Tasmanian M3 SR+ Trip

[HarryD]

Well, first long trip with the 2019 M3 SR+.
Sydney to Tasmania, via the ferry, and back for SWMBO and me.
No problems with the car or charging. Although got to Gundagai on the way back, with 18 km to spare. It was very cold. Had to slow down from 110km/h to 100km/h to make sure we made it.
I was a bit concerned about getting a flat tire, especially on some of the dirt roads in Tassi. Drove in a sensible manner. No problems.
A real bonus to be able to charge at most of the accommodation we had for free. Very low fuel costs for the whole trip. Less than $250.
(The average consumption for the whole life of the car is 147wh/km)
Not many Teslas in Tasmania. Saw two during the two weeks we were there. We were away from the larger cities though.
As you all probably know, there are some Chargefox sites in Tasmania. I wouldn't like to rely on them though because you could spend a lot of time waiting. Only one CCS2 cable on each and if the other side is being used, bad luck. Saw a couple of Leafs charging on them. No sight of the owners though.
If I was to draw any conclusions after this trip I would say to make sure you have a full charge before you set off each day and arrive at, or back, to your accommodation on that charge without having to charge on the way. Then charge overnight. This is for Tasmania.
On the main highway from Sydney to Melbourne there is plenty of supercharging sites. Only saw 2 or 3 cars at any of them, including ours.
The supercharger at Devonport is a real bonus. Charge up when you get off the ferry, charge up just before you get back on. Good coffee/cake shop just around the corner.
One small issue with the cars navigation. Getting off the ferry in Melbourne, the GPS was all over the place. Had to do the 2 button reset and wait for about 15 minutes until the screen was correct and not still in Devonport or in Port Phillip Bay. Didn't happen on the way over.
Very happy with the M3. A lot of people had questions about EVs. Going to be a lot of demand in the coming years I suspect.

 

[Anubis]

One small issue with the cars navigation. Getting off the ferry in Melbourne, the GPS was all over the place.

I did that trip over the June long weekend with my SR+.
Yes, the GPS played up for me upon returning to Melbourne, but it only took about 10 minutes to recover. It also took about 5 minutes when we hit Devonport.

I found the chargers were well spaced for our travels. I do think Hobart CBD needs more chargers, especially a couple of 250 or 350’s. Luckily, the parking station we parked in over night had a 15Amp power point that I used.

 

[Anubis]

I was also talking to the Spirit of Tasmania staff who direct cars onto and off the boat.
They all love the Tesla’s who come on board, as it’s less petrol fumes they are breathing.
I could not believe how bad the petrol fumes were while we waiting to get off the boat at each end.

 

[Vostok]

One small issue with the cars navigation. Getting off the ferry in Melbourne, the GPS was all over the place. Had to do the 2 button reset and wait for about 15 minutes until the screen was correct and not still in Devonport or in Port Phillip Bay.

There’s some really long road tunnels in Sydney now and this happens upon exit. The map seems to use ‘dead reckoning’ for a while after entering the tunnel and shows you following the tunnel path, but eventually the continued absence of the GPS signal causes the Nav system to “lose it” and your assumed position starts drifting off in all sorts of directions.

It can take a minute or so after exiting the tunnel before it locks back into the GPS satellites and re-establishes your correct position. In your case, in the belly of the ferry, and your car is asleep, it would not be maintaining GPS sync. I don’t think you need to reboot the MCU on exit, just give it time to re-sync. It will happen by itself eventually.

The RMS in NSW plans to do some GPS repeater trials soon in Sydney’s road tunnels. It actually required a law change to permit it:

ACMA to allow trials of devices that provide GPS signals in tunnels | ACMA

The ACMA will work with emergency services to facilitate trials of ‘repeater’ devices

www.acma.gov.au

Strong Reception to GPS Access Plan | Transport for NSW

A trial will commence to introduce GPS repeaters into motorway tunnels.

www.transport.nsw.gov.au

 

[meloccom]

Teslas use a gyroscope and wheel rotations to maintain the car’s position on the map when in tunnels.
I learned this when mine went wrong and the map started to spin on the display.
Tesla replaced the ‘Gyro Board’ and it fixed it.

 

[ausevdriver]

Although got to Gundagai on the way back, with 18 km to spare

curious, where had you stopped prior to that?

Wodonga or Tarcutta? Euroa?

I’ve been testing on ABRP and sometimes chooses Euroa to Gundagai.

Canberra to Tasmania is the only longish trip we occasionally do that I’m not 100% sure about with our planned SR.

Sounds like it was perfectly doable though.

 

[GrimRe]

curious, where had you stopped prior to that?

Wodonga or Tarcutta? Euroa?

I’ve been testing on ABRP and sometimes chooses Euroa to Gundagai.

Canberra to Tasmania is the only longish trip we occasionally do that I’m not 100% sure about with our planned SR.

Sounds like it was perfectly doable though.

Maybe OP can upload their ABRP trip?

What I love about this great recount is that it really dispels the myth of long distance road trips being terrible in Teslas. Ironically, I would never in a million years consider driving from Syd to Hobart in an ICE (mainly because of AutoPilot) but in SR+ I would totally do it now that I've read this thread.

 

[Chuq]

The "main drag" (highway between Devonport and Hobart) has excellent coverage now. 298 km end to end with three 2-stalls Evie 350 kW sites en-route. Plus a Chargefox 350 kW if you detour to Launceston, plus another 50 kW at Kempton, plus the supercharger at East Devonport, and 50 kW chargers at each end.

I'm guessing your concerns around single stalls are primarily on the east and west coasts? They are pretty low traffic but they are the main tourist routes. These are the ones installed by Electric Highway Tasmania. Some notes about these:

- They all have an AC charger adjacent (for the occasions when the DC one is being used)
- Traffic is low enough that EHT staff (I say staff, more like unpaid shareholders!) actively monitor charge sessions, traffic volumes for any issues.
- All sites have CCTV which EHT use for checking if sites are busy, cars are queueing, etc.
- EHT maintains a spare Tritium unit in the state and a faulty unit can be replaced within 24 hours.

As you mention if you charge overnight as the primary method you'll almost never need these ones. They're located such that any new EV (from a 28 kWh Ioniq) can travel around and get between sites.

 

[HarryD]

Yes, got to Gundagi from Wadonga, after staying overnight in Albury, with 18km spare due to my own stupidity.
I thought that as we were going to stop in Gundagai anyway for a bite to eat and a walk around, make a judgement on distance and go.
Opps..... almost a bit short. It's much colder out here than Sydney, makes a difference to your range.
Anyway, take your time and get a bit extra.
Just as a bit more info, the car told me to slow down, below 110km/h, to make it. The car knows where you are going and seems to try to help you get there.

 

[ausevdriver]

Thanks for the details.