Some pictures from the event:
The Chevy Malibu in the pictures is the Virginia Tech Hybrid Electric Vehicle competition car. The team was given a standard Malibu to which they needed to modify it into a hybrid, trying to achieve production ready enhancements. They are evaluated in competition with other university competitors on a number of criteria, most of which have to do with the consumer appeal (as opposed to racing for example).
It was great talking to the budding engineers at VT and it seems many of them are destined for GM and Ford jobs after graduation.
Interest in the Telsa was of course very high. We did trip a 120v breaker, as a Leaf and my Model S didn't quite coordinate charging quite right. I didn't really need much of a charge, but it was good to get whatever I could get.
I was going to use Plug Me In's NEMA 14-50 in Lynchburg, but decided against it. I had miscalculated the buffer zone, and as it turns out we had plenty of juice. By taking the "scenic route" through Lynchburg, it is slightly shorter than going up I-81 and down I-64 plus going 5-10 mph over the speed limit is still only 55-65 mph. Psychologically, it's better than doing 65 mph on an interstate when everyone else is doing 80 mph. That mean that even though we had significant mountains and hills, doing the 210 mile hop between western Richmond and Blacksburg was pretty easy.
I ended up with on 24 miles left because we were doing 10mph over the speed limit (i.e. going along with the fastest traffic). I used less energy on the way home because it's downhill, but it was also raining.
Doing about 330 watts/mile on the way out which was mid 60's temp and basically no rain but going up into the mountains. Did 317 watts/mile on the way back, about 10 degrees colder and with constant rain.
Apparently the EVSE I was trying to use at VT Inn was known to have some issues. It was a dual charger on a single pedestal and I didn't try the other EVSE and apparently that one works better. The Kroger charger was rock solid and I ended up with a full range charge. Last weekend I did a range charge for the first time in a while and got 260 miles rated range. I then range charged on Friday and got 261, but it was still lingering as I stopped it to leave for VT. At VT, I plugged in with 13 miles left, and at Kroger, I ranged charged to 264 at 208V/30A. Brand new, I had range charged to 267 and I'm on firmware 5.8.8. So with basically 5,000 miles and six months, it's hard to see any lowered range.
Good to know that if any of my kids to go VT, a single hop out with a P85 is pretty easy as long as my battery pack holds up. Hopefully Tesla Supercharges I-81 before it becomes an issue with my pack.
