I've had my M3 SR+ for over 2 years so I consider myself a fairly experienced Tesla Driver or at least I did until today. We took a drive from Glasgow to St. Andrews but on the way back hit heavy rain, wind and 2C Temperature. Result dramatic Range loss and we only got Home with 6% so pretty squeaky bum time. A lesson to us all and especially new Tesla and other EV Drivers, don't assume that you have sufficient Range always have a Plan B.
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I’m already starting to realise that 200 miles of range on my late 2021 LR isn’t actually unreasonable at the moment with this weather. I guess buying an EV in the winter has least given me a worst case scenario.
Drove from Aberdeenshire to Carlisle on Friday afternoon after the tail end of the snow and in the cold (1-3oC). At one part of the journey was averaging 450wh/m driving at 60 on the motorway. Combination of cold, wet, headwind and gradient plus battery conditioning for supercharging was devastating for range.
Have noted during 1000 miles of long distance last week that battery preconditioning has a massive impact on efficiency. Is there a way to stop this aside from not setting Supercharger as a destination? I’d be happy to accept a longer charge time than the massive hit to efficiency. As an example during the conditioning I was at 400wh/m and then dropped to 290wh/m once it was done under same conditions…
Have noted during 1000 miles of long distance last week that battery preconditioning has a massive impact on efficiency. Is there a way to stop this aside from not setting Supercharger as a destination? I’d be happy to accept a longer charge time than the massive hit to efficiency. As an example during the conditioning I was at 400wh/m and then dropped to 290wh/m once it was done under same conditions…
Garry TheBiz
Member
Especially if you're planning a longer stop anyway, such as having something to eat
no
I think that the preconditioning feature is as useful for Tesla (seller of the electricity) as it is for the owner. It certainly uses a lot of juice and I haven’t noticed any difference in charge speed etc. That comes down to how busy superchargers are. Which is usually “very” these days. So if it is going to be slow anyway no point in preconditioning.
Mr H
Active Member
Just drop a pin on the map next to the supercharger and navigate to that - voila no pre-conditioning.
You only need it between 10-50%. You need the battery at 50C to charge at max speeds. After 50% the speed has to drop.
As for using a lot of juice, doing 450Wh vs 300Wh for 10 miles will cost you a massive 1.5 KWh with a crazy price of ~40p at supercharger rates. But it will save you ~15 min if you arrive with 10%. So I guess you have to ask yourself how much your time is worth.
And lets not forget that fast charging a cold battery is going to cause more damage than fast charging a hot battery. And a hot battery is also going to be more efficient after charging - on the drive - so you'll probably get that 40p back.
Here is a good article on the benefits
How to Maximize your Tesla's Battery Efficiency and Life | Optiwatt
We’ve put together the comprehensive guide to maximizing your battery efficiency and extending your battery life.
getoptiwatt.com
Those are fair points but the weather was bad last week (for UK at least) and the conditioning started over an hour from the charging point. Plus, at least for my use, damage by having a cold battery isn’t a concern as I’ll only supercharge a few times a year. I just wish more manual control of conditioning was possible to allow choices of time vs cost.You only need it between 10-50%. You need the battery at 50C to charge at max speeds. After 50% the speed has to drop.
As for using a lot of juice, doing 450Wh vs 300Wh for 10 miles will cost you a massive 1.5 KWh with a crazy price of ~40p at supercharger rates. But it will save you ~15 min if you arrive with 10%. So I guess you have to ask yourself how much your time is worth.
And lets not forget that fast charging a cold battery is going to cause more damage than fast charging a hot battery. And a hot battery is also going to be more efficient after charging - on the drive - so you'll probably get that 40p back.
Here is a good article on the benefits
How to Maximize your Tesla's Battery Efficiency and Life | Optiwatt
We’ve put together the comprehensive guide to maximizing your battery efficiency and extending your battery life.
Unsure your point about gaining back applies as the battery will be hot at the end of the charge whatever state it was in at the start surely?
Wind direction can be a killer. I remember when I first got a Tesla, drove down to see my Uncle about 190 miles away. Range was sinking fast so I stopped at Oxford services to charge. Got blown over by the wind. In part thats a testament to how well the car shielded me from the wind but illustrates the impact it can have. Coming back I used hardly anything!
If you're driving at 50 mph into a 50 mph head wind, the aero is like driving at 100mph and thats really really bad for efficiency. Petrol cars are so inefficient anyway, the variation due to wind, tyre choice etc, is so much less noticeable as it's dwarfed by other factors.
If you're driving at 50 mph into a 50 mph head wind, the aero is like driving at 100mph and thats really really bad for efficiency. Petrol cars are so inefficient anyway, the variation due to wind, tyre choice etc, is so much less noticeable as it's dwarfed by other factors.
A cold battery sure, but I would bet most don't charge before some miles under the belt so the battery is already at operating temp. Then damage far less of an issue. Particulary if you end up at a busy supercharger site and cant get top speed anyway!You only need it between 10-50%. You need the battery at 50C to charge at max speeds. After 50% the speed has to drop.
As for using a lot of juice, doing 450Wh vs 300Wh for 10 miles will cost you a massive 1.5 KWh with a crazy price of ~40p at supercharger rates. But it will save you ~15 min if you arrive with 10%. So I guess you have to ask yourself how much your time is worth.
And lets not forget that fast charging a cold battery is going to cause more damage than fast charging a hot battery. And a hot battery is also going to be more efficient after charging - on the drive - so you'll probably get that 40p back.
Here is a good article on the benefits
How to Maximize your Tesla's Battery Efficiency and Life | Optiwatt
We’ve put together the comprehensive guide to maximizing your battery efficiency and extending your battery life.
I easily get 240+ in my SR+ through winter. I don’t speed but generally drive at 70. Might be something wrong with your car?
So you’ve actually gotten 240 miles out of a full charge, or is that projected?
Had a similar experience at end of September last year - driving down to Folkstone from Glasgow... All was fine until I left Grantham Supercharger and hit really bad weather (torrential rain, temperature dropped to around 6 degrees) - my range was obliterated and to make it worse supercharging at Cambridge (not actually Cambridge whatever it's called) and Maidstone despite having been driving for hours - preconditioning having done it's thing and well below 30% battery - charging rate barely made it above 60 kw!
6% is a perfectly fine arrival SOC, you're just not used to it. As you do a long drive, bring up the energy graph and look at the estimate arrival SOC. If it starts going down too low, you simply need to slow down a bit.
If you want to know how things will go in advance, use ABetterRoutePlanner and input all advanced parameters. It is very precise.
If you want to know how things will go in advance, use ABetterRoutePlanner and input all advanced parameters. It is very precise.
What I actually get. I usually charge by 10% though.
I’ve dipped a bit below that on very cold/windy days but in your typical winter weather it’s usually around 240.
Understand that but same applies to the cold wind whilst moving drawing off heat. Suspect you might lose less energy when not moving as the heat will build easier. Might be marginal though. Plus I think Tesla only bills for charge actually gained by the car? Did read that somewhere.
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