How Much Range Are You Actually Getting?

[GEWC]

I've noticed lately my range is better. Before I was averaging 3.8 and now I am averaging between 4.2-4.4. I have even been driving faster and gunning it occasionally and am still getting better range. I wonder if it has anything to do with the update. I was originally on 1.1.9. Has anyone else noticed this? My car is at a little over 800 miles.

 

[Demosthenes]

I've noticed lately my range is better. Before I was averaging 3.8 and now I am averaging between 4.2-4.4. I have even been driving faster and gunning it occasionally and am still getting better range. I wonder if it has anything to do with the update. I was originally on 1.1.9. Has anyone else noticed this? My car is at a little over 800 miles.

Those seem like really great numbers. I haven’t been able to consistently get that on my GT with latest software yet. Driven about 400 miles so far.

 

[niceguy]

I've noticed lately my range is better. Before I was averaging 3.8 and now I am averaging between 4.2-4.4. I have even been driving faster and gunning it occasionally and am still getting better range. I wonder if it has anything to do with the update. I was originally on 1.1.9. Has anyone else noticed this? My car is at a little over 800 miles.

Excellent numbers, I am sure some break in period for mechanical components and moving parts is always needed, keep us posted,

 

[DreamPaloAlto]

Did a test today around town with my DE-P, 21" (aero cover removed), AC/music blasting.

Test 1: Swift, highway, aggressive driving, speed 80-105mph (too hard not to)
2.0mi/kWh (6.1mi, used 3kWh)

Test 2: Smooth, local street, calm driving at speed limit
3.0mi/kWh (10.9mi, used 4kWh)

Test 3: Smooth, highway, calm driving, speed 55-75mph
4.0mi/kWh (13.7mi, used 3kWh)

I have had the car for 4400mi, and the total avg is 2.7mi/kWh. From reading this thread, I guess I am somewhat inline with other DE-P owners.

 

[hydbob]

Did a test today around town with my DE-P, 21" (aero cover removed), AC/music blasting.

Test 1: Swift, highway, aggressive driving, speed 80-105mph (too hard not to)
2.0mi/kWh (6.1mi, used 3kWh)

Test 2: Smooth, local street, calm driving at speed limit
3.0mi/kWh (10.9mi, used 4kWh)

Test 3: Smooth, highway, calm driving, speed 55-75mph
4.0mi/kWh (13.7mi, used 3kWh)

I have had the car for 4400mi, and the total avg is 2.7mi/kWh. From reading this thread, I guess I am somewhat inline with other DE-P owners.

Yea, because, let's be honest, we are all driving similar to Test 1...

 

[otslade]

I might have stumbled on to something in regards to range calculation....

on my last charge to 85% I reset one of my trip meters. From that point I drove the battery down to about 60% SOC- the calculations from "Since last Charge" and my reset trip meters did not show the same mile per KWH- since last charge showed 2.5 M/KWH and the trip meter showed 3.4. Both showed the exact same miles driven but the miles per KWH were almost a mile different! Should these 2 numbers not be the exact same number based on the reset of trip meter? What am I missing?

Has anyone else seen this?
Try the same exercise and report back if not.

We might have a software bug that is giving some of us erroneous numbers......

 

[MPawelek]

Probably the M/KWH on the main screen is a average over the total life of the car whereas the trip meter reading is for that drive only. I would imagine that if you did not reset the trip meter for quite a while it would show a average similar to the main screen. This is all s guess on my part.

 

[otslade]

Probably the M/KWH on the main screen is a average over the total life of the car whereas the trip meter reading is for that drive only. I would imagine that if you did not reset the trip meter for quite a while it would show a average similar to the main screen. This is all s guess on my part.

I am comparing a fresh reset trip meter to the since last charge meter- should be apples to apples... both start at 0 for miles driven and 0 for miles/KWH. but then the trip meter shows a much better mile per KWH then the since last charge after just a few minutes of driving

 

[SaratogaLefty]

I am comparing a fresh reset trip meter to the since last charge meter- should be apples to apples... both start at 0 for miles driven and 0 for miles/KWH. but then the trip meter shows a much better mile per KWH then the since last charge after just a few minutes of driving

You raise an interesting point. As you know there is a Trip A and a Trip B as well as the "Since Last Charge" reading. On my recent trip down to SLO and back (around 400 miles total) I reset the Trip A at the same time as I unhooked my car right before I left on the trip. I did do a 30 minute recharge on the way back but up to that point they were reading the same. Upon arriving home the Trip A reading was .2 better than the "Since Last Charge" which I believe was due to the fact I had the air conditioning on the entire way home whereas it wasn't on for the trip South at all however I did drive a little slower after the 30 minute recharge. The entire trip was predominantly using ACC. In any case, I did not experience the situation you are describing.

 

[LCIDdreams]

I might have stumbled on to something in regards to range calculation....

on my last charge to 85% I reset one of my trip meters. From that point I drove the battery down to about 60% SOC- the calculations from "Since last Charge" and my reset trip meters did not show the same mile per KWH- since last charge showed 2.5 M/KWH and the trip meter showed 3.4. Both showed the exact same miles driven but the miles per KWH were almost a mile different! Should these 2 numbers not be the exact same number based on the reset of trip meter? What am I missing?

Has anyone else seen this?
Try the same exercise and report back if not.

We might have a software bug that is giving some of us erroneous numbers......

That is very odd. Assuming you set the trip meter right about the time you disconnected the charger those 2 readings should be the same.

 

[Adnillien]

I

I might have stumbled on to something in regards to range calculation....

on my last charge to 85% I reset one of my trip meters. From that point I drove the battery down to about 60% SOC- the calculations from "Since last Charge" and my reset trip meters did not show the same mile per KWH- since last charge showed 2.5 M/KWH and the trip meter showed 3.4. Both showed the exact same miles driven but the miles per KWH were almost a mile different! Should these 2 numbers not be the exact same number based on the reset of trip meter? What am I missing?

Has anyone else seen this?
Try the same exercise and report back if not.

We might have a software bug that is giving some of us erroneous numbers......

I tried the same test on my way home. See photo below.
- Since last charge 2.8 mi/kWhr and 8kWhr used in 23.1 miles
- Trip A 3.0 mi/kWhr and 8 kWhr used in 23.1 miles

I started at 87% SOC and finished at 79% SOC implying 8% of a 112 kWhr battery or 8.96 kWhr used.

I will send this to customer care and ask for their comment.

 

[hydbob]

I am comparing a fresh reset trip meter to the since last charge meter- should be apples to apples... both start at 0 for miles driven and 0 for miles/KWH. but then the trip meter shows a much better mile per KWH then the since last charge

Looks like trip is doing the Tesla thing and only calculating using power to motors and since last charge is doing total energy used

 

[LCIDdreams]

Looks like trip is doing the Tesla thing and only calculating using power to motors and since last charge is doing total energy used

I don’t understand how/why the Lucid or Tesla would or could calculate energy usage in that way. The kWh consumed would have no basis in reality.

It’s just straight arithmetic in the end…100kwh battery (just for example purposes) @ 100% charged. Take 150 mi trip and end at 50% capacity. 50kwh battery capacity has been used and 50kwh would remain, meaning consumption was 3mi/kWh. If the computer disregards heat,AC, lights, CPU(s), battery temperature maintenance, power steering etc. and “lies” that only 40kw was used on the trip it would display 3.75mi/kWh consumption BUT that would suggest that what should be a 100kwh battery has now suddenly become an 80kwh battery (consumed 40kwh to go from 100% to 50%). I haven’t heard of any EV maker using that approach for a trip computer as it would have no value as a trip computer and be beyond confusing.

Having said that I suppose it’s possible that there is a bug that sometimes leads to miscalculated consumption values in some situations that could explain some of the variance in real world experience. Does not seem that likely but probably more likely than some cars being delivered with more efficient motors than others.

 

[LCIDdreams]

I guess if people are finding significant inconsistency between “since last charged” and “Trip” readings (in cases when you finish charging and reset trip meter at same time) they way to verify which is accurate would be:
-record battery % reading at beginning and end of trip
-take total % used and calculate total kwh used (% used times the total usable battery capacity, I think this is 118kwh for Dream and 112 for GT)
-divide miles traveled by total kWh used and compare with what the car is displaying for mi/kwh

 

[Sandvinsd]

Two threads running with similar discussions. Posted this on the other one:

There are a lot of factors that go into the efficiency. I would like to depend on the numbers the car shows on the screen. True efficiency would be miles driven divided by kW dispensed. it would account for all the losses along the way. For an ICE , it’s easy. I fill up the tank and record the miles. Drive and fill up again, record the miles driven. I look at the pump for the number of gallons dispensed and calculate my mpg. of course it varies with every fill up, but I can get a sense over time as to how the car is performing through cumulative numbers. My mpg calculation is very close to what the car tells me. For an EV, some of the kW get lost along the way, unlike filling up a gas tank (unless you overflow and spill gas on the ground). Those losses need to be taken into account for true efficiency. After all, I am paying for all the electrons dispensed, not just for the ones entering the car and I can get an apples to apples comparison with my ICE.

Then there is the efficiency on the road to accurately account for range, which I also want to know. I need to know how many kW are in the battery when I start, how many miles I have driven and then how many kW it takes to fill up. The kW it takes to fill up has those cable and heat losses included so I won’t have a real idea as to how many kW entered the battery. The car computer should account for that and give me an accurate reading for miles driven divided by kW consumed. I can calculate if it is giving me an accurate picture. For arguments sake, assume the battery size is 100kW when full. I drive it down to 20% which means I have used 80 kW. If the car says I averaged 3 miles per kW, then I should have driven 240 miles. That should match the speedometer reading. It is THAT number that I want to be accurate on the car when on trips.

 

[Demosthenes]

My results (on a very short drive to work this morning)

 

[MPawelek]

Those short drives are terrible for the engine as it doesn’t allow the oil to get hot enough for the moisture in the oil to vaporize and be recycled through the PCV valve……..

 

[Sam6062]

My question is would the Plaid and EQS have the same issues with range if they faced head winds and heavy usage of AC. One cannot survive without AC in places like AZ, TX, NV.

Based on the comments how is one calculating how much battery is left. Is there and indicator like a gas gauge that is accurate?

Almost looks like if you don’t want to run out of battery one should charge every 200-250 miles on a trip longer than 200 miles, one way.

Again those who have the Plaid or any Model-S does it behave the same way when it comes to battery usage driven under the same conditions.
On one trip from Dallas to Houston I saw several Tesla’s on the Highway and was wondering how they are able to make the one way trip without a charge. There was one driving next to me at 85-90 MPH which is how people in Texas drive on the Highways.

 

[hydbob]

My question is would the Plaid and EQS have the same issues with range if they faced head winds and heavy usage of AC. One cannot survive without AC in places like AZ, TX, NV.

Based on the comments how is one calculating how much battery is left. Is there and indicator like a gas gauge that is accurate?

Almost looks like if you don’t want to run out of battery one should charge every 200-250 miles on a trip longer than 200 miles, one way.

Again those who have the Plaid or any Model-S does it behave the same way when it comes to battery usage driven under the same conditions.
On one trip from Dallas to Houston I saw several Tesla’s on the Highway and was wondering how they are able to make the one way trip without a charge. There was one driving next to me at 85-90 MPH which is how people in Texas drive on the Highways.

Every single vehicle has a hit on range with headwinds and AC usage. Doesn't matter who makes it regardless of any claims orherwise.

 

[GEWC]

My question is would the Plaid and EQS have the same issues with range if they faced head winds and heavy usage of AC. One cannot survive without AC in places like AZ, TX, NV.

Based on the comments how is one calculating how much battery is left. Is there and indicator like a gas gauge that is accurate?

Almost looks like if you don’t want to run out of battery one should charge every 200-250 miles on a trip longer than 200 miles, one way.

Again those who have the Plaid or any Model-S does it behave the same way when it comes to battery usage driven under the same conditions.
On one trip from Dallas to Houston I saw several Tesla’s on the Highway and was wondering how they are able to make the one way trip without a charge. There was one driving next to me at 85-90 MPH which is how people in Texas drive on the Highways.

Well, for a specific example, I have an older Model S, range at full charge is 250 miles. I often travel to our other house - a trip of about 440 miles. I am usually driving 75mph south of the grapevine and 80 north . I have to stop to charge twice to add at least 150 miles each time, and sometimes on the way back I need to stop a 3rd time (though only 10 minutes) and usually get home with about 25 miles of charge left.