# First Long Trip - MD to FL



## Darkmann (11 mo ago)

*MY22 M3 LR DM* purchased new, Summer 2022. Here are my impressions on a round trip drive from Salisbury, MD to Miami, FL over the holidays. Also went down to Key West and plenty of FT. Lauderdale while in the area. I followed the route plotted by the vehicle NAV system. Overall, the trip went very well. I have done this trip many times using ICE SUV. The Tesla added ~3hrs to the trip, but that wasn't a problem for me because arrival time wasn't a pressing issue. As good as the Tesla is, I don't think that EVs are there yet for long trips like this one. For anything over 3 Hrs, I'd consider ICE over the Tesla.

*Planning & Driving*
I tried other apps for this trip but none was as useful as the Tesla NAV app. I also didn't find the Tesla Energy app as useful for the mostly highway trip compared with when I use it driving locally. I started by charging to 100% overnight at home in very low temps and drove ~70 mph through first supercharger (SC) stop. Towards the next scheduled SC I noticed that whether at 70 or 85, the % charge when I arrive at the SC didn't change much at all, so I dumped 70, and had bursts well north of 85. In the car were 3 adults, one large suitcase, one carry-on, one medium size cooler, an assortment of other bags stuffed with stuff...etc. Overnighted in Savannah, GA and cruised comfortably to Miami the next day. Return trip was similar except that I now had two coolers and a very large duffle bag, the drive was mostly in daylight and my right foot was much heavier. The M3 DM is very quick and very stable at high speed. The steering response is impressive also. Braking could be better. Climate control could be better - slow response. Front seats were very comfortable, though my rear passenger wasn't happy with the rear seat comfort. The left foot dead pedal became uncomfortable towards end of trip, both ways. The addition of Apple music made a significant difference in music choices - definite like.

*Charging*
Charging was a non-issue. There's sufficient SC on this route to efficiently make the trip without anxiety. Other than 100% from home, for the rest of the trip I was charging from (9% -20%) to (75% - 90%). All together, I stopped at 23 SC stations for a total of $275.04. That's ~50% gas savings compared with the ICE SUV I last used for this trip.

Like I said earlier, we overnighted in Savannah, GA. The next morning was a bit cool and damp. After charging was completed at the designated SC (SAV) I noticed steam coming out the passenger front wheel well. Same thing happened on a Model Y two stations from me, except steam was "pouring" out both wheel wells. Neither the MY owner nor I knew what was going on, but I concluded it was condensation evaporating from somewhere. Anyone experienced this?

*Some Cautions*
Tesla NAV App*: *The app displays an estimated _charge duration_ at a given SC on the route. In my case it showed charge durations under 20 minutes for all SC stations. Charge durations for me were between 20 minutes and 30 minutes for the 250 kw chargers, and 40 minutes for one 150 kw charger (I charged here just enough to go to the next 250 kw SC), charging within the range I mentioned earlier*.*

Super Charger Locations: On this trip, all the SC were located in well lit gas stations. However, one was in a _too-remote-for-comfort_ location away from the primary highway. The gas station was closed when we arrived and we were the only ones there for a good 15 minutes when a few more Teslas joined us. Could be nerve -racking for some people. Also, some SC are more that just a couple of miles from the primary highway. For anyone doing trips like this, planning is everything.

Autopilot
Dangerous. Use with caution because sometimes it believes it detects something and will brake hard. Happened 3 times on this trip.


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

Darkmann said:


> Like I said earlier, we overnighted in Savannah, GA. The next morning was a bit cool and damp. After charging was completed at the designated SC (SAV) I noticed steam coming out the passenger front wheel well. Same thing happened on a Model Y two stations from me, except steam was "pouring" out both wheel wells. Neither the MY owner nor I knew what was going on, but I concluded it was condensation evaporating from somewhere. Anyone experienced this?


Yes, on an ICE vehicle. It's from the tires and brakes.


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## Darkmann (11 mo ago)

JasonF said:


> Yes, on an ICE vehicle. It's from the tires and brakes.


Not when both tires and brakes are cold. Even on ICE, to have that much steam from wheel wells would require some very serious driving and braking, otherwise something would have gone really bad. For my Model 3 (and the Model Y at same charge station) I am wondering if liquid is caught somewhere under the car and just evaporates when battery gets to temperature. The vapor only manifested at end of charging.


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

Darkmann said:


> Not when both tires and brakes are cold. Even on ICE, to have that much steam from wheel wells would require some very serious driving and braking, otherwise something would have gone really bad. For my Model 3 (and the Model Y at same charge station) I am wondering if liquid is caught somewhere under the car and just evaporates when battery gets to temperature. The vapor only manifested at end of charging.


Then it might be the tires and brakes combined with the heat exchanger giving off heat from the battery coolant.


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## Jim Perkins (4 mo ago)

JasonF said:


> Then it might be the tires and brakes combined with the heat exchanger giving off heat from the battery coolant.


When I bought my 2022 M3 DM I noticed two 1/2 inche access holes on the firewall facing each front tire(Bernoulli effect). On 2023 model Ys a plug has been placed over the the holes. During Highway driving water or snow will easily accumulate in these holes as their immediately behind each tire. All previous models have this and I was told “it’s all aluminum don’t worry”. This could be a water/snow/ice/sand/dirt collection hole. The rocker panel accumulating such material may be a steam source from battery heat after long drives at the right temp. This is a WAG on my part but, I couldn’t see any reason to allow a such a poorly placed hole to accumulate road dirt and sand and salt so I plugged it. Please note I have never experienced steam issues other than it not being implemented in my cars OS as promised in the pre-christmas happy talk.

Please take all this with a grain of salt since I be an ignit owner not an automotive engineer. I expect to hear someone tell me it’s a drain hole with a Bernoulli defector mechanism inside. Whatever, at least the mice can’t get in!


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## Nom (Oct 30, 2018)

Regarding NAV showing under 20 min charge durations — not sure but this may be the NAV saying to minimize overall route time you will use SC to only get up to X% charge - which may be lower then you wanted. NAV is trying to keep charge rate up high while at SC. For example - go to SC and charge only to 55%, go to next SC and be at 10%, charge to 50%, go to next SC … etc. 

Or, did it actually delay saying ready to move on until you were charging for 30-40 minutes? That is a long period to charge when SCs are abundant in an area (in my opinion). Particularly for a 250kw charger.


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## Darkmann (11 mo ago)

JasonF said:


> Then it might be the tires and brakes combined with the heat exchanger giving off heat from the battery coolant.


Thanks. Don't think it's tire or brakes, but could definitely be the heat exchanger - similar to rain hitting a hot radiator on ICE vehicles. Where's the battery HE located on the M3? How's the entire coolant plumbing done? Anyone have diagrams or pictures?


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## Darkmann (11 mo ago)

Nom said:


> Regarding NAV showing under 20 min charge durations — not sure but this may be the NAV saying to minimize overall route time you will use SC to only get up to X% charge - which may be lower then you wanted. NAV is trying to keep charge rate up high while at SC. For example - go to SC and charge only to 55%, go to next SC and be at 10%, charge to 50%, go to next SC … etc.
> 
> Or, did it actually delay saying ready to move on until you were charging for 30-40 minutes? That is a long period to charge when SCs are abundant in an area (in my opinion). Particularly for a 250kw charger.


Likely the former. It didn't delay. The system would charge up to what I needed to get to the next SC + margin (it looked like 10% margin). The interesting thing is that the whole charge tracking algorithm is really good. At one point, it took me down to 9% battery (yellow zone) but still led me safely to the pre-assigned supercharger station.


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

Darkmann said:


> Thanks. Don't think it's tire or brakes, but could definitely be the heat exchanger - similar to rain hitting a hot radiator on ICE vehicles. Where's the battery HE located on the M3? How's the entire coolant plumbing done? Anyone have diagrams or pictures?


It's directly beneath the frunk bin. If you remove it you will see the cowling that focuses airflow inward from the front vents, and beneath that is the heat exchanger.


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