Road Trip Range - Actual

[napabill]

I'd love to have one spot to keep track of actual ranges that S owners are experiencing on road trips. I'm getting ready for a 900+ mile trip at the end of December, and have two legs over 200 miles (204 & 238). Would love to know if people are achieving those kind of ranges and, if so, with what variables (terrain, temp, speed.)

Also, maybe in a different thread, be nice to see what sort of trips and charging options people are experiencing.

 

[DaveVa]

I'd love to have one spot to keep track of actual ranges that S owners are experiencing on road trips. I'm getting ready for a 900+ mile trip at the end of December, and have two legs over 200 miles (204 & 238). Would love to know if people are achieving those kind of ranges and, if so, with what variables (terrain, temp, speed.)

Also, maybe in a different thread, be nice to see what sort of trips and charging options people are experiencing.

I was able to get "rated" miles DC to NYC, but had to really limit acceleration. Car did not seem terribly speed sensitive, in that I could keep my CC on 65-75. Driving behind a truck with consistent speed does help, but it was hard to find a truck that (a) kept a consistent speed and (b) drove at the speed I wanted to go...

 

[Trnsl8r]

I know Range mode increases charging, but does driving in Range mode conserve power and acceleration on Model S?

 

[DaveVa]

Range mode only changes the amount of charge put into the battery. The only driving effect is that for the first few miles, regen is limited since the battery is already full.

 

[Doug_G]

I know Range mode increases charging, but does driving in Range mode conserve power and acceleration on Model S?

In Range mode the Roadster limits the maximum power. It's still decently fast (>100 kW power) but not the normal "uber" (>200 kW). Does the Model S do the same thing?

Also in Range mode the Roadster spends less energy on battery cooling, allowing the battery to get a little warmer than usual. During charging in Range mode it chills the battery down so you start the trip with a cool battery. Perhaps the Model S does the same?

 

[DaveVa]

In Range mode the Roadster limits the maximum power. It's still decently fast (>100 kW power) but not the normal "uber" (>200 kW). Does the Model S do the same thing?

Also in Range mode the Roadster spends less energy on battery cooling, allowing the battery to get a little warmer than usual. During charging in Range mode it chills the battery down so you start the trip with a cool battery. Perhaps the Model S does the same?

The Max Range versus Standard appears on the charging screen, so I don't really think it is a driving mode - there was no indication that my power was limited, the Model S shows power limits with a yellow line on the power meter when limited (when I have driven it to 5 miles left on range), so I don't think it limits power in any way.

I don't know if it "pre-chills" the battery pack - but sounds like a great idea.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Aren't we mixing up Range Mode Charging (available on both the Roadster and Model S) and Range Mode Driving (available only on the Roadster - there's no such thing in Model S AFAIK)?!

 

[Ceilidh]

On the same topic--is there a place that will estimate distance based on elevation changes for EV drivers?

For instance, if I do mapquest or google maps, etc, I get a mileage estimate for the length of the road travelled but it does not at all incorporate altitude changes. For an ICE car this is no biggie, but for an EV this is a big deal.

Where do people go to get good data on the fly for range estimations when planning where to charge for trips? Is there a Model S "rule of thumb" that one should use if one has the elevation changes? What I mean by that is if there is a general formula for climbing X K ft = add X miles to the range "cost?" Similarly, is there a formula for rough estimates on # ft of altitude descended = X # miles back into the battery?

Just wondering how to conveniently integrate handling these calculations into typical driving scenarios as in ICE vehicles I never had to think about it. Would be nice if there was a reference that made this a no brainer for EV drivers.

Cheers.

 

[VolkerP]

Rule of thumb is 6mi per 1000ft of elevation gain. And you won't get it all back on the way down

Check http://www.jurassictest.ch/GR/ for a range predictor that takes elevation into account.

All wisdom lent from this thread: Elevation Change vs. Range

 

[StephRob]

I took a 180 mile round trip drive last Friday. Mostly flat, with a couple of ascents and descents in the 400-500 foot range. Mostly highway and freeway driving, with no particular attention paid to optimizing speed. We went about 65 about half the time, got stuck in stop and go traffic for about 8 miles, rest of the time 45-60 mph. At our destination (at the mid point), we showed off the car a bit to some family, so a couple of times flooring it to show the acceleration. Climate control and audio on. 2 adults and three kids for cargo so about 550 pounds. Our range had 55 miles left to go at the end, so approx 235 miles on a "Range" charge under those conditions. I love this car. We are Tesla customers for life at this point. I am so incredibly proud to be driving this car.

 

[dsm363]

I know Range mode increases charging, but does driving in Range mode conserve power and acceleration on Model S?

gg is right. There is no such thing as a 'range mode' in terms of a driving mode on the Model S. Just a 'range mode' when it comes to charging to get more range/pack charge.

 

[SoCalGuy]

I'm a little confused, so apologies if this is covered elsewhere (I'm sure it is). Is the EPA range of 265 miles for the full 85 kwh of usable battery charge? I know in the Karma, the EPA rating relates to the 20.1 kwh of usable energy in the battery (the battery itself is 22 kwh).

How does 'range' mode charging work?

 

[napabill]

Thanks for the post. That is exactly the kind of data I'm hoping will find it's way to this thread. If I read it correctly, you could have gone 220 miles with no problem, especially if you didn't have the kids, and didn't do any showing off to family and friends? BTW, I'm a Bay Area native and my wife grew up in Kentfield. What was your destination and route?

 

[dsm363]

I'm a little confused, so apologies if this is covered elsewhere (I'm sure it is). Is the EPA range of 265 miles for the full 85 kwh of usable battery charge? I know in the Karma, the EPA rating relates to the 20.1 kwh of usable energy in the battery (the battery itself is 22 kwh).

How does 'range' mode charging work?

Range mode (charging) allows you to charge as much of the battery pack as Tesla allows giving you the 265 mile EPA range. I'm not sure how much of the pack Tesla gives you but think they must have kept something back as when you run to zero you still have plenty of time to plug in before trashing your battery.

 

[napabill]

Has anyone looked at the trip calculator http://www.jurassictest.ch/GR/? It would seem, in principle, to be perfect. Would obviously be preferable to use miles vs KM. And I'm unclear what speed assumption is used in the model. Also unclear on whether the other variables as listed for the Tesla S are correct. But the fact that it factors in elevation changes is pretty cool.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

Has anyone looked at the trip calculator http://www.jurassictest.ch/GR/? It would seem, in principle, to be perfect. Would obviously be preferable to use miles vs KM. And I'm unclear what speed assumption is used in the model. Also unclear on whether the other variables as listed for the Tesla S are correct. But the fact that it factors in elevation changes is pretty cool.

you put your speed in the model

 

[ChadS]

I just tried it for a couple of trips I've actually taken, and it seems pretty close.

I had tried it two or three years ago for the Roadster and had a couple issues. One was that it didn't allow for Range mode (it kept telling me I couldn't make trips I knew I could). It seems there was something else it was missing at the time.

It's still missing weather information. When it's 33 degrees and raining hard, you will be pushing water out of the way of the tires, running the AC to keep the windshield clear, and running the heat to keep the car warm. This can be up to a 30% hit in the Roadster. Of course the Model S has a number of significant differences, so we'll have to see how things go in real life; I'm hoping the impact will be a smaller percentage, but you never know. My trips so far have been favored with pretty good weather - cool, but not cold and very little rain.

 

[Ceilidh]

Very much appreciate that link. I do wish it had mph but that is easily translated into km. if this map also listed charging stations it would be awesome. Then you could put in a "how far can I go" feature so that it would calculate routes based on your vehicle including stops for charging... Someday.

Cheers and thanks for the link.

 

[vfx]

Tesla gives you but think they must have kept something back as when you run to zero you still have plenty of time to plug in before trashing your battery.

So I walked out to pick up a package today and my Infiniti off in the corner was beeping. Turns out I had not driven it in so long that it was asking me to charge the battery.

 

[William3]

That's awesome!!! My Acura just dies (silently). I hope my model S beeps when it gets low (which should be after about 22 days given the 10-mile per day vampire effect).