Tesla Supercharger network

[FlatSix911]

Worth posting again for the Holiday Travel Season.

10 ways to get the best out of your electric car on a holiday road trip

Taking your electric car on a holiday road trip? Reduce your costs and carbon footprint, and make your trip safer with these 10 quick tips.

electrek.co

1. Charge your battery to a maximum of 80% to extend the lifetime of your battery.
2. If you’re going on a long-distance trip, you can charge your battery to 100%, but remember to switch back to a max of 80% when you get home.
3. The healthiest state of charge for your battery is between 30% and 80%.
4. Supercharging utilizes high currents and temperatures that will strain your battery. There’s no big problem with supercharging multiple times per week, but try to do it only on an as-needed basis.
5. Charging the last 20% of your EV’s battery could take almost as long as it did to get to the first 80%.
6. If you drive a Tesla, it’s more efficient to use the car’s navigation even if you know where you’re going. That way your car can prepare itself for charging as you head to the Supercharger.
7. Remove roof racks or rear racks when you’re not using them, as they create resistance and shorten your driving range.
8. Try to decelerate as much as possible by using regenerative braking, as it will minimize your energy consumption.
9. Using your EV’s eco mode will make your accelerations gentler, which saves battery life.
10. Improperly inflated tires will increase energy consumption and drain your battery.
11. Try choosing energy-efficient routes in your EV’s navigation system.
12. Fast acceleration is pretty fun when driving an EV, but remember that it uses up battery power. (Confession: I am so guilty of this. It’s just too much fun to resist.)

 

[Feathermerchan]

#8 coasting uses less energy than using regen braking. But be courteous to other drivers. At very high speeds say over 75 this may not be true because coasting you don't slow down as fast and so the air drag stays high longer. I have never seen anything scientific about this but regen braking results in losing some energy in the motor, inverter and battery while coasting does not have any of these losses. And obviously traffic patterns may preclude you coasting without being in the way of other drivers. So remember to be nice.

 

[FlatSix911]

#8 coasting uses less energy than using regen braking. But be courteous to other drivers. At very high speeds say over 75 this may not be true because coasting you don't slow down as fast and so the air drag stays high longer. I have never seen anything scientific about this but regen braking results in losing some energy in the motor, inverter and battery while coasting does not have any of these losses. And obviously traffic patterns may preclude you coasting without being in the way of other drivers. So remember to be nice.

#8 refers to using regen instead of braking when slowing down... one-foot driving is your friend.

8. Try to decelerate as much as possible by using regenerative braking, as it will minimize your energy consumption.

 

[LoudMusic]

#8 coasting uses less energy than using regen braking. But be courteous to other drivers. At very high speeds say over 75 this may not be true because coasting you don't slow down as fast and so the air drag stays high longer. I have never seen anything scientific about this but regen braking results in losing some energy in the motor, inverter and battery while coasting does not have any of these losses. And obviously traffic patterns may preclude you coasting without being in the way of other drivers. So remember to be nice.

I think this is overlooked by too many people. Coasting is more efficient than unnecessary regen. Enforced regen has a net energy loss, and on the highway you'll then have to use energy to get back up to speed.

Unfortunately in Teslas the brake peddle won't do regen (I believe?), so there's no way to only have regen when you want it. I've decided to go with the low regen setting (which I'm told is no longer available in newer models) and learned to feather the accelerator peddle when I don't want regen to engage.

The other other trick is to learn to take your foot off the accelerator at the right time so that you get maximum regen as you approach a stop, without using the brake peddle. I did a lot of that with my manual transmission cars the past 25 years, so transitioning to EV regen was pretty easy. I think many people might find it frustrating.

 

[jvanyc]

Does anyone know if there is a supercharger map similar the supercharger app or supercharger.info that INCLUDES all possible Tesla DC chargers not just Tesla bullt. I've seen some like EVgo that have tesla connectors included on their DC fast stations.

 

[jerry33]

Does anyone know if there is a supercharger map similar the supercharger app or supercharger.info that INCLUDES all possible Tesla DC chargers not just Tesla bullt. I've seen some like EVgo that have tesla connectors included on their DC fast stations.

You might try PlugShare.com They list every charging location that people have added to their site regardless of type of charger. You can filter for the type you are looking for. It's not complete for RV parks and campgrounds.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Does anyone know if there is a supercharger map similar the supercharger app or supercharger.info that INCLUDES all possible Tesla DC chargers not just Tesla bullt. I've seen some like EVgo that have tesla connectors included on their DC fast stations.

Have you tried PlugShare.com and their app?

 

[Big Earl]

I think this is overlooked by too many people. Coasting is more efficient than unnecessary regen. Enforced regen has a net energy loss, and on the highway you'll then have to use energy to get back up to speed.

Unfortunately in Teslas the brake peddle won't do regen (I believe?), so there's no way to only have regen when you want it. I've decided to go with the low regen setting (which I'm told is no longer available in newer models) and learned to feather the accelerator peddle when I don't want regen to engage.

The other other trick is to learn to take your foot off the accelerator at the right time so that you get maximum regen as you approach a stop, without using the brake peddle. I did a lot of that with my manual transmission cars the past 25 years, so transitioning to EV regen was pretty easy. I think many people might find it frustrating.

The brake pedal is friction brakes on a Tesla. Regen is done exclusively by lifting off the accelerator.

To maximize efficiency, one should utilize regen when decelerating as opposed to using friction brakes. By setting regen to low, you are limiting your available regen, and thus making it more likely that you’ll need to use friction brakes when coming to an unexpected or a downhill stop.

One should never overaccelerate and then slow back down unnecessarily. As you said, there are efficiency losses when consuming power as well as when putting power back into the battery. The most efficient drive is one that does not transfer power unnecessarily - gradual accelerations and planned, gradual decelerations.

Long story short: the winning efficiency combination is setting regen to standard and paying enough attention that you can feather the accelerator to minimize unnecessary accel/decel.

 

[Pluto]

I haven't traveled much over the last year since leaving California but I haven't heard much about lines/waiting to charge at superchargers. How is this problem currently, specifically in 2021 and more recently? Are people in California still seeing regular lines in high demand areas (ie. Bay Area and LA region)?

It doesn't seem like anything's drastically changed except maybe that enough time has passed for V3 superchargers to have an effect. I'm hoping preassembled/fabricated superchargers could help Tesla install new stations more frequently, but they'd also have to increase the new supercharger equipment manufacturing rate (which I know they added manufacturing capacity for China).

 

[Ciaopec]

I think this is overlooked by too many people. Coasting is more efficient than unnecessary regen. Enforced regen has a net energy loss, and on the highway you'll then have to use energy to get back up to speed.

Unfortunately in Teslas the brake peddle won't do regen (I believe?), so there's no way to only have regen when you want it. I've decided to go with the low regen setting (which I'm told is no longer available in newer models) and learned to feather the accelerator peddle when I don't want regen to engage.

The other other trick is to learn to take your foot off the accelerator at the right time so that you get maximum regen as you approach a stop, without using the brake peddle. I did a lot of that with my manual transmission cars the past 25 years, so transitioning to EV regen was pretty easy. I think many people might find it frustrating.

I respectfully disagree with most of this. But to each his own ideas. I've only been doing it for 6 years; what do I know?

 

[LoudMusic]

I respectfully disagree with most of this.

I disrespectfully agree with most of it. How very interesting!

 

[kilpatds]

(coasting is more efficient than unnecessary regen. On Teslas, the brake doesn't do regen, and so you need to use the throttle for it if you want it... All that's true.

However, if you just use cruise control there's no measurable efficiency impact from coasting vs. regen. And if you have a steady right foot, there's very minimal difference, and the difference is highly unlikely to be enough to care.

TeslaBjorn has demonstrated this as scientifically as he's able (ie: 'experiment' on youtube), and I've seen no valid experiment showing the reverse. So I tend to not think coasting is worth worrying about.

In our Hyundai that has VERY easy access to controlling the regen levels, the only time we take it out of the highest regen level is when the cruise control won't enable for some stupid reason but I need to stretch my foot... Or when I need to scrape the rust off the brake rotors.)

 

[David99]

Coasting is not more efficient. Coasting is just your mind thinking you are driving 'for free'. You had to put in the energy first to get the momentum going. Coasting is just letting the car slow down by air drag. There is nothing special or efficient about it. You slow down and then you have to speed up again using energy. You don't use less energy doing that rather than driving as a constant speed.
Regen is not less efficient because it has losses. You are capturing energy back that would otherwise be lost in the brakes. If you have to slow down du to traffic or a stop or a turn or anything else, regen is the best way to do so. Coasting isn't an option in those cases. You can't coast down to a traffic stop or a car slowing down in front of you. If you did that you would have to start coasting miles ahead of time. That's not possible in traffic. Even downhill. You can coast and get nothing back at the end of a hill, or you can use Regen and have more energy in your battery at the end of the hill. You can't freely let your car roll down the hill. Even if there was no speed limit and no other traffic and a strait road, the car would get very fast rolling down the hill and the exponentially higher air drag would just eat up all the energy you could have gotten back with regen going regular speed. People who think coasting is 'more efficient' just don't understand physics.

 

[Ampster]

I haven't heard much about lines/waiting to charge at superchargers. How is this problem currently, specifically in 2021 and more recently?

I live near Santa Rosa and recently drove I5 to LA and have not seen any lines at home or on I5. There are several new Superchargers along I5.

 

[LoudMusic]

Coasting is not more efficient. Coasting is just your mind thinking you are driving 'for free'. You had to put in the energy first to get the momentum going. Coasting is just letting the car slow down by air drag. There is nothing special or efficient about it. You slow down and then you have to speed up again using energy. You don't use less energy doing that rather than driving as a constant speed.
Regen is not less efficient because it has losses. You are capturing energy back that would otherwise be lost in the brakes. If you have to slow down du to traffic or a stop or a turn or anything else, regen is the best way to do so. Coasting isn't an option in those cases. You can't coast down to a traffic stop or a car slowing down in front of you. If you did that you would have to start coasting miles ahead of time. That's not possible in traffic. Even downhill. You can coast and get nothing back at the end of a hill, or you can use Regen and have more energy in your battery at the end of the hill. You can't freely let your car roll down the hill. Even if there was no speed limit and no other traffic and a strait road, the car would get very fast rolling down the hill and the exponentially higher air drag would just eat up all the energy you could have gotten back with regen going regular speed. People who think coasting is 'more efficient' just don't understand physics.

We're not talking about regen versus braking. We're talking about coasting versus unnecessary regen. Regen when you don't want regen. If I'm driving on the interstate and need to lift off the accelerator because I'm approaching slower traffic and the car uses regen automatically THAT is less efficient than just coasting down to the desired lower speed.

Coasting you stop using energy earlier and allow physics to slow down the car.

Regen you continue using energy in order to get closer to the desired slow down point and then use regen to slow down more quickly regaining a tiny amount of energy.

And with Teslas it's either always on or always off. There's no way to quick toggle it while driving as it is with some vehicles.

People who think this is about the difference between braking and coasting don't understand the conversation.

 

[Feathermerchan]

You can absolutely choose how much regen you want within the limits of the system. Raise your right foot a little and get less power raise it a little more and get no power (coasting) raise it some more and get some regen, etc. It's totally controllable. Putting regen on the brakes would mean less control because you have to move your foot from accelerator to brake.

If you're driving on the interstate and need to decelerate because of slow traffic, you can just lift a little and coast or a little more and use regen. It is not a switch. It is variable.

 

[Big Earl]

We're not talking about regen versus braking. We're talking about coasting versus unnecessary regen. Regen when you don't want regen. If I'm driving on the interstate and need to lift off the accelerator because I'm approaching slower traffic and the car uses regen automatically THAT is less efficient than just coasting down to the desired lower speed.

Coasting you stop using energy earlier and allow physics to slow down the car.

Regen you continue using energy in order to get closer to the desired slow down point and then use regen to slow down more quickly regaining a tiny amount of energy.

And with Teslas it's either always on or always off. There's no way to quick toggle it while driving as it is with some vehicles.

People who think this is about the difference between braking and coasting don't understand the conversation.

It’s about planning ahead and minimizing unnecessary energy transfer and the associated conversion losses. Coasting can be accomplished by feathering the accelerator pedal.

Some people tend to accelerate toward red lights, then aggressively regen to a stop. This is very inefficient compared to accelerating just enough to coast up to the light.

 

[LoudMusic]

It’s about planning ahead and minimizing unnecessary energy transfer and the associated conversion losses. Coasting can be accomplished by feathering the accelerator pedal.

Some people tend to accelerate toward red lights, then aggressively regen to a stop. This is very inefficient compared to accelerating just enough to coast up to the light.

Yep - that's what I had referenced in my previous comment that seems to be invisible to others on this thread.

The past 25 years of watching people race past me and slam on their brakes for a red light has always been mystifying. What are they hoping to accomplish? Obviously it's profoundly worse in a non-electric/hybrid car. They're making the car work harder to burn up more brake pad? And then they probably complain that cars all seem to wear out too fast.

That all seems wildly off topic.

I was talking with a woman this past weekend who said her son drives a Model 3 from OKC to Little Rock and she proclaimed "And there's only TWO Tesla charging stations in ALL of Arkansas!". I corrected her but pointed out that OKC to Van Buren is now one of the biggest gaps and that it's kind of impressive that he does that trip, and it's a route I've intentionally avoided because of the distance.

 

[David99]

We're not talking about regen versus braking. We're talking about coasting versus unnecessary regen. Regen when you don't want regen. If I'm driving on the interstate and need to lift off the accelerator because I'm approaching slower traffic and the car uses regen automatically THAT is less efficient than just coasting down to the desired lower speed.

Coasting you stop using energy earlier and allow physics to slow down the car.

Regen you continue using energy in order to get closer to the desired slow down point and then use regen to slow down more quickly regaining a tiny amount of energy.

And with Teslas it's either always on or always off. There's no way to quick toggle it while driving as it is with some vehicles.

People who think this is about the difference between braking and coasting don't understand the conversation.

I get what you are saying. You are describing a driving style in which you don't have to decelerate the car any faster than coasting would. That sure would be the most efficient way to drive. In the real world that is rarely possible. Coasting slows down the car so slowly that any decisions you make about speed would have to be made way in advance. The time and distance is way beyond what you have in any city driving or freeway with other cars changing lanes. If you want to stay in the flow of traffic, deceleration needs to happen at a higher rate. I guess you could drive so slow that you won't have anyone else in front of you ever driving slower than you, hence you never need to decelerate significantly. In any normal driving, regen is the way to go and that the reason why Tesla made it the default without the option to turn it off.

I disagree about the statement that Tesla doesn't have a quick way to just coast. The accelerator pedal gives you that option all the time. There is actually a section of the pedal (at 10 to 15% pedal position depending on speed) where the car will be in 'neutral' and coast. If you keep the real time energy graph on the IC open and watch it you will quickly learn how to coast using the pedal position. Even if you don't hit the spot 100%, 1 or 2 kW positive or negative power makes no difference. We are talking about an efficiency of over 90% with the current drive units of Tesla. And if you really absolutely want neutral, you can tap the drive selector stalk and switch to neutral. I have done that many times when driving in very slippery conditions and wanted no regen whatsoever.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Can we can the inane coasting debate? This is a thread about supercharging.