Supercharger — Auburn Hills, Michigan

[IT Geek]

Swung by here today myself and not much has changed since earlier in the week. Definitely can confirm that there will be 8 stalls (1 pull in) and the equipment will be located within the blue circle in the picture that Sambas posted above.

This will likely be where the transformer will go. Just to the right of the Tesla gear. From what I was told (by the guys doing the Livonia SC), this SC location will have both trees and a fence surrounding the electrical equipment.

 

[Sambas]

It’s starting to look like one!

 

[BelgyFester]

I stopped by today as well. I asked the workers when it would be complete - they said about a week.

 

[Dazureus]

That's a week for them + DTE meter install time? The Livonia Supercharger has appeared to be installed for about a week now, but is still awaiting the DTE meter hook up.

 

[IT Geek]

I watched the Lansing one rather closely and after the crew there was done (same people that appear to be doing all the other Michigan ones) it was about 3 weeks before the transformer was installed and Tesla came out to do their validation testing.

So I wouldn't put too much faith in a one-week, or even two-week claim. Unless it's someone from the movie "The Money Pit" and they claim it will be "just two weeks", because that I could believe.

 

[dgowans]

It's possible that this will be the second SC I use, the first being Maumee, OH on my way home from picking up our car in Cleveland. Taking delivery on 11/18 - needless to say, the time is going by slooooooowly....

 

[Dazureus]

It's possible that this will be the second SC I use, the first being Maumee, OH on my way home from picking up our car in Cleveland. Taking delivery on 11/18 - needless to say, the time is going by slooooooowly....

It's a race to see which is completed first, Auburn Hills or Livonia! We made the trip from Cleveland to Livonia with 18 miles to spare on our P90D model X in April, so depending on your battery size, you should be able to make the trip on a single charge.

 

[dgowans]

We're getting a CPO Model S 70D. Range is ~240, trip from the Lyndhurst store to our home is ~220. We're staying in Cleveland on Saturday and I'm sure we'll not have a full charge when we head out so probably unlikely we'll make do with a single charge. Add in the fact that we're new at this EV thing and I know we'll want to stop, if for no other reason than to check out a SC.

 

[0ptions]

My fiancé drove by today and took these photos. Happy we'll have some nearby.

 

[tomsModelS]

@dgowans ... I highly recommend that you stop at the Maumee, Ohio supercharger before turning north. With highway driving and the colder weather you need to factor in around a 25% loss of range.

 

[dgowans]

tomsModelS,
For sure, we'll stop. We do NOT want to chance running low, especially on our first trip. It will be nice when the Toledo SC is open, that will lead to a much more direct route between Cleveland and metro Detroit.

 

[nagypite]

We're getting a CPO Model S 70D. Range is ~240, trip from the Lyndhurst store to our home is ~220. We're staying in Cleveland on Saturday and I'm sure we'll not have a full charge when we head out so probably unlikely we'll make do with a single charge. Add in the fact that we're new at this EV thing and I know we'll want to stop, if for no other reason than to check out a SC.

-10% range if you use the heater!!!

 

[IT Geek]

tomsModelS,
For sure, we'll stop. We do NOT want to chance running low, especially on our first trip. It will be nice when the Toledo SC is open, that will lead to a much more direct route between Cleveland and metro Detroit.

The Toledo one looks really close to being done. They have the Transformer in place and are waiting on the meter to be installed. I doubt it will be there by the time you need it though...my guess is that you'll miss it by a week or two...but it's getting close.

Maumee was the 7th different SC that I used when I got my car. I chose to get my car in Chicago and the first one I used was in Normal, IL (where my daughter lives). Maumee is also located at a Meijer. There are a few restaurants nearby and a Waffle House that is too far to walk to...hah. I wish we had those in Michigan...well, my waistline does not, but my taste buds sure do.

As the others were saying, driving in cold weather has a significant impact on range. Driving in the cold on the highway is even worse. In 20k miles on my car I've averaged about 320 watt hours per mile. Driving in South Dakota in May (uphill, into the wind, 34 degrees, 80 mph) I was using 450+ wh/mile. Had to darn near charge to full at each SC stop. Now of course they have twice as many SC's on the same stretch of road less than a year later.

 

[Electric Joe]

Driving in South Dakota in May (uphill, into the wind, 34 degrees, 80 mph) I was using 450+ wh/mile. Had to darn near charge to full at each SC stop.

Not to be critical, but I think you could, paradoxically, save a lot of time in a case like that by driving slower. There's math to be done, but imagine if you were driving 70 mph and arrived at the supercharger with a 15% higher SOC than if you'd been driving 80. The fast driving got you to the supercharger 5 minutes sooner but you might have to sit there charging for an extra 25 minutes to get to 100%.

 

[IT Geek]

@Electric Joe I don't disagree with your premise there at all...but I would say that two things are worth pointing out. First, it's probably closer than you think between 70 and 80 mph and two, it sure makes a good case for having a bigger battery.

The distance between Mitchell and Murdo, or Murdo and Rapid City is about the same, but let's round up to 140 miles. If you go 80 versus 70 you get to the next SC 15 minutes faster, but you will have used about 63Kw to get there (450/mile * 140 miles). Now the number I don't know is how much you would use going at 70...but let's be a bit generous and say it's 20% less (that's probably close though). That would mean that you'd use 50.4Kw to get there for a savings of 12.6Kw. So the next question is how fast can the SC put in 12Kw of energy. Because if it takes longer than 15 minutes, then drive slower...but if it takes less than 15 minutes, drive fast (technically 80 is the posted speed limit in South Dakota).

Which brings me to the battery part... If you have a car with a big battery, then you can likely choose to drive faster more often as you'll be avoiding the super slow charge range between 80-100% full. Avoiding the point where the SC starts to taper down the is key to everything here (especially for a 140 mile leg). So if I had a 70D then I would definitely be driving at, or more likely below, 70 mph in those conditions. With a 90D there's some calculations to do but it likely works if you're driving the very "bottom of the battery". In a 100D you probably can just go 80, no problem...again driving the bottom of the battery. Now where's my upgrade to a 120D made with 2170 cells....

 

[IT Geek]

OK....back on topic. Still some work to do here in Auburn Hills before this one will be open. Plenty of grading to fix and still waiting on a transformer. Fencing not complete either. The charge stalls look complete though.

 

[dgowans]

Maybe this will be open in time for me to use it during the Black Friday shopping I'll be doing. No, wait, you couldn't pay me enough to go out on Black Friday!

Six more days until delivery. Looking likely that I'll get to experience driving a Tesla in some crappy weather in Cleveland. Regardless, it'll be fun...

 

[kmistry1986]

@dgowans When you come down to Cleveland and are looking to grab a bite to eat, make sure you hit up Barrio. BYO tacos and they are awesome!

 

[dgowans]

@kmistry1986
Thanks for the recommendation. We lived in Avon Lake for about 10 years before moving back home to Michigan so we're very familiar with the area. Salmon Dave's in Rocky River is a favorite and we're planning on having dinner there.

We may meet some friends downtown after picking up the car so we'll keep Barrio in mind. I don't remember this place from our time there and we're always up for a good taco.

 

[landa220]

You're right. I was there today and there are eight-chargers in the Meijer parking lot. still being installed, but look great.