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#2,781
In my opinion, driving the limit or slower is not unsafe at all. What is unsafe, is all of the crazy drivers who tailgate at any speed! You are expected to follow one car length behind for every 10 MPH. The vast majority of people do not have a clue as to the extreme danger of this habit.
 
#2,782
GSP said:
It looks like the wiki supercharger map just sprouted 2-3 more active Superchargers in the US, and one popped up in Austria as well.

St Anton Supercharger | Tesla Motors

Tesla's progress is hard to even follow.

GSP
Click to expand...

Elon did say at the recent Dell Conference that TM was currently establishing a new Supercharger (worldwide) at the rate of 1 every 2-3 days.
 
#2,785
Here is a plot of Supercharger Installs Completed by month in the U.S. December is not done yet, and it is already the biggest month yet. A very nice trend! :biggrin:

Supercharger Installs.png
 
#2,786
Cabazon CA: Nothing in the parking structure or around the grounds as yet! Source did a drive late last night and called me to report unfortunately..nothing so far. He will continue to monitor and send me anything he finds. He is very aware of Tesla and understands the urgency of any information.
 
#2,787
purplewalt said:
A)
Diving anywhere, Interstate or otherwise is dangerous.
Period.
And the faster the speed, generally that enhances the danger, not lessen it.
The posted speed on an Interstate is the maximum allowable speed, not the minimum.
e.g.: Typically one can easily do 60 mph in a 70 mph maximum zone and still be safe, if not safer that driving @ 70 mph.

ALL states will allow slower traffic drive comfortably in the right lane on Rural Interstates, and for those who choose to drive faster, there is always the left lane.
Everyone has their own internal method of how to best drive and arrive.
Perhaps you are referring to driving in a Urban Area, which demands a different set of driving skills and pattern than driving out on rural long distances Interstates.
Rural Interstates do not have that much traffic that demands one to drive @ 70 mph.
The Interstates are not the only path to travel, so there is that Option to explore also.
Sometimes, it might even be required that you get off the Interstate to drive at a speed relative to existing driving conditions and your next destination in order to arrive.
YMMV
Multiple posters have commented that once they enact driving slower, they really do not feel as stressed nor fatigued from the drive.
Just something for you to consider.

...
Click to expand...

Wow, you haven't driven that much it seems. We drove a 5540 mile trip last May - June from near Tesla HQ to KC and back. Took 3 weeks and lots of RV park charging.
Some interstates were marked 75mph speed limit. Most trucks drove 80 - 85! Usually we were ok driving 75 but sometimes we could only drive 60 or less. Talk about being nervous when an 18 wheeler would barrel down from behind! Going even 70 we were a major hazard on the road. But we couldn't help it. One leg the car said 15 miles remaining. We had 45 miles more to go. We did 40mph or less. Fortunately the road stopped climbing and we made it. At 3:30am... Our Model S has nearly 16,000 miles now. Just hit 1 year last Sunday.

Also, we found that going any particular speed is relaxing if it is safe for the conditions... That is in a Model S. In most other cars that is often not true.

Bottom line is that if most of the traffic is going over the speed limit, going at or below makes you a road hazard! That is NOT a relaxing drive.

For how far to stretch the range limits, we found that heading out on most legs of our trip with 50 miles range to spare made us have way less range anxiety! Most legs for us were over 150 miles and often 200 miles.
 
#2,788
Bugeater said:
Wow, you haven't driven that much it seems. We drove a 5540 mile trip last May - June from near Tesla HQ to KC and back. Took 3 weeks and lots of RV park charging.
Some interstates were marked 75mph speed limit. Most trucks drove 80 - 85! Usually we were ok driving 75 but sometimes we could only drive 60 or less. Talk about being nervous when an 18 wheeler would barrel down from behind! Going even 70 we were a major hazard on the road. But we couldn't help it. One leg the car said 15 miles remaining. We had 45 miles more to go. We did 40mph or less. Fortunately the road stopped climbing and we made it. At 3:30am... Our Model S has nearly 16,000 miles now. Just hit 1 year last Sunday.

Also, we found that going any particular speed is relaxing if it is safe for the conditions... That is in a Model S. In most other cars that is often not true.

Bottom line is that if most of the traffic is going over the speed limit, going at or below makes you a road hazard! That is NOT a relaxing drive.

For how far to stretch the range limits, we found that heading out on most legs of our trip with 50 miles range to spare made us have way less range anxiety! Most legs for us were over 150 miles and often 200 miles.
Click to expand...

Again: Driving anywhere is dangerous.

I had previously seen and read your blog before I took my November trip, 3,000 miles in 9 days and a couple of hours.
I spent a whole day and a half touring parts of Savannah, Auldbrass, Beaufort and Charleston.
And I am very well acquainted with RV park charging, two or three times a day.
Since I still have a full-time job, I can't do ALL the travel and miles I want, for such extended periods.
...yet.

So, a little math due to your challenge:
My 10,000 miles in six months actually averages to 20,000 in one year,
And my 3,000 miles in 9 days would be 7,000 miles in 3 weeks.
Seems you have been slacking, and need to get busy driving.

QUESTION:
Without superchargers in the rural Wild, with you driving 75 MPH, what was your average miles per charge?
Or, how efficient was your actual miles driven vs rated miles?
I seriously doubt you averaged 200 miles range @ 75 mph, unless you were going all downhill.
If big trucks are driving 80-85 mph in the slow lane, how fast were the vehicles going in the slow lane?
YIKES!

During my trip, driving through LA, MS and parts of GA and SC, (flat and downhill) I could get almost 95% yield, mostly staying within my comfort zones.
When I was driving through several large cities, my driving strategy had to change and adapt to the driving conditions.
Greater yield equates to less stops equates to less time for the same number of miles covered.

Once or twice I noticed a gathering of large trucks approaching from the rear, so I did tap the accelerator, but typically just let the car run @ 58 to 61 using cruise control.
Oh, and I never let my battery "buffer" drop below 30 miles of rated range.
So there was never any anxious moments, or having to drop below 58 mph.
The most miles I drove in a single day WITHOUT superchargers was 495.
And it was a very long day.
IF, er WHEN I have a steady grouping of Superchargers on my horizon, I will easily be able to manage 600 +miles in a single day.

In my opinion, it is vacation, not Grand Prix Auto, or Race Across America.
When driving my MS I am not in a race with anyone, especially not an 18 wheeler -- That I'll do from the seat of my motorcycle.
I learned a long time ago to check my ego at the door.
During my trip I never felt I was either a road hazard or was impeding other traffic.
And I was not intimidated to drive faster just because some other drivers decided that they were in a hurry, or needed to show off.
The ability to adapt to the conditions of the road is a learned skill.
As is driving in the wild without superchargers, and achieving decent mileage for each day.

Maybe in two years, this is not even a consideration or a reason for conversation, when the Supercharger network is fairly complete.
Until then, RV parks will do most of my away from home charging.
 
#2,793
purplewalt said:
Again: Driving anywhere is dangerous.

I had previously seen and read your blog before I took my November trip, 3,000 miles in 9 days and a couple of hours.
I spent a whole day and a half touring parts of Savannah, Auldbrass, Beaufort and Charleston.
And I am very well acquainted with RV park charging, two or three times a day.
Since I still have a full-time job, I can't do ALL the travel and miles I want, for such extended periods.
...yet.

So, a little math due to your challenge:
My 10,000 miles in six months actually averages to 20,000 in one year,
And my 3,000 miles in 9 days would be 7,000 miles in 3 weeks.
Seems you have been slacking, and need to get busy driving.

QUESTION:
Without superchargers in the rural Wild, with you driving 75 MPH, what was your average miles per charge?
Or, how efficient was your actual miles driven vs rated miles?
I seriously doubt you averaged 200 miles range @ 75 mph, unless you were going all downhill.
If big trucks are driving 80-85 mph in the slow lane, how fast were the vehicles going in the slow lane?
YIKES!

During my trip, driving through LA, MS and parts of GA and SC, (flat and downhill) I could get almost 95% yield, mostly staying within my comfort zones.
When I was driving through several large cities, my driving strategy had to change and adapt to the driving conditions.
Greater yield equates to less stops equates to less time for the same number of miles covered.

Once or twice I noticed a gathering of large trucks approaching from the rear, so I did tap the accelerator, but typically just let the car run @ 58 to 61 using cruise control.
Oh, and I never let my battery "buffer" drop below 30 miles of rated range.
So there was never any anxious moments, or having to drop below 58 mph.
The most miles I drove in a single day WITHOUT superchargers was 495.
And it was a very long day.
IF, er WHEN I have a steady grouping of Superchargers on my horizon, I will easily be able to manage 600 +miles in a single day.

In my opinion, it is vacation, not Grand Prix Auto, or Race Across America.
When driving my MS I am not in a race with anyone, especially not an 18 wheeler -- That I'll do from the seat of my motorcycle.
I learned a long time ago to check my ego at the door.
During my trip I never felt I was either a road hazard or was impeding other traffic.
And I was not intimidated to drive faster just because some other drivers decided that they were in a hurry, or needed to show off.
The ability to adapt to the conditions of the road is a learned skill.
As is driving in the wild without superchargers, and achieving decent mileage for each day.

Maybe in two years, this is not even a consideration or a reason for conversation, when the Supercharger network is fairly complete.
Until then, RV parks will do most of my away from home charging.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Driving anywhere IS dangerous!

Ok. Now I have to respond to lots of your questions. First off, great to hear you read about my trip! Nice to be listened to!!! That trip used up all my 2013 vacation time though... That's why only 15+k miles.

At a speed of 75mph we could only go 150 to 180 miles per charge max. And that was flat or downhill. Uphill we went much slower most of the time. I didn't calculate exactly how close to rated mileage, but sometimes I was surprisingly close. I found that driving on flat roads at 60mph would keep the usage line very close to the rated line.

On the roads posted 75mph some cars and small trucks would fly by at easily 90+mph!

Like you, I found that cruise control is your best friend. It gets much better efficiency than I can myself even though I have a pretty steady foot.

I found that charging at RV parks twice during the day and once overnight made for some pretty long days. After the first few days we decided to charge only once during the middle of the day and once overnight.

The last day of our trip was 570 miles from Vegas to home. We did it in almost exactly 12 hours. That was using superchargers all the way!

The battery dropped below 30 at least twice. Once when it hit 26 miles left after two RV parks turned us away, we coasted to a stop on I70 in Kansas. Tesla Owner Experience got us a tow within an hour! Only 3.3 miles to a friendly RV Park.

Yea, on vacation, slow and steady makes for a safe and relaxed vacation. On our trip we had a serious timeline to keep. We even had to clip about 500 miles off in order to make it through in time.

Yea, with superchargers from LA to Washington, the trip to my brother's house near Portland is pretty easy. We will likely do that again in the spring.

BTW, great chatting with another long distance S traveller!
 
#2,799
PhilBa said:
Yeah, if you run up the speed on the down hill and let it slack off on the up hill, you come out much much better than with CC. If you don't have hills, CC isn't too bad.
Click to expand...

That is true for your modest, rolling hills, but does not work for 10-30 mile, 4-8,000 ft climbs and descents in Colorado; CC works better. When I have time, I will do a little write up on when its better to store the energy in the battery or in the kinetic energy car.

Here is the quick summary. For little hills, the loss to increased aerodynamic drag from freewheeling through the valley is small compared to the losses in and out of the battery. For long, big hills, its the other way around; there is less loss putting energy into the battery and taking it back out than the extended loss to aerodynamic drag from long stretches at high speed.
 
#2,800
AMPd said:
It would be awesome if they made that dashboard available on their web site.
Kinda like the EV miles counter, but a lot more interesting!
Click to expand...

On the dashboard, do the numbers change in real time? If so, it may be possible to discover the IP address. Maybe it's just anonymous and not encrypted. My guess would be that the data resides on an internal (private) Tesla network, but it wouldn't be that hard for them to push it out to a public IP.
 
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