Potential Model 3 buyer with 164-180 mile daily commute

[Jgee]

Hello folks,
Need some serious advise from fellow Model 3 owners in regards to long range commute. My daily commute is from Temecula Southern California to San Diego->one way 85 miles. No chargers at work. Realistically could I make this commute back to Temecula with no range worries? How does the battery fair when Temecula temperatures reaches 110 degrees in the summer?

Thank you for your advice.
Jay

 

[boriszima]

If you buy long range rearwheel then you get 325miles on full charge. Batteries do worse in colder climates compared to hotter. If you get SR+ at 220, then you cutting is too close and would have to charge to 100% every day. As long as you have enough time at home to charge 200 miles up every day, at 220V at 30 miles an hour you looking at 6-7 hours.

 

[P85_DA]

Easy drive in SR or MR 3 .. a co worker does this daily on a SR ..keep in mind u do have an urban charger(Rancho Bernardo) and the Temecula SC on the way back to Temecula

 

[billh13850]

Yeah, I haven't heard of too many battery issues at higher temps, and you shouldn't have to worry about cold temp or snow tire range loss. A LR RWD should be perfect for that commute if you can install adequate charging at home.

 

[bigroccrek]

With that commute I wouldn't go with less than a LR either the Rear wheel or AWD, otherwise you will have range anxiety.....

 

[Jgee]

Easy drive in SR or MR 3 .. a co worker does this daily on a SR ..keep in mind u do have an urban charger(Rancho Bernardo) and the Temecula SC on the way back to Temecula

10-4! I didn’t know about the urban charger. I know of one in Peñasquitos by the Vons.

Thank you for the heads up!

 

[Jgee]

With that commute I wouldn't go with less than a LR either the Rear wheel or AWD, otherwise you will have range anxiety.....

I was thinking LR Rear wheel for sure.

 

[RedishArctic]

LR and you are golden. A perfect use case for a long range electric car with autopilot right here. Your drive is going to be 10x more relaxing and a ton less expensive.

 

[jjrandorin]

Hello folks,
Need some serious advise from fellow Model 3 owners in regards to long range commute. My daily commute is from Temecula Southern California to San Diego->one way 85 miles. No chargers at work. Realistically could I make this commute back to Temecula with no range worries? How does the battery fair when Temecula temperatures reaches 110 degrees in the summer?

Thank you for your advice.
Jay

Hi,

I also live in temecula, and work in Oceanside. Occasionally I have to go down to san diego for work. I have model 3 performance, and have gone from temecula, to oceanside, to kearny mesa, back to oceanside, then back home to temecula with zero issues, in the middle of december. I got home with plenty of range to spare .

I did put a tesla HPWC in my garage, so would advise you do the same if only to help you with the range anxiety issue. Its been a non issue for me, and I have the lease efficient of the long range teslas.

I WOULD however suggest you target one of the LR models, either RWD, or AWD or Performance.

(my name is also jay, ironically enough )

 

[Jdcorbitt3]

The 3LR will be fine. You may even want to talk to whoever you work for. They probably can get a destination charger for free. I drive 240 miles one way nonstop. I still have over 60 miles range left when I get home.

 

[ewoodrick]

Hello folks,
Need some serious advise from fellow Model 3 owners in regards to long range commute. My daily commute is from Temecula Southern California to San Diego->one way 85 miles. No chargers at work. Realistically could I make this commute back to Temecula with no range worries? How does the battery fair when Temecula temperatures reaches 110 degrees in the summer?

Thank you for your advice.
Jay

Charge at home and have a great commute.
Whatever you do, don't imprison yourself to Supercharging every day, that makes an EV worse than an ICE.

 

[BrokerDon]

LR and you are golden. A perfect use case for a long range electric car with autopilot right here. Your drive is going to be 10x more relaxing and a ton less expensive.

Absolutely! Our daughter-in-law has a similar LONG commute from South Corona (Temescal Valley) to Costa Mesa and back every day. Model 3 LR has made this otherwise miserable commute easy. She recharges nightly on their Tesla Wall Connector on a 60A breaker (48A charge rate). Tesla Model 3 enabled them to buy a nice brand new Lennar single family home AND a Tesla M3 instead of only getting a small townhouse / condo in Orange County for the same $$$. Thanks Tesla !!!

 

[jjrandorin]

Absolutely! Our daughter-in-law has a similar LONG commute from South Corona (Temescal Valley) to Costa Mesa and back every day. Model 3 LR has made this otherwise miserable commute easy. She recharges nightly on their Tesla Wall Connector on a 60A breaker (48A charge rate). Tesla Model 3 enabled them to buy a nice brand new Lennar single family home AND a Tesla M3 instead of only getting a small townhouse / condo in Orange County for the same $$$. Thanks Tesla !!!

This is why many people who work in san diego live up in the temecula area (same thing). I have a nice, newer home, my wife and I have new cars, etc. Its cheaper here where I am, I just have to commute. For me, the commute is worth it to live where I live, and how I am living.

I contemplated selling my house and moving closer to work, but... I like it here

 

[P85_DA]

This is why many people who work in san diego live up in the temecula area (same thing). I have a nice, newer home, my wife and I have new cars, etc. Its cheaper here where I am, I just have to commute. For me, the commute is worth it to live where I live, and how I am living.

I contemplated selling my house and moving closer to work, but... I like it here

Commuting to SD not so bad to OC/La

 

[M3BlueGeorgia]

The 3LR will be fine. You may even want to talk to whoever you work for. They probably can get a destination charger for free. I drive 240 miles one way nonstop. I still have over 60 miles range left when I get home.

The SR+ is too marginal for you.
You don't appear to need AWD though it might be fun for the extra couple of thousand dollars,

So call Tesla and special order LR RWD, and add AP to it. Also consider FSD, which has some current capabilities you will use (over AP)

At home you need a beefy charging solution. At a minimum install 14-50 for 240v/40A and charging at 30 mph.
But seriously consider a wall charger, which will (with an LR) use 60A and therefore 50% faster overnight charging.

 

[Atari2600]

For self enlightenment I looked up the 12 month weather averages and you have a 42 degree window you live in year round.

Sometimes my workday is 230 miles round trip(not often) and I have a LR AWD. In cold temps its fine but in heavy rain or snow PLUS the cold can hurt the range and I've had to use the Grove City, OH supercharger on the way back just to play it safe. But i cannot see you having any of these issues. I have no regrets with my purchase. Looks like an easy win to me. FYI I own a wall connector and mostly charge at home at 240V.

 

[jjrandorin]

The SR+ is too marginal for you.
You don't appear to need AWD though it might be fun for the extra couple of thousand dollars,

So call Tesla and special order LR RWD, and add AP to it. Also consider FSD, which has some current capabilities you will use (over AP)

At home you need a beefy charging solution. At a minimum install 14-50 for 240v/40A and charging at 30 mph.
But seriously consider a wall charger, which will (with an LR) use 60A and therefore 50% faster overnight charging.

I also suggest a wall charger for the OP, simply because the cheapest electricity is going to be on a Time of Use (TOU), plan, so OP should be planning on charging between midnight and 5am. OP will want to try to fit all home charging into that window.

Note... "I" am not on a TOU plan even though I am in the same city as OP, because I have a large solar city leased solar system, with net metering, activated in 2015 (under very favorable rates). Mine is under a tiered use system, but my system is sized such that it works for me better than switching off of it to TOU (because my wife does not work so is at home, so I cant shift my during the day usage that much).

I believe off peak on So cal edison for TOU is 12-5am or 12-6am, so OP would want to charge during that window for best results... meaning that a HPWC would fit the bill better in my opinion. Most of the homes out here are newer, so OP can likely install the HPWC on an interior garage wall close to the panel, minimizing the expense.

 

[SSedan]

The temps are of little pack condition concern but AC use and high speed use both use extra miles.

In cold climates heater use uses a LOT of miles.

Wall connector is the way to go, shorter charge cycle will come in handy those evenings when you are out and about and get home later than usual. I would install it on a 100amp circuit if you can incase you do a second Tesla down the road. Just a little future proofing.

 

[jjrandorin]

The temps are of little pack condition concern but AC use and high speed use both use extra miles.

In cold climates heater use uses a LOT of miles.

Wall connector is the way to go, shorter charge cycle will come in handy those evenings when you are out and about and get home later than usual. I would install it on a 100amp circuit if you can incase you do a second Tesla down the road. Just a little future proofing.

Most houses out here are 200amp service, and many have 2 air conditioner condenser units. In general, homes out here would likely have no issue with a load calc to add a 60amp circuit, but adding a 100 amp circuit would be problematic for load calculations for most.

It also depends on if you own or rent your home, and if its your "forever home" . If it is, maybe the expense is something to consider.. but if its not...

Also as I mentioned most homes out here would have garages, with the electrical coming in right on the one side. Putting the HPWC on the interior garage wall of the electrical means that the cable run is likely less than 10 feet. Swapping out that cable would be a very small expense, if one got a second EV down the road and wanted to upgrade charging. Everyones situation is different, but this is how most houses out here are.

 

[timk225]

Wow, you better be getting a VERY good paycheck to tolerate a ride to work like that! I'd be insisting on a good L2 charger at work!

I asked my boss to let me plug in the car at work, which on a 5-20 would get me 70 miles of charge on a 12 hour shift to cover my 50 mile round trip to work, but he said no.