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Going on first road trip (around 285 miles one way).. New owner.. Just a few questions. Thanks

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#21
OK, went on my trip and it was pretty shocking.. I know that the EPA rated miles isn't really "true" but I was amazed at how low you actually get.. EPA LR is 322.. I left my house at 90% and stopped at a supercharger with 13%.. Drove 158 miles.. Averaged 76mph and it was 78* outside and 74* inside.

On the way home I charged up to 90% at my first SC stop.. Drove 176 miles and got home at 16% SoC.. I realize that a lot of factors play into the range (temperature, speed, tire/wheel size, etc).. But I was definitely a little bummed how little range I did get..

Still love the car and would buy again!!
 
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#22
ts2340 said:
OK, went on my trip and it was pretty shocking.. I know that the EPA rated miles isn't really "true" but I was amazed at how low you actually get.. EPA LR is 322.. I left my house at 90% and stopped at a supercharger with 13%.. Drove 158 miles.. Averaged 76mph and it was 78* outside and 74* inside.

On the way home I charged up to 90% at my first SC stop.. Drove 176 miles and got home at 16% SoC.. I realize that a lot of factors play into the range (temperature, speed, tire/wheel size, etc).. But I was definitely a little bummed how little range I did get..

Still love the car and would buy again!!
Click to expand...
You used 74% of the battery range, 90-16 = 74, so the official range is like 239 miles for 74% battery, plus the Tesla rated range includes another 15-20 miles ish after 0% indicated, so you got 176 highway miles out of like 220 ish rated range that consists of about half city and half 55mph freeway driving.

I agree with you though, it is definitely a bit of a shock and a bummer what the real range is vs what it is on paper. But to me the real range and the speed of the Superchargers make it a pretty forgettable and minor inconvenience. Still wish the EPA would tighten up on the rated range calculations so people don't get disappointed/shocked.
 
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#23
ts2340 said:
OK, went on my trip and it was pretty shocking.. I know that the EPA rated miles isn't really "true" but I was amazed at how low you actually get.. EPA LR is 322.. I left my house at 90% and stopped at a supercharger with 13%.. Drove 158 miles.. Averaged 76mph and it was 78* outside and 74* inside.

On the way home I charged up to 90% at my first SC stop.. Drove 176 miles and got home at 16% SoC.. I realize that a lot of factors play into the range (temperature, speed, tire/wheel size, etc).. But I was definitely a little bummed how little range I did get..

Still love the car and would buy again!!
Click to expand...

76 mph average is almost 30 mph higher than the average speed in the EPA's Highway range test (!!!!) :

Detailed Test Information

The Truth About EPA City / Highway MPG Estimates

The EPA's test procedures are the real issue.
 
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#26
ts2340 said:
Still kinda bummed that the "EPA" range is "333 miles" for a LR but this trip, I'm stopping twice to charge and it's 287 miles.. Oh well.. Owned it 2 weeks and the funnest car ever..
Click to expand...

How fast do you drive on the highway?

You will probably get around the EPA range at 65mph. But driving faster increases aerodynamic drag costs and decreases range.

In terms of ABRP versus Tesla trip planning, ABRP seems to favor shorter stops to Supercharge from 10-15% to 50-60% (when charging is fastest), while Tesla seems to favor fewer but longer stops to charge to about 80%. If using ABRP, tell the car's navigation to go to the next Supercharger at each stop.

Consider whether you and any passengers need a bladder or other break during the drive. If so, then matching those with charging stops minimizes the time cost of those.

Starting at 100% at home for the trip means a bit less expensive Supercharger use.
 
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#27
ICE cars show a city/highway gas mileage. I think that EVs should list something similar for their range. I think it would help with all the "so much for the EPA rated range" posts. And help with the people who think it's some kind of gotcha that the car doesn't actually get the rated range all the time.
 
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#28
ts2340 said:
OK, went on my trip and it was pretty shocking.. I know that the EPA rated miles isn't really "true" but I was amazed at how low you actually get.. EPA LR is 322.. I left my house at 90% and stopped at a supercharger with 13%.. Drove 158 miles.. Averaged 76mph and it was 78* outside and 74* inside.

On the way home I charged up to 90% at my first SC stop.. Drove 176 miles and got home at 16% SoC.. I realize that a lot of factors play into the range (temperature, speed, tire/wheel size, etc).. But I was definitely a little bummed how little range I did get..

Still love the car and would buy again!!
Click to expand...
Since you used ABRP, for planning, did you get an efficiency rating for your car?

IMG_6436.jpeg


I drove my car 4400miles round trip, and set my speed at 15% above the speed limit, which meant driving 75mph to 86mph, and I got 274Wh/mile on the way home:
1690988607548.png


1690988607548.png


Are you driving a Performance?
 
#29
nstig8 said:
ICE cars show a city/highway gas mileage. I think that EVs should list something similar for their range. I think it would help with all the "so much for the EPA rated range" posts. And help with the people who think it's some kind of gotcha that the car doesn't actually get the rated range all the time.
Click to expand...
Lots of ICEV drivers get worse economy than the EPA ratings, because they drive less efficiently than the EPA test cycles. However, they do not seem to complain about the more frequent or expensive refueling stops as much as EV drivers complain about range shortfalls requiring more frequent or expensive recharging stops.
 
#30
3sr+buyer said:
How fast do you drive on the highway?

You will probably get around the EPA range at 65mph. But driving faster increases aerodynamic drag costs and decreases range.

In terms of ABRP versus Tesla trip planning, ABRP seems to favor shorter stops to Supercharge from 10-15% to 50-60% (when charging is fastest), while Tesla seems to favor fewer but longer stops to charge to about 80%. If using ABRP, tell the car's navigation to go to the next Supercharger at each stop.

Consider whether you and any passengers need a bladder or other break during the drive. If so, then matching those with charging stops minimizes the time cost of those.

Starting at 100% at home for the trip means a bit less expensive Supercharger use.
Click to expand...
On the trip I averaged 76mph.

When I drive to work it’s about 50/50 city highway. I drive about 65-70 on highway. That daily commute uses about 7% each way (17 miles ~ around 2.4 miles per 1% of battery).
KenC said:
Since you used ABRP, for planning, did you get an efficiency rating for your car?

View attachment 961625

I drove my car 4400miles round trip, and set my speed at 15% above the speed limit, which meant driving 75mph to 86mph, and I got 274Wh/mile on the way home:View attachment 961626

View attachment 961626

Are you driving a Performance?
Click to expand...
Where do I see the efficiency rating? And what is your second screenshot from?

No performance. LR.

Thanks
 
#36
Zcd1 said:
Sounds about right for a 76 mph average.

Who cares about "horrible" or % efficiency? Not being snarky - I just don't understand why that matters?
Click to expand...
It was just very shocking to me.. The real jaw dropper for me was when I was on my way back from the trip.. I drove 90 miles and then stopped at a SC at 11%.. I charged to 90%, I had 178 actual miles left until I got home.. So I'm just thinking in my head.. 178 miles.. I have the LR which is 300 something miles.. That's easy!! I got home with 16%..

Just shocking is all.. Not hating on the car because like I said, I would buy it again in a heartbeat.. Just was super surprised..

The actual miles from home to destination was 267 miles.. Without thinking of the nuts and bolts of (charging to only X%, not letting it get below X%, don't go over X MPH, keep AC on X, etc etc) I thought, I could make it there easy! Yet, I stopped twice to SC on the way there.. Just suprised is all.
 
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#37
ts2340 said:
It was just very shocking to me.. The real jaw dropper for me was when I was on my way back from the trip.. I drove 90 miles and then stopped at a SC at 11%.. I charged to 90%, I had 178 actual miles left until I got home.. So I'm just thinking in my head.. 178 miles.. I have the LR which is 300 something miles.. That's easy!! I got home with 16%..

Just shocking is all.. Not hating on the car because like I said, I would buy it again in a heartbeat.. Just was super surprised..

The actual miles from home to destination was 267 miles.. Without thinking of the nuts and bolts of (charging to only X%, not letting it get below X%, don't go over X MPH, keep AC on X, etc etc) I thought, I could make it there easy! Yet, I stopped twice to SC on the way there.. Just suprised is all.
Click to expand...

Understood.

There are 2 things in play here:
  • The biggest thing is that the EPA's test procedures don't produce real-world results.
  • The other thing is that EV manufacturers don't do even a decent job of educating their customers about what to expect or how EV road-tripping actually works.
I recall being surprised too during my first road trip.
 
Last edited:
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#38
ts2340 said:
It was just very shocking to me.. The real jaw dropper for me was when I was on my way back from the trip.. I drove 90 miles and then stopped at a SC at 11%.. I charged to 90%, I had 178 actual miles left until I got home.. So I'm just thinking in my head.. 178 miles.. I have the LR which is 300 something miles.. That's easy!! I got home with 16%..

Just shocking is all.. Not hating on the car
Click to expand...
I hope more prospective buyers of Teslas read threads like this to get a more realistic expectation going into their purchases. Basically one could look at the quoted EV range as the "City" range.

The shock factor is real, it's just as if someone saw "35mpg" highway mileage for a gas car, and then realizes it only gets 25mpg in the city. Unfortunately for EVs they often only quote the one combined range that's not representative of when most North American drivers care about range... that is, high speed, long distance driving.
 
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#39
ts2340 said:
The lower the Wh/Miles number the better, right? Is 340 Wh/Miles horrible?

View attachment 962167
Click to expand...
Seems excessive to me. As I posted above, I got 274Wh/mile and I drove approx the same speed as you, on a 3 day trip home from Denver to Maine, 2300miles. I wasn't dawdling. Do you have screen shots of your energy screen showing where the energy is supposedly being wasted relative to prediction?
 
#40
KenC said:
Seems excessive to me. As I posted above, I got 274Wh/mile and I drove approx the same speed as you, on a 3 day trip home from Denver to Maine, 2300miles. I wasn't dawdling. Do you have screen shots of your energy screen showing where the energy is supposedly being wasted relative to prediction?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, I don't.. Do any of the 3rd party apps capture that? I'm using Tessie and Teslifi.. Digging through the logs and seeing..

Also, your car may be the unicorn.. I remember reading your posts in the "How much do you charge to" thread.. lol
 
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