Yet another 2023 Model Y road-trip experience

[Peter N]

You start at 90% charge and what do you end with? Do you live in the mountains/hills and drive a lot of downhill grades to achieve 360 miles?

The trip was a second SF Bay Area to Mendocino, with similar results. About 1/3 windy two lane road with lots of ups and downs with 55 mph straightaways and 30 mph hair pin turns then 2/3rds 6 lane highway also with some ups and downs. One hundred Eighty miles each way, start with 90% end with 45% going up there, same returning.

 

[spsheridan]

The trip was a second SF Bay Area to Mendocino, with similar results. About 1/3 windy two lane road with lots of ups and downs with 55 mph straightaways and 30 mph hair pin turns then 2/3rds 6 lane highway also with some ups and downs. One hundred Eighty miles each way, start with 90% end with 45% going up there, same returning.

Using 90% of your battery to get 360 miles of range is pretty impressive. I'm curious what your average Wh/mile for those trips was.

 

[Peter N]

Using 90% of your battery to get 360 miles of range is pretty impressive. I'm curious what your average Wh/mile for those trips was.

Averaged ~50mph and never went over 70, usually lower, on major highway. Never punched it.

 

[ionsphere]

Using 90% of your battery to get 360 miles of range is pretty impressive. I'm curious what your average Wh/mile for those trips was.

Can someone tell me how to calculate my Wh/mile? I tried looking this up on the forum but couldn't find any specific instructions on how to calculate it.

 

[Msicario]

I just finished my first road trip and I know there are a bunch of these types of threads, but I seem to learn something new from each one, so I'll share my experiences, both good and bad.

Charging

I picked up my 2023 MYLR in October and this was my first long drive with supercharging involved. The day before leaving I stopped by a local supercharger just to make sure everything worked, and my billing was set up correctly. I didn't want to find out a couple hundred miles from home there was some issue!

The drive was from just north of Atlanta, GA to Cincinnati, OH. Total distance of 450miles with an estimated time (without stops or traffic) of 7hr 24min.

• Left my house with 98% SOC - I normally charge to 80% daily but prior to leaving I bumped up the limit to 100% and let it ride until I headed out.
  
  
• Arrived at the first supercharger in Knoxville with 31% SOC after driving 171 miles.
  • Since it was Black Friday and the location is in a shopping center, it took me about 15 minutes after exiting the highway to fight through traffic to get to the supercharger.
  • The supercharger only had 1 spot left and was a 150kW model, so I had the unfortunate issue of splitting power with the car next to me. At one point the car next to me left and I watched my charge rate nearly double, but within about 2 minutes another tesla pulled in next to me and I watched the rate chop in half again.
  • The navigation said it would take 20min to charge, but it took an hour to charge from 31% to 89%. However, the car did tell me that I had enough to continue my journey at about 84%, but my range anxiety got the better of me and I let it ride up to almost 90. All-in I was off the highway for about 90 minutes.
• Arrived at the second supercharge in Richmond, KY Buc-ee's with 27% SOC after 155 miles
  • This went much better as there were 12 stations but only 1 other Tesla. My charge rate peaked at 246kW which I was very pleased with!
  • I explored the crazy Buc-ee's and left with 90% SOC after 37 minutes of charging. Once again, the navigation told me I could leave in the mid-80s but I let it ride for a few more minutes for a reason I'll mention next.
• Arrived at my destination in Cincinnati with 38% SOC after 133 miles.
  • I had intended to charge at my destination, but I FORGOT MY MOBILE CONNECTOR! Fortunately, there is a supercharger a few exits away from where I was staying so I stopped there and charged to 85% on Saturday for some local driving.
• Total Door-to-Door Time: 9hr 20min
  
  
• Departed from Cincinnati Sunday morning with 70% SOC. I was much more comfortable with the range calculations after the drive up, so I decided to trust the navigation!
• Arrived at Buc-ee's with 10% SOC.
  • Again, I was one of only 2 cars there, so I was able to charge from 10% to 75% in 28 minutes and left pretty much right when the nav said I had enough charge to continue the journey.
• Arrived in Knoxville with 16% SOC (different location than the drive up)
  • I was nervous because this location was completely full, however the Nav said the wait was less than 5 minutes which turned out to be about 2 minutes since someone pulled away.
  • I charged 80% SOC (about 5% more than "required") in 29 minutes as I grabbed some lunch at a nearby restaurant. Maybe the lower initial SOC or a better charging infrastructure allowed me to pull almost the max charge rate even with every available charger in-use.
  • The location had cleared out by then so I was not keeping anyone waiting while I put in that extra 5%!
  • Traffic was pretty bad in Knoxville getting back on the highway due to Thanksgiving traffic, so I lost some time there navigating back to the interstate from the supercharger location.
• Arrived home with 16% SOC after the final 180ish mile push.
• Total Door-to-Door Time: 8hr 57min

Final Stats:
Miles Driven (including some local driving): 960mi
Total kWh Consumed: 303kWh
Average wH/Mile: 315.625
Total Supercharger Cost: $88.87 + about $8.50 in home charging costs

With my Model Y's 75kWh battery. I guess with that driving pattern the total range on a full charge would be about 238 miles. It seems low for a "rated" 330, but guaranteed the EPA testing isn't riding along at nearly 80mph at 50ish degrees ambient. I'm OK with it for what it is.

My thoughts on the Tesla for a road trip vehicle are that if you’re traveling with someone else or family and you’re planning to stop for meals or other activities while charging, the Tesla is an incredible tool for the job. However, if in my case you’re flying solo and just want to get A-to-B as fast as possible I know I could have shaved at least an hour, maybe 90 minutes off the drive by taking an ICE vehicle and stopping once in a less populated area for less than 15 minutes to grab gas and a drive-thru and keep on motoring.

My Tesla replaces an older truck that averaged 17mpg, so as far as savings the total energy cost was $97.37. Fuel @ about $2.75/ga which was the average rate on the drive would have been $155.30, so about a 40% savings in cost for me personally. But do your own math if you have a more efficient vehicle. According to my calculation for this trip, in a car that does better 27.5mpg driving an ICE vehicle would have been cheaper.

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"Left view of Tesla Model Y in Courbevoie - 2021-09-20" by Bretwa is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Thanks for the review; I love when people are honest and share their real life road trip experience… EPA numbers are not real driving experience, they are so unrealistic.
I’ve done my share of driving from Anaheim Ca. To Chandler Az. To visit my grandkids and have given up taking our MYP..

I rather take my 6 year old faithful, reliable Prius; One tankful of 11 gal. will get me there with a couple of bars left; No anxiety, drive at any speed, If I need to make a 5-10 stop

Honestly if I would have known I be getting 100 miles less then the advertised range, I would not have purchased the MYP..
So now I’ll just continue to enjoy it around the city and super short trips.

 

[ionsphere]

Thanks for the review; I love when people are honest and share their real life road trip experience… EPA numbers are not real driving experience, they are so unrealistic.
I’ve done my share of driving from Anaheim Ca. To Chandler Az. To visit my grandkids and have given up taking our MYP..

I rather take my 6 year old faithful, reliable Prius; One tankful of 11 gal. will get me there with a couple of bars left; No anxiety, drive at any speed, If I need to make a 5-10 stop

Honestly if I would have known I be getting 100 miles less then the advertised range, I would not have purchased the MYP..
So now I’ll just continue to enjoy it around the city and super short trips.

I'm confused why some people are getting well over the EPA estimated range and others are getting well under. It sounds like you took a very similar trip to the California Coast one above. Do you think you just are hitting more mountains on the way to Arizona and back? Was there not easy access to superchargers on the trip to see the grandkids?

 

[Msicario]

I'm confused why some people are getting well over the EPA estimated range and others are getting well under. It sounds like you took a very similar trip to the California Coast one above. Do you think you just are hitting more mountains on the way to Arizona and back? Was there not easy access to superchargers on the trip to see the grandkids?

No way around the fact that I have to make 3 stops and be careful /watchful of my speed; Specially when crossing over into AZ… minimum speed limit is 70 and we know that means the slower big rigs are doing 75 and that takes a hit on your range.

Only one real up hill portion (5miles) past Indio, Coachella Valley, (east bound) other then that it’s mostly straight.

 

[ionsphere]

No way around the fact that I have to make 3 stops and be careful /watchful of my speed; Specially when crossing over into AZ… minimum speed limit is 70 and we know that means the slower big rigs are doing 75 and that takes a hit on your range.

Only one real up hill portion (5miles) past Indio, Coachella Valley, (east bound) other then that it’s mostly straight.

Okay this really drives home the point about higher speeds affecting our mileage quite drastically actually. I didn't know they had a minimum speed limit in Arizona. Thanks for helping me piece this all together in terms of mileage and getting the maximum when possible

 

[phxazcraig]

I'm confused why some people are getting well over the EPA estimated range and others are getting well under. It sounds like you took a very similar trip to the California Coast one above. Do you think you just are hitting more mountains on the way to Arizona and back? Was there not easy access to superchargers on the trip to see the grandkids?

It's all about speed. You push a car at 50mph into the wind and it takes far, far less energy that doing the same thing at 80mph. Going up the highway from San Francisco to Mendocino is a low-speed route, which makes all the differences. In a gas car, all the accelerating and slow speeds in turns would cost mileage, but it's the opposite for an electric car with regenerative braking.
There is a new Youtube video on a car taking his new Model Y from Anchorage, Alaska to Massachusetts, and along the way he got some impressive numbers. But he also noted that he is one of the slowest drivers on the road. I've got a 2023 MYP that maybe has 200 mile range at 85mph, but I've seen it achieve the EPA numbers when I drive 50-55mph. Perhaps the best mileage might just be during rush hour traffic on the freeways.

 

[Peter N]

Using 90% of your battery to get 360 miles of range is pretty impressive. I'm curious what your average Wh/mile for those trips was.

Meant windey not "windy"

 

[Msicario]

Okay this really drives home the point about higher speeds affecting our mileage quite drastically actually. I didn't know they had a minimum speed limit in Arizona. Thanks for helping me piece this all together in terms of mileage and getting the maximum when possible

Oh absolutely, one’s speed dictates the type of range; You can rest assure that the EPA tested at about 60 MPH in Perfect all around conditions; Level roads, no traffic, perfect weather, probably A/C off

 

[iamnid]

Can someone tell me how to calculate my Wh/mile? I tried looking this up on the forum but couldn't find any specific instructions on how to calculate it.

if you look at the bottom left of your screen under the visualization of the car you will typically see your radio controls. Swipe these controls to the left of the screen and they will be replaced with your trip meter which will show, among other things, your Wh/mi for the current drive and since last charge etc. Swipe it again and it will show your tire pressures.

 

[ionsphere]

if you look at the bottom left of your screen under the visualization of the car you will typically see your radio controls. Swipe these controls to the left of the screen and they will be replaced with your trip meter which will show, among other things, your Wh/mi for the current drive and since last charge etc. Swipe it again and it will show your tire pressures.

Thanks, very helpful, I appreciate it. I see exactly what you mean now. I'm going to start watching the efficiency on different trips.
Regarding tire pressure, I went ahead and inflated my tires to 42 PSI the other night bcs they were down to about 36 or 37 PSI. However I guess from sitting in the sun and/or just driving a few errands, now they are staying up consistently at 44 PSI for three of them and 43 PSI for the front left. I know these are fine details but I didn't know if it matters if one of the tires is slightly off the other three and or if it matters that they are a couple pounds above the recommended tire pressure now consistently. I did not keep close watch on my tire pressure when I drove ICE cars for many years, but I believe there's some thing that's more critical with EVs and tire pressure (?)

 

[spsheridan]

... Regarding tire pressure, I went ahead and inflated my tires to 42 PSI the other night bcs they were down to about 36 or 37 PSI. However I guess from sitting in the sun and/or just driving a few errands, now they are staying up consistently at 44 PSI for three of them and 43 PSI for the front left. I know these are fine details but I didn't know if it matters if one of the tires is slightly off the other three and or if it matters that they are a couple pounds above the recommended tire pressure now consistently.

Tire pressure will naturally increase as you drive the car due to heat caused by tire friction against the road. The pressure increase will be larger at higher speeds (e.g. highway vs city driving). A pressure difference of 1 psi between tires does not matter. I draw the line if I see a 2 psi difference or greater - then I'll even out the pressure across the tires but that's just me. I have no data to support this.

 

[ionsphere]

Tire pressure will naturally increase as you drive the car due to heat caused by tire friction against the road. The pressure increase will be larger at higher speeds (e.g. highway vs city driving). A pressure difference of 1 psi between tires does not matter. I draw the line if I see a 2 psi difference or greater - then I'll even out the pressure across the tires but that's just me. I have no data to support this.

Yes thank you and sorry I wasn't really clear on that post. I am checking the pressure when the tires are cold either when it's been sitting at home or if I've gone on an errand when I come back out of the store after a half hour. I'm glad to hear your opinion that the one pound pressure difference is not an issue. I'm more conscious of these handling issues in winter driving, and I've only had my car a couple months anyway so still learning.

 

[JohnB007]

About that nag on FSD - there is a learning curve for sure.

I've been on FSD for about 18 months. I tend to keep one of my hand on the wheel all the time simply because I find that more comfortable - acts as a third eye when the other two are not paying attention 100%. I use the hand weight and a bit of friction to create just enough torque on the wheel - it doesn't need much now compared to what it used to be, so it's quite easy. I alternate between two hands if I get any fatigue.

We recently did another 2000km trip mostly on highways and I get almost no nag and even if there is a nag, it disappears quickly without trying. This is the 7th road trip more than 1000km away from our home since we got our MY. Once my wife retires in few years, we plan to tackle Ontario to Texas/Arizona trips during the winter in our car. 50A camping sites work wonders and are super frugal to travel.

 

[stripes]

50A camping sites work wonders and are super frugal to travel.

Are you talking "it is a great place to recharge", or do you use them rather than a motel & sleep in the trunk? If you use them "just" to recharge how much do they normally charge you? (I have a mobile connector, but have never charged at an RV park/camp site)

 

[JohnB007]

Are you talking "it is a great place to recharge", or do you use them rather than a motel & sleep in the trunk? If you use them "just" to recharge how much do they normally charge you? (I have a mobile connector, but have never charged at an RV park/camp site)

I did mean sleep in the car as well.

It will take too long to just visit and charge if you arrive with low %. Sleeping in the car is really comfy and also offer wake up with 100% charge.

I now have marked most state parks and National forests in the eastern USA that opens during winter seasons.

Some sites are very cheap!

 

[stripes]

I now have marked most state parks and National forests in the eastern USA that opens during winter seasons.

Interesting, I've only recently moved back to the east coast (well VT) after being away for ~2 decades. I wasn't aware that it is common for start parks and national forests to have power here. Is there a good place to go for a list?

 

[JohnB007]

Interesting, I've only recently moved back to the east coast (well VT) after being away for ~2 decades. I wasn't aware that it is common for start parks and national forests to have power here. Is there a good place to go for a list?

I just use Google to find state parks, go to reservation page, and figure out the fee for 50A sites (don't go for 30A, a huge difference). Most state parks have small reservation fee as well.

Most parks up north are not open during the winter, but Promised Land State Park and Ole Bull State Parks are open. I haven't looked into VT yet since I usually go straight south from my city.