Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Supercharge a brand new MYLR to 100% on a road trip?

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
I have just picked up my MY about 2 days ago. I am planning for a 1200 miles trip and would like to know if it’s good to use supercharger on a brand new MY? Will using SC charging up to 100% deteriorate the battery?

What’s the best practice to break in (if there’s one) a brand new battery?
 
The last 10% or so takes a lot longer. Not worth it. If you’re driving in the cold with a lot of people/luggage, count on driving around 2.5-3 hrs between charges to be conservative.

Also, if the superchargers you encounter are crowded, that can also reduce charging speed overall. Unless you need that extra bit of energy to get to the next charger, it’s not worth waiting around an extra 20 min or so to get anything above 90%
 
I have just picked up my MY about 2 days ago. I am planning for a 1200 miles trip and would like to know if it’s good to use supercharger on a brand new MY? Will using SC charging up to 100% deteriorate the battery?

What’s the best practice to break in (if there’s one) a brand new battery?

There is no break in period for the battery. You wont want to supercharge to 100% but thats because it will take forever, not because its going to hurt anything on your car doing it for a trip.
 
No... you do not want to charge to 100% as you won't have any re-gen braking (because there will be no place to put the energy into the batteries) for the first part of your trip (likely before you get to the highway). Plus since each 10% will give you roughly 25 miles or so of range, it is very unlikely, you'll need those last 25 miles to get to the any SC that you'll need to stop at. Charge to 90 or 95% the night before. Put your destination into the Navigation system (you can do this prior to the trip), and it'll tell you, what SCs you'll likely need to stop at. However, be aware that the actual planned stops may change as you are driving, mostly depending on your speed, and other factors (winds, traffic, etc) as the Navigation system figures out how the trip is going (plus how busy are the SCs). It will also allow the car to pre-condition the battery for faster charging. Best trip planning is to drive until the battery gets to roughly 10% (although some may prefer 15%-ish), charge up to 60-70% and get to the next SC. 10% to 50% is the fastest, then the charging rates starts to taper down. That will take 20-25 minutes, time to stretch your legs, let the dogs out, use the bathroom, get a bite to eat, wash the windshield (you did bring some towels and fluid along, didn't you?). The system will also tell you the % estimate charge that you are likely to arrive at the next SC.

Speed is the biggest decision that you'll make. Although the chart below is for a model 3, you can see what speed does to your range. 5 mph makes a difference. You can get 387 miles of range or 254... your choice.

Model3_range_speed.png


Once you get close to the SC, you can press on the icon and see what kind of SC you are heading towards and how busy. It can also be a guessing game for the kids to get them actively involved (guess what type and how busy). Keep in mind (or maybe learn) that there at at least 3 different versions of SCs. V1 and V2 are all rated at 150 kWh or less. That also means that there are 2 SCs SHARED. If someone is in 1A, you don't want to park in 1B or the rate of recharge (for both of you) will be halved. If it is crowded, you may not have a choice. V3 chargers, 250kWh, are not shared, so you can park and charge at any charger without impacting you or others.

I agree with pre-planning with ABRP just to give you an idea of how many stops you will be taking, I prefer the classic interface.
ABRP
Another nice feature with ABRP, is that you can select different vehicles, and see how that would change the trip (and the costs). However, the actual costs will be higher as rates change quicker than the website can keep track of.

My guess is at least 6-8 stops for 1,200 miles (every 180 miles, if at highway speeds). If you are planning to make it a multi-day trip (as 1,200 miles in 1 day is tough), you may want to as see if there is a SC (or even a L2) at your stopover. Plug Share is another good site for that. Make sure to click of the proper power adapters that you have,
Plug Share

If you have a mobile charger with a 30A or 50A adapter, then you also have the option, if really needed, to see if an RV park will let you charge (for a price). It's a much slower L2, not SC, but it's an option. Keep in mind that there are TWO (2) types of 30A plugs, a TT-30 and a NEMA 14-30. One is for 120V and the other is 240V. Not sure which one RV parks usually use.
 
Congrats on the new car!

Charging to 100% will not harm the battery so long as you don't do it frequently and also important is that you don't leave the car sitting at 100%. If you charge to 100% you only want to do so if your immediately driving a good distance after.

I have charged to 100% on road trips mainly because I was eating a meal anyway. If your not eating and your just waiting stop at 80% because the charge rates slows WAY down after that. I don't beleive supercharging affects battery degradation by a great degree. It will affect it some...but then the question becomes is it worth the inconvenience. Don't worry too much and just follow the simple advice in these forums. Avoid charging above 90% on a regular basis.

As an example I charge to 80% daily and my driving rarely discharges the battery below 30%. Recent frigid temps I went down to 25% SOC. Also try to avoid discharging below 20% frequently as well. If you want to be really anal about it only use the middle 50% of the battery.
 
Thank you guys for the tip! greatly appreciate it.
So far no one has noted that you should always plan on using Preconditioning for Supercharging while on a trip. This means entering the next planned Supercharger location as the destination in the Tesla Navigation system when you are still some distance/time (perhaps an hour or more in cold temperatures) from the Supercharger. The Tesla Model Y will begin warming the battery for optimal supercharging while you drive. This greatly shortens the time needed to charge and provides the greatest efficiency. Tesla Superchargers are programmed to limit charging to 80% when the Supercharger location is busy. You can override the 80% charge limit if you need to but in all probability you won't, can continue on your trip and stop approximately 2 hours later at the next Supercharger. If you don't use Preconditioning for Supercharging it will take much longer to charge, you will have a less than satisfactory user experience.

Depending on your destination it may be worth purchasing the Tesla CCS Combo 1 charging adapter for those times when you are not close to a Supercharger or the Supercharger you planned to use is unusually busy or as is rarely the case unavailable. The Tesla software may enable you to perform a similar preconditioning when navigating to a DC Fast Charge station such as Electrify America, evGO, Chargepoint, Blink charging networks using the CCS adapter. If not you can enter a nearby Supercharger location in the navigation system while actually heading to the DC Fast Charge station.

https://shop.tesla.com/product/ccs-combo-1-adapter?web=true

As noted, download A Better Route Planner (ABRP) and also Plugshare onto your phone.

If you enter a location in Google Maps it can display nearby Tesla Supercharger locations, Tesla Service Centers and EV Charging locations.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PecuniaNonOlet