Winter driving thoughts so far

[AlanSubie4Life]

The thing that does surprise me is how much energy it uses going up hill. Going up my hill to get home at 35-40 mph 20-25% grade for 4 miles I’m using ~700-800 Wh/mi.

PE = mgh = 4072lb*9.81m/s^2*1000ft
= 1530Wh (per thousand feet elevation gain)

I’m neglecting your weight and anything else you might be hauling.

So whatever your elevation gain is (25% grade over 4 miles is extremely steep...you live above 5000ft in Alaska?)...multiply by the number of thousands of feet, divide by how many miles you travel, to see how much energy/mile it will take.

Let’s say you live at 1000ft, over 4 miles that’s going to add a little less than 400Wh/mi (1530/4) to your consumption per mile. So you’d expect 700-800Wh/mi if you get about 300Wh/mi on the flat.

So my guess is you climb about 1000ft over 4 miles, not 5k ft, based on your numbers. The grade is 4-5%. Which is a decent hill.

To some extent you gain it back on the downhill of course. But not all of it, due to losses.

 

[coleAK]

Yeah sorry my guesstimate math was wrong I climb ~1000 ft over 4-5 miles. The steepist part is ~12 degrees (25%).

 

[docdeb27]

With snow tires our AWD was awesome in the snow. I felt just as in control as with my STI.

If you get new tires and wheels do you have to do something special to set the tire pressure monitor or does the car teach the TPM when driving?

 

[Snow Drift]

If you get new tires and wheels do you have to do something special to set the tire pressure monitor or does the car teach the TPM when driving?

I used the stock TPMS and wheels. I think some have been able to use new TPMS, even aftermarket, and the car asks what size are the rims and then reads the new radios. But I haven’t done it.

 

[spinbackwards]

I'm pretty much with OP.

I have a P3D. Had hoped for better winter performance. It's not bad, but it's also not great. Not as good as some other cars I've had that didn't cost as much.

I live in Eagle, CO. Ski a lot, 3 or 4 days a week. Grew up in the mountains.

The best car I've ever had for winter was a 2005 Audi S4 Avant. That car drove like it had spikes. Worst was a 9-3 Saab. That car was flat out dangerous. I had an Audi TT that was pretty good, so was my Audi S6 Avant. I sold an Audi A7 to get the Tesla. The A7 was pretty good in the snow.

I've had the car on Vail Pass twice now. Once, in bad as it gets conditions. The other, in average winter conditions (snow packed).

The car has slipped some, when I wasn't even pushing it. That's been alarming. I'll turn down regenerative, try that. Thanks for the tip, OP.

I'm not afraid of crashing, but I am cautious. Like I say, I had hoped for better. It's a 75k car for crissake.

I have Michelins Alpine PA4's. Not because I love the tire, I don't. I've had them before. They're pretty good, but not great. What I like most is they're the only winter tire I know of that comes with a warranty. So, they end up costing me much less than retail -- because Discount Tire usually gives me a credit when I dump them (every other winter) because they didn't wear right.

My choice would have been Blizzak's. Love, love, that tire. It's hard to get 2 full winters out of it, because it's so soft. But I don't care. That tire rocks. We have Haka's on our VW Van, love that tire too. I wasn't aware it was available in a 20? Hey OP. Post a link.

Also, the Michelin was the only tire I could find that fit the stock rims - I just spent 75k on the car, didn't want to buy 19" rims. Although if that what it takes to run 19's next winter, I'll do it.

I'm with OP, the 20's aren't good for Winter -- too wide. Skinnier, but not too skinny, is best.

What I'm really concerned about, is being locked out of my car because the door handles are frozen. That, will piss me off. There's no excuse for that to happen -- not in 75k car, not in 5k car. If people here are letting Elon slide on that one, they shouldn't. I grew up in the mountains. Have never, never, been not been able to open my car door because it was frozen. If I come back to my car after a day of turns and I'm locked out, I'm coming looking for Elon.

 

[UltralightBeam]

I used the stock TPMS and wheels. I think some have been able to use new TPMS, even aftermarket, and the car asks what size are the rims and then reads the new radios. But I haven’t done it.

Aftermarket ones are fine. Just used Autel sensors on my winter set no problems. Just make sure they’re programmed for Model 3. $125 approx for the set!

 

[dumbass]

I live in Chicago area. Just got a bit of wet snow. Fun to shovel! . I left for work after snow had stopped.

Have the OEM tires, Aero wheels. AWD, non-P

Car did fine on the bits of road that still had slush, I took it easy.

Auto wipers, as reported elsewhere, did not function. No biggie, mostly road spray needing fluid anyway.

Never have gotten snows, as around here plowing and salting is generally pretty good.

Wish that you could lift up the passenger wiper to thump it on windshield and knock off ice chunks. Its tucked too deep into cubby for that.

 

[Big Earl]

I live in Chicago area. Just got a bit of wet snow. Fun to shovel! . I left for work after snow had stopped.

Have the OEM tires, Aero wheels. AWD, non-P

Car did fine on the bits of road that still had slush, I took it easy.

Auto wipers, as reported elsewhere, did not function. No biggie, mostly road spray needing fluid anyway.

Never have gotten snows, as around here plowing and salting is generally pretty good.

Wish that you could lift up the passenger wiper to thump it on windshield and knock off ice chunks. Its tucked too deep into cubby for that.

You can put the wipers in service mode if you want to knock the chunks of ice off of them. You can find that setting in the car menu under Service.

 

[coleAK]

I'm pretty much with OP.

I have a P3D. Had hoped for better winter performance. It's not bad, but it's also not great. Not as good as some other cars I've had that didn't cost as much.

I live in Eagle, CO. Ski a lot, 3 or 4 days a week. Grew up in the mountains.

The best car I've ever had for winter was a 2005 Audi S4 Avant. That car drove like it had spikes. Worst was a 9-3 Saab. That car was flat out dangerous. I had an Audi TT that was pretty good, so was my Audi S6 Avant. I sold an Audi A7 to get the Tesla. The A7 was pretty good in the snow.

I've had the car on Vail Pass twice now. Once, in bad as it gets conditions. The other, in average winter conditions (snow packed).

The car has slipped some, when I wasn't even pushing it. That's been alarming. I'll turn down regenerative, try that. Thanks for the tip, OP.

I'm not afraid of crashing, but I am cautious. Like I say, I had hoped for better. It's a 75k car for crissake.

I have Michelins Alpine PA4's. Not because I love the tire, I don't. I've had them before. They're pretty good, but not great. What I like most is they're the only winter tire I know of that comes with a warranty. So, they end up costing me much less than retail -- because Discount Tire usually gives me a credit when I dump them (every other winter) because they didn't wear right.

My choice would have been Blizzak's. Love, love, that tire. It's hard to get 2 full winters out of it, because it's so soft. But I don't care. That tire rocks. We have Haka's on our VW Van, love that tire too. I wasn't aware it was available in a 20? Hey OP. Post a link.

Also, the Michelin was the only tire I could find that fit the stock rims - I just spent 75k on the car, didn't want to buy 19" rims. Although if that what it takes to run 19's next winter, I'll do it.

I'm with OP, the 20's aren't good for Winter -- too wide. Skinnier, but not too skinny, is best.

What I'm really concerned about, is being locked out of my car because the door handles are frozen. That, will piss me off. There's no excuse for that to happen -- not in 75k car, not in 5k car. If people here are letting Elon slide on that one, they shouldn't. I grew up in the mountains. Have never, never, been not been able to open my car door because it was frozen. If I come back to my car after a day of turns and I'm locked out, I'm coming looking for Elon.

as for the question on 20” Nokinas. I looked it up and they don’t make a 20” in the passenger car tire, just the “SUV”. We actually had a performance ordered but wanted to get it with 18” wheels instead of the 20’s. After numerous calls with Tesla and taking the final answer from them as only 20’s will work to fit over the breaks. We switched our order before the VIN was assigned to an AWD LR, we could have gotten the Performance a month or so earlier but the 20’s were a deal dealbreaker for us for many reasons.

 

[UltralightBeam]

You can put the wipers in service mode if you want to knock the chunks of ice off of them. You can find that setting in the car menu under Service.

So would you do this while they're frozen or would you have to remember to put it in service mode before you leave the car?

 

[Emmexx1]

So would you do this while they're frozen or would you have to remember to put it in service mode before you leave the car?

I would say before if the issue is them freezing to the spot. However, I found on Monday that just turning on the heat and letting it run about half an hour melted all the snow from all the windows and left very little on the wipers. I'm hoping for more testing opportunity to see if that was a one off or it will continue to work like that.

 

[coleAK]

I just like Most Alaskans always flip the wipers up when snow is forecasted and my car is outside. That way they don’t freeze to the windshield, you don’t have to worry about damaging the wiper blades with a scraper, and scraping is overall easier. Another option is a windshield cover. I have one for each of our cars that live uncovered outside.

 

[longshot49]

I discovered windshield cover with magnetic corners.

They are awesome and worth their weight in gold when there is sleet.

 

[dumbass]

You can put the wipers in service mode if you want to knock the chunks of ice off of them. You can find that setting in the car menu under Service.

Cool, thank you!

 

[dumbass]

Will be taking a highway drive next week, about 400 miles. Chicago to Twin Cities.

Almost all interstate; I expect road surfaces to be fine. But it will be cold, probably below 25F the whole time, and in the teens on way back.

But am wondering if trip planner in car takes current temps into effect when calculating routes and charging? I've got an event to attend and want to make sure I leave with enough cushion.

Right now system says it will take about 6.5hrs with two 40 min stops. I'm just guessing it is likely to take a bit more....

 

[Emmexx1]

Did you do a full charge of the car then do a map check at home? Should only be one stop prior to getting there. I would recommend the second just before reaching your destination to avoid issues upon arrival or possible vampire drain there. The major thing will be the heater being on or not. A full use of the heating could cause a second stop. If not used, I'm betting on just the one stop. Although, to be honest, I'd recommend leaving extra early just because of traffic regardless.

Have a fun and safe trip!

 

[dumbass]

Did you do a full charge of the car then do a map check at home? Should only be one stop prior to getting there. I would recommend the second just before reaching your destination to avoid issues upon arrival or possible vampire drain there. The major thing will be the heater being on or not. A full use of the heating could cause a second stop. If not used, I'm betting on just the one stop. Although, to be honest, I'd recommend leaving extra early just because of traffic regardless.

Have a fun and safe trip!

I wasn't fully charged, but I think the system doesn't want to take you to the limit before charging, and is taking you off the charger at 80%.
I will charge up in full to start, leave early and report back.

On a separate thread there is a discussion about heat and its use of battery. One Canadian suggests bundling up, using seat heat and just using defrost as needed. My experience in my Leaf is that one's feet get damn cold with that approach.

That made me think of something...has anyone heard of heated floor mats? A bit of a play on what makes radiant floor heating efficient?

And does anyone know if there is an aftermarket steering wheel heater? Thats one feature I miss from the Leaf.

 

[usofrob]

I found my range to be improved at least 10-20% by running with the heater only on long enough to defrost. That's compared to running heat at like 65. But it doesn't seem to help to run the heat at 60 vs 70 (40 degrees outside). I was able to beat the estimate following this idea, even going +5 speed limit. The car is a real energy hog when driving at 79 in the rain with the heater on. I think it was about 450wh/mile.

 

[Emmexx1]

I wasn't fully charged, but I think the system doesn't want to take you to the limit before charging, and is taking you off the charger at 80%.
I will charge up in full to start, leave early and report back.

On a separate thread there is a discussion about heat and its use of battery. One Canadian suggests bundling up, using seat heat and just using defrost as needed. My experience in my Leaf is that one's feet get damn cold with that approach.

That made me think of something...has anyone heard of heated floor mats? A bit of a play on what makes radiant floor heating efficient?

And does anyone know if there is an aftermarket steering wheel heater? Thats one feature I miss from the Leaf.

I haven't heard of any kind of heated floor mats and a lot of folks want a heated steering wheel option, but nothing yet.

In regards to the full charge, I recommend it because that will give you the furthest charger you could possibly go to, but the navigation will redirect you to another charger if you won't make it to the one further out.

If you can do the bundled up/seat heater setup, that will definitely cut down on power use. Either way, good luck and happy journeys.

 

[dumbass]

So driving from Chicago to Northfield MN at 78, with heat about 65. Supercharges in Madison (45), LaCrosse (15) and Rochester (30). Destination charge on household current back up to 50% in basement garage

Stops in Rochester (50), Mauston (40) and Rockford (15).

Probably could have skipped the last one.

Dry pavement temps in low 20’s.