What type of Roadster battery pack upgrade would you choose?

[tomsax]

But wouldn't having the "More Range" option raise the capacity of the pack which in turn gives you more performance with acceleration? I'd suspect a larger pack would have more punch than a lower capacity pack that makes the car lighter. Also with the future of cells the pack will most likely drop in weight anyways.

I like more Range since its easier on the pack in the long run and each cell is under less stress, you can accelerate harder and have a lager yield above 50% SOC than what our current pack offers.

I think the Roadster handles extremely well once you get the right shocks setup and dialed correctly with the proper camber. Unless its being raced at the track it really holds its ground on the street through corners and twisty turns.

I believe the premise of this poll is that we get an opportunity to replace our battery pack but not the rest of the drive train, so we're still limited by the current capabilities of the PEM and motor. So, putting in a bigger pack that can source more current and/or voltage doesn't increase torque or horsepower. However a lighter pack pack that can source the same current and voltage yields the same torque and horsepower, which gives more acceleration with a lighter car.

 

[mnx]

I don't have a roadster, but I voted for the lightest battery pack option as that is what I hope they have available for the Model S in the future. A roadster with a lightweight pack also sounds very interesting to me as a 2nd EV.

 

[pharma5]

I believe the premise of this poll is that we get an opportunity to replace our battery pack but not the rest of the drive train, so we're still limited by the current capabilities of the PEM and motor. So, putting in a bigger pack that can source more current and/or voltage doesn't increase torque or horsepower. However a lighter pack pack that can source the same current and voltage yields the same torque and horsepower, which gives more acceleration with a lighter car.

That's right. Poll is aimed at pack-type preference, all other things equal.

Rechecking weight, it's actually about 160 lbs lighter (not 180) in the HANDLING pack (56 kwh, new cells). Curb weight would be about 94% of original, so perhaps 0-60 a bit below 3.7 sec (2 sig fig, crudely scaling by total weight) in regular Roadster, maybe just under 3.5 sec in Roadster Sport.

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Right. If you had asked before I got my Model S, I would have said range. A year after getting my Model S I'd rather take it on a long road trip because it is so much more comfortable. Especially in winter when you can stay toasty as opposed to getting chilled out while wearing a parka and long johns.

The Roadster does have one big advantage for road trips. If you don't have access to Superchargers then the Roadster charges 50% faster than the Model S does, on a range basis. That's simply because it takes less power to move the car. So if you need to stop for J1772 charging, you'll cover significantly more distance in less time with a Roadster.

Since I got the Model S I've exclusively used it for road trips. With the exception of a couple of EV events where I was asked to bring the Roadster! At the same time I've been using the Roadster for autocross so that's why I'd prefer weight reduction.

Great points - usage has changed for a segment of users, and I think we have quite a few of those on TMC.

It's hard to say how much sampling bias there is for Roadster owners on TMC that participated in the survey vs. Roadster owners at large, but this is the forum we've got.:smile: (Hopefully all participants have a Roadster...).

I tend to think TMC is more likely to have more multi-Tesla Roadster owners vs. single-Tesla Roadster owners (i.e., more Roadsters used as specialty cars), but that's just a guess.

 

[mgemmell]

...I tend to think TMC is more likely to have more multi-Tesla Roadster owners vs. single-Tesla Roadster owners (i.e., more Roadsters used as specialty cars), but that's just a guess.

We have 3 teenage kids so for obvious reasons we now use the Model S for road trips. That said, when spring kicks off there is nothing like a Roadster road trip through country lanes, just my wife and I, with the top down.

I voted for the MID-KWH option as it reduced the weight a little and boosted the range a little too, however after reading all your comments I'd change that to the HANDLING option because the range is still good, and you can never get too much acceleration! Also, the Roadster's rear toe joints won't suffer as much with less weight in the back.

Of course if I really wanted more acceleration I'd hold out for the liquid cooled PEM and motor option that is rumored to be coming.

 

[Doug_G]

Of course if I really wanted more acceleration I'd hold out for the liquid cooled PEM and motor option that is rumored to be coming.

Pretty sure that died when Joost left Tesla.

 

[pharma5]

Pretty sure that died when Joost left Tesla.

Yeah, Linkedin listed him recently under People I (Wish I) Knew:frown::

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/j-joost-de-vries/6/710/218

 

[mgemmell]

Pretty sure that died when Joost left Tesla.

Dude!

Oh well.... I'll just have to endure taking longer than 3 seconds getting to 60. Life is hard....

 

[pharma5]

Momentarily bumping this up -> survey looked at potential preferences on hypothetical battery pack upgrades, from 6 months back.

Based on recent news, it seems like an uber Range option is in the works.

 

[Alexandersims]

Auto Express interview with Elon saying that a 400 mile range battery upgrade is planned for the Roadster.