# Two weeks away.....thoughts from picking up my car post loaner.



## Needsdecaf (Dec 27, 2018)

So my Model 3 suffered quite a bit of hail damage back in April. After a bit of a to-do with my insurance company, it finally got fixed. More of a to-do once it was in the shop meant it was there two weeks even though it was only worked on two days.

During that time, I had a Jag F Pace SUV as a rental. This is a newer one, but not the latest with the updated infotainment. Still it does have the newer inline 6 Ingenium engine, instead of the old JLR supercharged not-a-V8-I'm-actually-a-V6-with-two-holes-plugged boat anchor. So I got to spend a bunch of time back behind the wheel of an ICE car. Some thoughts, in no order.


Man, visiting the gas station regularly blows. My wife's car has 500-700 miles of range, and she doesn't drive as much as I do. So her car goes every 3-4 weeks and usually she does it. I don't miss gassing up. 
"Starting" a car, letting it idle and then waiting for it to come off cold start high RPM before backing out...who has that extra 30 seconds to spare? LOL. 
No precondititioning in Houston in June? Yeah, that sucks. 
ICE engine calibration. If yours isn't good (read my rental), it really sucks to drive. This is a nice vehicle, and yet it surges and is all non-linear. And this is a new engine! My wife's 95k mile SUV is way smoother, but then again, it was even more expensive. If I have to drive an ICE car again, it needs to be good!
Steering on the Model 3 is much more direct. Funny enough, the Jag steering was SUPER fast either side of center, meaning for two weeks i was ping-ponging around in my lane. Then it would slow, so you'd have to add a lot of lock on turns. The Tesla's is much better here. 
The Tesla is much more buttoned down on it's suspension. Much more confidence inspiring below 80 MPH. 
On the other hand, the Tesla suspension is much bouncier and less sophisticated. The ride is very choppy. Choppier than my 911. Which isn't right. 
I miss Apple Car Play already. Tesla, your voice command and voice-to-text SUCKS. 
Autopilot in traffic reminded me why I bought this car in the first place. 
The Model 3 is louder than the Jag, despite not having an engine. Wind / tire noise is way higher than the big Jag. No wonder the Tesla is so light for a BEV. 
Even with ACP and Waze, I definitely missed my big old Google map. 
Driving an EV is just so much better in traffic.
Regenerative braking and one pedal driving definitely take some getting used to! 
Overall, glad to be back in the Tesla. This car definitely has some warts, many warts. But I still enjoy driving it as a daily, for sure.


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## Needsdecaf (Dec 27, 2018)

Some thoughts after Supercharging and driving it to lunch:


I wish Tesla gave a "best supercharging etiquitte" course when you got the car. Or better yet, had the superchargers be interactive with the car and let you know which one you should choose. I went to the North Houston Service center, which has 6 chargers. 4 were in use when I got there. Two Model S's and two Model 3's were there. It's a V2 charger so I knew I was going to have to pair up with someone. Paired up with one of the Model S's that looked like he had been there a while. And he was...I got about 95 kW. Soon after, he left, so there were 3 of us. Lady drives up in a Model Y Perf.....and pairs with me. She should have paired with the remaining Model S. Sure enough, my charge went from 155 down to 95 and then to 65 kW as she stole all my power. Less than ideal. Luckily I was only trying to get back to about 45-50% or I would have been there a while. 
Man, the rear view is pretty dismal. Forgot about that. 
Speaking of rear views, the reflection of the white dash strip in the side view mirrors is pretty bad too. 
Power reduction at 20% SOC is pretty significant vs. 50.%. I don't often get down that low, so I forgot how much there is. 
Man, it's nice to be back in a car with some precision to it!


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## Klaus-rf (Mar 6, 2019)

Needsdecaf said:


> So my Model 3 suffered quite a bit of hail damage back in April. After a bit of a to-do with my insurance company, it finally got fixed. More of a to-do once it was in the shop meant it was there two weeks even though it was only worked on two days.
> 
> During that time, I had a Jag F Pace SUV as a rental. This is a newer one, but not the latest with the updated infotainment. Still it does have the newer inline 6
> 
> "Starting" a car, letting it idle and then waiting for it to come off cold start high RPM before backing out...who has that extra 30 seconds to spare? LOL.


Not necessary to wait at all. As soon as the engine has oil pressure (2 seconds) ,. you're good to start driving. It will warm up MUCH faster when under some load, such as while driving. Stay away from >50% power and >50% max RPM until after 5 minutes of running.


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## Needsdecaf (Dec 27, 2018)

Klaus-rf said:


> Not necessary to wait at all. As soon as the engine has oil pressure (2 seconds) ,. you're good to start driving. It will warm up MUCH faster when under some load, such as while driving. Stay away from >505 power and >50% max RPM until after 54 minutes of running.


I don't like to interrupt the car when it's in high idle. I understand it's not necessarily bad for the engine, but most times the transmission doesn't like being put into gear with that many revs. Plus, it can be annoying to drive when the engine is still revving more than you need it to. I'm not talking about sitting around and letting the car warm up. Just letting it go through it's high idle speed start. More for drivability than mechanical sympathy.


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## FRC (Aug 4, 2018)

Only thing more frustrating than ignorant/uncaring supercharger patrons is Tesla's inconsistent supercharger layouts. Most V2's are laid out in a 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, etc. pattern. These are easily understood at a glance and you can tell to leave one space between you and the next guy to avoid pairing. The problem comes when the stalls are laid out in a 1A, 2A, 3A. 4A, 1B, 2B, 3B, 4B, etc pattern. Nobody can tell which stall to choose without getting out of their car and performing some sort of 10th grade Algebra2 equation. I can't understand how Tesla can allow their contractors to be inconsistent in the stall layout. Fortunately, with V3 superchargers it doesn't matter.


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## Needsdecaf (Dec 27, 2018)

Corsicana is worse. It goes:

1A 2A 3A 1B 2B 3B

4A

4B

5A

5B


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## FRC (Aug 4, 2018)

Needsdecaf said:


> Corsicana is worse. It goes:
> 
> 1A 2A 3A 1B 2B 3B
> 
> ...


DAMN!


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

Needsdecaf said:


> Lady drives up in a Model Y Perf.....and pairs with me. She should have paired with the remaining Model S. Sure enough, my charge went from 155 down to 95 and then to 65 kW as she stole all my power.


Being out east, I haven't run into this issue very often. But my understanding was that the second car to arrive only gets whatever is available - the first car continues to charge at the highest rate that it can support.

Did Tesla change that? Or were all the explanations I read incorrect?


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## Needsdecaf (Dec 27, 2018)

FRC said:


> DAMN!


Yeah, like you couldn't keep the same layout convention for the two sides of the L?


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## Needsdecaf (Dec 27, 2018)

garsh said:


> Being out east, I haven't run into this issue very often. But my understanding was that the second car to arrive only gets whatever is available - the first car continues to charge at the highest rate that it can support.
> 
> Did Tesla change that? Or were all the explanations I read incorrect?


Well, certainly it didn't work that way for me. The instant she plugged in it dropped from 155 to 95, and then tapered down to 65 as she ramped up. And I only ended up with 45%, and I had pre-conditioned, so I could have easily still been in the 125kW range when I left.


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## FRC (Aug 4, 2018)

Needsdecaf said:


> Well, certainly it didn't work that way for me. The instant she plugged in it dropped from 155 to 95, and then tapered down to 65 as she ramped up. And I only ended up with 45%, and I had pre-conditioned, so I could have easily still ben in the 125kW range when I left.


This is similar to my experience as well. Pairing slows both charging rates.


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## Madmolecule (Oct 8, 2018)

FRC said:


> Only thing more frustrating than ignorant/uncaring supercharger patrons is Tesla's inconsistent supercharger layouts. Most V2's are laid out in a 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, etc. pattern. These are easily understood at a glance and you can tell to leave one space between you and the next guy to avoid pairing. The problem comes when the stalls are laid out in a 1A, 2A, 3A. 4A, 1B, 2B, 3B, 4B, etc pattern. Nobody can tell which stall to choose without getting out of their car and performing some sort of 10th grade Algebra2 equation. I can't understand how Tesla can allow their contractors to be inconsistent in the stall layout. Fortunately, with V3 superchargers it doesn't matter.


They could easily add a light on every supercharger. Make it green if full charging is available at that stall or yellow if it will be shared charging. Red if it is out of service
Since they Won't change the hardware this could also easily be done through the interface. as you pull into a superchargers station your display screen. Could change to a argumentative reality view of the supercharging station depicting the actual maximum charge capability of each stall. Could be based on historic users at that stall, by them self or paired up.


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## Bigriver (Jan 26, 2018)

Needsdecaf said:


> Corsicana is worse. It goes:
> 
> 1A 2A 3A 1B 2B 3B
> 
> ...


Maumee Ohio SCs are like that, except no 5A/5B. There is a reason tho… first 6 are the original ones - 120 kW units. The 4A and 4B were added later and are 150 kW stalls. The site is listed at 150 kW, although last I used any of the original 6 they still seem limited to 120.


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