Should have purchased a CCS adaptor before the road trip

[Ridgeline]

My Y road trip would have kept me guessing as to whether I could make it to to the next Tesla supercharger, so I overcharged and made more stops. The problem was that I couldn't trust what the app said would be the SOC at the next Tesla charger. I never let it get lower than about 40%. I had previously seen the arrival SOC dwindle down to a dangerously low percentage, so I just couldn't trust it. Here's the question: Just before the trip I'd seen there were CCS chargers along the route but it was too late to purchase a CCS adaptor. Was this a rarity to find CCS chargers optionally available? There has been so much talk about non Tesla charging infrastructure just was not there yet so it never occurred to me to even check.

Other than that, Auto Pilot made the trip so much less stressful.

 

[MARKM3]

My Y road trip would have kept me guessing as to whether I could make it to to the next Tesla supercharger, so I overcharged and made more stops. The problem was that I couldn't trust what the app said would be the SOC at the next Tesla charger. I never let it get lower than about 40%. I had previously seen the arrival SOC dwindle down to a dangerously low percentage, so I just couldn't trust it. Here's the question: Just before the trip I'd seen there were CCS chargers along the route but it was too late to purchase a CCS adaptor. Was this a rarity to find CCS chargers optionally available? There has been so much talk about non Tesla charging infrastructure just was not there yet so it never occurred to me to even check.

Other than that, Auto Pilot made the trip so much less stressful.

Trust the trip planner. It will be extremely accurate. If you won't make it the car will tell you what to do, honestly better than you could.

CCS network is awful, avoid at all costs.

 

[jcanoe]

Have you tried A Better Route Planner (ABRP)? ABRP is available for your phone and on the web. ABRP helps plan charging sessions for road trips including Tesla Supercharger stations, DC Fastcharge networks and other charging infrastructure. You can set your preferences including fewer (longer) or more frequent (shorter) charging stops. ABRP could help you to decide if purchasing the Tesla CCS Combo 1 charging adaper ($175 from Tesla) made sense for your travels.

 

[theothertom]

Was this a rarity to find CCS chargers optionally available?

It's not a rarity to find CCS chargers along a major route. BUT, not all CCS chargers are created equally. Some charge at 24kW (typically car dealerships) and some at 350, with several levels in between. And, as @MARKM3 noted, CCS can be hit or miss from a reliability standpoint. Use plugshare and read the recent comments to see which ones are working and at what level.

I never let it get lower than about 40%.

Do you mean your arrival charge was 40%? That's way too high. My bottom limit used to be 20% but now that I've become more confident, it's now 10-15%. Some people use 2% but I'm not there yet.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

The Tesla planner takes speeds and elevation into account, but I don't think it takes any or all weather into account (others can correct me).
So you can try adjusting for that.
Premium ABRP, uses real-time weather, and basic ABRP, in the advanced settings, allows you to adjust temperature, wind and precipitation as well as setting additional weight.

 

[rwiegand]

I've used CCS chargers on a few occasions. I guess I've been lucky, but the ones I've used worked just as well as Tesla superchargers. Having the adapter along is cheap insurance if you travel outside of Tesla-heavy regions of the country.

I almost always arrive with a 5-10% higher SOC than the Tesla app predicts at the beginning of a trip. I guess it doesn't learn over time.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

My Y road trip would have kept me guessing as to whether I could make it to to the next Tesla supercharger, so I overcharged and made more stops. The problem was that I couldn't trust what the app said would be the SOC at the next Tesla charger. I never let it get lower than about 40%. I had previously seen the arrival SOC dwindle down to a dangerously low percentage, so I just couldn't trust it. Here's the question: Just before the trip I'd seen there were CCS chargers along the route but it was too late to purchase a CCS adaptor. Was this a rarity to find CCS chargers optionally available? There has been so much talk about non Tesla charging infrastructure just was not there yet so it never occurred to me to even check.

Other than that, Auto Pilot made the trip so much less stressful.

Is there any reason you never went below 40%? Most experienced Tesla drivers probably aim for 10% to 20% when arriving at the next Supercharger (or even down to 5% for those with lots of experience). The lower state of charge will allow the battery to Supercharge much faster and you can possibly skip some Superchargers. As others mentioned, ABRP can help you predict the SoC. It's always been very accurate for us.

 

[Ridgeline]

The Tesla planner takes speeds and elevation into account, but I don't think it takes any or all weather into account (others can correct me).
So you can try adjusting for that.
Premium ABRP, uses real-time weather, and basic ABRP, in the advanced settings, allows you to adjust temperature, wind and precipitation as well as setting additional weight.

 

[jcanoe]

The Tesla planner takes speeds and elevation into account, but I don't think it takes any or all weather into account (others can correct me).
So you can try adjusting for that.
Premium ABRP, uses real-time weather, and basic ABRP, in the advanced settings, allows you to adjust temperature, wind and precipitation as well as setting additional weight.

The Tesla Navigation system route planning software has always taken posted speed limits and elevation changes into account when estimating consumption on a trip route. The Tesla system now takes temperature and winds/cross winds into account when estimating consumption along a trip route.

 

[E90alex]

Targeting 40% at arrival is way too high and you’re severely limiting your range and charging options for absolutely no reason. You’re probably stopping to charge twice as often than you need to.

Has it been that inaccurate for you in practice or are you just scared to go lower? The navigation is pretty accurate and even a little pessimistic to make sure you don’t get caught out dead on a trip. If you want to be extra safe you can target like 20% but in my experience it’s usually pretty accurate or I even arrive 1-2% higher than what it originally estimated. 40% is way too much.

Also a low SOC is not harmful for the battery either if that was also playing into your concern.

 

[Ridgeline]

I did use ABRP which had much less SOC than did the Tesla app. Just part of the reason for not trusting it. Also I was not confident in the number I put in the ABRP app for watt hours per mile. I did observe the arrival SOC diminish quite a lot I think because of heavy rain down pour for nearly all of that segment. Plus I was derelict in my duties to ascertain what the real time watt hours per mile was in the other segments of the trip.

 

[Ridgeline]

Is there any reason you never went below 40%? Most experienced Tesla drivers probably aim for 10% to 20% when arriving at the next Supercharger (or even down to 5% for those with lots of experience). The lower state of charge will allow the battery to Supercharge much faster and you can possibly skip some Superchargers. As others mentioned, ABRP can help you predict the SoC. It's always been very accurate for us.

Wow, 10 to 20 percent that is nice to know.

 

[Ridgeline]

Targeting 40% at arrival is way too high and you’re severely limiting your range and charging options for absolutely no reason. You’re probably stopping to charge twice as often than you need to.

Has it been that inaccurate for you in practice or are you just scared to go lower? The navigation is pretty accurate and even a little pessimistic to make sure you don’t get caught out dead on a trip. If you want to be extra safe you can target like 20% but in my experience it’s usually pretty accurate or I even arrive 1-2% higher than what it originally estimated. 40% is way too much.

Also a low SOC is not harmful for the battery either if that was also playing into your concern.

yeah, I did have an experience a year ago, when I bypassed a charger thinking it didn't need it. I watched the arrival miles steadily get less and less getting to the next charger. I was watching miles and not percentage. I don't understand why watching percent is better than miles.

 

[804son]

Here's my conservative approach. I charge at the supercharger until I have approximately 15% extra battery percentage predicted at the next supercharger. If the weather is adverse, strong winds, lots of rain, etc. then I'll bump that up to 20% extra prediction. This allows me to pretty much drive as fast as I choose and make any stops, short detours along the way. For me it's a pretty good balance between not spending too much time at the supercharger and getting quick supercharging speeds at the next stop.

 

[804son]

yeah, I did have an experience a year ago, when I bypassed a charger thinking it didn't need it. I watched the arrival miles steadily get less and less getting to the next charger. I was watching miles and not percentage. I don't understand why watching percent is better than miles.

You never want to count on the rated "miles" as a determination of whether you can make the next supercharger. You will end up driving 50 mph trying to achieve the "rated range" to make your next supercharger. Switch to Percentage, charge a little extra and let er rip

 

[jcanoe]

yeah, I did have an experience a year ago, when I bypassed a charger thinking it didn't need it. I watched the arrival miles steadily get less and less getting to the next charger. I was watching miles and not percentage. I don't understand why watching percent is better than miles.

Percent state of charge can be more accurate because it is independent of speed, wind and road conditions. The Tesla battery indicator/range indicator assumes the EPA efficiency (Wh/mile consumption value) and has no way of factoring how fast you drive. The Energy Screen Trip screen does factor in speed, temperature, elevation changes and wind along a planned trip route. If you prefer to use estimated remaining range (miles or kilometers) then use the Energy Screen after entering your destination into the Tesla Navigation system.

 

[E90alex]

yeah, I did have an experience a year ago, when I bypassed a charger thinking it didn't need it. I watched the arrival miles steadily get less and less getting to the next charger. I was watching miles and not percentage. I don't understand why watching percent is better than miles.

The mileage display at the top should not be used for anything because it represents EPA rated range and is not achievable in real world usage. That’s why it’s recommended to keep it on % to avoid situations like “oh it says I have 120 miles of range left and the next city/supercharger is 100 miles away so that’s more than fine”. Do not do that. The % readout is accurate but the miles is not.

Also on long trips where you will need to fast charge, always use the navigation and follow what it says. Even if you know where you’re going. Don’t skip a supercharger if it tells you to stop at one.

 

[Rocky_H]

yeah, I did have an experience a year ago, when I bypassed a charger thinking it didn't need it. I watched the arrival miles steadily get less and less getting to the next charger. I was watching miles and not percentage. I don't understand why watching percent is better than miles.

Ah, this is a good question, and the answer is because that it's not really about the units. It's about how the different readings are being done.

If people are just talking about switching the battery meter back and forth between rated miles or %, there's not really a difference there, and I do keep mine on rated miles anyway.

But when you have a route plotted in navigation, the car is doing a realtime, all-inclusive, frequently updating PROJECTION of how your current energy usage is, including wind resistance from very high speed, heating or air conditioning use, etc. and then showing the projected estimate of what your arrival % will be. That number, which is shown on the navigation screen or the "Trips" panel is very useful and accurate, because it's taking everything into account as you drive.

So if you are driving 85 mph, and your wind resistance is awful, it will figure in that high energy consumption and show that in the estimate very early with the arrival % dropping fast so you can not be surprised by it later.

So yes, I shoot for around 15 to 20% estimated arrival, so that leaves comfortable enough buffer but isn't wasting a lot of time charging too much.

 

[kc1953]

It's not a rarity to find CCS chargers along a major route. BUT, not all CCS chargers are created equally. Some charge at 24kW (typically car dealerships) and some at 350, with several levels in between. And, as @MARKM3 noted, CCS can be hit or miss from a reliability standpoint. Use plugshare and read the recent comments to see which ones are working and at what level.

Do you mean your arrival charge was 40%? That's way too high. My bottom limit used to be 20% but now that I've become more confident, it's now 10-15%. Some people use 2% but I'm not there yet.

Same here. SC choices are generally significant and where I stop and how low I am willing to go depends on a variety of factors including amenities nearby SC, SC max speed 150 vs 250 kw, # of SC,and what I personally need…just a br break vs a meal. After a couple of roadtrips the anxiety goes away. Since I’m retired, I’m in no real hurry and if I make an extra stop, no biggie.

 

[carlos31820]

Wow, 10 to 20 percent that is nice to know.

I've taken several 1000-1400 mile road trips and have learned to trust the car navigation. It's VERY accurate. Even when it tells me I'll arrive to a supercharger with as little at 8-10% it's always been right on the money or we actually get there with a little more charge than the car estimated.