Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register
  • We just completed a significant update, but we still have some fixes and adjustments to make, so please bear with us for the time being. Cheers!

Tesla Model Y Long Range Only Hits 220 miles in Real World Test

NCC81701

Member
Feb 28, 2020
63
79
San Diego
How hard one accelerates and decelerates can make a huge difference between in consumption; along with about a billion other things; yet this is unreported and doubt is standardized if they are just using human drivers instead of testing on a dyno. This is why EPA numbers are used even if they are more optimistic than real world.

A big diff between ICE and EV is how much energy is actually stored on board. A gas tank holds an order of magnitude more energy; it’s just not very efficient with it. But it has so much in excess and so inefficient that things like temperature, and acceleration profile doesn’t alter range much.

EVs stores precious little energy but it is extremely efficient with it. But if you start doing inefficient things like accelerating hard or driving 10mph faster it really starts to hit the range of the car.

it’s this kind of nuance that IMO most Car magazines and journalists doesn’t understand yet and it is how we are ending up with such weird results because their underlying science is bad. It just didn’t matter before when comparing ICE cars to ICE cars. The tests that most publication does simply doesn’t have the signal to noise ratio to provide meaningful results comparing EVs to EVs.
 
Last edited:

Puma2020

Member
Jun 16, 2020
328
320
New Hampshire
Go outside of CA and you care. Add cold weather, loads of rain or snow, and often 100+ miles between superchargers, or more stressful, ONE supercharger on a 200+ mile route. Sure it’s in the middle which makes it 100 miles to the supercharger and 100 miles after it... but what if that supercharger is damaged, the town doesn’t have power, or it’s offline for any other reason.

I live way outside CA.
I bought the LR Y for that reason. Most folks up here realize that winter changes the range of any car (ICE or EV).
Cold air is more dense, so it takes more energy to push through it.
We don't have superchargers (SC) everywhere (yet) but they are still expanding the SC sites.
Driving conditions and terrain make a huge difference regardless of whether it is an ICE or EV.

I believe, if I can do math correctly, that my range is in the low 300's.
I got the car at the very end of June, 2020. It's been on many highways and also many country sloping back roads here in NH. It's been through it's first winter here. Heated seats set to 1. Temps set to 70.
Also use Dog Mode a lot (summer and winter) which uses more energy.

Below is a real world value. YMMV.

2021_02_lifetime.JPG

Note: The image of the car is their rendering. In winter, my Y doesn't ever look that clean! :)
 
Last edited:

pt19713

Member
Feb 5, 2020
701
845
Delaware
I believe, if I can do math correctly, that my range is in the low 300's.

View attachment 641904
Note: The image of the car is their rendering. In winter, my Y doesn't ever look that clean! :)
75 kWh div .241 = 311 miles
Realistically it's 72 kWh div .241, or 299 miles since 72 kWh is approximately what you've used when the display is at 0% since there's a zero mile reserve.
 

mark95476

Member
Jun 21, 2020
758
399
Bay Area CA
There's nothing more inefficient than going uphill at highway speeds. This is my typical drive now that I have my Tesla.

First pic: 943 Wh/mi avg over the past 5 miles, taken at the top of the mountain (~2500 ft)
- Estimated range is 52 mi @ 66% SoC
Second pic: 248 Wh/mi avg after 36.4 miles, taken at the bottom of the mountain (~sea level)
- Estimated range increases to 219 mi @ 67% SoC

saratoga_hill_climb.jpg


How hard one accelerates and decelerates can make a huge difference between in consumption; along with about a billion other things; yet this is unreported and doubt is standardized if they are just using human drivers instead of testing on a dyno. This is why EPA numbers are used even if they are more optimistic than real world.

A big diff between ICE and EV is how much energy is actually stored on board. A gas tank holds an order of magnitude more energy; it’s just not very efficient with it. But it has so much in excess and so inefficient that things like temperature, and acceleration profile doesn’t alter range much.

EVs stores precious little energy but it is extremely efficient with it. But if you start doing inefficient things like accelerating hard or driving 10mph faster it really starts to hit the range of the car.

it’s this kind of nuance that IMO most Car magazines and journalists doesn’t understand yet and it is how we are ending up with such weird results because their underlying science is bad. It just didn’t matter before when comparing ICE cars to ICE cars. The tests that most publication does simply doesn’t have the signal to noise ratio to provide meaningful results comparing EVs to EVs.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: srlawren

pt19713

Member
Feb 5, 2020
701
845
Delaware
Yeah, going up a steep hill at 40 mph needs about 27-30 kW from the motors. That's the equivalent of driving at 75 mph.
My area is generally flat so I don't have a lot of long uphill locations I can go at 60+ mph to see how much energy is needed from the motor(s).
 
  • Like
Reactions: mark95476

bdwalters

Member
Feb 28, 2021
10
5
Austin
Anybody know why Tesla doesn’t just put a few more batteries in the SR Y to get the range up to 260 or so? This seems like an easy fix to me.
 

Guvnah

Member
Sep 16, 2018
118
94
Portland, OR
Anybody know why Tesla doesn’t just put a few more batteries in the SR Y to get the range up to 260 or so? This seems like an easy fix to me.

Cost! I think the margins on the SR are already a lot lower. The less batteries in a car the more cars can be made and sold. Also, I do think there will be a LR RWD eventually...so, don't want to get the SR RWD range too high...
 

acarney

Active Member
Jul 9, 2019
2,326
1,385
Richland, WA
Note that one thing they DON'T apparently control is ambient temperature.

That's a critical omission.

And wind speed, in fact they don’t even seem to record that and comment on it. I’m trying to come up with a good way to record air speed at the front of the Y to do a series of range tests; I suspect the Y is more sensitive to wind than the 3 is. However, ready made kits with data loggers appear to be like $1,000+, which I don’t really want to spend. Still researching this and hopefully will be able to record a lot of telemetry soon with it...
 

NCC81701

Member
Feb 28, 2020
63
79
San Diego
Anybody know why Tesla doesn’t just put a few more batteries in the SR Y to get the range up to 260 or so? This seems like an easy fix to me.
I'm guessing a SR Y only have 3 out of 4 battery modules. Math works out pretty neat if you assume each module have 20kWh, and you use 230wh/mi reference figure (230 wh/mi -> 326mi range with a 75kWh battery ).
 

Pied

Member
Jul 14, 2018
231
152
Bay Area, CA
I finally had a chance to do a longer trip.

I had fairly warm temperatures, around 65F and dropped to 50F towards the evening. 2 passengers, climate control off.
Car: 2021 Model Y LR AWD
Total Trip: 188 Miles
Charged to 90% - 292 displayed range
Miles left: 55
Efficiency: 295 wh/mi
Speed: Cruise set at 78mph. Occasional traffic making me reduce speed between 70-76mph. I would guess 90% of the time I was able to keep my set speed. Also did lots of spirited passing (I was trying to get home, not be efficient).

Route was from Fresno, CA to Bay Area, CA. Highway 99 North > 580 West > 880 South.

TLDR: I estimate I would be able to get 220 miles driving @ 78mph from a 90% charge. Of course YMMV.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mark95476

About Us

Formed in 2006, Tesla Motors Club (TMC) was the first independent online Tesla community. Today it remains the largest and most dynamic community of Tesla enthusiasts. Learn more.

Do you value your experience at TMC? Consider becoming a Supporting Member of Tesla Motors Club. As a thank you for your contribution, you'll get nearly no ads in the Community and Groups sections. Additional perks are available depending on the level of contribution. Please visit the Account Upgrades page for more details.


SUPPORT TMC
Top