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Tioga Pass - Model S 85 -- Is it doable??

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You are correct that the low speeds over much of the route will be the dominant factor since that greatly increases range due to reduced drag. This is why others here have said that your proposed route is easy to do (no need to charge to 100% at Groveland Supercharger!). I could make your proposed route in my old S-60 with 176 RM total range.

There are mountain routes that are driven at freeway speeds, such as I-80 over Donner Pass (7,056 ft; 2,151 m) and I-70 via the Eisenhower Tunnel (11,158 feet; 3,401 m), where the reduced air density extends range, versus a similar route at sea level. In general, driving at high altitude gives better range than that projected by Tesla's navigation. The trick is to make sure that one has enough charge to get to the top of the pass, rather than focus just on the destination charge level, as one usually does when not driving in the mountains.


For your amusement, an elevation plot of your intended route between the two Supercharger Stations:

View attachment 434972

Enjoy your trip!
Love that graphic you included of the elevation!! I have found that the Navigation App seems to estimate things quite accurately so far, and lots of times I use even a bit less energy as I try to "drive nicely" and be conservative. I drove part way through the Tioga a yesterday just to get a feel of the energy burn... it did seem to be pretty accurate, and I was giddy seeing all the REGEN happening when I turned around to head back. I had the afternoon free and decided to take my MS on a road trip. I didn't have time to do the full stretch, but I lived in Missouri long enough that I still live by the motto: "SHOW ME!" Things are looking up for the MS85 trip over Tioga.

Thanks to everyone who has chimed in and given me the benefit of their experience and wisdom!!
 
Don't sweat it. We did it in S75 last year, leaving Groveland with slightly over 90% of charge (~220 rated miles) and despite various detours and lookouts we made is safely to Mammoth Lakes. From Tioga Pass it is pretty much downhill, so your regen will shine here. Here's a write up from our trip: California, here we come! (Road trip 2018 – part 10)

One other thing to mention, there are parts of the park where you will not have any cell range. Your on-board computer will not be able to correctly calculate the route and might throw a warning or two that you won't be able to make it to starting point (since it can't trace the destination without data connectivity). Just follow the main road and you will be fine.

Most important, enjoy it. The views are truly breathtaking!
 
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Good to hear all these positive responses. I guess my doubts came in when I was out exploring and charged up at Groveland SC and the Tesla navigation app kept routing me away from Tioga Pass... I wonder if it still thinks Tioga is closed?
Did this trip recently. Nav is just broken. Wouldn't route over Tioga and then lost it totally while on Tioga Road at times. GPS wildly wrong.
 
I've heard that the NAV doesn't calculate at times over the Tioga Pass road because cell reception is spotty.
It is common in any area where you don't have a cell range - the car cannot calculate the route since it it has no data to base it off. From my memory, it just tells that you won't be able to make it back to the starting point of the trip. One of the examples that one had to be prepared when venturing off beaten paths and rely on some terrain orientation skills :)
 
I've heard that the NAV doesn't calculate at times over the Tioga Pass road because cell reception is spotty.
In my experience, once I have entered a nav destination and the route is calculated and displayed, if during the trip the car loses its cell data connection that nav continues to work correctly even though the map may not display, it may be blank. When connection is reestablished the map comes back.

Of course in the case of the Tioga Pass route there are no intersections from Crane Flat to Lee Vining (except for turnoffs to campgrounds) so you really can’t get lost. ;)
 
It was a success!! I charged to 99% at Groveland Supercharger and set off on the road literally a bundle of nerves even though the NAV said I’d arrive with 40%. All along the route I was pretty conservative about my driving and used cruise control as much as possible. At the turnoff where 120 diverges to the left and “Big Oak Flat Rd??” looks like the continuation of 120... dummy here missed the turnoff. A few minutes later the NAV displayed a crazy looming thing that said I wouldn’t make it to my destination. I thought it was because of the spotty LTE that the NAV was freaking out, but it was because of the wrong turn. I noticed id taken the wrong road in about 6 miles and turned back. Once I was on 120 again everything was fine. Even with my stupid detour I got to Lee Vining with 50% SoC and reached Mammoth Lakes Supercharger with 39%. After I got out of the mountains I threw caution to the wind - the AC went on and I stepped up the pace to 70 mph.
 

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At the turnoff where 120 diverges to the left and “Big Oak Flat Rd??” looks like the continuation of 120... dummy here missed the turnoff.

My wife makes these mistakes repeatedly when we drive on road trips. No amount of rehearsal, testing, or question-and-answer sessions have eliminated her profound ignorance of direction or detail. I cannot take a snooze or bury myself in a book while she is driving if we need to turn onto Highway X from Highway Z. She will drive right past the turnoff.

I'm thrilled that your grand experiment was a success. It is a real confidence booster. And, you now know that you do not need to wait around Groveland to 99% before departing! You can stop charging between 85-90% and make Mammoth in comfort!
 
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Glad to hear it went well. I had done the other direction and wound up making it all the way to Monterey. The regen is phenomenal, plus as someone mentioned - thru the pass you will encounter slowwww traffic and thus makes for much less use of battery (and I didn't use AP, which would have probably saved even more).
You've given me the green light to do both ways - in warmer climes, of course.
 
Glad to hear it went well....
You've given me the green light to do both ways - in warmer climes, of course.
It was such a beautiful trip that I've been dying to do it again... this time without all the range anxiety. I have some days off coming up and am thinking of going just for the thrill of the drive, but stopping more often and planning a little detour down that road (Big Oak Flat) that I accidentally meandered down instead of making the hard left onto 120. The scenery down BOF Rd is incredible.
 

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Just did the Groveland to Mammoth Lakes run in my 2012 P85 via Hwy 120, burned 162 “rated” miles over the 119 mile geographic distance, corresponding to a bit more than the 7 additional rated miles expended/1000 ft elevation gain, 4 miles regained from downhill regen/1000 ft rule of thumb. Like others, I relied on A Better Route Planner as the in-vehicle Tesla nav still forces a non-direct routing (even in late July), sometimes over Hwy 50 via the Gardnerville supercharger.

Oliver Barrett
 
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Just did the Groveland to Mammoth Lakes run in my 2012 P85 via Hwy 120, burned 162 “rated” miles over the 119 mile geographic distance, corresponding to a bit more than the 7 additional rated miles expended/1000 ft elevation gain, 4 miles regained from downhill regen/1000 ft rule of thumb. Like others, I relied on A Better Route Planner as the in-vehicle Tesla nav still forces a non-direct routing (even in late July), sometimes over Hwy 50 via the Gardnerville supercharger.

Oliver Barre
That sounds like a great trip, I would like to try it sometime. Any idea how many KWh you used, end to end?