Tips on planning a trip.

[MSullivan]

I am the owner of a Model S 70D VIN.
Can't wait to get the car attached to it in a few months.
I am reading this forum, looking through the manual and trying to know as much as I can on day one.
Just yesterday I learned something new. That Tesla recommends you not charge to 100% to increase the life of your battery.
I also know that when using a SC there is a sweet spot for recharging your car.
Using EV Trip Planner I see that if I drive from southern NH to NYC I have a choice of many different SC's.
Using this plan I can see one advantage is I can leave home at 50%, drive the 60 miles and then top off very quickly with free electricity.
Or is that risky? What if the Worcester SC is out of service, maybe I should have enough to get to New Haven and charge in Hartford or New Haven.
Or does the Model S' navigation do that thinking for me.
How do you handle a road trip?
Thanks in advance.

 

[kort677]

first off do a search, there are many threads that contain good advice from many people who have done and do long trips regularly.
as to your question, there is nothing wrong with taking the car to 100% the problems arise from letting it sit at 100%. so when you know you're leaving for a long ride taking it to 100% and then driving it down shouldn't stress the battery. as for being on the trip, the tools available are fine to use but you can't ignore using your own thinking. the more you get drive your car the better you'll understand what it can and cannot do.

 

[jaguar36]

EVtripplanner is your friend. Make sure you take the weather into account, and check how the trip might be effected by wind as that can be fairly significant. The superchargers have very good reliability, however they are dependent on the grid so if there are alot of thunderstorms or what-not that would cause outages you might want to give yourself some extra buffer.

 

[MSullivan]

EVtripplanner is your friend. Make sure you take the weather into account, and check how the trip might be effected by wind as that can be fairly significant. The superchargers have very good reliability, however they are dependent on the grid so if there are alot of thunderstorms or what-not that would cause outages you might want to give yourself some extra buffer.

So how would you tackle this trip. Leave home topped off or top off at the one SC stop on the route?
Obviously I would prefer to use Elon's electrons as much as possible.

 

[kort677]

So how would you tackle this trip. Leave home topped off or top off at the one SC stop on the route?
Obviously I would prefer to use Elon's electrons as much as possible.

do you realize that you're talking about a $1 or $3 in savings?

 

[MSullivan]

do you realize that you're talking about a $1 or $3 in savings?

I guess that non answer (actually a question) means you would leave topped off. Thanks for the response. Guess I will just lurk from now on.

And leaving home with 25% charge vs 100% would be over $8 at New England electric prices.

 

[jaguar36]

I would (and do) always leave on a trip with at least 90%. Its worth a couple bucks to me to have the extra flexibility, either for an unknown change in plans, or a full supercharger. Not to mention that 25%->100% would take close to an hour, thats really not worth 8 bucks to me.

 

[tga]

It's probably pretty close time-wise (slightly longer distance) to go to 293->Everett Tpke/3->495->290 rather than south on back roads to 190. Plus that'll take you close to the Hooksett SC should you need it.

Ideally, you want to roll into the SC with as low a battery as you dare (20%?), as the battery charges faster at lower states of charge, ie, 5%->30% is much faster than 50%->75%, which is WAY faster than 75%->100%. The last 20% takes almost as long as the first 80%.

So it's best to show up at a SC with a low battery, and only take as much as you need to make it to the next stop (plus whatever buffer makes you comfortable). Two stops of 20%->50% is faster than one stop of 20%->80%.

Personally, I'd leave fully charged, and plan a stop around 20%, assuming the spacing works out. Then take as much as I need to get to my next planned stop with 20%. Charge overnight at the destination, if possible, else plan the first stop for the return trip at your last stop on the outbound trip (if that makes sense).

 

[brkaus]

I guess that non answer (actually a question) means you would leave topped off. Thanks for the response. Guess I will just lurk from now on.

And leaving home with 25% charge vs 100% would be over $8 at New England electric prices.

I would read this a bit differently in terms of road trips. What you have observed basically says that you can do whatever you normally do. If you regularly charge at 80% or 90% it will just work for this particular situation. If you forget to charge overnight, you could still make your trip. No change required. This is good as it avoids potential pitfalls.

Now if you do this every day, heck yes, I'd plan on saving the $3-$8. But if its an occasional thing, know your good as long as you have enough charge to make the first SC (plus some %).

Its basically the same where I live heading north or south. East or west is a much different story.