Deposed Tesla Co-Founder Offers No-Holds-Barred Critique of Roadster

dpeilow · 08-05-2008, 03:08 AM

Deposed Tesla Co-Founder Offers No-Holds-Barred Critique of Roadster

Quote:

Eberhard said actual driving range seems to be "about 125 miles on the 'normal charge' setting, and perhaps 160 miles on the max range.' "

Interesting. I presume this is with a heavy right foot, real world driving speeds, etc, etc?

WarpedOne · 08-05-2008, 04:35 AM

Whole quote from that Martin's blog post:

Quote:

Actual driving range for me, which always includes a fair bit of up-and-down-the-hills, seems to be about 125 miles on the “normal charge” setting, and perhaps 160 miles on the “max range” setting. The “normal charge” setting (accessed via the touch screen) limits charging the battery to something less than full. (I guess they go to 85%) and limits discharging to something above fully-depleted. The max range setting allows full use of the battery, though it warns you that doing this often will cause reduced battery life. It also reduces torque noticeably. There is also a max performance setting that I have yet to try.

dpeilow · 08-05-2008, 07:00 AM

Ah yes. Had a chance to go and read that now (lunchtime here), so, questions answered.

Also - I've been highly impressed with my brother's Blaupunkt Rome radio/satnav. It's a 1 DIN unit.

Blaupunkt Rome NAV56E

Not sure if you can get US maps for it, but worth a look. He has his Nokia phone bluetoothed via an external adapter and I understand there is an iPod lead (neither of us has an iPod, but we've successfully used a USB key and a hacked Toshiba Gigabeat on it

).

Joseph · 08-05-2008, 09:54 AM

Does anyone know about the "performance" setting? Is it for the car (probably not) or is it for the charger? If it's for the charger, does it give a quicker charger, a more efficient charger, what?

malcolm · 08-05-2008, 12:20 PM

Hi Joseph

I believe it allows the car to use the full power range of the motor right up to 185kW for more rapid accelerations - higher top speed.

There are two downsides. Firstly the car requires greater familiarity on the part of the driver - Martin is wisely working up to this. (Maybe Tesla are now recommending the standard setting for new owners?) And secondly, as with any car, more aggressive use of the accelerator reduces range. Which could be the other reason - Martin wants to make sure he gets home

Charging rate is set by the current on the available 220V supply. The fastest empty-to-full recharge is with Tesla's Domestic Fast charger, which can handle up to 70 Amps (providing your house has this available). You can set it to recharge the battery to different levels (lower levels improve the battery's lifespan or "calendar life"), Not sure if you can lower the recharge rate if required

malcolm · 08-07-2008, 04:58 AM

Found this which may help:

IMG_0143.JPG on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

dpeilow · 08-07-2008, 05:17 AM

Does storage mode keep the battery at ~40% for long term battery preservation?

Kevin Harney · 08-07-2008, 06:30 AM

Martin,

I have a question on range for you based on real life situations that you encounter. I know that you have a lead foot and who wouldn't with a car like this one :) But I am concerned about the low ranges that you are reporting. Can you give me a better idea of reality. My situation is that every other week I take a 150 mile trip one way and on top of that I have to drive to work in the morning which is another 25 miles. So I need a minimum range of 175 miles. Most of that is highway driving at right around 70 mph. Is that realistically doable in the roadster ? and without worrying about running out of juice ? or am I pushing it to the limit ?

Thanks for your candor.

Kevin

Joseph · 08-07-2008, 09:09 AM

It's kind of strange to put the "max performance" setting, which Malcom said improves the car's performance, under charge settings. Maybe the different settings (as shown in the helpful pic above) change both the car and the charger.

I can't wait until I get my hands on an owner's manual.

W8MM · 08-07-2008, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joseph

It's kind of strange to put the "max performance" setting, which Malcom said improves the car's performance, under charge settings. Maybe the different settings (as shown in the helpful pic above) change both the car and the charger.

I can't wait until I get my hands on an owner's manual.

I wondered the same thing!