Some California Superchargers not providing maximum charging rates

[miimura]

I'd really like to compare what everyone's supercharging speeds peak at. It seems different year model vehicles and different pack sizes are both factors. Is there a thread about that? I've searched all over but haven't been able to find anything. If not, could someone create a wiki so we can share that important data?

The charging capability for each battery pack is pretty well documented by ABRP's data collection function.
Tesla Battery Charging Data from 801 Cars

 

[cpa]

I'd really like to compare what everyone's supercharging speeds peak at. It seems different year model vehicles and different pack sizes are both factors. Is there a thread about that? I've searched all over but haven't been able to find anything. If not, could someone create a wiki so we can share that important data?

Our 2014 Model S85 with 53,000 miles on the odometer will receive 117-118kW when the SOC is <20%. It drops below 100kW around 30%.

Our 2017/18 Model 3 LR rear wheel drive with 4,500 miles will receive about 113-114kW at 25% SOC or below, but we have only Supercharged that vehicle four times.

 

[Elmexiken]

I still think a viable explanation is Tesla limiting peak utility demand to control costs. In case people haven't heard, they're not making a profit right now.

Boy, were you wrong....

 

[Elmexiken]

That problem is temporarily relieved. The huge superchargers at Baker and Kettleman City are wide open any time I look them up on my screen. The Burbank mall and Glendale Americana chargers opened in the last year have cured the former logjam at the Burbank Service Center.

There are also additional new chargers in the past year in Santa Clarita, Thousand Oaks, San Clemente, Downey, Riverside and finally in San Diego and Carlsbad La Costa. Look at your maps when driving through SoCal. The West Side, central Orange County and Qualcomm should be avoided. But there are good alternatives now.

I assume this extra capacity has been built in anticipation of Model 3. I would not be surprised to see the supercharger crowding situation worsen again. My new referral in Colorado is seeing lines at the Lone Tree charger, one of only two in metro Denver.

I have not done so many roadtrips in the past year, so have no personal experience with the overheating/throttling of superchargers. But these threads were buzzing throughout the summers of 2016 and 2017 but have been quiet this year.

The situation is pretty bad if you live on the Westside.

 

[johnr]

The charging capability for each battery pack is pretty well documented by ABRP's data collection function.
Tesla Battery Charging Data from 801 Cars

Our 2014 Model S85 with 53,000 miles on the odometer will receive 117-118kW when the SOC is <20%. It drops below 100kW around 30%.

Thanks for the helpful info! It seems every car on the list gets over 100 KW at some point on the curve, with most getting very close to the 120KW limit.

My 2013 S85 which I bought used a couple years ago has always maxed out at 87KW. I've been to over sixty different superchargers with the battery as low as 10% and it has never once exceeded 87KW. I've gone to the service center and asked about this, and they said it's normal for my car. I don't want to hijack this thread any further, but I still worry about it.

 

[NOLA_Mike]

Thanks for the helpful info! It seems every car on the list gets over 100 KW at some point on the curve, with most getting very close to the 120KW limit.

My 2013 S85 which I bought used a couple years ago has always maxed out at 87KW. I've been to over sixty different superchargers with the battery as low as 10% and it has never once exceeded 87KW. I've gone to the service center and asked about this, and they said it's normal for my car. I don't want to hijack this thread any further, but I still worry about it.

The very early battery packs were limited to 90 kW maximum charge rate. Somewhere on the forum are posts from that time period about which battery pack model numbers were limited. Sounds like you may have one of those.

Mike

 

[PLUS EV]

Also certain batteries (if not all) got throttled after a large number of supercharges. I had a September 2016 S90D and after a few hundred supercharges, I never got more than 95kW and often it was more like 85kW.

 

[johnr]

The very early battery packs were limited to 90 kW maximum charge rate. Somewhere on the forum are posts from that time period about which battery pack model numbers were limited. Sounds like you may have one of those.

Thanks - that helps. It's hard to find those early posts, but I'm having some success using Bing filtering by date range. Now that I know it's normal I'm no longer worried

 

[David99]

I'd really like to compare what everyone's supercharging speeds peak at. It seems different year model vehicles and different pack sizes are both factors. Is there a thread about that? I've searched all over but haven't been able to find anything. If not, could someone create a wiki so we can share that important data?

I have supercharged way over 1000 times at 150 different locations over the past 5 years. There are so many variables. Each battery sizes/variation has it's own characteristics. Some 75 batteries are true 75 others are software limited old 85 batteries. There there are different revisions for each battery as well.
Superchargers are different as well. They are made out of small chargers working together. Tesla has uses different hardware on those over the years. Some sites have limits as well. They might have 10 stalls but not truly 10 x 120 = 1.2 mW power available. I noticed when a site is full the total power to all cars doesn't add up to the theoretical number.
Battery temperature plays a role as well. Both a cold and a hot battery can reduce the power. Same is true for the supercharger site. It might need to reduce power due to hot weather.

Last but not least, peak power is most noticeable to the user but doesn't tell the whole story about how fast the car actually charges. What counts is how long it takes for a certain amount of energy to be recharged. For example the old 85 battery peaks at 120 kW but drops down quickly and more than newer batteries. 90 packs get peak reduced to under 100 kW after a certain number of DC charging sessions, but they maintain a high rate longer. So while they peak much lower than the older 85 pack, they still charge faster overall when on a road trip.

Tesla has definitely also adjusted the charge rate via software updates over time on certain cars/batteries.

Last but not least, battery age plays a roll as well. My car charged 25% faster when it was new compared to now (185 k miles).

 

[wdolson]

The very early battery packs were limited to 90 kW maximum charge rate. Somewhere on the forum are posts from that time period about which battery pack model numbers were limited. Sounds like you may have one of those.

Mike

I believe it was just the "A" packs that had this limitation.

 

[ken830]

Thanks for the helpful info! It seems every car on the list gets over 100 KW at some point on the curve, with most getting very close to the 120KW limit.

My 2013 S85 which I bought used a couple years ago has always maxed out at 87KW. I've been to over sixty different superchargers with the battery as low as 10% and it has never once exceeded 87KW. I've gone to the service center and asked about this, and they said it's normal for my car. I don't want to hijack this thread any further, but I still worry about it.

Yeah, as other's have mentioned... It's the "A" packs that have this limitation. There were a few of us who were upset because when Elon first announced the upgraded Superchargers, he said that all Model Ss will automatically get the higher charge rate... But a few months later when we plug in our cars, it turns out that we don't. I was a bit peeved because my car (at the time) wasn't particularly old... As an April 2013 car, it was a couple of months after they first switched to the "B" packs... And my February 2013 car, I suspected (but didn't know to check at the time), had a "B" pack, but was bought back by Tesla. I also lost fog lights (was included in the tech package at the time of purchase) when they did the buyback.

Older Teslas limited to 90kW Supercharging