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Fastest Transcontinental Crossing to Date?

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Instigator-in-Training
Jun 25, 2013
18
14
Santa Ana, Ca
I've been using the search button to find this to no avail. Trying to find a list or a thread in which the current fastest LA-NY crossings (or NY-LA) are summarized and described in hours. It may well be there, by my Google-Foo isn't up to snuff this morning.
 
At 76 hours, that one didn't appear that fast to me, and I think they focused on the record for "least power used" or something. They had weather, and now there's a shorter route through Las Vegas. Someone must have done better than 76 hours by now.
 
Non-EV Speaking: The old school Cannonball record was 32 hours 7 minutes, set in 84 I beleive. That was beaten in the mid 2000's by a guy in an M5 doing NY to LA in 31 hours 4 mins (Book "The Driver" and Movie "32 hours 7 minutes" available). Even last year there was someone who claimed to complete the trip in 29 hours and something, though I haven't seen proof of the latest claim.

For EVs, it's always going to come down to charging time - it's not a 10 minute fuel stop like ICE cars.
 
At 76 hours, that one didn't appear that fast to me, and I think they focused on the record for "least power used" or something. They had weather, and now there's a shorter route through Las Vegas. Someone must have done better than 76 hours by now.

I believe that Tesla's record setting goal for their cross country trip was "least time charging for an EV" and they accomplished that.
 
I believe that Tesla's record setting goal for their cross country trip was "least time charging for an EV" and they accomplished that.

That is what they said while they were making the attempt, but afterwards the terminology used was fastest LA to NY trip in an EV. I assume they didn't want to draw any attention of people thinking they might break speed limits to break the record.

Also to the OP I would highly doubt anyone has beat that yet. That is a long time to go without sleeping and Tesla did it with a team of drivers that rotated sleeping in support vans.
 
Back of the envelope calculations:

SF to NYC is 2,900 miles along I-80
Assume 90 mph moving average (tough to achieve but let's just say so)
32 hours

Ideally spaced superchargers at 150 mile distance (ease of calculation). Riding the bottom of the pack that's a 30 min charge at each one.
19 supercharger stops at 30 mins=10 hours

Best case, 42 hours.
 
Edmunds just beat Tesla's coast to coast trip by a few hours. I think they said they did it in 67 hours and 21 minutes.

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Back of the envelope calculations:

SF to NYC is 2,900 miles along I-80
Assume 90 mph moving average (tough to achieve but let's just say so)
32 hours

Ideally spaced superchargers at 150 mile distance (ease of calculation). Riding the bottom of the pack that's a 30 min charge at each one.
19 supercharger stops at 30 mins=10 hours

Best case, 42 hours.

Would 150 mile range be possible if you were moving at an avg of 90mph tho? Just wondering.

The Tesla sponsored run was really impressive, I thought. Only a few months ago, if you had asked me how long it takes to drive across the USA, I would have assumed 2 weeks at least.

As for Dan Edmund's time, wow! I guess that 8 hrs is the difference between high summer and the dead of winter.
 
Ran the #s

Checking my envelope and running an average 90 mph would use more than 150 miles of range between SC. IIRC, running a mean of 75 - 80 mph (where appropriate for speed limits and traffic flow) in the flats with light tailwinds, consumed about 340 wh/mi, which equates to 51 kwh per 150 miles. Recharge rate of 170 mph at the SC would provide ~60 kwh. The higher speed could use as much as 400 wh/mi and still recoup in about 1/2 hr via 120 kw SC. So looks like the envelope calcs check out even considering terrain and/or light headwinds.

Back of the envelope calculations:

SF to NYC is 2,900 miles along I-80
Assume 90 mph moving average (tough to achieve but let's just say so)
32 hours

Ideally spaced superchargers at 150 mile distance (ease of calculation). Riding the bottom of the pack that's a 30 min charge at each one.
19 supercharger stops at 30 mins=10 hours

Best case, 42 hours.
 
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Doubtful, at least in some weather conditions. I have not cruised at speeds above about 80, but when I did, I almost ran "dry" at one supercharger stop in Murdo, South Dakota (rain and 30 mph crosswind).

Funnily enough, we nearly ran dry on the way into Murdo on the return leg after we completed the LA-NY run in 67 hrs, 21 minutes. We were heading into a headwind that lasted through three supercharger stops, and our range meter dipped to "---" about 4 miles shy of Murdo. We made it.

BTW the entire LA-NY-LA round trip was completed in less than 1 week, with a motel stay in NYC and another on the way back in PA.

2013 Tesla Model S Coast-to-Coast Road Trip | Edmunds.com


Also, I'm wondering if anyone has since claimed a faster crossing time than our 67 hours 21 minutes from LA to NYC? The 1-year anniversary of our trip is coming up and I plan to write up some "DVD extras" that didn't make it into the original trip article. Such as the time we almost ran out in South Dakota, the time we almost got splattered by a dump truck and what Guinness had to say about the whole thing.

Dan
 
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The original thread-starter was my post BEFORE Kurt and I made the attempt and achieved the 67-hour 21-minute Portofino-to-Red Ball Garage crossing last summer. Good luck! Our total charge time was 14 hours and 40 minutes, which is 1 hour and 17 minutes less than Tesla's.

Dan Edmunds