I have a relatively new Model 3 with 275 mile range. I am planning an approximately 475 mile one day drive soon. There are plenty of Superchargers on the route. I have heard conflicting advice on charging. Some say charge 80-100% at every stop and some say charge enough to get to the next super charger with some room for error. Any advice?
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First Long Road Trip Model 3
- Thread starter rkstiens
- Start date
Solution
Supercharging is fastest when you get to the SC with the lowest reasonable charge. If you are trying to minimize charge time, start at 100% and run it down to ~10%, then stop and take it to 75% or somesuch, then run it back down to 10% and so on.
Definitely never up to 100% on a supercharger unless the next SC is near 100% of the range away. The SC will slow down considerably after 80%, and you'll just be taking up a stall someone else needs after 95%
Obviously if you have charging available at your destination you shouldn't charge all the way(even to 75%) on your last stop(unless you need that charge to get to the destination)
Definitely never up to 100% on a supercharger unless the next SC is near 100% of the range away. The SC will slow down considerably after 80%, and you'll just be taking up a stall someone else needs after 95%
Obviously if you have charging available at your destination you shouldn't charge all the way(even to 75%) on your last stop(unless you need that charge to get to the destination)
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RayK
Active Member
Given your range and the distance involved, I'd say that you'd only need to stop once; mid-way when you would be down to something like 10-15% and charge to 90%. That's as long as you have charged to 100% before leaving, are comfortable with getting down that low, have a place to charge at that distance (230 miles out), have a place to charge once you get to your destination, don't have a lead foot, and have a route that's relatively flat and good weather.
If one of those things are not true, then I'd stop twice along the way; like every 160 miles and charge to 80% max. That will minimize your travel delays as getting that last 10% filling up the battery from 90 to 100 takes a long time. Use your navigation to chart the route and that should tell you what to expect. You can also use abetterrouteplanner.com to see what it says but it does take some work getting the proper information into the site.
For perspective, I have a 2018 LR RWD. Range now is about 300 miles. When it was a few months old I drove from San Jose to Burbank down I-5. Stopped once in Kettleman City (about 170 miles), which coincidentally is halfway. While stopped in Kettleman City had lunch and let the car charge to 90%. Returned home the same. Completed each leg of the trip with about 20% left in my battery but I knew I did have charging at each end.
If one of those things are not true, then I'd stop twice along the way; like every 160 miles and charge to 80% max. That will minimize your travel delays as getting that last 10% filling up the battery from 90 to 100 takes a long time. Use your navigation to chart the route and that should tell you what to expect. You can also use abetterrouteplanner.com to see what it says but it does take some work getting the proper information into the site.
For perspective, I have a 2018 LR RWD. Range now is about 300 miles. When it was a few months old I drove from San Jose to Burbank down I-5. Stopped once in Kettleman City (about 170 miles), which coincidentally is halfway. While stopped in Kettleman City had lunch and let the car charge to 90%. Returned home the same. Completed each leg of the trip with about 20% left in my battery but I knew I did have charging at each end.
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Solution
Once you get a few trips under your belt you will see how much faster the car charges in the bottom 50% compared to the top 50%. It's always fastest to just charge enough to get to your next stop. Your trip isn't too long though so one or two stops will likely be enough.
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A lot depends on the route speed and elevation change. If you average ~65 mph your actual range will be very close to the indicated (SOC) range. If you average 80mph your range will fall considerably to about .7 of indicated range or about ~180 miles.
So drive slow and charge one time (~10-80%) and arrive with 10-15%, or drive fast and charge every ~150 miles and arrive with ~10-15%. The best time for the trip is to drive fast and charge at ~150 miles (~10-70%) and then ~120 miles (~10-70%) after that.
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For long trips, I just plan out my rest stops to coincide with Superchargers. I would do two or more stops on such a long trip, especially since I drive fast and thus won’t get full estimated range. Start at 100%. I use ABetterRoutePlanner.com to figure out charge stops, and maybe modify the exact SCs to use if I want a particular restaurant or fast food place along the way. Advice given above is good.
Do you have a way to charge when you reach your destination?
Do you have a way to charge when you reach your destination?
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You may want to experiment, but since the SCs charge so much faster at lower %, you may not end up wasting time adding another stop or two and do something like 15-20% -> 60-70% on each charge, especially if SCs are not forcing you to go far off the original path.
I believe 250kw SCs already starts to decline from the max speed at 20-30%, and only 100kw at around 65% or so.
I don't like going past 80% on SCs. Last 5% is only meant for overnight chargers...
I believe 250kw SCs already starts to decline from the max speed at 20-30%, and only 100kw at around 65% or so.
I don't like going past 80% on SCs. Last 5% is only meant for overnight chargers...
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SalisburySam
Active Member
They’re, in general, wrong.
This is the preferred trip charging protocol to maximize charging speed and minimize charging time. Knowing this, and that Superchargers are no longer rare in the wild with certain known area exceptions, charge as you see best fits your trip, your bladder, and your overall comfort.
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We tend to keep the charge low for speed, as everyone has said. Our stops are always around eating or a bio break, so the time & charge vary. We’ve found we can’t have a casual lunch before the car is at 100% and must be moved.
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bradtem
Robocar consultant
Instead, charge where it makes the most sense to stop. Try to charge around lunchtime for example, at a charger with some food that's decent. That way the charging takes zero time. Nothing is better than charging taking zero time.
Likewise, try where possible to charge at your hotel overnight while you sleep. Also 0 time. A good drive is start the day full from the charger at your origination, drive, stop and eat somewhere mid-day, and then drive to a hotel with charging. Then you spent no time charging, less time than you would have spent filling with gas.
Of course, you do have to think about it, plan ahead, scope out the food and hotels at the locations. If you have to pay $25 more for the hotel, it's a win because most hotels give the charging free, and you will pay $20 or more at the supercharger. You can also charge while eating dinner if there is no hotel with charging.
Yes, your car charges faster when going from 0 to 50%, and quite slow from 80 to 100, and you don't want to go to 100 that often (or to zero either.) But other than that, think about what you will do while the car is charging.
In reality, I never had a sit down meal that didn't take longer than the charging. If you order in advance from a counter service place you might finish the food before the car is ready for your next leg. Maybe.
If you have to do some shopping, you can also find a charger with that. More rarely you will find fast charging at an interesting location you want to walk around. I hope that will change in future and all tourist stops will come with fast charging.
Likewise, try where possible to charge at your hotel overnight while you sleep. Also 0 time. A good drive is start the day full from the charger at your origination, drive, stop and eat somewhere mid-day, and then drive to a hotel with charging. Then you spent no time charging, less time than you would have spent filling with gas.
Of course, you do have to think about it, plan ahead, scope out the food and hotels at the locations. If you have to pay $25 more for the hotel, it's a win because most hotels give the charging free, and you will pay $20 or more at the supercharger. You can also charge while eating dinner if there is no hotel with charging.
Yes, your car charges faster when going from 0 to 50%, and quite slow from 80 to 100, and you don't want to go to 100 that often (or to zero either.) But other than that, think about what you will do while the car is charging.
In reality, I never had a sit down meal that didn't take longer than the charging. If you order in advance from a counter service place you might finish the food before the car is ready for your next leg. Maybe.
If you have to do some shopping, you can also find a charger with that. More rarely you will find fast charging at an interesting location you want to walk around. I hope that will change in future and all tourist stops will come with fast charging.
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Last May we drove from BC to Niagara Falls in our M3. One of the more pleasant lunch stops was in Flesherton ON where we charged at a 22kw DCFC, as we ate.
We were able to charge overnight at 4 hotels, there and back. If we couldn't charge at the hotel, we'd check in to our room and then head out for dinner near a DCFC and charge whilst eating. Another way to save time is to skip breakfast in the hotel and have brunch on the road at a restaurant close to a DCFC, and even a 50kw charger is fine for that,
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bradtem
Robocar consultant
That works. My goal is to have as few compromises as possible for driving an EV (and of course none of the compromises of a gas car.) So taking zero time charging is good, but giving up the convenience (and free cost) of included hotel breakfast is sometimes a compromise. (Some motel breakfasts are not much compromise to miss...)
In the not too distant future, though, it will be trivial to find a hotel with charging or to find lunch with charging. On very hard slog road trips you may also have a charge needed around 4:30pm. You can have an early dinner (mild compromise) or do your internet stuff or shop, unless you can find a charger at a tourist destination -- which you will.
For now, the big compromise is in food choice. For now, I can almost always find one decent restaurant near a charger, but that is not the same as finding the best restaurant I might seek out if not constrained at all.
My other trick is to get take out on the way to the charger. I bring a chair and table, but hope that in the future all chargers will have covered picnic tables.
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BlkDragon
Member
Plenty of great responses from experienced veterans but something I learned as a very new Model 3 owner, sometimes it's best to err on the side of caution just in case and to do what makes you feel comfortable rather than what's most optimal. The reason is because this car is not your normal run of the mill ICE. It's a super sophisticated computer that you're still learning the limitations and features on. For reference I'm a super nerd and a software engineer by trade who managed to get her car monitored by teslamate via an android phone in less than a day.
I still needed 2 weeks to learn the general and everyday driving features of the car and I'm STILL learning how to optimize her.
So although yes there's great advice to maximize range, go with what is comfortable and safe for now and to change your miles/km gauge to % if you haven't already.
And FWIW I don't go with the Tesla's charger destination recommendations all the time because it gets you there with like 10-19% charge (at least it does on mine). Instead travel with a minimum of 35% in the bank so your range anxiety is nullified. Any lower and I find as a new driver I start to panic.
And that's the main issue, the psychological aspect of the range.
10% just feels very low. While I'm sure there's plenty of juice to get you to the next nearest supercharger, you don't know that yet as a new driver. The last thing you want to do when driving a brand new car is freak yourself out further.
And those who advise 10% or less may be super experts who may have forgotten their humble beginnings where they monitored every % ding on their car and chose to opt for miles instead of %. I'm slowly getting out of that micromanagement myself.
I still needed 2 weeks to learn the general and everyday driving features of the car and I'm STILL learning how to optimize her.
So although yes there's great advice to maximize range, go with what is comfortable and safe for now and to change your miles/km gauge to % if you haven't already.
And FWIW I don't go with the Tesla's charger destination recommendations all the time because it gets you there with like 10-19% charge (at least it does on mine). Instead travel with a minimum of 35% in the bank so your range anxiety is nullified. Any lower and I find as a new driver I start to panic.
And that's the main issue, the psychological aspect of the range.
10% just feels very low. While I'm sure there's plenty of juice to get you to the next nearest supercharger, you don't know that yet as a new driver. The last thing you want to do when driving a brand new car is freak yourself out further.
And those who advise 10% or less may be super experts who may have forgotten their humble beginnings where they monitored every % ding on their car and chose to opt for miles instead of %. I'm slowly getting out of that micromanagement myself.
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