Really cold tomorrow

[islandbayy]

I will be experimenting tonight. Wisconsin Dells will be hitting -31 tonight with a -58*F Windchill.

I will be taking it to a Supercharger to see how it fairs, as well as seeing how it does on a 14-50 overnight. This will be fun ^_^

 

[andrewket]

I will be experimenting tonight. Wisconsin Dells will be hitting -31 tonight with a -58*F Windchill.

I will be taking it to a Supercharger to see how it fairs, as well as seeing how it does on a 14-50 overnight. This will be fun ^_^

Are you going to be sitting in the car with the heat running while you do this?

 

[Alligator]

In Minnesota, I've had my Model S in -14 (F) and below more times than I can count. I drove it around all day today at -6, and the car performed better than our ICE car. I see regen disabled around ~5-10 degrees outside, and it usually enables itself after driving for about 15 minutes. When I warm my car up in advance, it still takes 15+ minutes to get regen to enable while warming up. Not only that, but the acceleration/speed is also limited to about 160 kW until the car is warm. I've had no trouble with this, even accelerating to get on the freeway after work. My max is usually about 100 kW for the acceleration, and I try not to push the batteries too much.

The hard part is that you have to get used to the regen either being disabled, being limited, or being full power. Because it varies so much over the course of a 30 minute commute, you can't really rely on it as much as you do during the summer. It still throws me off every time I need to stop in rush hour traffic. I can't wait until it is warmer and it is enabled again every day.

Tomorrow it will be -29 (F) here, and I'll probably stay home from work. My garage will be above 0, and my Model S will be plugged in the entire day, just to be safe. My garage is attached to my house, and is always warmer than the outdoor air. I have no doubt I could easily drive the car to work, leave it outside in the -20's for 8 hours, then drive it home and plug it in again - but I'd rather work from home. How often do we get a great excuse like this?

In short, there haven't been any problems. A warmed up battery will lose about half of its heat in an hour once you turn it off.

Just make sure you warm your car up in advance as much as possible, and make sure you plug it in as much as you can. It will do fine.

The windows, however, need a better defrost mechanism. If I have any more than one person in the car, in 2 minutes, all windows but the main windshield are completely fogged up in this wether. Tesla may make great cars, but they didn't test the defroster enough in Minnesota.

 

[islandbayy]

Are you going to be sitting in the car with the heat running while you do this?

Supercharger yah, on the 14-50, I might just start a lithium fire to keep warm

 

[NigelM]

So there we were, wearing shorts and watching a polo match in 84F yesterday; today however we're not expecting temperatures to get above 68-69F and we have a risk of frost tomorrow morning.... :-(

 

[Adrian]

When the battery is too cold regen is disabled. Keeping it plugged in (to 240v or similar iirc) will keep it warm enough to have full access when you leave.

 

[Alligator]

Not unless you pre-warm your car. Leaving it plugged in doesn't automatically warm it.

 

[Vip]

Just drove to work this morning.
Outside temp was 8F when I started and 0F when I reached work. Significant wind blowing also.
Drove 67 miles which took 1 hour and 20 minutes (mainly highway, very little stop and go). Started with 230 rated miles and ended with 101 rated miles.
Had the heat set to 67 with the seat heater on.
Despite my average speed I used about 530 Wh/mi, the most I have ever used to go to work!
Glad I can plug in at work!!!

 

[TheAustin]

One other thing to consider: don't forget that the windows drop down when you open the door. If it's frozen, it makes closing the door very difficult. (Personal experience)

This is a VERY good point! I had my car parked outside at a hotel for a few days in very cold weather, and when I went to pack up the car, the windows were frozen shut, and there was ice ON TOP of the door handles - They popped out, but I heard a crunch as they did...And then the ice was too thick for them to retract back in).

I needed to heat the cabin of the car on high for close to 30 minutes before all of the windows opened and the door handles fully retracted...This was something I could have/should have done 30 minutes before I went to pack the car...I wish I could say "Rookie mistake," but I've had my car over a year! I guess it was more that I'm not used to my car sitting in extreme cold for long stretches of time...And that I was on vacation, and maybe my brain was a little bit in off-mode

But, word to the wise...If your car is sitting in the extreme cold, definitely pre-heat the cabin at least 30 minutes before you really need it, just in case.

 

[Eric from NE]

Omaha here. Air temps this morning were -10F. Parked inside overnight in controlled temp (±60F). P85.

My typical 40 mile all highway commute was the same as ever, save some extra frozen condensation on the inside of the driver's window (I tend to generate a lot of body heat). Once the cabin temp stabilized I didn't even use the seat warmers.

Definitely noticed a hit on range, though. Typically estimated range will go from 220 to 165-175 on that drive. Today it was 145. Almost all 40 miles spent at ±70 MPH.

Will be plugged into a dedicated 50A outside all day. Will post some more notes when I get home.

Will DEFINITELY be pre-heating the cabin at the end of the day. :smile:

 

[sp4rk]

So there we were, wearing shorts and watching a polo match in 84F yesterday; today however we're not expecting temperatures to get above 68-69F and we have a risk of frost tomorrow morning.... :-(

Shut up!
Got a spare room? BRRRRRR

 

[DavidM]

Quote Originally Posted by NigelM View Post
So there we were, wearing shorts and watching a polo match in 84F yesterday; today however we're not expecting temperatures to get above 68-69F and we have a risk of frost tomorrow morning....

Shut up!
Got a spare room? BRRRRRR

I knew that was coming.
Seriously, tomorrow morning we're expecting 34F at sunrise in south Florida. This is going to be interesting because apparently a lot of kids down here don't even own a winter coat.

 

[B-Chicago]

Chicago Low Temps

Hard to track windchill, but -14 temp reading on the dash. Anyone get a lower reading?

 

[brianstorms]

All this talk about pre-heating the car. I've never done that.

Y'all would love the folks who walk along the beach in the morning here, dressed head to toe in long pants, gloves, heavy winter coat with fur hood, and scarf, when it's in the high 40s or low 50s. Me, I like shorts year-round. Ok, I'll go now.

 

[swaltner]

So there we were, wearing shorts and watching a polo match in 84F yesterday; today however we're not expecting temperatures to get above 68-69F and we have a risk of frost tomorrow morning.... :-(

Yep, it's another "National Hate Florida Day" today...

http://www.weather.com/maps/maptype/currentweatherusnational/uscurrenttemperatures_large.html

 

[JST]

One issue I noticed with the power mirrors--since they automatically fold whenever you lock the car, ice builds up on the mirror posts and prevents them from unfolding.

You've got to remember to chip the ice away before you head out, or spend the first few minutes of your drive wondering why the mirrors aren't adjusted right.

 

[sp4rk]

Quote Originally Posted by NigelM View Post
So there we were, wearing shorts and watching a polo match in 84F yesterday; today however we're not expecting temperatures to get above 68-69F and we have a risk of frost tomorrow morning....



I knew that was coming.
Seriously, tomorrow morning we're expecting 34F at sunrise in south Florida. This is going to be interesting because apparently a lot of kids down here don't even own a winter coat.

Seriously, back eons ago, I lived in Houston for a bit.
I vividly recall driving to Dallas during the "winter" one weekend just to see a snowflake!

 

[sp4rk]

Seriously, back eons ago, I lived in Houston for a bit.
I vividly recall driving to Dallas during the "winter" one weekend just to see a snowflake!

And he calls 34 Winter!

 

[gameon]

how to imagine what happens to cars park outside in such low temp.... even coolant find hard to survive (Freezing Point -34F)

 

[mknox]

The windows, however, need a better defrost mechanism. If I have any more than one person in the car, in 2 minutes, all windows but the main windshield are completely fogged up in this wether. Tesla may make great cars, but they didn't test the defroster enough in Minnesota.

My trick is to set it to floor and defrost and turn the fan speed up to at least 8. Keeping the air moving around the cabin seems to help with the side windows fogging up.