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Port Orange & St. Augustine Supercharger Strategy

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DJ Frustration

Former Model X Sig, Model S, Model 3, Model Y
Jun 19, 2012
687
138
Miami, Florida
So, I've got a question for the more experienced road trippers out there. We'll be making a trek up I-95 to Savannah in our Model S w/ 85kWh and 19" wheels. I was wondering if anyone has advice on whether we need to stop at the Port Orange Supercharger on our way to the St. Augustine Supercharger from the Port St. Lucie Supercharger. Here's why I'm even proposing this question.

According to EV Trip Planner and our specs, the distance between Port St. Lucie and St. Augustine is 201.4 miles or driving at a speed multiplier of .95 it is 234 Rated Miles. In order to make it to Savannah, a charging stop at St. Augustine seems required. It seems silly to force a stop at Port Orange when it is only 67.6 miles or 77 Rated Miles from St. Augustine. If driving slower than .95 speed multiplier, shouldn't 201.4 miles be doable?

Anyone have a real world advice?
 
It's probably doable, but then that means you're going to have to wait to range charge at Port St. Lucie which will take a long time. I think you'll be happier just charging enough to get to Port Orange and the doing a quick charge there to get to St. Augustine. That's what I did when I made the trek up that way. Then again I wasn't doing a .95 speed multiplier either.
 
To quote Winston Churchill:

Conservation of energy. Never stand up when you can sit down. And never sit down when you can lie down.

On a road trip like that, never miss a chance to top off; even if it's only for the peace of mind. Also you never know of you're going to encounter a summer storm and rain will impact your range more than anything else.
 
So, I've got a question for the more experienced road trippers out there. We'll be making a trek up I-95 to Savannah in our Model S w/ 85kWh and 19" wheels. I was wondering if anyone has advice on whether we need to stop at the Port Orange Supercharger on our way to the St. Augustine Supercharger from the Port St. Lucie Supercharger. Here's why I'm even proposing this question.

According to EV Trip Planner and our specs, the distance between Port St. Lucie and St. Augustine is 201.4 miles or driving at a speed multiplier of .95 it is 234 Rated Miles. In order to make it to Savannah, a charging stop at St. Augustine seems required. It seems silly to force a stop at Port Orange when it is only 67.6 miles or 77 Rated Miles from St. Augustine. If driving slower than .95 speed multiplier, shouldn't 201.4 miles be doable?

Anyone have a real world advice?
We skipped Port Orange once and stopped there on another trip. A key factor is your charge/eat overlap. As pgiralt points out, a max charge at PSL requires a long wait, but that would be canceled by overlapping it with lunch. Moe's and TGI Friday (25% Tesla discount) open at 11 am, so if you're passing PSL earlier, charge/lunch at Port Orange (Olive Garden) is a better plan, with a short stop at PSL.

Another reason to charge at Port Orange - We found that St. Augustine maxed at 90 kW and all other Superchargers maxed at 120 kW, so arriving at St Augustine with a higher SOC would give you a net saving of charge time (PO + SA) but I'm not sure how much. (the 120 kW only applies at low SOC).

To Nigel's point - there is angst in low SOC. We skipped the Santee Supercharger to arrive earlier at a hotel with overnight charging. We arrived with 40 rated miles left. Broken or iced chargers, getting lost, weather, etc, could have left us unable to reach a charger. It was a relief to see green around that J1772.

Good luck on your trip.
 
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