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The quest for the ultimate efficiency.

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I have been trying to see what I can do to improve efficiency with my 2022 Model 3 Performance. I changed from the 20” Uberheavy wheels to 18” wheels with Michelin PS4S tires and that helped efficiency significantly. It was an almost 6% improvement in efficiency over stock @ 60 mph average speed.

However, I really wanted to recover the range I had lost from degradation. My Teslogic app is showing 12.3% degradation when reading the Canbus data.

Therefore, I switched to 235/45/18 Hankook iON EVO AS tires and that gave me almost 10% more gain in efficiency over the stock 20” wheels and tires in my controlled testing. However, that was with brand spanking new tires and full tread depth.

I have been able to break the tires in now and finally on my daily commute this morning I hit basically the best efficiency I think I will ever get.

Temperatures have warmed up and the battery was at the ideal 72.5 degrees F when I started. Temperatures outside have warmed up quickly so my tire pressures were a little high at 34 psi cold and 36 psi warm. There was no wind at all.

I achieved 130 wh/mi in a Model 3 Performance for 12 miles in 13 minutes. I always record my GPS average speed and it was 54.2 mph because of construction on the highway.

This is definitely the most efficient I have ever been and probably ever will achieve. The efficiency has definitely improved as these tires have worn down slightly. I will try to do my controlled testing with it again to see if I can beat the 202 wh/mi I originally got with the new tires @ 60 mph average GPS speed in my controlled testing.

We have much slower speed limits on highways in my area so that really allows the efficiency improvements of different tires to shine. The lower the speeds the bigger the rolling resistance impact is. At higher speeds rolling resistance still matters some but not nearly as much as drag coefficient does then.

I know these aren’t realistic numbers for most people that have much higher speed limits but it is interesting to see that I have pretty much negated the effects of degradation just by swapping the wheels and tires out.

I can easily average 220 wh/mi or less each month now. That should allow me well over 300 miles of range in a Model 3 Performance even with the degradation.

Ironically, I still drag race often with these All Season tires and my times are less than .1 seconds slower than they were with the lighter Michelin PS4S tires.

I even won $1,000 for winning my category at the last event so that paid for the tires.😉

We officially got 0.0 inches of snow this year so I can’t comment on their winter handling but they were great even in the chilly rains that we got. Much better than the summer only tires would have been.

If anyone can get better efficiency than this with a Model 3 Performance then definitely let us know what you did to achieve that.

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I thought there was a question here. 130 Wh/Mi is because you had a tail wind that day.

Do you have wheel covers on, that should help get you another 5% or so.
No wheel covers and I don’t plan on adding those. However, you are correct that they could improve my efficiency especially at higher speeds. I saw 6% efficiency gain when I did controlled testing with a Model 3 RWD with and without the wheel covers.
 
Can you redo the rest with your tires pumped up to typical Tesla pressures ie. 42-45psi? I think that would make a significant difference!
Edit: I just realized I had a type-O in the post. That should have said 44 psi cold and 46 psi warm. Those are just barely above the recommended pressures.

I have done testing down to about 40 psi and all the way up to 50 psi. Once you are past 46 psi it doesn’t make much of a difference for efficiency. Less than 1%. It just makes the car feel twitchy.

40% psi will hurt your range much more than 46+ psi will help.

My cold pressures were 2 psi high this morning but for the controlled testing I get them spot on to 42 psi unless I am trying to test what the different pressures do.

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Tailgating semi-trucks will increase your efficiency, on average, by 20% if not more. This has been tested/proven. Obviously this works only on the highway so great for those with long commutes/trips. Remember folks we're talking about efficiency, not safety, nor am I advocating it. Just stating facts.
 
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Tailgating semi-trucks will increase your efficiency, on average, by 20% if not more. This has been tested/proven. Obviously this works only on the highway so great for those with long commutes/trips. Remember folks we're talking about efficiency, not safety, nor am I advocating it. Just stating facts.
That is definitely correct. It isn’t recommended but it would make a tremendous difference if you drafted off of a semi the whole way especially at higher speeds.
 
I get the best efficiency with the battery preheated, the cabin HVAC system off, an ambient outside temperature of between 50 & 65 degrees, no wind, level ground, a speed of about 50mph, no passengers and no cargo...so not exactly real world conditions. Your car's efficiency is gonna be what it's gonna be in the real world. I just don't stress about it anymore.
 
I don't have a performance 3, have a dual motor. but I've added some Unplugged Performance mods for efficiency:
Tesla Model 3 Aero Efficiency Package A - Unplugged Performance
At highway speeds I can get about 10% better aero dynamic efficiency.
I also have this on order, with the diffuser fins, for even greater efficiency (and I hope less gunk on the rear camera in sloppy weather).:)
 
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I have been trying to see what I can do to improve efficiency with my 2022 Model 3 Performance. I changed from the 20” Uberheavy wheels to 18” wheels with Michelin PS4S tires and that helped efficiency significantly. It was an almost 6% improvement in efficiency over stock @ 60 mph average speed.

However, I really wanted to recover the range I had lost from degradation. My Teslogic app is showing 12.3% degradation when reading the Canbus data.

Therefore, I switched to 235/45/18 Hankook iON EVO AS tires and that gave me almost 10% more gain in efficiency over the stock 20” wheels and tires in my controlled testing. However, that was with brand spanking new tires and full tread depth.

I have been able to break the tires in now and finally on my daily commute this morning I hit basically the best efficiency I think I will ever get.

Temperatures have warmed up and the battery was at the ideal 72.5 degrees F when I started. Temperatures outside have warmed up quickly so my tire pressures were a little high at 34 psi cold and 36 psi warm. There was no wind at all.

I achieved 130 wh/mi in a Model 3 Performance for 12 miles in 13 minutes. I always record my GPS average speed and it was 54.2 mph because of construction on the highway.

This is definitely the most efficient I have ever been and probably ever will achieve. The efficiency has definitely improved as these tires have worn down slightly. I will try to do my controlled testing with it again to see if I can beat the 202 wh/mi I originally got with the new tires @ 60 mph average GPS speed in my controlled testing.

We have much slower speed limits on highways in my area so that really allows the efficiency improvements of different tires to shine. The lower the speeds the bigger the rolling resistance impact is. At higher speeds rolling resistance still matters some but not nearly as much as drag coefficient does then.

I know these aren’t realistic numbers for most people that have much higher speed limits but it is interesting to see that I have pretty much negated the effects of degradation just by swapping the wheels and tires out.

I can easily average 220 wh/mi or less each month now. That should allow me well over 300 miles of range in a Model 3 Performance even with the degradation.

Ironically, I still drag race often with these All Season tires and my times are less than .1 seconds slower than they were with the lighter Michelin PS4S tires.

I even won $1,000 for winning my category at the last event so that paid for the tires.😉

We officially got 0.0 inches of snow this year so I can’t comment on their winter handling but they were great even in the chilly rains that we got. Much better than the summer only tires would have been.

If anyone can get better efficiency than this with a Model 3 Performance then definitely let us know what you did to achieve that.

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Only roundtrips count, otherwise wind and elevation can be factors; and no one can compare unless they run the same road as you.

Further, if you really want a reference efficiency measurement, I'd use ABRP, ABRP, as they calibrate your car's efficiency at 65mph. To me, that's going to give you the best comparison.
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Tailgating semi-trucks will increase your efficiency, on average, by 20% if not more. This has been tested/proven. Obviously this works only on the highway so great for those with long commutes/trips. Remember folks we're talking about efficiency, not safety, nor am I advocating it. Just stating facts.
Safety aside it will also damage your car with stone chips! This car is a magnet for them.
 
Have you tried to recovery some of the HV battery degradation..many ppl have had a lot of success re-unlocking some of the apparent reduced ACCESS. There is a thread here somewhere. For a 2022 car that sounds like a lot of reduced access, probably due to SC use for drag stripping?
 
Have you tried to recovery some of the HV battery degradation..many ppl have had a lot of success re-unlocking some of the apparent reduced ACCESS. There is a thread here somewhere. For a 2022 car that sounds like a lot of reduced access, probably due to SC use for drag stripping?
I just charge to 50% each day on level 2 now so I am not sure what else I could do to improve it. My car was probably one of the very first 2022 Model 3s produced. The manufacture date was 11/02/21 if I remember correctly. I think that degradation is probably inline with what an almost 2.5 year old Model 3 should have. Maybe 1%-2% high but not far off. The degradation has stayed essentially the same for about 4-5 months now. This is Canbus data too so it is reading directly from my particular car.