Supercharger speeds

[93Dawg]

Has Tesla slowed down Supercharger speeds for some reason? Or does the time of day effect speeds?

We take the same route from home to vacation home every 3 weeks or so. Obviously, our Model Y has us stop & charge at the same locations every time and the same locations going to and from. Typically we've charged 20-25 minutes in Metter, GA, but today it was 45 minutes. No other vehicles charging there so I don't believe it was some kind of sharing issue.

 

[RTPEV]

There are a ton of variables at work here, but the quick answer is that no, Tesla has not slowed down Supercharger speeds.

It would be far simpler to determine a possible cause if you would have included some additional information, such as the car's state-of-charge at arrival, the outside temperature, and most importantly, the actual power you were getting from the Supercharger (as compared to previous visits).

With the information at hand, all we know is that the trip planner decided to have you stop longer. It may simply be because it's much colder than your last trip and there was not sufficient time to pre-condition the battery. Or, not as likely (but you didn't specify) is that you left with a lower SOC than previous trips so you need additional time to charge.

It's also possible that you just got a bad charger and weren't getting the full power the car was requesting.

I probably sound like a broken record, but abetterouteplanner.com will give you additional information in its charging stop recommendation that would help you determine what the difference is. Things such as the estimated arrival and departure SOC. If you notice that it suddenly recommends you leave with 90% SOC instead of the usual 65%, there might be a reason (maybe it's determined that the next usual charging stop is down, or busy, or something else).

 

[93Dawg]

Yeah, I get your point about so many other differences. It is a little cooler than it has been, but basically everything else is the same. Always leave home or vacation home with 90% charge so the state of charge at arrival is basically the same. Bad charger is probably not the answer as the car planned a longer charge before we got there. Just thought it was odd, no big deal though. I may try abetterrouteplanner & see what results I get. New Supercharger in Pooler, GA and one planned in Dublin, GA may cause Tesla planner to suggest different stops anyway.

 

[LoudMusic]

Keep an eye on the charge speeds and let us know what kind of speeds you are seeing at the Superchargers.

 

[Falcon73]

I'm getting 55kW here at the new Tustin station. But I don't like to preheat what's the ideal temperature of the battery when it's charging?

 

[GtiMart]

The ideal battery temp while charging is over 40C, possibly up to 50 C. Preheating helps get to that temp before you arrive to the supercharger. If the battery is lower temp, it might slow charging significantly. AND the car will heat the battery as it charges anyway.

Note that you are at 66%SOC in the screencap, 70-80kW might be the max anyway at that point.

 

[Philiple01]

I'm getting 55kW here at the new Tustin station. But I don't like to preheat what's the ideal temperature of the battery when it's charging?

View attachment 740621
View attachment 740620

I'm getting 55kW here at the new Tustin station. But I don't like to preheat what's the ideal temperature of the battery when it's charging?

View attachment 740621
View attachment 740620

Which app is this? Nice to know the battery temperature. Thanks

 

[Falcon73]

Which app is this? Nice to know the battery temperature. Thanks

 

[Philmc]

Supercharged for the first time yesterday at Westfield, London. It was hardly a ‘super’ experience. I had counted on being able to get sufficient charge for my journey in no more than 15-20 mins @ 150 kw, however it took 45 mins to get around 150 miles at an average 60 kw. Battery was pre conditioned and iutside temp 11 Celsius. I had a 120 mile journey late in the evening and wasn’t happy. Did I do something wrong ?only one other charger being used on a nearby stall, so this wasn’t at play either. I am planning a European road trip in the summer in my model 3 LR but am now seriously re considering the journey times as I thought the charging would be a lot quicker than this

 

[Philmc]

Here’s a pic of the charging

 

[mociaf9]

Supercharged for the first time yesterday at Westfield, London. It was hardly a ‘super’ experience. I had counted on being able to get sufficient charge for my journey in no more than 15-20 mins @ 150 kw, however it took 45 mins to get around 150 miles at an average 60 kw. Battery was pre conditioned and iutside temp 11 Celsius. I had a 120 mile journey late in the evening and wasn’t happy. Did I do something wrong ?only one other charger being used on a nearby stall, so this wasn’t at play either. I am planning a European road trip in the summer in my model 3 LR but am now seriously re considering the journey times as I thought the charging would be a lot quicker than this

There are a number of things it could be. 1) the particular stall or supercharger cabinet you were connected to wasn't operating properly. You should test another stall with a different number to be sure this isn't the issue, i.e. don't just go from 3A to 3B as both of those are on the same cabinet. 2) peak supercharger performance happens when the battery is warmed up to like 45 or 50 deg.C. and the battery weighs like 800 pounds in the model 3LR you're driving. If you've got to warm that much mass up 30+ degrees from the 11 deg.C the outside was at, it's going to take a lot of preconditioning time. 10 minutes of warming isn't going to cut it. This is more in the realm of 20 to 35 minutes of preconditioning while you are also driving at highway speeds. This is generally why you shouldn't plan for high powered charging to be the first thing you do in the morning before a trip. If possible, always charge at the end of a driving leg. 3) Westfield London is a V2 style supercharger which means that pairing of stalls is potential issue. You say there was another car charging at a nearby stall. You'd have to ensure it was on a different # than yours to be sure you weren't paired and therefore splitting the available 150kW between the two of you. Usually, paired stalls are right next to each other, but not all supercharger locations were built that way so it pays to double check. Note, this is only an issue at V2 superchargers, not V3 superchargers.

 

[Philmc]

There are a number of things it could be. 1) the particular stall or supercharger cabinet you were connected to wasn't operating properly. You should test another stall with a different number to be sure this isn't the issue, i.e. don't just go from 3A to 3B as both of those are on the same cabinet. 2) peak supercharger performance happens when the battery is warmed up to like 45 or 50 deg.C. and the battery weighs like 800 pounds in the model 3LR you're driving. If you've got to warm that much mass up 30+ degrees from the 11 deg.C the outside was at, it's going to take a lot of preconditioning time. 10 minutes of warming isn't going to cut it. This is more in the realm of 20 to 35 minutes of preconditioning while you are also driving at highway speeds. This is generally why you shouldn't plan for high powered charging to be the first thing you do in the morning before a trip. If possible, always charge at the end of a driving leg. 3) Westfield London is a V2 style supercharger which means that pairing of stalls is potential issue. You say there was another car charging at a nearby stall. You'd have to ensure it was on a different # than yours to be sure you weren't paired and therefore splitting the available 150kW between the two of you. Usually, paired stalls are right next to each other, but not all supercharger locations were built that way so it pays to double check. Note, this is only an issue at V2 superchargers, not V3 superchargers.

 

[Philmc]

Thanks for the reply. The car was preheating for around 45 mins but in slow moving traffic. Next time I’ll try a different stall as there were only a couple of other cars charging.

 

[Rocky_H]

only one other charger being used on a nearby stall, so this wasn’t at play either.

It might have been. At these V2 Superchargers, it can be important to look at the stall numbers and understand which ones are paired together, sharing the power.
Each number corresponds to a box of the charging equipment, and the A and B stalls are sharing it. So 4A and 4B are paired. 5A and 5B are paired, etc. Depending on how the contractors put in the conduit and stalls, they may not have laid out the paired ones next to each other. Some sites have:
1A 2A 3A 4A 1B 2B 3B 4B
It's...some kind of order, but the paired ones are several spaces apart.