Range to Huntsville Supercharger

[Pipcecil]

My wife is about to take our first long trip in the Tesla to go to a meeting in Houston. Return trip is not an issue since she has plenty of places to stop off if it range gets hairy (spring, huntsville, corsicana). But on the trip down she would like to minimize supercharger to arrive quicker. Since neither of us have done longer highway cruising driving we are unsure of the range.

We have a 2013 S85 w/ 19in wheels (but the regular tires, not primacy). I have calculated range loss to be around 4% (which is a max range of 255 - but I haven't full charged this is just an estimation off the 90% which varies around 230-234).

We live south of DFW in midlothian and the hard miles to the huntsville supercharger is 162 miles. Is that doable? My previous car was a Leaf so highway driving tanked the range much much more so I have a harder time predicting the Model S's range. I tried EV trip planner and the range was at the make/break point leaving 15% battery as a buffer depending on the speed of the headwind (above 15 mph it said it wouldn't make it). That accounts for ~36% loss of range from the rated. Is it really this much or is the trip planner being ultra conservative? Tesla's range calculator on the 70D (closest in rated miles to the S85) shows a full crusing range @ 70 mph and 90 degree weather with AC and 19" wheels at 238 miles of total range. So these two calculations vary considerably.

I just didn't have any experience otherwise to fall back on. Yes she could stop in corsicana, but if there is not any needed she would like to not waste that 20-30 minutes or so.

 

[BerTX]

EVTrip Planner is a good tool if you enter the correct data.

I'd recommend trying the EV Trip Optimizer app,since it automatically takes wind and weather into consideration. You can tell it several days before you leave, the date and time of your departure and it will give a good estimate. Be careful, because all of these tools use the average speed traveled on those roads, which for some reason is often significantly LESS than the speed limit.

My wife has a fairly petite bladder and a sweet tooth, so she would be stopping in Corsicana at the bakery. Someday in the future we'll be able to space our Supercharger stops according to our bio-breaks, but for now we have to time out bio-breaks according to Supercharger locations.

I'd try to get a pretty good estimate of what battery SOC she would need to get from Corsicana to Huntsville with a comfortable buffer. If she gets to Corsicana and is below that SOC (or nature is calling), then stop at Corsicana and charge for a few minutes. Otherwise, continue on.

 

[Boourns]

Seems like you should be able to make it fairly easily, especially with a range charge to start. I have found EV trip planner to be pretty accurate if you enter the right numbers. What was the Wh/mile it predicted you'd be getting? I have found 330-350 is where I end up on interstate trips. Make sure your wife knows that the most important factor is speed. If she gets nervous, just slow down to 65.

 

[TexLaw]

I'd like to think she would have no trouble, but a 10 minute rest/coffee/charge stop in Corsicana could do wonders for the mind, body, and range.

 

[RichardD]

Corsicana has the bakery/diner that gives a free coffee to Tesla owners. The food is great. I had a BLT. Huntsville is in the back corner of a hotel and they have free coffee and cookies in the lobby atleast the few times I have been there. I charged in Denton and could have made it to Huntsville, but wanted to stop in Corsicana. The lounge at the hotel has the news on and I sat in there and relaxed. Hope that helps and happy driving.

 

[brkaus]

Abetterrouteplanner.com shows 55% decrease from Corsicana supercharger to Huntsville supercharger. 113 miles, 1hr 49min.

 

[snellenr]

I'd suggest driving at 65 mph for the first half of the trip, with the energy app "trip" tab open on the center console after setting up Huntsville as the nav destination. Keep an eye on the trend line and predicted %age at destination and adjust speed as necessary to keep the destination %age above whatever level feels "comfortable" -- I like to stay at 20% or above, especially if I haven't driven the leg previously, but others skate closer to the edge.

 

[cab]

I'd suggest driving at 65 mph for the first half of the trip, with the energy app "trip" tab open on the center console after setting up Huntsville as the nav destination. Keep an eye on the trend line and predicted %age at destination and adjust speed as necessary to keep the destination %age above whatever level feels "comfortable" -- I like to stay at 20% or above, especially if I haven't driven the leg previously, but others skate closer to the edge.

Agree - they key here will be 65 mph or less. Current temps won't be a factor so it is all about speed. The flip side is "just stop and grab 10 mins worth of charge" - it doesn't have to be 30 mins - if she is at all concerned).

 

[Jtrader]

I find the in car Nav to be more accurate but it doesn't allow for waypoints.

 

[wart]

The thing about Superchargers is, they give you the ability to charge faster than you can drive. If the choice is between a) drive 65 and don't charge or b) drive 75 and charge for 10 or 15 minutes, it might still be faster overall to drive faster and stop to charge.

 

[purplewalt]

The thing about Superchargers is, they give you the ability to charge faster than you can drive. If the choice is between a) drive 65 and don't charge or b) drive 75 and charge for 10 or 15 minutes, it might still be faster overall to drive faster and stop to charge.

Two thumbs up!!!!!
From DFW to Corsicana, get a quick 10 to 15 minute sip of electrons and coffee, then book it on to Huntsville without any worries,
Only 113 miles between the two, is a very easy leg to accomplish.
Another quick stop at Huntsville and sip of electrons.

Then onward to Houston.

Worry and stress-free trip.

Note: There is heavy road construction (North and Southbound lanes) from just North of Corsicana to about 15 miles South of Corsicana, so plan accordingly. Right hand lanes are typically to be avoided because of rumble-bars that are typically on the outer edge of the highways.

 

[Missile Toad]

For trips inbound on I-45 from Dallas, consider this alternative:
Destination: Huntsville TX,
Backup power-up: "homeontherangervpark.com" with NEMA 14-50 chargers,
about 1 mile SE of the Buc-ees, on Boyd Road
RV Park Location: 24 mi N of end SuperCharger
Your point of no return: Anything less than 30 Range Mi @ Madisonville "Main Street" Exit (also known as the Buc-ees exit), you should divert to this backup charger -- for about 12 minutes of charging. Take a quick look at your battery gauge at Mile Marker 145. If a tailwind has you with more than 30 RM, keep going. If your lead-foot kept you under 30 RM at this point, take the Madisonville exit.
Actual miles from the RV Park to destination: 24
Phone ahead: (936) 348-9470
Approximate distance from start: 140 miles

Bring your UMC and the NEMA 14-50 adapter.
Charging from the bottom of your battery is ~20% faster than starting with 100 RM in your battery.

 

[Boourns]

The thing about Superchargers is, they give you the ability to charge faster than you can drive. If the choice is between a) drive 65 and don't charge or b) drive 75 and charge for 10 or 15 minutes, it might still be faster overall to drive faster and stop to charge.

Somewhere there is a thread about this very subject, with charts and equations and everything. The gist is that it's better to stop at every supercharger and charge enough to get you to the next one, using the bottom half of the battery, since that is when the fastest charging occurs.

 

[brkaus]

Faster to stop at more superchargers, except when you don't have to at the beginning of a trip.

Charge to 100% at home and should be plenty of range to get to Huntsville. Checked it on several trip planners.

100% charge, drive at 110% speed, arrive with 17%.

 

[AndrewTX]

I just did this route yesterday. Left the Richardson area with about 225 miles of range on my S75 and made it to Huntsville with 34 miles left. Was driving 70-80mph the entire way once I cleared downtown Dallas.