Sorry for the long rambling post. If you think this is bad, you should talk to me in person...
I have been diligently reading the forum posts and have scheduled a meeting with a local Tesla owner here in Pittsburgh (JakeP), but wanted to post this question to the broader audience to validate my understandings.
I live in NE Ohio and work in Pittsburgh PA. From my home to my office is 125 miles if I take the turnpike (70mph) and 90 miles if I take backroads. Regardless of the route I take, the time is essentially 2 hours, so I often choose the turnpike route as it requires "less attention" than the other route.
Once I'm in Pittsburgh, I stay roughly 38 miles from downtown. So my daily commute is then 80'ish miles. I always go home on Friday afternoons for the weekend and will often go once during the week.
Week:
Low end for a week = 570 miles
If I make a trip home during the week it can be 740 miles. So needless to say, the conversation about fuel savings is a pretty easy one for me. And 85kWh is an absolute. If there were a larger battery, I would be the prime candidate for it. The real question becomes about range and feasibility of charging. There is a supercharger on my route. It is in Cranberry PA and is right in the middle of my mid week commute (20 miles from downtown and my place).
Last couple points of note.
So, finally, on to the questions.
Thank you in advance for all your input and opinions.
I have been diligently reading the forum posts and have scheduled a meeting with a local Tesla owner here in Pittsburgh (JakeP), but wanted to post this question to the broader audience to validate my understandings.
I live in NE Ohio and work in Pittsburgh PA. From my home to my office is 125 miles if I take the turnpike (70mph) and 90 miles if I take backroads. Regardless of the route I take, the time is essentially 2 hours, so I often choose the turnpike route as it requires "less attention" than the other route.
Once I'm in Pittsburgh, I stay roughly 38 miles from downtown. So my daily commute is then 80'ish miles. I always go home on Friday afternoons for the weekend and will often go once during the week.
Week:
- M 125+40 = 165 total miles
- T 40+40 = 80
- W 40+40 = 80
- T 40+40 = 80
- F 40+125 = 165
Low end for a week = 570 miles
If I make a trip home during the week it can be 740 miles. So needless to say, the conversation about fuel savings is a pretty easy one for me. And 85kWh is an absolute. If there were a larger battery, I would be the prime candidate for it. The real question becomes about range and feasibility of charging. There is a supercharger on my route. It is in Cranberry PA and is right in the middle of my mid week commute (20 miles from downtown and my place).
Last couple points of note.
- My parking garage does not have any charging facilities. Nor do they intend to add any (I've asked).
- There does not (currently) appear to be one close to my office that is feasible to use during the day.
- My home-away-from-home is a cabin which happens to be in an RV Park. So there is potential for better overnight charging there, however I am reading about how many of the plugs are wired and can work with the park owner to see if something can be addressed if necessary. I have an annual lease/rental so I may have some leverage to get something done there, especially if I pay for it.
So, finally, on to the questions.
- On Mondays and Fridays I have to do a minimum of 165 miles. But it's not all at once. For example Monday morning I would do 125 miles at 6:00 in the morning, arriving in PGH around 8:00. The car would sit in the parking garage for about 10 hours, then would make the 40 mile commute. So I know it's not "just" 165 miles of range needed as its going to lose something while sitting. And for those of you who are aware, the weather in the winter can be quite poor. No it's not Denver, but we have the beginning of mountains and we get cold and snow. So I'm also looking at the 1.33 factor I read elsewhere to account for the "worst" weather. So before any loss incurred while sitting during the day, I'm looking at 220 miles (the 1.33 factor for weather) to make my beginning and end of week trips without stopping. Over time, when the capacity of the battery decreases, I fear I'm going to be cutting it too close during my coldest snowiest days of the year.
- I would have to assume I'd want to charge 100% prior to Monday and Friday commutes if doing it straight through was a consideration. However... as I'm not always sure on Tues, Wed, Thurs, if I'm going to be going home the next day or not there are times I would also need the range necessary from a 100% charge. While I've read keeping it 50-80% charged is more ideal, my commute distance may not allow for that yet. So until there is a facility in downtown Pittsburgh where I can charge during the day (which will make much of this entire tirade moot) I would be looking at constantly charging to full capacity. My assumption is that will prematurely degrade the battery and the range. Would I be a candidate for the 8 year unlimited mile replacement if that were the case? Or is that more for manufacturing defects and not overuse by the customer?
- To make everything about points #1 and 2 more difficult... the turnpike speed limit is 70. And the last 17 miles into downtown Pittsburgh I'm often doing 80 to stay with traffic (until it comes to a stand still). So I'm not running at the optimum speed to get the maximum range in the best weather either...
- With the announcement of the replaced/upgraded batteries for the roadster. Would that be a better (of course all things are relative) vehicle for the commute because of the range alone? I current drive a 911 as my DD (yes, year round) so size of the Roadster would not bother me and I travel with little stuff anyway.
- As much as I may *want* to do this now. Am I better off waiting for the next generation of battery and possibly increased range for the Model S, X, or whatever can comfortably give more than 300 miles to a charge?
Thank you in advance for all your input and opinions.