Really, there are a number of things to learn about traveling in a Tesla Model S (MS). There are differences that come out that I never would have throught about before. I would, on this journey, write down some of what happens and what we learn.
Number 1: Long Distance Between SuperChargers (SupCs)
We had been on a trip before, 199 mi between SupCs. The trip down (Omaha to KC) worked but got a little scary when I was down to 30 mi (projected range, which I will abbreviate as "p range", from the Energy screen--I don't use the EPA, in fact I have turned that one to % because that range is not precise enough for may ways of thinking). It was 20 mi from my son's place to the SupC. With 30 mi p range, we made it with 10 mi left. I began to trust p range. So the first leg of this journey was from Omaha to Mitchell, SD. We had rather ideal conditions, low/no wind and 60 to 70 degrees. We had trouble with the Trip Calculator or whatever it is called (and finally called Tesla and they told us how to turn it off). It kept wanting to turn us around to go back to the Council Bluffs SupC because it was not comfortable with the distance to Mitchell: 262 miles! I know that you need to be careful, I know that conditions can change, I believe the Trip feature is being conservative, and it should. And I watch the number of miles to the SupC and I watch the p miles and I don't drive fast if we have over 200 miles to go on a full charge.
We drove to Souix City, about 75 mi, without a problem. We headed towards Souix Falls and we started getting the red warnings, were told we would be at -7%, that we should go to the nearest SupC (back in Council Bluffs) which we were not going to do. So we headed to Souix Falls, ready to find a J1772 or RV park NEMA 14-50 if needed. Souix Falls is halfway between Mitchell, SD, (the way we were going) and Worthington, MN (the wrong way). But we are watching the actual miles and the p miles (I call this the "differential") and it is 15, so 15 extra p miles. That is not a large buffer, but there are no other SupCs and we will have to stop for power or we won't. So we kept going and the differential kept improving. We got worried at one point and slowed from 65 to 60, and the p miles improved. We got from the red warnings to the yellow cautions to drive slowly (60 is driving slowly, IMHO). And we made it with 15 differential miles.
So, Lesson Number 1: Watch the differential miles and act appropriately. When you have enough differential miles for your comfort, you can make it; when you are in doubt or running to low, find an alternative plug in.
- - - Updated - - -
Another observation.
Number 2: ICE cars have fooled me and I thought I liked believing them with the fuel gauge
I noticed during this leg of the trip (mentioned above), that my % of charge seemed to be going down so quickly, particularly in the beginning but not so much during the end. What I figured out was that my ICE cars always "sat" on Full for a long time, then, maybe when 3/4s full, would start moving down. I liked that, tricked myself into thinking that I had a full tank for a long time. The MS shows what you have, the exact percent. I am growing to like that better, but it is an adjustment. It feels like the first bit of energy goes quickly. But the other end does the opposite, particularly if you are doing what I mention in Number 1 above, that is, watching theh p miles. When watching p miles to make sure you have enough energy to get to the SupC and you are adjusting your speed to make sure you do, then the differential towards the end will often stay the same and give you confidence you will make it. In the example above, I hovered at about 15 miles differential the whole way, but when you have 30 miles to go to the SupC and the differential is 15 (meaning 45 projected miles ), it starts to feeling good. And when I arrive with the 15 differential, it shows, IMHO, that I have monitored appropriately and driven the appropriate speed to get to my destination.
I would add: I am talking about, with # 1 and 2 above, when there are long distances between SupCs. If the distance is under 200 mi (with fairly normal conditions) between SupCs, then I would practice charging to have excess to make things easier and to be able to increase your speed.
And, if it isn't obvious, I have and 85.
Number 1: Long Distance Between SuperChargers (SupCs)
We had been on a trip before, 199 mi between SupCs. The trip down (Omaha to KC) worked but got a little scary when I was down to 30 mi (projected range, which I will abbreviate as "p range", from the Energy screen--I don't use the EPA, in fact I have turned that one to % because that range is not precise enough for may ways of thinking). It was 20 mi from my son's place to the SupC. With 30 mi p range, we made it with 10 mi left. I began to trust p range. So the first leg of this journey was from Omaha to Mitchell, SD. We had rather ideal conditions, low/no wind and 60 to 70 degrees. We had trouble with the Trip Calculator or whatever it is called (and finally called Tesla and they told us how to turn it off). It kept wanting to turn us around to go back to the Council Bluffs SupC because it was not comfortable with the distance to Mitchell: 262 miles! I know that you need to be careful, I know that conditions can change, I believe the Trip feature is being conservative, and it should. And I watch the number of miles to the SupC and I watch the p miles and I don't drive fast if we have over 200 miles to go on a full charge.
We drove to Souix City, about 75 mi, without a problem. We headed towards Souix Falls and we started getting the red warnings, were told we would be at -7%, that we should go to the nearest SupC (back in Council Bluffs) which we were not going to do. So we headed to Souix Falls, ready to find a J1772 or RV park NEMA 14-50 if needed. Souix Falls is halfway between Mitchell, SD, (the way we were going) and Worthington, MN (the wrong way). But we are watching the actual miles and the p miles (I call this the "differential") and it is 15, so 15 extra p miles. That is not a large buffer, but there are no other SupCs and we will have to stop for power or we won't. So we kept going and the differential kept improving. We got worried at one point and slowed from 65 to 60, and the p miles improved. We got from the red warnings to the yellow cautions to drive slowly (60 is driving slowly, IMHO). And we made it with 15 differential miles.
So, Lesson Number 1: Watch the differential miles and act appropriately. When you have enough differential miles for your comfort, you can make it; when you are in doubt or running to low, find an alternative plug in.
- - - Updated - - -
Another observation.
Number 2: ICE cars have fooled me and I thought I liked believing them with the fuel gauge
I noticed during this leg of the trip (mentioned above), that my % of charge seemed to be going down so quickly, particularly in the beginning but not so much during the end. What I figured out was that my ICE cars always "sat" on Full for a long time, then, maybe when 3/4s full, would start moving down. I liked that, tricked myself into thinking that I had a full tank for a long time. The MS shows what you have, the exact percent. I am growing to like that better, but it is an adjustment. It feels like the first bit of energy goes quickly. But the other end does the opposite, particularly if you are doing what I mention in Number 1 above, that is, watching theh p miles. When watching p miles to make sure you have enough energy to get to the SupC and you are adjusting your speed to make sure you do, then the differential towards the end will often stay the same and give you confidence you will make it. In the example above, I hovered at about 15 miles differential the whole way, but when you have 30 miles to go to the SupC and the differential is 15 (meaning 45 projected miles ), it starts to feeling good. And when I arrive with the 15 differential, it shows, IMHO, that I have monitored appropriately and driven the appropriate speed to get to my destination.
I would add: I am talking about, with # 1 and 2 above, when there are long distances between SupCs. If the distance is under 200 mi (with fairly normal conditions) between SupCs, then I would practice charging to have excess to make things easier and to be able to increase your speed.
And, if it isn't obvious, I have and 85.