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Winter Driving Experience Mount Rainier National Park - Model 3 LR AWD

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After several winters of driving our Toyota 4Runner up to Paradise for bc skiing, we decided to try our 2023 M3 LR AWD in relatively mild winter conditions up at Mount Rainier National Park.

Since we have the TR4 with BFG ATs, we’ve decided to try this first winter on the Tesla stock Michelen MXM4s. Tires did find on compact ice, but we were driving no higher than the speed limit. Otherwise roads were bare and wet in other spots.

Overall a huge success going roundtrip from Seattle to Mount Rainier. We kept interior temps in low 70s, low fan, used level 1 seat heater at times, autopilot for much of SR 167 and some of Hwy 512. Two adults, two duffles and two sets of backcountry skis stowed with seats down.

Left home in Seattle (elevation 30 ft.) with 99% charge and estimated range of 355 miles.
  • Arrived at Jackson Visitor’s center (elevation 5,600 ft.) with 49% charge and estimated range of 177 miles (estimated miles driven = 178, actual miles driven = 106).
  • Car parked for around 4 1/2 hours, air temperature around 30° F with some cloud cover
  • During decent, regenerative braking brought charge up to 51% (approx. 4,000 ft. loss in elevation to the park gate)
  • Arrived home (after stopping in Federal Way for Korean dumplings) with 20% charge and estimated range of 77 miles remaining. Total miles actually driven = 226.
Super stoked. Not sure yet though if we’ll use the M3 for Mount Baker, but we will be taking it to SV later this year. Hopefully those Michelens will get the job done! We’re more used to BFG ATs on the TR4, and Conti DWS on our previous car (WRX).

Pic shows SIX Subarus parked around our little champ!
870EA48B-CF36-44B5-9E7E-52A4FA04C45B.jpeg
 
Very cool! I'm planning on driving my M3LR on my annual after-Christmas trip to Sunriver, OR from Seattle if the weather isn't too bad. ABRP recommends short stops at the Troutdale and Madras superchargers for the trip, and I'll hijack the dryer outlet at the Sunriver house when I get there 😉
 
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Very cool! I'm planning on driving my M3LR on my annual after-Christmas trip to Sunriver, OR from Seattle if the weather isn't too bad. ABRP recommends short stops at the Troutdale and Madras superchargers for the trip, and I'll hijack the dryer outlet at the Sunriver house when I get there 😉
If you don’t mind - could you post or reply your trip experience to Sunriver? We usually go to Bend once a year. Some years we go in summer, sometimes in Winter (we had an epic plan for winter ‘20 but got snowed out).
 
You'd have to pay SC rates, which can be 3-5x more expensive than residential rates. Charging the battery to 100% once in a while and not letting it sit there for long is completely fine. The battery is there to be used when you need it.
Fair point, I suppose. I guess I'm still just so giddy at not paying for diesel anymore I don't pay that much attention to Supercharger fees. 😁
 
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@indosponger

My trip to Sunriver went great! Left my house in Seattle charged to 100%. The weather on the 26th was very rainy with a bit of a southerly wind which negatively impacted range predictions. It also didn't help that "I can't drive 55" 😆

First supercharger stop was Troutdale which had two spots available. Charged at about 150kW there for around eight minutes, taking 19kWh for $5.70, bringing me up to around 60%. Added a 10% buffer over what ABRP told me based on my experience with wind and rain, which ended up being crucial.

It was an uneventful trip through Government Camp and Warm Springs. Actually gained 1% SoC descending the long grade into Warm Springs! Next stop was the Madras supercharger at 16% SoC. The car overestimated my arrival SoC by nearly 10%, mainly due to a strong headwind and my heavy foot. The buffer I added at Troutdale was a good idea.

I charged to around 60% at Madras at a peak rate of 253kW for about nine minutes. Took 34kWh for $9.86. There were two others there, a MY and a MS who showed up while I was charging.

I arrived at Sunriver with about 30% SoC. Unplugged the clothes dryer, plugged in my NEMA 10-30 to 14-50 adapter and charged at 24A overnight to 90%. Did a few trips to Bend during the week among trips around Sunriver which brought me down to about 35% SoC. Thursday night I plugged in and charged to 100% for the trip back. Plugged the dryer back in 😉

There was a bit of a tailwind on the way back, so I estimated one stop at the Kelso supercharger. I arrived at Kelso with about 25% SoC, slightly higher than the car's initial estimate. The supercharger was pretty full, but there were at least three spots available when I arrived. Rate was around 190kW for about seven minutes, just enough time to eat a sandwich I had packed. Took 23kWh for $5.52, which the car estimated would get me to that evening's destination in Tacoma with 20% SoC. The estimate was spot on.

Ended up being a great trip, and I learned a few things about roadtripping an EV.
 
@indosponger

My trip to Sunriver went great! Left my house in Seattle charged to 100%. The weather on the 26th was very rainy with a bit of a southerly wind which negatively impacted range predictions. It also didn't help that "I can't drive 55" 😆

First supercharger stop was Troutdale which had two spots available. Charged at about 150kW there for around eight minutes, taking 19kWh for $5.70, bringing me up to around 60%. Added a 10% buffer over what ABRP told me based on my experience with wind and rain, which ended up being crucial.

It was an uneventful trip through Government Camp and Warm Springs. Actually gained 1% SoC descending the long grade into Warm Springs! Next stop was the Madras supercharger at 16% SoC. The car overestimated my arrival SoC by nearly 10%, mainly due to a strong headwind and my heavy foot. The buffer I added at Troutdale was a good idea.

I charged to around 60% at Madras at a peak rate of 253kW for about nine minutes. Took 34kWh for $9.86. There were two others there, a MY and a MS who showed up while I was charging.

I arrived at Sunriver with about 30% SoC. Unplugged the clothes dryer, plugged in my NEMA 10-30 to 14-50 adapter and charged at 24A overnight to 90%. Did a few trips to Bend during the week among trips around Sunriver which brought me down to about 35% SoC. Thursday night I plugged in and charged to 100% for the trip back. Plugged the dryer back in 😉

There was a bit of a tailwind on the way back, so I estimated one stop at the Kelso supercharger. I arrived at Kelso with about 25% SoC, slightly higher than the car's initial estimate. The supercharger was pretty full, but there were at least three spots available when I arrived. Rate was around 190kW for about seven minutes, just enough time to eat a sandwich I had packed. Took 23kWh for $5.52, which the car estimated would get me to that evening's destination in Tacoma with 20% SoC. The estimate was spot on.

Ended up being a great trip, and I learned a few things about roadtripping an EV.

Awesome! Gosh I forgot how gnary those headwinds can be going on the out trip. We were tempted to go to Bend for the upcoming MLK three day weekend.

Appreciate your post! 👏
 
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