Crashnburn80's Tesla Model 3 Performance Longer Range Build

The distance traveled both downhill and uphill is factored into both the range estimate and is able to be reviewed as “range tips”

 

Battery conditioning is optimizing the battery temp for driving or supercharging. Set a departure time and the car pre-heats the battery while plugged in so you don’t waste battery power doing it. Set a supercharger destination in the nav and the car optimizes the battery temp for arrival so supercharging can be even faster, rather than waiting to heat the battery once plugged in.

Very short trip so ignore the data numbers, but yes, elevation shows the power cost of elevation change. Tire pressure is a bit low, haven’t adjusted it since new, but it is getting colder out at 40 degrees or so.

 

If you leave for work the same time each day 5 days a week, do you set a departure time before each trip, can you enter a schedule for each week, or does it learn your routine?

Hadn't considered that. Thank you for the insight.

 

Today I had a dumb problem. The Tesla would not lock. Walk away from the car should auto-lock and fold the mirrors, it didn't happen. Manually locking the car via the app, wouldn't lock. So I pulled out the backup key card and tapped it on the door pillar, and the horn would honk rapidly 3 times but would not lock. Initially I thought this was a bug in the new software update, and began questioning my decision to opt in on advanced updates vs standard. I rebooted my phone and rebooted the car and no change in behavior.

Googling, I found this:
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/doors-won’t-lock.284001/

The above post seems to indicate the car for some reason didn't think one of the doors was shut, so it wouldn't lock. Going to all doors, opening and firmly re-closing them resolved the issue. I repeated the suggested exercise and sure enough the car now locks and behaves as expected. All the doors were previously closed, so this seemed odd. Seems like the car could have better communicated the error condition that prevented locking.

Another gripe: I financed the Tesla using Tesla, because it was a single click in the app. Easy. Sometimes it is easier and quicker to just go with the system in place rather than go outside the system, worst case just switch it later. I figured Tesla would have the lending system down to a science. No. Not at all. Tesla partners with a bank to do lending, they don't do their own, and the bank is BMO Harris. This is a dinosaur of an institution that I am shocked Tesla would use. No online payments. No automated payments. You must mail a physical paper check, or give your bank account information over the phone to make a phone payment if it needs to be faster. WTF, is this the 80s? Personally, I am 100% Pro Credit Union and avoid banks. So I was put off by having it be a bank to start, but this is just ridiculous. I also automate everything for payments and lacking the ability to do so is a massive deal breaker. I'll be getting out of this institution as soon as I have the vehicle registration to move it.

Another great aspect of that feature is your car can pre-heat in a garage. Its been in the high 30s the last few days, garage is in the 50s, but when I get in the car it is a cozy 72. ICE vehicles have remote start, but you can't do that indoors. Of course another interesting difference is that ICE vehicles must warm up to generate heat, since heat is from the engine coolant through the heater core, and can only produce heat once the engine is warm. An EV can produce heat instantly on demand at any time, with no need for warmup.

 

New Tesla jack stands arrived today! Took a month plus of waiting for inventory to ship.

Shown without pins installed


Teslas have a unique issue for jack stands. Since the car is so heavily aero optimized and the entire underside is flat being mostly battery pack there are only 4 very specific lift points on the car. If the jack occupies the lift point to lift the car, there is no place for a jack stand, meaning both the jack and jack stand must support from the same location.

Lifted screen shot showing how the jack stand comes apart for lifting the vehicle, before attaching the adjustable legs once raised.


Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pje1TQGJpyw&t=34s

There are a few different makes and styles of these type of stands that utilize a single jack and support point for Tesla and a few other high end ICE vehicles. I went with Rennstands from Teslarati because they are adjustable in height (unlike some) and the price point was better that some others, plus they are made in the USA. This style stand is very expensive in general, so while these were some of the more affordable options I found, they are not like the cost of buying HF jack stands. I purchased mine here:
https://shop.teslarati.com/products/tesla-jacks-stands-model-s-3-x-y-rennstand-red

I may try these next week when I swap out my wheel/tire setup for all seasons vs my summer setup the car is running now.

 

We too financed through Tesla, mainly due to the very short window we had to to take delivery (<48hrs.) They have us banking with Wells Fargo, who I have a particular distain for, and have been less than ideal to work with. We too will refi with our local credit union as soon as practical.

 

More problems with our Model 3: The doors refuse to stay locked (I can lock them remotely, or at the car, and yet here I am, a block away, with two separate cell phones showing the car as being unlocked, despite me having walked back to the car and watching/hearing it lock). It's a good thing I walked back to check on the car, because somehow the trunk opened on its own between me walking out of the restaurant and into the parking garage. Time to send in another tech support request.

 

Double check with opening and firmly closing all doors/frunk/trunk to see if it resolves the issue.

 

I think the biggest upgrade from Gen 1 to 1.5? is the heat pump climate control vs resistance heaters and electric AC. Cuts the climate control power use in half, which translates to more range efficiency. Range loss at max climate control power can be 40% in Gen 1, cutting that down to 20% in the updated version is a difference of 70+ miles on a charge in an M3LR, just by using a more advanced and efficient system. Lots of other updates too, but IMO the heat pump is the largest advancement in the update.

An interesting illustrative example I like is the 400 mile Max pack Rivian. Rivian uses resistance heaters and electric AC, and will experience a 40% range loss with heavy use of climate control, which drops that 400 miles down to roughly 240 miles. The 2021+ Tesla Model 3 Long Range with 358 mile rating utilizing a heat pump and taking a 20% range hit in those same conditions is good for 286 miles. So while the Tesla's range is rated as less, it will travel further through engineering design superiority. Climate control is the #1 power use for an EV outside of actual driving. So cutting that power use in half is huge, as illustrated above.

 

Already tried that. It's been doing it since around 8AM, and the lady says a firmware update pushed overnight, so I'm assuming it's related to that. Definitely not happy that I can lock the car from the monitor, see/hear it lock, walk away for a minute, and then enter without a cardkey or my cellphone present.

 

I definitely understand the frustration. I was right there with you before figuring it out for my scenario.

 

I’ve driven a lot over the past 2 days and also not been home, meaning not giving the car adequate time to recharge/recover on the slow 16A 110v mobile charger I've been using. (I need to install my level 2, 44A 220v charger). Todays ventures put the return home in the mid-single digits for battery. Technically possible, but that is pretty low. So I hit up a 250kW Supercharger in North Seattle for a quick top up on the way to the days adventures. Nav said wait was less than 5 min for a charger. Arrived to a 16 charger station of Teslas completely full with 2 other cars waiting.

16 stations of Teslas highest/fastest power rated 250kW superchargers


Wait time for was roughly 3 minutes with 2 vehicles ahead of me, accurately predicted by the Tesla nav as less than 5 min. I charged for roughly ~5 minutes-ish, just enough to put in 20+%, padding my needs for the day, since I'll primarily charge at home like everyone else. Despite having multiple vehicles ahead of me, wait time was less than waiting for a single ICE vehicle to refuel at a gas station and the Tesla owners operated the system like rehearsed clockwork. If only other motorists groups could band together so cohesively and execute so tightly for the common good.

I should mention this was the day after a major area storm, resulting in massive power outages in the area, leading local supercharger stations to be overwhelmed. Yet, it was still all a non-issue. The car was able to tell me what stations had power and which didn't, and wait times and charge capacity at each location are listed so that the driver can make an informed decision. It was so easy. People like to rip on charge lines as a way to tear down EVs, but in my case for Tesla the wait was shorter than waiting for a single ICE vehicle to refuel on gas while also having several more EV cars in-line ahead of me, during a massive power outage event. I'm sure there are other areas where chargers are not as prevalent, but if during worst case massive power outages scenario, I need to wait 3 minutes to charge, I don't think it is worth the ordeal some make it out to be to argue against EVs.

 

In the event of a power outage, the gas pumps aren't going to work either so I never understood the argument against EV in that scenario.

 

Absolutely true. Difference being if you have power at home with an EV you can still charge and if not hit up your local charge station, vs your local local gas station goes out you are SOL.

 

Counterpoint, with fuel one could power a generator to run the pump. Of course we are getting hypothetical now.

Definitely nice to charge at home. Especially from panels.

 

Yep, saw that at one station too that ran a generator, with the longest fuel lines I've seen in recent memory. Ironically many of the people had power at their house, it was just downtown area with the fuel stations that lacked power, leading to a run on gas.

 

Holy moly, we had that same issue around the time of your post too.