Roadster 3.0

[John W. Ratcliff]

>It is basically half power which is the same as driving in range mode. So slower similar to a BMW 3 series.

I can still pull a 13.0 quarter mile even if the performance light is pure red, my BMW-M3 couldn't touch that.

 

[gregd]

>It is basically half power which is the same as driving in range mode. So slower similar to a BMW 3 series.

I can still pull a 13.0 quarter mile even if the performance light is pure red, my BMW-M3 couldn't touch that.

Just curious... How does that compare to the car being in Standard mode? The Wikipedia article documents it at 12.6 seconds, with the original battery.

 

[hcsharp]

To me the red is still the same. It is basically half power which is the same as driving in range mode. So slower similar to a BMW 3 series.

You might be confusing red battery status with red performance mode status. One has noticably less power. The other one doesn't seem to.

 

[John W. Ratcliff]

Companies are notorious for listing 1/4 mile times that are hard to achieve in real-life. I'm a heavy guy, 250 pounds, maybe that's worth a few tenths of a second. 13.0 beat most everything I went up against.

 

[dhrivnak]

You might be confusing red battery status with red performance mode status. One has noticably less power. The other one doesn't seem to.

Correct I was taking about red battery status or reduced power mode on the last 40 miles of driving.

 

[DeedWest]

Actually, IIRC, the earlier discussions have implied (assumed?) that the red indicator was an indicator of a problem, and that the mode wasn't operating fully. If it's just a warning, that really changes things. My PEM seems to live in that top blue bar a good part of the year, but is quite stable there and never goes above. Apparently as a result, Performance mode goes red pretty quickly with any use... I've refrained using it be cause of that. Maybe I'm missing out on some fun?

So for those with the 3.0 battery, does Performance mode going Red seem to make a difference in the car's behavior?

I finally had a chance to test this in both my 2.0 Base and an R80 (2.5 Sport) yesterday.

In both cars, the Performance logo turns red at 46C on the temperature screen, and returns to white at 45C. This leads me to believe it is simply a warning. On a hot day here in Dallas (coupled with heavy acceleration) it is frequently in the 42C to 48C range on both cars for PEM temperatures, so it’s not out of the ordinary.

 

[John W. Ratcliff]

I'm pretty psyched! I finally got to the track to drag race with my R80.

I cut two tenths of a second off of my 1/4 mile time!!

Only $15,000 per tenth of a second. I'm pretty damned happy!

 

[John W. Ratcliff]

Update. My final run got into 12.7 territory. That's Tesla's stated fastest 1/4 time. Very happy to see the R80 make this big of a difference!!

 

[Mark77a]

Great !
Is your battery data on the R80 3.0 battery longevity thread ?
3.0 Battery Longevity

 

[John W. Ratcliff]

Here's a link to a video of one of the runs that I did.


https://photos.app.goo.gl/LVXMbKl2ce5e9imr1

 

[ChargeIt]

We just pulled the trigger to upgrade our 1.5 to the 3.0 battery. Two weeks ago the VDS threw a sheet alarm error while charging. Turns out 2 sheets now have bad cells, and we decided to do the full upgrade instead of replacing the two sheets for $5000. Bummer since the pack is original and only has 8100 miles on it.

The SC also reported the rear tires were worn and needed replacing, they _only_ have 3500 miles on them.
Is there a better rear tire with better life that anyone has found for the 3.0 upgrade? I've found the AD07s for $107 (f) and $147 (r) on TireRack.com, which is better than the $299 per rear quote from the SC.

 

[thefortunes]

We just pulled the trigger to upgrade our 1.5 to the 3.0 battery. Two weeks ago the VDS threw a sheet alarm error while charging. Turns out 2 sheets now have bad cells, and we decided to do the full upgrade instead of replacing the two sheets for $5000. Bummer since the pack is original and only has 8100 miles on it.

The SC also reported the rear tires were worn and needed replacing, they _only_ have 3500 miles on them.
Is there a better rear tire with better life that anyone has found for the 3.0 upgrade? I've found the AD07s for $107 (f) and $147 (r) on TireRack.com, which is better than the $299 per rear quote from the SC.

Re: the rear tires - many of us are running Michelin Pilot Super Sports which last longer, are a little quieter and have similar performance characteristics. Another option would be to go to the AD08s. I have run both (as well as the AD07s) and have settled on the Michelins. There is a tire thread here 2.0 / 2.5 Roadster / Roadster Sport Tire Thread

 

[ecarfan]

The SC also reported the rear tires were worn and needed replacing, they _only_ have 3500 miles on them.
Is there a better rear tire with better life that anyone has found for the 3.0 upgrade? I've found the AD07s for $107 (f) and $147 (r) on TireRack.com, which is better than the $299 per rear quote from the SC.

this thread is about the 3.0battery. Please see this pinned thread for the ongoing discussion about tires for the 1.5.
1.5 Roadster Tire Thread


Thanks!

 

[Timothy]

So, a report of my first long trip with the new battery installed.

I started with a maximum range charge of 342 miles in Santa Barbara on my way to my son's house 20 miles south of San Francisco. I drove to Paso Robles and charged at 220 volts/70 amps for an hour and added 40 miles to my ideal range. (Thanks HC Sharp for the converter!) Unfortunately, I didn’t check the kWh added. I arrived at my son's office in Sunnyvale (with a view of the hangar at Moffett Field) with roughly 45 max range miles left. It was only 23 miles to my son's home from there—no sweat! Except that I was driving the entire time in max range mode and just after I got on the freeway and it said 40 miles and the screen gave me a red bar and said that the computer had no idea what range was left. I decided (well, gambled) that I did have plenty of range. I got in the right lane and went slowly (slow rush hour traffic) and made it to my son's house without problem. I plugged in the car and it didn’t show a range on the VDS. I came back in 20 minutes or so and it said 0 mile range. After charging for a couple hours it said 20 ideal mile range in standard mode. Hmmm….. maybe I cut it closer than I hoped!

The Trip Meter said the journey was 310.6 miles, used 80.42 kWh at 259 kW/mile.

On the way home I started with 332 range miles, drove in standard mode to San Luis Obispo and charged at Lloyd Marcum’s office. The VDS said 60 ideal mile range in standard mode and 94 mile ideal range in max range mode. I charged for an hour and got 11 kWh according to the reading on the charging section of the VDS. When I got closer to SB, the red bar came up and I switched to max range mode. I arrived home with 16 ideal miles left in standard mode and 50 in max range mode. Would I have made it without charging? Hmm… pretty tight but I think I might have!

I went 62 mph with cruise control and only went faster for passing on occasion. I had on the fan but no air conditioning to save juice. Anyhow, even at that slow speed the ideal and actual miles are not close to 1:1. ☹

The Trip Meter said 314 miles, 77.8 kWh used, 248 kWh/mile.

Why is there a difference going north rather than south? I barely made it on the way up, no problem on the way home!

The bottom line: SB to my son's house at 62 mph, a 1 hour stop to have lunch and charge. That beats the 2 hour Atascadero charge and the 30-60 minute Salinas charge with the old 52 kWh battery. So with the planned frequency of trips to my son's in the Roadster, I refuse to calculate the cost per hour saved with that new battery!

 

[miimura]

Why is there a difference going north rather than south? I barely made it on the way up, no problem on the way home!

Wind. There is usually a tailwind down the 101 corridor driving southbound.

 

[Timothy]

Wind. There is usually a tailwind down the 101 corridor driving southbound.

One of my erudite friends reminds me, "South is downhill!"

 

[gregd]

The bottom line: SB to my son's house at 62 mph, a 1 hour stop to have lunch and charge. That beats the 2 hour Atascadero charge and the 30-60 minute Salinas charge with the old 52 kWh battery. So with the planned frequency of trips to my son's in the Roadster, I refuse to calculate the cost per hour saved with that new battery!

Sounds like a good "investment"! Just be careful, since you're currently cutting it kind of close, and going to lose some 10% of the capacity over time (See: 3.0 Battery Longevity).

 

[hcsharp]

So with the planned frequency of trips to my son's in the Roadster, I refuse to calculate the cost per hour saved with that new battery!

Time with your son is priceless.

 

[ggr]

One of my erudite friends reminds me, "South is downhill!"

Technically, toward the equator is uphill, because the earth bulges in the middle.

 

[Timothy]

Time with your son is priceless.

Especially since he told me, "Dad, buy the battery and take the cost our of my inheritance!"