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Roadtrip Planning - Time at Superchargers

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Last year we drove from Sydney to the Gold Coast by charging fully at Port Macquarie and topping up overnight at Coffs Harbour. The full charge at Port Macquarie took over an hour but we were having lunch so that worked well.

Now we're planning the same trip again over Easter but this time we're going to be making all the stops to check out the expanded network.

If we leave Sydney with a full charge and stop at each supercharger, roughly 200km apart, am I right in thinking that the top-up at Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay will only take around 30 minutes? I'm just planning the stops and working out when we have to leave home / how far we can go without stopping overnight. :)
 
Thanks but the kids are going to need to stop every couple of hours anyway so I thought it would make sense to stop at every SC. But I guess what you're saying is that it doesn't really matter whether we spend 15 minutes at Newcastle or 30 minutes as we'll make it to Port Macquarie even if we skip Newcastle altogether.
 
Thanks but the kids are going to need to stop every couple of hours anyway so I thought it would make sense to stop at every SC. But I guess what you're saying is that it doesn't really matter whether we spend 15 minutes at Newcastle or 30 minutes as we'll make it to Port Macquarie even if we skip Newcastle altogether.
As long as you don't do too many launches...
 
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Have a look at abetterrouteplanner.com

You can vary starting SOC but 90% is default

SYD-BCG.jpeg
 
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I think I would stop for another 10 minutes at Heatherbrae and Port Macquarie just to have more of a buffer for enexpected weather or events.

That sounds sensible. I'll probably just spend about 30 minutes at each stop, except at Port Macquarie where we'll have some lunch (Cassegrain will be closed so I guess it'll be a picnic on the lawn...). When I did this trip last year I was pretty nervous about making it to Port Macquarie - as @championi will attest - so I'm going to enjoy the "luxury" of bountiful electrons on this trip.
 
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The main thing to remember is the charging gets slower as your battery gets more full, from about 50%.

So for example if you need 40% of your battery between chargers you're better off arriving at 20% and charging to 60% (say 20 min) rather than arriving at 50% and charging to 90% (say 40 min).

Of course there are lots of other factors, such as how much reserve you want, and if it's no inconvenience (eg having lunch) then more charging is always better (even if it's slow).

Also, leave home with 100%. It costs you no extra time and will minimise total supercharge time.
 
That sounds sensible. I'll probably just spend about 30 minutes at each stop, except at Port Macquarie where we'll have some lunch (Cassegrain will be closed so I guess it'll be a picnic on the lawn...). When I did this trip last year I was pretty nervous about making it to Port Macquarie - as @championi will attest - so I'm going to enjoy the "luxury" of bountiful electrons on this trip.
@Homer youll have no issue at all doing this trip. In fact I didn't even plan. With all the SC's up the coast, you'll be fine. Only drama I found is when I got the the Gold Coast. I had to use the Marriot to get a charge. They desperately need a SC In the Gold Coast and Brisbane.
 
I think I would stop for another 10 minutes at Heatherbrae and Port Macquarie just to have more of a buffer for enexpected weather or events.

Yes in the planner you can add a buffer by changing the desired arrive charge in Settings to say 20%. Also a good idea to switch to your specific model.

Interesting comparison between starting depart charge of 90% & 100%. Difference? Not much.

SYD-BCG 90.jpeg
SYD-BCG 100.jpeg
 
As other have said, arriving at a lower battery level is better in terms of time as the Supercharger is faster when the battery is more on the empty side and then slows down quite a bit the more you charge. In other words, only charge as much as you need between Superchargers. On most road trips shortest time isn't always the goal, though.
I found that the car's trip planner is pretty good estimating the time you need to charge. If you go faster or road conditions need more energy, charge for a few more minutes just to have extra buffer. But overall, the trip planner in the car is pretty good.
 
Hey Homer, I just did this trip like Champ up and down to the Sunshine coast and up and down to Melb over the last four weeks, from Newcastle. I didn't plan at all but if you want a suggestion I would do this (similar to the trip planner but recognising what each SC has):

-Leave full
-(drive 170 km to) Stop at Heatherbrae for *15* minutes, you can comfortably make it from Syd to PM without charging, this is just a buffer stop, use the facilities, stretch your legs, grab a drink and go. You'll pickup about 100 km of range.
-( drive 220 km to) Stop at Cassegrain and have lunch, you won't need to charge to full but the more you can charge the less time to stop at Coffs. There is a lovely area to picnic down behind the carpark amongst the trees (which you would have spotted last time). The turnoff has changed here so make sure you look for the new signs. You have to turn off left and loop round behind expressway spares. This only affects north bound, south bound you turn straight off the highway.
-(160 km) Stop at the Coffs for *15* minutes, it is a bit remote and the services are elsewhere. Again, like Heatherbrae this is only a buffer stop.
-(220 km) Stop at the Macadamia Castle and get as much of a charge as you like to have range available for GC. There is plenty to do here. We have stopped there a heap of times and to be honest by the time lunch/brunch/breakfast has been consumed we always have a 90%+ charge.

The is to signify that this should be purely buffer charge, depending on your driving style and weather you can skip either. We have a little one year old so I often end up stopping where I don't plan and typically carry more buffer than required. We also have longer lunch stop with getting the pram etc out of the car, changing nappies and what not, so on my longer charges I often charge to 95% and stop for a few minutes at the next one if someone needs the loo or drive straight through if the little girl is sleeping.
 
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@Homer youll have no issue at all doing this trip. In fact I didn't even plan. With all the SC's up the coast, you'll be fine. Only drama I found is when I got the the Gold Coast. I had to use the Marriot to get a charge. They desperately need a SC In the Gold Coast and Brisbane.

Yeah I didn't really think I had to plan the stops for charging purposes - it was more to work out when we'd arrive at each point so I could plan the breaks for the kids plus also determine where we'd spend the night (i.e. how far we'd get). They do need an SC on the GC. Absolutely. But so long as I arrive with a bit in reserve, which I'll easily do, we'll just plug in to the powerpoint in the garage at the house we're staying at.
 
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Would be interesting to see how much difference in error factor there is between Summer and Winter.
Last year my Wodonga Gundagai stint consumed 65km more than the distance travelled as the ambient air temp was 7C.
Im up for another 24h run but will cost $1500
 
Would be interesting to see how much difference in error factor there is between Summer and Winter.
Last year my Wodonga Gundagai stint consumed 65km more than the distance travelled as the ambient air temp was 7C.
Im up for another 24h run but will cost $1500
I lost about 50 km of range between Melbourne and Euroa, so I stopped for a top up. It was 4C outside. The heater uses a significant amount of energy and has much more of an impact than the AC system, from what I understand.