Western Canada Superchargers

[doubeld]

Lucky duck! Depending on your biking style, there are lots of great mountain biking trails in and around the Canmore Nordic Centre, which also has a SuperCharger. From there, you should even be able to do a day trip to Calgary and back if you need. If you're into road biking, look up the golden triangle. Bicycling the Golden Triangle, British Columbia - Canada Trails
You could also bike Between Canmore and Banff and Lake Louise on a road bike and see lots along the way. I think the best hikes are in Kananaskis Country (provincial park), which is between 15-45 minutes from Canmore via a gravel road or a paved highway, easily doable in a S60. Canmore is (slighlty) less busy than Banff, but if you've never been to Banff before, it's worth a visit. It's definitely a zoo and more expensive in the summer, so maybe basing out of Canmore might be more fun/economical/easy access to hiking/biking.

 

[beeeerock]

Planning a trip from Seattle to Banff. Any gotchas or things to see, look for? I've got a 2013 60kWh with a hitch bike rack and will be mountain biking, hiking in Banff for a week.

I would be careful of the energy prediction over the Coquihalla from Hope to Merritt... if that's the route you take. Actual energy usage is considerably higher than the software has been predicting (unless the most recent update fixed this...). There is CHAdeMO in Merritt if you get concerned (as well as a 70 amp level 2 next to it).

Mountain biking in Kamloops is fantastic. It's amazing how many mountain bike videos on youtube were shot in the area. Kenna Cartwright park (right in town) has a huge number of trails of all kinds, with good views to boot.

Also consider Sun Peaks if you like downhill riding. There is some good cross country up there too, but the downhill trails are great and just opened last weekend.

 

[Zapped]

The Merrit CHAdeMo station is pay for use from Greenlots. If you're not already a member, you can download their App on your smart phone and register with the credit card to use the station

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

Planning a trip from Seattle to Banff. Any gotchas or things to see, look for? I've got a 2013 60kWh with a hitch bike rack and will be mountain biking, hiking in Banff for a week.

Make sure you look down while walking on the skybridge near there.

 

[cmt489]

We are planning a trip in early August from Vancouver to Kelowna in our X 90D. Reading comments in this thread I am nervous about the portion between Hope and Kelowna. Should I be nervous? Do I need to purchase a CHAdeMo adapter for Meritt on the way through? My worst nightmare would be to be stranded with two kids and my mother in the car between superchargers. What are your thoughts? Anyone done this in an X yet? Help!!!!

 

[Canuck]

We are planning a trip in early August from Vancouver to Kelowna in our X 90D. Reading comments in this thread I am nervous about the portion between Hope and Kelowna. Should I be nervous? Do I need to purchase a CHAdeMo adapter for Meritt on the way through? My worst nightmare would be to be stranded with two kids and my mother in the car between superchargers. What are your thoughts? Anyone done this in an X yet? Help!!!!

If you fill up full at Hope, you have nothing to be worried about at all. It's only in the winter when heat is needed, and driving through cold air takes a toll on range, that it could be a concern.

Edit: I just read that you have an "X". I still don't think it will be a concern, but my comments were directed to an S since that's all I have experience with. In any event, driving slow saves a lot when it comes to range so I can't see it being a concern if you take it easy.

 

[cmt489]

Awesome. Thank you! I will have to get over my ICE range anxiety!!

 

[ilikechowfan]

I recently did the Hope to Kelowna trip in June in an S70D with four adults. Filled up to 375kms (~95%) and made it to Kelowna with about 60-70kms (~20%). The section immediately after hope is the steep uphill and the system gave me a warning saying I needed to slow down to make it to the destination. I heeded the warnings and drove 100km/h in the 110km/h zone just to be safe. After arriving in Kelowna with plenty to spare (the last 40-50 Kms are all downhill) I would do it again charging to 100% in hope and just do the speed limit.

In an X90D I think you shouldn't have any problems.

Ps. Check out the kangaroo farm in Kelowna! Also the Mission Hill estate winery has a destination charger that charges at a full 80A if you're looking to top off before coming back to Vancouver

 

[cmt489]

Awesome tips, thank you!

 

[beeeerock]

We are planning a trip in early August from Vancouver to Kelowna in our X 90D. Reading comments in this thread I am nervous about the portion between Hope and Kelowna. Should I be nervous? Do I need to purchase a CHAdeMo adapter for Meritt on the way through? My worst nightmare would be to be stranded with two kids and my mother in the car between superchargers. What are your thoughts? Anyone done this in an X yet? Help!!!!

As others have noted, I don't think you'll have a problem, but probably smarter not to try it at mach 2 speed. Keep the speed reasonable and get a feel for the power consumption.

As well, unless they've fixed the trip planner in the X, I would suggest you charge to 95 or 100% in Hope even if the planner suggests you're good to go with less. I've found it to be completely unreliable on the Coquihalla, for whatever reason...

 

[gpetti]

We are planning a trip in early August from Vancouver to Kelowna in our X 90D. Reading comments in this thread I am nervous about the portion between Hope and Kelowna. Should I be nervous? Do I need to purchase a CHAdeMo adapter for Meritt on the way through? My worst nightmare would be to be stranded with two kids and my mother in the car between superchargers. What are your thoughts? Anyone done this in an X yet? Help!!!!

Hi,
I drove from Hope to Summerland (further I believe) in an X90D recently. The main thing is not to believe the range estimation software. The software told me to continue and that I would have 10% left on arrival. I let it charge until it suggested I would have 20% on arrival and set off. Ultimately I had 12% when I arrived and I basically did not drive over 120 Kph as the prediction started dropping to as low as 8% (Predicted on arrival) as I was driving. I think the estimation may use the speed limits in the map data as part of the prediction. It seems that for some reason the map data thinks the speed limit is 100 in some places (the car still doesn't recognize the signs on the Coquihalla). Not sure if this is the reason but either way don't skimp on the charging and you'll be fine. Ideally I would fill it.

 

[beeeerock]

It seems that for some reason the map data thinks the speed limit is 100 in some places (the car still doesn't recognize the signs on the Coquihalla). Not sure if this is the reason but either way don't skimp on the charging and you'll be fine. Ideally I would fill it.

I did a quick trip down to Vancouver and back on Saturday. The latest firmware didn't fix any of this (although I've been noticing the 3G connection disappearing quite regularly since that update - but that's another story). I think the problem is with Google. If their speed limit data is incorrect, the car is going to do the calculation wrong and mess up on loss to air friction. I don't think the inability to read the signs properly (still gorked I noticed) would impact the calculation, because I suspect the calculation is done with the map (Google) data once and isn't updated based on speed signs that the car sees along the way. So you see the green line drop below the gray line and wonder what's going on...

I wish there was a way to get Google to fix this, because I'm almost convinced that the problem rests with them.

An aside: I wish the energy projection could be selected for the main dash area like the other widgets...

 

[green1]

I did a quick trip down to Vancouver and back on Saturday. The latest firmware didn't fix any of this (although I've been noticing the 3G connection disappearing quite regularly since that update - but that's another story). I think the problem is with Google. If their speed limit data is incorrect, the car is going to do the calculation wrong and mess up on loss to air friction. I don't think the inability to read the signs properly (still gorked I noticed) would impact the calculation, because I suspect the calculation is done with the map (Google) data once and isn't updated based on speed signs that the car sees along the way. So you see the green line drop below the gray line and wonder what's going on...

I wish there was a way to get Google to fix this, because I'm almost convinced that the problem rests with them.

An aside: I wish the energy projection could be selected for the main dash area like the other widgets...

The navigation data doesn't come from Google. Google had this one right, but the car gets it wrong. Same as so many other places on the map.

 

[mrElbe]

The navigation data comes from the outdated NavteQ maps from the Navigon app. That level of maps on our Tesla is currently 15Q1. Also if the Municipality does not somehow get the correct data to NavteQ we are stuck with old data - eg. wrong speed limits used for trip calculations.

 

[beeeerock]

The navigation data comes from the outdated NavteQ maps from the Navigon app. That level of maps on our Tesla is currently 15Q1. Also if the Municipality does not somehow get the correct data to NavteQ we are stuck with old data - eg. wrong speed limits used for trip calculations.

Hmm. Interesting. I guess the Navigon stuff does more than I thought. I assumed it was strictly the dashboard turn by turn navigation and the Google-driven mapping somehow fed into it. Looking at Google just now on my PC, I see that the travel time it predicts for the Coquihalla does in fact match the distance/speed I would expect... if you use the 'no traffic' option. So it would seem that the speed limit data does come from the Navigon side of things. Logically, that's necessary for locations where there is no cellular coverage...

Does the elevation information also come from Navigon? Probably, due to the same reasoning on cell coverage. The energy prediction is also often out of sync with reality... hills appear at different travel distances so that the graphical display offsets actual from prediction (horizontally).

However, I've noticed that the Google traffic information seems to feed to the turn by turn system, because I've been re-routed on the fly several times. That would require a data connection and I assume, Google data. So there must be a really interesting aggregation of both systems at play here....? If so, it would be nice if they pulled the Google data (speed, elevation) when available and used it preferentially to Navigon, because I suspect it's more accurate. It's one thing to drive an ICE and find you took a few minutes longer to reach your destination than predicted, but something else again if you rely on the energy calculation and come up short... running on static short of your destination!

 

[gpetti]

I did a quick trip down to Vancouver and back on Saturday. The latest firmware didn't fix any of this (although I've been noticing the 3G connection disappearing quite regularly since that update - but that's another story). I think the problem is with Google. If their speed limit data is incorrect, the car is going to do the calculation wrong and mess up on loss to air friction. I don't think the inability to read the signs properly (still gorked I noticed) would impact the calculation, because I suspect the calculation is done with the map (Google) data once and isn't updated based on speed signs that the car sees along the way. So you see the green line drop below the gray line and wonder what's going on...

I wish there was a way to get Google to fix this, because I'm almost convinced that the problem rests with them.

An aside: I wish the energy projection could be selected for the main dash area like the other widgets...

This is exactly what I meant. The inability to read the signs merely shows that the speed limit data the car is using is inaccurate, which as you say must skew the calculations.

 

[Orangegap]

When/If the Merritt Supercharger is installed, do you folks think you would be able to drive to Kelowna from Vancouver in a Model 3 by skipping the Hope Supercharger and just stopping at the one in Merritt?

 

[gpetti]

When/If the Merritt Supercharger is installed, do you folks think you would be able to drive to Kelowna from Vancouver in a Model 3 by skipping the Hope Supercharger and just stopping at the one in Merritt?

I wondered the same thing with a model X. If leaving Langley with a full charge (e.g. about 400 kms) I'm assuming it should be achievable to get to Merritt without stopping in Hope though the stretch of road from Hope to Merritt is always a bit unpredictable.

 

[green1]

Isn't Merritt getting to be rather significantly delayed now? Anyone heard any status updates? I thought it was "almost there" many months ago?

 

[beeeerock]

Isn't Merritt getting to be rather significantly delayed now? Anyone heard any status updates? I thought it was "almost there" many months ago?

I've heard nothing to suggest they even have a site identified in Merritt yet. It isn't necessarily a required stop for most travelers (especially with Kelowna online now), although the return of the 60 kWh models might change that. I'll check in with my contacts again and see what I can learn.