out of the way for long durations, atop cool air temps and rain-laden air in front of the car. I'd have gone tonight just to get to skip the rain tomorrow altogether (regardless of vehicle being used); I hope it's not as bad as expected. Incredibly wet past month or so eh?!

Much of this year has been wet here. I hadn't really considered that the rain itself would reduce the mileage. I saw the tool had a setting for rain and it shows a number 10%. Is it bumping up the consumption by 10% I wonder? That sure seems excessive.

 

[RedMS]

What is wrong with people that they can't read? It should be 87% when I leave in the early morning, it's charging now. I very seldom charge more than 90% and I've done this trip before. It may not have been 36 degrees, but it wasn't much over 40. I was actually going a slightly shorter drive to a hotel with Superchargers. But I never had any doubt of making it and I believe reached it with 20% left while paying no attention to speed, etc. Tomorrow I'm going just 10 miles further and would have preferred to not charge until I head back. There is an Outback next to the charger there and that would be an ok place to charge for the return trip. But I might have to charge twice on the way back if I do that.

The discussion is about the trip planner giving highly pessimistic results or if it is accurate, the car being so severely compromised by the cold that it can't even travel two thirds of its rated range. No, in spite of what I've read I didn't expect that. RedMS just posted that he could do this trip in an S75D. I'd expect to be able to do it in an X P100D.

I didn’t say I could do this trip in my S75D. Well I could with 100% initial charge and driving under 60 all the way but I’d rather supercharge an extra time if possible and drive faster. Also the S is more efficient than an X. Especially with cold and unpredictable weather. How do you know the car will be at 87% in the morning? Is that your set limit or going off the charge remaining estimate?

 

[KJD]

Some people can't understand simple logic. The issue is not that it is doing a "coming up short". The problem is it is coming up so far short the rated mileage can't even be seen! As to the "cold soaking", it will be charging all night to reach 87% and so not entirely cold. Then on a three hour trip, most of that will be with a quite up to temperature battery.
If you don't like a discussion, it is better to just not participate than to inappropriately complain about the conversation. This is partly for the benefit of anyone here considering an EV. Rather than hide dirty secrets about the cars I want to make sure people know just how much effort is required to use these things. Or I want to find out what I am doing wrong.

You are doing so many things wrong that I am not going to waste my time listing all of them. I will say this you should listen to TexasEV when he tells you something like in post #4 above.

Go back and read it again. While you are at it read what RedMS said. You should listen him as well, instead you insulted him.

If you really want to find out what you are doing wrong go back to this post on road tripping from 2013. Everything written there still applies today.

The Rules of Model S Road Tripping

 

[gnuarm]

I didn’t say I could do this trip in my S75D. Well I could with 100% initial charge and driving under 60 all the way but I’d rather supercharge an extra time if possible and drive faster. Also the S is more efficient than an X. Especially with cold and unpredictable weather. How do you know the car will be at 87% in the morning? Is that your set limit or going off the charge remaining estimate?

I know the charging rate. It's at 86% right now and I should be leaving within the hour so my 87% estimate was pretty good.

 

[gnuarm]

You are doing so many things wrong that I am not going to waste my time listing all of them. I will say this you should listen to TexasEV when he tells you something like in post #4 above.

Go back and read it again. While you are at it read what RedMS said. You should listen him as well, instead you insulted him.

If you really want to find out what you are doing wrong go back to this post on road tripping from 2013. Everything written there still applies today.

The Rules of Model S Road Tripping

I'm not looking to argue with people. But when they can't read what I wrote I have trouble listening to them.

RedMS wrote, "So your car is showing 87% now and unplugged?" I never said any of that. Or perhaps you mean I should listen when he says, "Stop bitching and get up, plug the car in, set to 100%, and you will make the trip." Too bad the charging part was impossible.

TexasEV always seems to be jumping on my case to the point I barely bother to read his posts. "And if range is such an issue for you because of lack of charging infrastructure where you usually travel, why did you get a P?" Yes, there is a 33% gap between the rated range in abetterrouteplanner and the trip I'd like to do without charging and he is focusing on the 6 miles I lost by buying the performance version of the model X!!!

I appreciate when people try to help. I don't appreciate a lot of attitude, especially when they've made assumptions that are not true or make pointless posts.

I have to leave now, but I will try to read the other post you mentioned.