-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Electric Plug In?Travel Range? Xtreme Cars and Stars
- Thread starter XtremeCarsandStars
- Start date
-
- Tags
- Roadster
tonybelding
Active Member
I believe you can find that on the Tesla Motors website (http://www.teslamotors.com) as they have a huge amount of useful info.
However, to summarize. . . The car should go about 250 miles per charge on the highway. WarpedOne calculated if you drive slowly you might be able to squeeze 350 miles out of it, but you might get tired of everybody else zooming past you.
Recharging is 3-1/2 hours from the special Tesla charging station. I think it should be similar if you are using the portable 220v charger, such as at a RV park. Charging from 120v will be quite a bit slower, though it still might be possible to charge overnight (i.e. at a motel?).
Obviously the car is not ideal for long "road trips", that's really its biggest weakness.
As their long-term goal Tesla have stated they want to get range up to 500 miles per charge, that being a full day's drive for most people. However, that won't be possible for a while, as further improved battery technology is needed first.
However, to summarize. . . The car should go about 250 miles per charge on the highway. WarpedOne calculated if you drive slowly you might be able to squeeze 350 miles out of it, but you might get tired of everybody else zooming past you.
Recharging is 3-1/2 hours from the special Tesla charging station. I think it should be similar if you are using the portable 220v charger, such as at a RV park. Charging from 120v will be quite a bit slower, though it still might be possible to charge overnight (i.e. at a motel?).
Obviously the car is not ideal for long "road trips", that's really its biggest weakness.
As their long-term goal Tesla have stated they want to get range up to 500 miles per charge, that being a full day's drive for most people. However, that won't be possible for a while, as further improved battery technology is needed first.
I don't think that there are many realsitic options to extending the range of the existing model (trailer full of batteries or generator?) but things will get much better in 3 to 5 years when the existing battery pack is worn out and has to be replaced. When this time comes new batteries should be able to provide 500 to 1000 mile range. http://www.plasticlabels.ca/index_files/compareEVbatteries.htm 
Although future batteries would be expected to allow expanded range, the batteries available already from AltairNano would allow fast recharge as well as greatly increasing the number of recharges , which should overcome the only apparant weaknesses of the Tesla. Although I've read most of the posts provided by Tesla I still don't feel like they've made it clear as to what it is that's keeping them from making this change.
tonybelding
Active Member
The questions you have to ask about the Altairnano batteries are. . . .
Are they available in mass quantities at a competitive price? Tesla are going to need millions of cells when they get into production, and keeping the cost down is obviously critical.
Do they match both the power density and energy density of conventional Li-ion cells? I've seen where Altair bragged about their power density, but it would appear that generic Li-ion cells are already just about adequate on that score. Energy density is what's critical for an electric car.
Are they available in mass quantities at a competitive price? Tesla are going to need millions of cells when they get into production, and keeping the cost down is obviously critical.
Do they match both the power density and energy density of conventional Li-ion cells? I've seen where Altair bragged about their power density, but it would appear that generic Li-ion cells are already just about adequate on that score. Energy density is what's critical for an electric car.
I remember reading somewhere of Tesla future plans. Next thing is going to be a sports sedan having roadster's driveway and two different battery-packs (capacity, size, weight). Then they will upgrade the roadster to even higher sporting level with more power.
They will always use the best battery technology available in-masse.
They will always use the best battery technology available in-masse.
A little more official here:
http://www.pluginamerica.com/images/cnet_9may07.pdf
"The company has said that the premium version will go from zero to 60 miles per hour in less than 6
seconds and go about 200 miles before needing a charge. The standard version will accelerate from
0 mph to 60 mph in just 6.7 seconds. Of course, these performance figures and prices could change before then."
==============================================
The price of the different models seems to be creeping up as well.
The first time I heard of the Roadster they said base price: ~$85,000
Then it was $89,000
Then up to $92,000.
Now up to $98,000
"Model 2" ("Whitestar") also started out as $50K, and now appears to be $55K with a $65K premium version.
"Model 3" ("?Bluestar?") was also said to be $30K, but now I am hearing $35K.
I suppose as long at there is sufficient demand they can charge whatever they want!
http://www.pluginamerica.com/images/cnet_9may07.pdf
"The company has said that the premium version will go from zero to 60 miles per hour in less than 6
seconds and go about 200 miles before needing a charge. The standard version will accelerate from
0 mph to 60 mph in just 6.7 seconds. Of course, these performance figures and prices could change before then."
==============================================
The price of the different models seems to be creeping up as well.
The first time I heard of the Roadster they said base price: ~$85,000
Then it was $89,000
Then up to $92,000.
Now up to $98,000
"Model 2" ("Whitestar") also started out as $50K, and now appears to be $55K with a $65K premium version.
"Model 3" ("?Bluestar?") was also said to be $30K, but now I am hearing $35K.
I suppose as long at there is sufficient demand they can charge whatever they want!
The portable charger can take either 120VAC or 240VAC at various amperages. The lowest power, and longest charging time woulb be using 120VAC at 15A, which is a regular residential household wall socket. The best case (for the portable charger) is 240VAC at 40A, which represent what you might have for an electric stove or clothes dryer.
From there it's a matter of math. The ESS is 53 KWH, the 120 VAC, 15A is 1800 W.
Diviiding it out, 53000/1800=29.4, or about 30 hours.
The 240 VAC, 40A connection is 9600W, so 53000/9600=5.5 hours.
The home charger is 240VAC at 70A, or 16800W. 53000/16800=3.1 hours.
All of these time will be slightly longer because they don't take into account any loses. The faster charges will have the highest loses, so the 30 hour time will go up minimally, the 3.1 hour charge is at least 3.5, probably more like 4 hours.
All of these are based on a full charge, meaning you've driven the thing as far as it will possibly go. For me, a round trip to work with an errand on the side is about 40 miles, so even on the slow charger that would only take about 5.5 hours to recharge.
Of course, if it's charging at night, while I'm sleeping, then who cares? It won't be very suitable for long trips, where you might need to recharge before reaching your destination, at whatever recharging facility you can find. My longest expected trip is 150 miles, so I'll just need to recharge once I get there, before coming back home.
From there it's a matter of math. The ESS is 53 KWH, the 120 VAC, 15A is 1800 W.
Diviiding it out, 53000/1800=29.4, or about 30 hours.
The 240 VAC, 40A connection is 9600W, so 53000/9600=5.5 hours.
The home charger is 240VAC at 70A, or 16800W. 53000/16800=3.1 hours.
All of these time will be slightly longer because they don't take into account any loses. The faster charges will have the highest loses, so the 30 hour time will go up minimally, the 3.1 hour charge is at least 3.5, probably more like 4 hours.
All of these are based on a full charge, meaning you've driven the thing as far as it will possibly go. For me, a round trip to work with an errand on the side is about 40 miles, so even on the slow charger that would only take about 5.5 hours to recharge.
Of course, if it's charging at night, while I'm sleeping, then who cares? It won't be very suitable for long trips, where you might need to recharge before reaching your destination, at whatever recharging facility you can find. My longest expected trip is 150 miles, so I'll just need to recharge once I get there, before coming back home.
Similar threads
