# Yolandi: garsh's Performance Model 3



## garsh

There are a few things I'd like to mention about my own car, but there's no good existing thread, and it doesn't seem worthwhile to start a new thread for each separate issue, so I'm going to just make a thread about my car, since that seems to be a thing. 

Introducing: Yolandi


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## garsh

I took Yolandi in for service yesterday. I had a short list of issues for Tesla to fix:

Signal for left turn goes full-on instead of 3 flashes at first detent (this is the issue that I most want fixed).
Rear view mirror has some gouges (being replaced)
Right front fender slightly overlaps bumper.
Passenger-side black plastic mirror piece is coming off a little.
When I left work to take the car to Tesla, it developed a new issue: surround view was not working, so autosteer was disabled. Sounds like an autopilot camera went bad, so they're fixing that too (good timing on that failure!).

I received a Model S 100D loaner. Thoughts about the S 100D compared to a 3 Performance:

My 3 is quicker, but not by a whole lot (official 0-60 is 3.6s vs 3.3s for my 3).
The regen in my 3 seemed a little stronger. I had heard that the RWD 3s had weaker regen than S's, so I thought mine might as well.
Sport steering in my 3 is much heavier than sport steering in the S. But the S has the smaller 19" wheels, while my 3 has the 20" wheels, so that might account for some of the difference.
The S is a noticeably wider car.
As bad as the rear view is in the 3, it almost seems worse in the S.


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## garsh

I'm not planning on making many modifications to my car, but I've made two already:

Straightened out the driver-side headrest posts to allow me to sit up a little straighter without actually touching my head to the headrest.
Added Kenriko's Black Brushed Metal Center Console wrap. Big improvement over the OEM fingerprint-magnet black.


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## garsh

Tesla app shows that they updated my car to 2018.39.7.1 this morning. 
I believe I was on 2018.39.7.
I hope I can pick it up on my way home today. I much prefer my 3 to this S.


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## Dr. J

garsh said:


> I'm not planning on making many modifications to my car, but I've made two already:
> 
> Straightened out the driver-side headrest posts to allow me to sit up a little straighter without actually touching my head to the headrest.
> Added Kenriko's Black Brushed Metal Center Console wrap. Big improvement over the OEM fingerprint-magnet black.


Winner rating was for the headrest posts. OMG! I'm doing this immediately!

Beautiful car, BTW. Just like mine, except for the wheels....and the extra motor.....and the Performance stuff....but otherwise identical!


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## garsh

Dr. J said:


> Winner rating was for the headrest posts. OMG! I'm doing this immediately!


I originally did that on my Leaf.

I don't know what kind of double-pipe contraption the person in the video used. I bought the following from Lowes, and it worked wonderfully by itself:
24" black iron pipe

Also, I didn't bother taking the cover off the headrest. I just wrapped it up in a towel for protection, and placed it in a wood vice to hold it while I bent the posts.


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## beastmode13

Thanks for sharing. Using the post of headrest to lock in the back cover of seat makes the engineer in me smile, clever.


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## Bigriver

As you were probably one of the most informed new Model 3 owners ever, I’m curious if you’ve had any surprises, good or bad, since getting it? Anything you are more-than-expected delighted with or geez-I-didn’t-expect that?


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## garsh

Bigriver said:


> As you were probably one of the most informed new Model 3 owners ever, I'm curious if you've had any surprises, good or bad, since getting it? Anything you are more-than-expected delighted with or geez-I-didn't-expect that?


Interesting question. Overall: this is the best vehicle I've ever owned, and I'm very happy I got one. There are lots of things about it that delight me, but for the most part I was expecting everything after having test-driven several Teslas, and after owning an EV (Nissan Leaf) for the past 6 years.

There are a few things that I wasn't expecting, and found a _little_ disappointing after having taken delivery:

The accelerator pedal is touchier than I like. I find it a little difficult to perform low-speed maneuvers in the garage & driveway. Creep mode is helpful in this case, but I otherwise prefer to keep creep mode off. The Leaf in ECO mode was wonderful at this.
All the paint issues. I knew Teslas had problems with their paint jobs, but I didn't expect the sheer number of problem spots mine has. But it's nothing noticeable from 3 feet away, so I'm just living with it.
The range of the Performance is quite a bit less than the RWD. With all the talk of the first 3s getting ~340 miles out of a full charge, I thought a Performance would get close to 300 miles. It's turning out to be more like 260-280 miles in regular driving.
Autopilot doesn't shy away from cars in the lane beside you. I'm getting used to it now, but it made me really nervous at first.
None of these are a big deal. They are just things I wasn't expecting, and didn't realize until after I started driving the car myself. I'm extremely satisfied with the car.


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## SoFlaModel3

Do you have a picture of the bumper overlap? My wife has a slight overlap, not sure if it’s worth worrying about.


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## JWardell

garsh said:


> The accelerator pedal is touchier than I like. I find it a little difficult to perform low-speed maneuvers in the garage & driveway. Creep mode is helpful in this case, but I otherwise prefer to keep creep mode off. The Leaf in ECO mode was wonderful at this.


I really like the idea that someone else suggested in another thread: save a second profile with creep and chill on for maneuvering in your driveway etc that you can switch to with a quick tap.


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## garsh

JWardell said:


> I really like the idea that someone else suggested in another thread: save a second profile with creep and chill on for maneuvering in your driveway etc that you can switch to with a quick tap.


Yep, I saw that thread today.
When I got my car home, I created a "parking" profile with creep turned on. I'll give it a try and see how I like it.


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## garsh

garsh said:


> Tesla app shows that they updated my car to 2018.39.7.1 this morning.


After getting home, my car received another update.
It's now on 2018.40.1


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## garsh

*The name's Bond.... Dyslexic Bond.*


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## iChris93

Did you end up doing your own PPF?


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## Quicksilver

Were there a few reasons you went with black vs. white interior? I would think the white goes nicely with the blue paint job.


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## garsh

SoFlaModel3 said:


> Do you have a picture of the bumper overlap? My wife has a slight overlap, not sure if it's worth worrying about.


I made a video for you. 
It's pretty minor. It doesn't look like they were able to make it any better. This video was shot after getting the car back.


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## garsh

iChris93 said:


> Did you end up doing your own PPF?


No, I gave up.
I did put on Ceramic Coating myself.


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## garsh

Quicksilver said:


> Were there a few reasons you went with black vs. white interior? I would think the white goes nicely with the blue paint job.


Two reasons:

White is hard to keep clean, and
I don't like white. 
I know white is all the rage now. Call me old-fashioned.


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## SoFlaModel3

garsh said:


> I made a video for you.
> It's pretty minor. It doesn't look like they were able to make it any better. This video was shot after getting the car back.


Thanks! That's more obvious than my wife's, so I guess best bet to leave it alone. She's also not OCD like me


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## TrevP

Interesting name... is it connected to Ms. Visser from South Africa given Elon's roots?


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## garsh

TrevP said:


> Interesting name... is it connected to Ms. Visser from South Africa given Elon's roots?


Yes, it's named after Ms. Visser.
No, it's not because of Elon.

It's because I had named my Leaf Ninja.

But no, I did not name it after Mr. Jones.
I was just signing up for Nissan's online vehicle access, and it required me to come up with a name, and my car was black, so I typed "ninja".


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## James M

I think your car and mine were siblings on the line (I have the same config with vin 722xx). I also had to get the left turn signal addressed, but thankfully didn't have any paint or panel gap issues. I agree the range difference of the Performance+ edition was the biggest surprise for me, not that it impacts my daily use of the car. I do have a minor interior rattle in front of the passenger seat that I haven't been able to isolate yet -- it conveniently didn't reproduce itself when I tried to demonstrate it to the service tech.

It is without question my favorite, most fun car I've ever owned, and I was lucky enough to have an E93 BMW M3 prior to this (and a Honda S2000 before that -- also great). The fact that this car is simultaneously the most thrilling and most relaxing to drive is really something.


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## Dr. J

garsh said:


> Yes, it's named after Ms. Visser.
> No, it's not because of Elon.
> 
> It's because I had named my Leaf Ninja.
> 
> But no, I did not name it after Mr. Jones.
> I was just signing up for Nissan's online vehicle access, and it required me to come up with a name, and my car was black, so I typed "ninja".


So your next one is Hi-Tek?  That should really be something!


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## garsh

Dr. J said:


> So your next one is Hi-Tek?


Yes.
It will be a Roadster.
I will name it GOD.


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## Bigriver

garsh said:


> No, I gave up.
> I did put on Ceramic Coating myself.


What DIY ceramic coating did you go with? Would you recommend it?


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## garsh

Bigriver said:


> What DIY ceramic coating did you go with? Would you recommend it?


https://www.feynlab.com/product/ceramic_lite/

Yes, I'd recommend it.

DIY Ceramic Coating - Avoid My Mistake


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## littlD

James M said:


> I think your car and mine were siblings on the line (I have the same config with vin 722xx). I also had to get the left turn signal addressed, but thankfully didn't have any paint or panel gap issues. I agree the range difference of the Performance+ edition was the biggest surprise for me, not that it impacts my daily use of the car. I do have a minor interior rattle in front of the passenger seat that I haven't been able to isolate yet -- it conveniently didn't reproduce itself when I tried to demonstrate it to the service tech.
> 
> It is without question my favorite, most fun car I've ever owned, and I was lucky enough to have an E93 BMW M3 prior to this (and a Honda S2000 before that -- also great). The fact that this car is simultaneously the most thrilling and most relaxing to drive is really something.


I have a similar rattle in the passenger seat. I've found that setting the seat's horizontal position changes whether or not it rattles (probably the cables underneath).

So, once you hear it, DON'T move the seat until you get to the Service Center...


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## littlD

Congratulations @garsh ! So glad you finally have yours!!


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## Headwind

garsh said:


> All the paint issues. I knew Teslas had problems with their paint jobs, but I didn't expect the sheer number of problem spots mine has. But it's nothing noticeable from 3 feet away, so I'm just living with it.




Congrats on Yolandi Garsh! Absolutely gorgeous. Overall, I absolutely love my Model 3 (named Indigo), but share some of the same little things too, but one resonated big time with me: paint.

As you said, at a few feet away nothing is really noticeable, but the looking in detail shows that the paint booth needs more work, or really more time. I had delivery issues (a door scratch) that needed repainting, not sure this was paint too soft or whatever, but a week in the shop. Then I noticed gaps in coverage partocularly bad in the trunk gutter area. One spot was peeling already and in another, I could see primer showing through. Another week in the shop. But all the little areas, door jambs, underneaths, corners etc all are poorly covered. And my detailer said that Tesla paint is super soft, making it particularly in need of protection. They spent a ton of time on paint correction before they could wrap.

Anyway, love the car and by the way, the white seats are easy to keep clean...at least so far!!

HW


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## garsh

I started another thread for this topic (since I think Mad Hungarian & FastWheels deserve the extra advertising).
I got a set of FastWheels FC04 wheels with winter tires to handle our falling temperatures.
The summer tires that come standard on the Performance cannot handle temperatures below freezing.

I liked the FC04 wheels in photos, but that Titanium finish looks SO much better in person than it does in photographs. It's a shame that we can't figure out a better way to photograph them. They really sparkle.

*Yolandi gets some FastWheels for the winter*


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## garsh

I kind of like the bedazzled look!


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## Bigriver

garsh said:


> I kind of like the bedazzled look!


So beautifully uniform!


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## garsh

Yolandi lost her charge port parallelogram, so I'll need to set up another service appointment to have that fixed.
I don't know when I'm going to get around to that.


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## garsh

garsh said:


> Yolandi lost her charge port parallelogram, so I'll need to set up another service appointment to have that fixed.
> I don't know when I'm going to get around to that.


I stopped by the service center. They didn't have the part in stock, so they scheduled a Mobile Service appointment for me.
I'm looking forward to my first Mobile Service experience.


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## Magnets!

I like the wheels and glad there are 18" options for the performance package. How much lighter are they than the 20"s any idea?
Do you notice less road noise with the 18s vs. 20s?
And a question about the charge port piece. Is it the case that the only function of this piece is to manually open and close the charge door or does the lack of it create other issues?


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## garsh

Magnets! said:


> I like the wheels and glad there are 18" options for the performance package. How much lighter are they than the 20"s any idea?


@Mad Hungarian covers that topic in this video, starting at 7m7s:





20" OEM wheel w. tire is 53.8 lbs.
18" FC04 wheel w. tire is 44.6 lbs.
So quite a bit lighter. I have a different tire mounted, but it should be in the same ballpark.


> Do you notice less road noise with the 18s vs. 20s?


I didn't really notice any difference. But the 18s are winter tires.


> And a question about the charge port piece. Is it the case that the only function of this piece is to manually open and close the charge door or does the lack of it create other issues?


That's the only issue I've noticed. It still opens via the screen or phone app.


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## John

garsh said:


> Yolandi lost her charge port parallelogram, so I'll need to set up another service appointment to have that fixed.
> I don't know when I'm going to get around to that.


They'll have to replace your entire charge port, since the little piece is not separately orderable. What a pain.
My free solution is always available....


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## littlD

John said:


> They'll have to replace your entire charge port, since the little piece is not separately orderable. What a pain.
> My free solution is always available....


Maybe things have changed since I had my lost sensor replaced.

The service receipt even listed the magnet as its own part number.


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## John

littlD said:


> Maybe things have changed since I had my lost sensor replaced.
> 
> The service receipt even listed the magnet as its own part number.


Oh, good. Back when I discovered the lost target, there wasn't an option for that.


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## garsh

My Fast Wheels FC04's are 18x8, which is a half-inch narrower than stock (18x8.5).
The tires are 245/45R18, which is a little wider than stock (235/45R18).

That decision appears to have been a wise one. I had parked in an "end" space today, next to a curb. I had a brain fart and forgot that there was a curb beside me when I left. The right rear tire hit the curb as I was pulling out. I checked it over when I got home, and I couldn't find a single scratch on the wheel. I was so relieved and happy.


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## garsh

I made Yolandi suffer a little today.
But she still made it 30 miles to work.... barely.


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## garsh

Yolandi then said to me "if I'm going to suffer, then YOU'RE going to suffer!"


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## webdriverguy

garsh said:


> I made Yolandi suffer a little today.
> But she still made it 30 miles to work.... barely.


That was too close. I think the energy graph is fairly accurate during driving.


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## garsh

webdriverguy said:


> That was too close. I think the energy graph is fairly accurate during driving.


I know I use 10-12% in order to get to work, depending on my speed.
So I charged to 16% before going to bed.
But with the little "snowflake" locking up some of the battery energy, it reported 12% left when I left for work.
And I left the heater on for the trip, so that zapped quite a bit more.

But I drove a Nissan Leaf for 6 years, and regularly arrived at work with less than 4 miles of range remaining, so this is a walk-in-the-park for me.


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## garsh

MOAR POWR!!!!!!

I had to get a little creative with the installation in order to run the cable across the ceiling to the back of the garage.
A quick test confirms the awesome charging rate!


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## webdriverguy

garsh said:


> MOAR POWR!!!!!!
> 
> I had to get a little creative with the installation in order to run the cable across the ceiling to the back of the garage.
> A quick test confirms the awesome charging rate!


48A nice.


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## Magnets!

Nice, now you can charge past 16%!


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## GDN

garsh said:


> I made Yolandi suffer a little today.
> But she still made it 30 miles to work.... barely.


You love tempting fate and I remember your stories about the Leaf and taking it down to 0.

Hell I thought I might try out a J1772 for the first time today and charge at work. My car was down to 87 miles range, but the other was charged up. My partner freaked out and said I'd be cutting it too close (I use about 50 -55 miles of range round trip). So we traded for the day. I really think it was just because I had washed mine and his was dirty. I drove the dirty car.


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## Mad Hungarian

garsh said:


> I made Yolandi suffer a little today.
> But she still made it 30 miles to work.... barely.


You've trained for this moment


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## Mad Hungarian

garsh said:


> Yolandi then said to me "if I'm going to suffer, then YOU'RE going to suffer!"


I have never actually seen this display!
#Goals


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## Bigriver

garsh said:


> MOAR POWR!!!!!!
> 
> I had to get a little creative with the installation in order to run the cable across the ceiling to the back of the garage.
> A quick test confirms the awesome charging rate!


Creative indeed. However, my brain can't wrap itself around the connector picture - I need some orientation. Where is it mounted - floor, ceiling, closet?


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## garsh

Bigriver said:


> Creative indeed. However, my brain can't wrap itself around the connector picture - I need some orientation. Where is it mounted - floor, ceiling, closet?


It is mounted on a wall, up high close to the ceiling, between an I-beam that runs the length of the garage, a furnace vent that runs parallel to it, and above the old kitchen cabinets that I had mounted against the back wall.

In the picture below, you can see the 240v outlet that I still use for the Leaf, and another electrical box whose 240v line was re-routed to the wall connector's location.


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## Bigriver

WOW. It might have been easier to move the I-beam!


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## Cookiebob

Are you going to stick with the stock 20s in the summer?


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## garsh

Cookiebob said:


> Are you going to stick with the stock 20s in the summer?


Yes.

At least until July.


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## Cookiebob

garsh said:


> Yes.
> 
> At least until July.
> 
> View attachment 23115


. Very jealous but also happy for you. I think I'll delay my FC04 purchase until I hear more about the aero options (Tesla or Fast wheels) and/or Canadatires gives me a reasonable quote for shipping to USA.


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## Cookiebob

Cookiebob said:


> . Very jealous but also happy for you. I think I'll delay my FC04 purchase until I hear more about the aero options (Tesla or Fast wheels) and/or Canadatires gives me a reasonable quote for shipping to USA.


Just kidding. Ordered FC04s from Canadawheels.ca today.


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## murattukaalai

Do you have picture of FC04 with 245?


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## Cookiebob

murattukaalai said:


> Do you have picture of FC04 with 245?


https://teslaownersonline.com/threads/yolandi-gets-some-fastwheels-for-the-winter.9749/ (blue car)


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## garsh

murattukaalai said:


> Do you have picture of FC04 with 245?





Cookiebob said:


> https://teslaownersonline.com/threads/yolandi-gets-some-fastwheels-for-the-winter.9749/ (blue car)


Yep, there are pictures in the first and second posts of this thread.
The blue car has 8" wide wheels (OEM is 8.5" wide) with 245/45R18 tires (OEM is 235/45R18 for the aero wheels).


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## garsh

This is a new efficiency record for me on my commute home.
Temp was in the high 50s, but I still had the HVAC set to 66.
This bodes well for efficiency in the warmer months.


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## JWardell

garsh said:


> This is a new efficiency record for me on my commute home.
> Temp was in the high 50s, but I still had the HVAC set to 66.
> This bodes well for efficiency in the warmer months.


No doubt because of the slow calming music you're listening to


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## garsh

I swapped back to the summer wheels/tires last night.
I took the opportunity to scrub the wheel well liners pretty good.
I also cleaned the calipers and put a couple coats of leftover Ceramic Lite on them.


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## garsh

Houston, we have a problem.

The car was unable to detect the TPMS sensors in the summer wheels. These are the OEM wheels with the original OEM TPMS sensors. So, I'm not sure what happened here.

Also, my efficiency went back to being crap. I'm hoping it's mostly due to having rotated the summer tires to different positions on the car, and they just need to wear in a little bit.


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## Bokonon

garsh said:


> Also, my efficiency went back to being crap. I'm hoping it's mostly due to having rotated the summer tires to different positions on the car, and they just need to wear in a little bit.


I imagine the summer rubber is also pretty stiff at 29°F?


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## iChris93

garsh said:


> Houston, we have a problem.
> 
> The car was unable to detect the TPMS sensors in the summer wheels. These are the OEM wheels with the original OEM TPMS sensors. So, I'm not sure what happened here.
> 
> Also, my efficiency went back to being crap. I'm hoping it's mostly due to having rotated the summer tires to different positions on the car, and they just need to wear in a little bit.


I was going to ask if your drive was too short, but from the photo I can tell it was not.


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## garsh

The TPMS issue worked itself out on the way home. The car finally popped up the dialog to choose my wheel size, and all was fine.


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## garsh

And then THIS happened.


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## garsh

garsh said:


> Also, my efficiency went back to being crap. I'm hoping it's mostly due to having rotated the summer tires to different positions on the car, and they just need to wear in a little bit.


Some observations regarding efficiency of the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires:

Efficiency did get better after a couple days of wearing in. They seem to be about on par with my winter tires on dry roads.
On wet roads, the efficiency of the Michelins seems to be MUCH worse than the efficiency of my winter tires. Even just slightly damp roads seems to make a big difference.


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## garsh

Yolandi just completed a road trip to various parts of Kentucky and Ohio. It's so nice having an electric car with decent range. There's no worrying about "are we going to make it" like there was with the Leaf. 

Here are the road trip stats:

Total distance driven: 1324 miles
Total driving time: 29h38m
Total supercharging time: 4h55m (coinciding with meals: 2h58m)
Total supercharging cost: $65.95
Per mile cost: $0.0498
For comparison, a 40 mpg car with $3.16/gal gas has a per-mile cost of $0.079. Non-free supercharging is less expensive than paying for gas, but not nearly as cheap as charging at home.


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## Bigriver

garsh said:


> Some observations regarding efficiency of the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires:
> 
> Efficiency did get better after a couple days of wearing in. They seem to be about on par with my winter tires on dry roads.
> On wet roads, the efficiency of the Michelins seems to be MUCH worse than the efficiency of my winter tires. Even just slightly damp roads seems to make a big difference.


Along with switching tires you also switched wheels, right? Any way to compare the hit from 18" to 20"? Do you know how much the weight changed?


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## garsh

Bigriver said:


> Along with switching tires you also switched wheels, right? Any way to compare the hit from 18" to 20"? Do you know how much the weight changed?


Yes. I have 18" Fast Wheels FC04 wheels for my winter tires. @Mad Hungarian talks about the difference in weight between the two sets of wheels in this video:






I'm not really sure how to more accurately measure efficiency differences between the two, since I can't compare them back-to-back. They seem similar in dry conditions, and the winter tires seem to be more efficient in wet conditions. It really doesn't seem to be too much of a difference otherwise.


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## Mad Hungarian

garsh said:


> Yolandi just completed a road trip to various parts of Kentucky and Ohio. It's so nice having an electric car with decent range. There's no worrying about "are we going to make it" like there was with the Leaf.
> 
> Here are the road trip stats:
> 
> Total miles driven: 1324
> Total driving time: 29h38m
> Total supercharging time: 4h55m (coinciding with meals: 2h58m)
> Total supercharging cost: $65.95
> Per mile cost: $0.0498
> For comparison, a 40 mpg car with $3.16/gal gas has a per-mile cost of $0.079. Non-free supercharging is less expensive than paying for gas, but not nearly as cheap as charging at home.


Did you happen to record total energy used, or your Wh/mi average?


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## Mad Hungarian

garsh said:


> Yes. I have 18" Fast Wheels FC04 wheels for my winter tires. @Mad Hungarian talks about the difference in weight between the two sets of wheels in this video:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm not really sure how to more accurately measure efficiency differences between the two, since I can't compare them back-to-back. They seem similar in dry conditions, and the winter tires seem to be more efficient in wet conditions. It really doesn't seem to be too much of a difference otherwise.


The 18x8.0 FC04 is 9 lbs lighter than the OE 20x8.5 Peformance wheel, so it should offer a noticeable improvement in stop-start city driving.
However lighter weight really doesn't help you at steady highway speeds, that's all about aerodynamics and here I think the 20 OE Tesla wheel would have a slight advantage owing to the fuller, rounder design of its spokes.
Of course all of the above assumes the use of identical model tires, if not that's a whole different set of variables.


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## garsh

Mad Hungarian said:


> Did you happen to record total energy used, or your Wh/mi average?


No, that would have required enough forward-thinking to have reset one of my trip odometers. 

I figured out all of those stats afterwards via Tesla account history (for supercharging costs & duration) and Google Maps Timeline (for distances & driving times).


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## M3Pguy

garsh said:


> Yolandi just completed a road trip to various parts of Kentucky and Ohio. It's so nice having an electric car with decent range. There's no worrying about "are we going to make it" like there was with the Leaf.
> 
> Here are the road trip stats:
> 
> Total miles driven: 1324
> Total driving time: 29h38m
> Total supercharging time: 4h55m (coinciding with meals: 2h58m)
> Total supercharging cost: $65.95
> Per mile cost: $0.0498
> For comparison, a 40 mpg car with $3.16/gal gas has a per-mile cost of $0.079. Non-free supercharging is less expensive than paying for gas, but not nearly as cheap as charging at home.


Thanks for the detail, here. Guessing it's difficult to imagine keeping the FUSC, without multiple scheduled trips?


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## mswlogo

garsh said:


> Yolandi just completed a road trip to various parts of Kentucky and Ohio. It's so nice having an electric car with decent range. There's no worrying about "are we going to make it" like there was with the Leaf.
> 
> Here are the road trip stats:
> 
> Total miles driven: 1324
> Total driving time: 29h38m
> Total supercharging time: 4h55m (coinciding with meals: 2h58m)
> Total supercharging cost: $65.95
> Per mile cost: $0.0498
> For comparison, a 40 mpg car with $3.16/gal gas has a per-mile cost of $0.079. Non-free supercharging is less expensive than paying for gas, but not nearly as cheap as charging at home.


So what was you average wh/mi for the whole trip?

I just put 19" OEM Wheels with Pirelli P7+ tires on my Performance (Stealth). So far they seem to be only 3% less efficient than the Aero's with covers and just as quiet. So far the tires look really promising. 70,000 mile tread wear to boot.
Turns out the 19" with these tires are only about 1.5 lbs heavier then Aero's with tires and covers. And no more foam to deal with in case it needs a quick fix-a-flat or a external plug.


----------



## garsh

mswlogo said:


> So what was you average wh/mi for the whole trip?


As I told @Mad Hungarian, I didn't reset a trip odometer for the purpose, so I don't really know.
My best guess is around 310 Wh/mile. I rarely went over 70 mph, and was often well below.


----------



## garsh

Man, those free supercharging miles go fast.

On the plus side, my 1000 miles of free supercharging got me through a 540-mile trip to Ann Arbor and a 1,400-mile multiple-college-visitation road trip. 

I've got another 1500-mile road trip coming up next week, but it looks like I'm going to have to pay for supercharging for that one.


----------



## garsh

That was a pretty epic 5-day road trip. 
We tossed in a visit to Milwaukee as well, just to cross Wisconsin off our states-we-haven't-visited-yet list.


----------



## lance.bailey

nice circuit! I'm a fan of circle trips. dunno why. Just before our first kid was born my wife and I did 3 day circle down I5 to a resort at the south end of hood canal and then back up on 101 and across the water at port townsend. before that a great circle of 700km in one day in the south interior collecting squash at roadside stands.

You inspire me to do another, it has been too long.


----------



## Mad Hungarian

garsh said:


> That was a pretty epic 5-day road trip.
> We tossed in a visit to Milwaukee as well, just to cross Wisconsin off our states-we-haven't-visited-yet list.
> 
> View attachment 27891


Nice!!
One day I want to do a lap of the Great Lakes, just waiting for the SC network to fill out a little on the north side.


----------



## Needsdecaf

Heh, looks like a College visit trip for the kid?


----------



## garsh

Needsdecaf said:


> Heh, looks like a College visit trip for the kid?













garsh said:


> On the plus side, my 1000 miles of free supercharging got me through a 540-mile trip to Ann Arbor and a 1,400-mile multiple-college-visitation road trip.


----------



## gaduser

garsh said:


> I'm not planning on making many modifications to my car, but I've made two already:
> 
> Straightened out the driver-side headrest posts to allow me to sit up a little straighter without actually touching my head to the headrest.


I just reversed the driver's side headrest for now. The back is now the front.
Comfort is good - appearance is fair - reversibility is nice.


----------



## garsh

gaduser said:


> I just reversed the driver's side headrest for now. The back is now the front.
> Comfort is good - appearance is fair - reversibility is nice.


I actually ended up reversing it as well. Agree on both comfort and appearance.


----------



## Mad Hungarian

garsh said:


> I actually ended up reversing it as well. Agree on both comfort and appearance.


Hey bud, can you please post a quick pic of what it looks like reversed?
Saw the video and am now trying to decide whether to do the bending project or just flip them.


----------



## Needsdecaf

Funny, I don't mind the headrest at all, but I think that's because I long ago owned a few Volvos. There was no reversing the headrest on those bad boys and they definitely protruded!


----------



## Mad Hungarian

Needsdecaf said:


> Funny, I don't mind the headrest at all, but I think that's because I long ago owned a few Volvos. There was no reversing the headrest on those bad boys and they definitely protruded!


It's not horribly objectionable with just one's skull butted up against it, but it's _really _uncomfortable with a helmet added for autocross or lapping.


----------



## Needsdecaf

Mad Hungarian said:


> It's not horribly objectionable with just one's skull butted up against it, but it's _really _uncomfortable with a helmet added for autocross or lapping.


I bet. Just the way that me sitting in a 570S is possible, but sitting in a 570S while wearing a helmet requires me to adopt a driving position best thought of as "torturous".


----------



## garsh

The second big 5-colleges-in-5-days roadtrip is now complete.
I need a nap!


----------



## lance.bailey

it's a good thing you're saving buckets of cash in gas savings - that will help you pay for those tuition fees 

Princeton, Cornell, MIT ...


----------



## Jim H

garsh said:


> The second big 5-colleges-in-5-days roadtrip is now complete.
> I need a nap!
> 
> View attachment 28081


Why not just go to Pitt. Good school. Worked for me in 74. Daughter went to Slippery Rock, which was a nice smaller school.


----------



## garsh

Jim H said:


> Why not just go to Pitt. Good school. Worked for me in 74. Daughter went to Slippery Rock, which was a nice smaller school.


I'm pushing for Penn State myself.


----------



## garsh

FYI, I was most impressed by Cornell. It's a _beautiful _campus.


----------



## Dr. J

garsh said:


> FYI, I was most impressed by Cornell. It's a _beautiful _campus.


----------



## MelindaV

garsh said:


> FYI, I was most impressed by Cornell. It's a _beautiful _campus.


I was just telling my sister about your NE tour of elite universities and she pointed out that her college kid's state college tuition is less than her high school kid's (private school) tuition. You could prob get a state school's 4 year degree on the cost of a semester at a university with a beautiful campus


----------



## Bokonon

garsh said:


> FYI, I was most impressed by Cornell. It's a _beautiful _campus.


In case you were too mesmerized to take in everything your tour guide was saying, here is a quick summary, in song form, courtesy of a Cornell a capella group.


----------



## garsh

MelindaV said:


> You could prob get a state school's 4 year degree on the cost of a semester at a university with a beautiful campus


My sister lives in Georgia, and Georgia Tech's in-state tuition is unbelievably cheap.

So, I suggested that we have my sister adopt my son. But the rest of my family wasn't nearly as excited about this plan as I was.


----------



## garsh

I ended up paying $29.95 for supercharging for that entire trip. 



garsh said:


> The second big 5-colleges-in-5-days roadtrip is now complete.
> I need a nap!
> 
> View attachment 28081


----------



## lance.bailey

garsh said:


> So, I suggested that we have my sister adopt my son. But the rest of my family wasn't nearly as excited about this plan as I was.


does that say more about your sister ... or more about your son ... ?


----------



## garsh

lance.bailey said:


> does that say more about your sister ... or more about your son ... ?


Ha! I think my sister would be all for it - she'd make him babysit his younger cousin.


----------



## garsh

An additional useful fact I learned on the last leg of this trip. There was one especially-long leg that I was able to make due to the availability of destination charging at Cornell, and lucky placement of a supercharger at the end of my car's range. Real-world, 70 mph usable range of my Performance Model 3 with OEM 20" wheels & tires is going to be about 245 miles. This was in about 80° F weather. I started off with a full 100% charge (last I checked, that now equates to 302 miles showing on my car), and arrived at the supercharger with 5% charge. Interestingly, the car was predicting I would arrive with 5% battery from the very beginning of the trip, all of the way to the end - I was very impressed by that. Remember folks, the 310 mile advertised range applies at about 60 mph - driving faster reduces that range.

https://abetterrouteplanner.com/?plan_uuid=36290234-5b83-4cb5-bb0b-b906f381839a


----------



## iChris93

garsh said:


> Remember folks, the 310 mile advertised range applies at about 60 mph - driving faster reduces that range.


For the performance model. Can be beaten above 60 mph on the LR RWD.


----------



## garsh

iChris93 said:


> For the performance model. Can be beaten above 60 mph on the LR RWD.


Which are now advertised as having a 325-mile range, correct?
The regular AWD should be the same as my Performance.
And things should differ even more for the SR and SR+.


----------



## iChris93

garsh said:


> Which are now advertised as having a 325-mile range, correct?
> The regular AWD should be the same as my Performance.
> And things should differ even more for the SR and SR+.


Touché.


----------



## garsh

I've now officially owned my car for an entire year.

I can't believe I've already put over 24,000 miles on it. Back when I owned two combustion vehicles, I'd average about 12,000/year on each one. When I got the Leaf, I tried using it as often as possible - the instant torque of an electric just makes an EV more satisfying to drive. But since I couldn't road-trip that car, I averaged about 16,000-17,000 miles per year on the Leaf, leaving about 8,000 miles per year on my combustion vehicle.

But now, I rarely drive the combustion vehicle anywhere. I use the Tesla for everything - especially the road trips. And it's been a blast.


----------



## webdriverguy

garsh said:


> I've now officially owned my car for an entire year.
> 
> I can't believe I've already put over 24,000 miles on it. Back when I owned two combustion vehicles, I'd average about 12,000/year on each one. When I got the Leaf, I tried using it as often as possible - the instant torque of an electric just makes an EV more satisfying to drive. But since I couldn't road-trip that car, I averaged about 16,000-17,000 miles per year on the Leaf, leaving about 8,000 miles per year on my combustion vehicle.
> 
> But now, I rarely drive the combustion vehicle anywhere. I use the Tesla for everything - especially the road trips. And it's been a blast.


if you keep the car for 10 yrs thats over 200k miles assuming you keep driving at the same pace


----------



## garsh

Yolandi made it into our local paper's article about our local National Drive Electric Week event. 
I find it kind of funny that they captured my son and I looking at our own car. :tonguewink:

Cranberry Township electrified by car show


----------



## garsh

TWINSIES!!!


----------



## garsh

I ceramic-coated Yolandi this weekend. When I did so last year, I used Feynlab Ceramic Lite. Durability was listed as "one year", so it was time to do so again.

This year, I used Optimum Gloss Coat, based on @[email protected]'s recommendation. It's supposed to last at least two years, so that's a big win. But also, it doesn't smell like the Ceramic Lite does. I couldn't detect an odor at all. When I put on the Feynlab Ceramic Lite last year, my wife was complaining about how the smell was going through the house. So that's a big win too. Putting it on was pretty much an identical process. The Optimum product may have been a little better at self-leveling, but that could be due to differences in temperature and humidity, and they both still required wiping excess away to avoid really high spots.

https://optimumcarcare.com/product/optimum-gloss-coat




[email protected] said:


> I professionally apply several ceramic coatings weekly (four applied to Model 3s just this week) and here's my recommendation to the DIY crowd, try Gloss Coat by Optimum Polymer Technologies. It's easy to install even for the first-timer and doesn't need curing lamps or any heat for that matter after installation. You'll get at least 3 years out of it, and longer if properly washed and maintained.
> 
> I don't earn anything from recommending Opti products but I'm still happy to have a quick Q&A phone conversation with you to answer your questions... I just LOVE Tesla M3s and really LOVE IT when owners take the initiative to keep them looking great.


----------



## [email protected]

garsh said:


> I ceramic-coated Yolandi this weekend. When I did so last year, I used Feynlab Ceramic Lite. Durability was listed as "one year", so it was time to do so again.
> 
> This year, I used Optimum Gloss Coat, based on @[email protected]'s recommendation. It's supposed to last at least two years, so that's a big win. But also, it doesn't smell like the Ceramic Lite does. I couldn't detect an odor at all. When I put on the Feynlab Ceramic Lite last year, my wife was complaining about how the smell was going through the house. So that's a big win too. Putting it on was pretty much an identical process. The Optimum product may have been a little better at self-leveling, but that could be due to differences in temperature and humidity, and they both still required wiping excess away to avoid really high spots.
> 
> https://optimumcarcare.com/product/optimum-gloss-coat


Great!
I have found that if the surface is properly prepped, Opti Gloss-coat will last at least 3 years when washed with ONR or OCNR.

Since you mention "wiping the excess away to avoid really high spots", and you seem to be interested in this sort of thing... it's less about wiping off excess, and more about spreading it out, or leveling it while it cross-links. I only mention this because you don't need any pressure with your towel while leveling, just very lightly gliding over the surface works fantastic.


----------



## garsh

The high today on Halloween was 67° F.
But a cold front is moving in, with lows around 30° F.
Time to switch to the winter treads.


----------



## garsh

And done.


----------



## FRC

With those rims, I might wish for Winter year round!


----------



## garsh

I went into the car's service menu and updated my wheels to "18 inch Aeros".
Now my phone app shows my car with the aeros on.
I don't remember that happening last winter.










Oh, and that battery level. 
No, the other one.


----------



## garsh

garsh said:


> I went into the car's service menu and updated my wheels to "18 inch Aeros".
> Now my phone app shows my car with the aeros on.
> I don't remember that happening last winter.


Confirmed - that did not happen last winter.
An app screenshot from March, when I still had my winter wheels on.


----------



## GDN

garsh said:


> Confirmed - that did not happen last winter.
> An app screenshot from March, when I still had my winter wheels on.


Now take it one step further and make those covers disappear !!


----------



## garsh

GDN said:


> Now take it one step further and make those covers disappear !!


No, replace those with images of FastWheels FC04's!


----------



## bwilson4web

garsh said:


> No, replace those with images of FastWheels FC04's!


Do these have cavities or are they solid against the hub?

Thanks,
Bob Wilson


----------



## garsh

bwilson4web said:


> Do these have cavities or are they solid against the hub?


They are indeed cavity-backed.


----------



## garsh

I added energy-usage monitoring for my charging circuits in June. Here are my total charging costs for the second half of 2019:










I do most of my charging at work for free. 

My son, on the other hand, charges his Chevy Volt almost exclusively at home. Here are his totals for the second half of 2019.










The charging costs are just estimates that assume a price of 7¢/kWh.


----------



## Dr. J

garsh said:


> The charging costs are just estimates that assume a price of 7¢/kWh.


Cause you don't know how much you pay for electricity?  In olden times, the electric company used to send a "light bill" that has that information. Before you were born, probably.


----------



## garsh

Dr. J said:


> Cause you don't know how much you pay for electricity?


Because that's the price I was paying when I set up my Grafana dashboard, and I was feeling too lazy to try to programmatically pull in updated pricing information periodically.




Code:


SELECT energy, energy*0.00007 AS cost FROM (SELECT SUM(energy) AS energy FROM "mtu1_energy_daily" WHERE time >= '2019-01-01T00:00:00Z' AND time <= '2020-01-01T00:00:00Z')


----------



## garsh

Yolandi got to meet 3 At Last today.
She was showing off her colorful roof.


----------



## garsh

Strange bug. My Model 3 just showed that I was in drive instead of showing the speedometer. A reboot fixed it.


----------



## garsh

Cookiebob said:


> ...the MCU reset instructions that you undoubtedly know.


My YouTube description says "a reboot fixed it". 


> Also if you get out your magnifying glass, looks like you can see the speed. 😛


If you watch the video, you'll hear me mention that the Autopilot "set speed" kind of acts like a speedometer in this situation.


----------



## iChris93

garsh said:


> My YouTube description says "a reboot fixed it".


If you only watch the embedded video, you do not see the description.


----------



## garsh

I got the Zero-G wheels mounted.
I like them. 
They really show off the red brake calipers.


----------



## Needsdecaf

They do look fantastic!

Are they lighter in gray than the current performance wheels? Or is it just the photos. 

Thanks.


----------



## garsh

Needsdecaf said:


> Are they lighter in gray than the current performance wheels? Or is it just the photos.


I actually haven't taken a close look at the new performance wheels, so I don't know.


----------



## garsh

I've now added a color-matched chrome delete to my car.
I used 3M's 2080 Satin Dark Gray.
It's a great match to the wheels.


----------



## garsh

BTW, the little one in the background is named Sixteen.


----------



## garsh

I forgot to update this thread with my latest accessory: a phone mount that can put the phone right beside the display.
It's been solid for almost two months now.
Puts the phone where it doesn't block my view of the road or the display, yet is easier to see than leaving it on the charger. 


garsh said:


> I liked @JWardell's DIY solution posted here, and wanted something similar. This looks like it's going to work, but we'll see how well the suction mount lasts on the back of the display.


----------



## lance.bailey

looks good. I've taken your advice to keep waze running (i do so without navigation) on the phone while driving to alert me to red-light cameras, police, stopped cars and such. works really well. My music will pause for a second for the "waze beep" and I look down at the charger pad to see what is coming up. The pad location is good for me, but your mount looks pretty tucked afrom road view.

Unfortunately I started doing this the day after a nice speeding ticket. Just a coincidence.


----------



## garsh

Yolandi is ready for another winter.
Temps are dropping and we're supposed to get some snow this week.
I love having these FastWheels FC04's for winter.


----------



## garsh

❄❄ It's that time of year again. ❄❄


----------



## garsh

We took Yolandi out for a little "Track Mode" time in the snow.


----------



## Feathermerchant

Yuk. It's cold here (57) but sunny.
Merry Christmas.


----------



## garsh

Quick question:
You're two miles from the supercharger.
Car's remaining range shows 0 miles.
What do you do?


----------



## iChris93

garsh said:


> Quick question:
> You're two miles from the supercharger.
> Car's remaining range shows 0 miles.
> What do you do?


Remove weight by dumping any passengers. But you can't stop so they must tuck and roll.


----------



## FRC

Just what you're doing, slow and steady, light up regen if possible, and pray that there are a few extra miles hidden by the BMS.

This is an emergency @garsh, no time for Iron Maiden, picture taking, or posting on TOO!


----------



## iChris93

FRC said:


> Just what you're doing, slow and steady, light up regen if possible, and pray that there are a few extra miles hidden by the BMS.
> 
> This is an emergency @garsh, no time for Iron Maiden, picture taking, or posting on TOO!


I'd also turn of the heating/cooling.


----------



## garsh

FRC said:


> This is an emergency @garsh, no time for Iron Maiden, picture taking, or posting on TOO!


Wife took the picture.
And there's always time for Iron Maiden.


----------



## garsh

FRC said:


> Just what you're doing, slow and steady, light up regen if possible, and pray that there are a few extra miles hidden by the BMS.


Luckily, I had just read this article that morning about how a Tesla engineer called Edmunds to tell them to continue running the cars past 0 miles. So I was worried, but I wasn't too worried.









Tesla saves more range at 0% than other EVs, test finds


Testers at Edmunds found that Teslas keep going for longer below an indicated zero miles, although even considering that they didn't see as many total miles of range as expected.




www.greencarreports.com


----------



## garsh

Thankfully, I made it to the supercharger, and it was a v3. 
We were back on the road in no time.
Got a 60% charge in 16 minutes.


----------



## FRC

I knew the BMS hid a few miles, but 22? That's nuts! I've run mine to 1 mile but never 0. I kinda wish I didn't know about the extra 22! Not something I want to rely on.


----------



## JasonF

I would have also added take note of anyplace along the way that might have a 110 volt outlet. Electricity is far more common than gasoline, and if the car is really truly going to die right there, you probably have a 110 volt outlet close by and don’t realize it. Unless you’re out in nowhere and there is nothing but trees or desert around you.


----------



## Bigriver

@garsh what had you been doing the 5 min before the 0 mile picture was taken, that you had averaged 448 Wh/mile?!!


----------



## JasonF

Bigriver said:


> @garsh what had you been doing the 5 min before the 0 mile picture was taken, that you had averaged 448 Wh/mile?!!


Uphill, maybe? The more curious part though is why was he only driving for 5 minutes with 0% battery? I hope you didn't leave home with no overnight charging just to go to the supercharger, @garsh !


----------



## iChris93

JasonF said:


> I hope you didn't leave home with no overnight charging just to go to the supercharger, @garsh !


This sounds exactly like something he would do


----------



## garsh

Bigriver said:


> @garsh what had you been doing the 5 min before the 0 mile picture was taken, that you had averaged 448 Wh/mile?!!


I was babying it like I was stepping on an eggshell. Probably just uphill - I don't recall.


JasonF said:


> Uphill, maybe? The more curious part though is why was he only driving for 5 minutes with 0% battery? I hope you didn't leave home with no overnight charging just to go to the supercharger, @garsh !


I was driving to Erie, then back home. ABRP said I would need to charge to 72% to make it up there and back down to the supercharger. I had charged to 85%, thinking that would be a big enough buffer.
But I wasn't accounting for the 50 mph wind gusts we experienced on the way back. Oops.



iChris93 said:


> This sounds exactly like something he would do


I wasn't trying to cut it THAT close, but yes, I really wanted to experience maximum V3 supercharging on the way back home.


----------



## Needsdecaf

My answer would have been Neutral.


----------



## Jim H

garsh said:


> Quick question:
> You're two miles from the supercharger.
> Car's remaining range shows 0 miles.
> What do you do?


You go for it. If you run out of juice park it, but you got to try to make it. Slow and easy.


----------



## Mad Hungarian

FRC said:


> I knew the BMS hid a few miles, but 22? That's nuts! I've run mine to 1 mile but never 0. I kinda wish I didn't know about the extra 22! Not something I want to rely on.


That's a fresh new BMS with a perfectly balanced pack. Try Supercharging the car 100+ times in a row to 50% - 70% then see what happens...
When Trev and I were returning from Halifax after the Lightning Run last year we had the car start seriously pulling power at 11%, as in it would no longer hold 70 mph climbing hills on the highway .
We still had 12 miles to get to the SC and let me tell you that was some white knuckle stuff... I just feathered the pedal at 45 mph and prayed. When we got to the exit for the SC with 8% remaining the car was topping out at 30 mph, I don't think it had more than a mile left before it was going to shut down.
Thankfully we made it, but it goes to show how far out of whack the BMS can get if you don't occasionally cycle it with some 10ish% to 100% and back L2 charging, which I did when I got home. It was instantly back to its old self, accelerating with respectable "normal car" pep at only 5% SOC.


----------



## garsh

My charge port door stopped working.
I have an appointment Friday to get it fixed.
Glad this happened before I run out of warranty.


----------



## SoFlaModel3

garsh said:


> My charge port door stopped working.
> I have an appointment Friday to get it fixed.
> Glad this happened before I run out of warranty.


Did you try manually opening it and checking to see if that little magnet fell out?


----------



## FRC

I've seen some reports that the "magnet" includes some kind of sensor that communicates with the charging wand. My service center calls BS on this. They say the magnet is simply a magnet. I have no clue who's right. I will say that manually opening and closing will likely accelerate the failure, but it appears that at least in @garsh's case failure acceleration is not an issue! I'd open it manually if I needed a charge and leave it alone if I could wait for the Technician.


----------



## JasonF

FRC said:


> I've seen some reports that the "magnet" includes some kind of sensor that communicates with the charging wand. My service center calls BS on this. They say the magnet is simply a magnet. I have no clue who's right. I will say that manually opening and closing will likely accelerate the failure, but it appears that at least in @garsh's case failure acceleration is not an issue! I'd open it manually if I needed a charge and leave it alone if I could wait for the Technician.


It's a magnet. The charge port door likely fails because like all outdoor exposed DC electric motors, debris eventually gets into the motor and it seizes. Maybe there's a new version of it that reduces the amount of debris that gets in - I'd like to know if people who had their charge port motor replaced early on don't have this issue.


----------



## garsh

SoFlaModel3 said:


> Did you try manually opening it and checking to see if that little magnet fell out?


Yes I did - the magnet was still in place.


----------



## JWardell

FRC said:


> I've seen some reports that the "magnet" includes some kind of sensor that communicates with the charging wand. My service center calls BS on this. They say the magnet is simply a magnet. I have no clue who's right. I will say that manually opening and closing will likely accelerate the failure, but it appears that at least in @garsh's case failure acceleration is not an issue! I'd open it manually if I needed a charge and leave it alone if I could wait for the Technician.





JasonF said:


> It's a magnet. The charge port door likely fails because like all outdoor exposed DC electric motors, debris eventually gets into the motor and it seizes. Maybe there's a new version of it that reduces the amount of debris that gets in - I'd like to know if people who had their charge port motor replaced early on don't have this issue.


The motor is enclosed and well sealed. It's not due to debris getting in. It's not seizing, it just refuses to work electrically.
I was told it's extremely common in older 3s and they will all probably fail.

As for the magnet on the door, it is just a magnet. The sensor inside the chargeport senses that magnet's distance, and can tell if you are pushing in on the door.

The charging wand communicates digitally by 315MHz radio, nothing to do with the motor or magnet. (And the button in the wand is prone to water ingress and failure)

Yeah, there are a lot of different things that can fail


----------



## JasonF

JWardell said:


> The motor is enclosed and well sealed. It's not due to debris getting in. It's not seizing, it just refuses to work electrically.
> I was told it's extremely common in older 3s and they will all probably fail.


Small DC motors don't usually fail all by themselves, usually there's some kind of contamination or damage or something. Especially when they're not really used all that much. Unless the issue is that they're always energized, holding the door closed? Then it would eventually overheat and break one of its internal connections.


----------



## Feathermerchant

The brushes on a small DC motor will wear out. In this application, I would think it would take a long time.


----------



## garsh

JasonF said:


> Small DC motors don't usually fail all by themselves


Agree. The motor itself is fine. If I force the door open, then it works for a little while before it gets back into this state where it refuses to open again. So this is more likely a fault in a sensor or the control electronics.


----------



## littlD

Lots of early Model 3s had Charge port issues, had mine replaced within a few months of delivery.

Lately, Middie's Power Converter is an issue (limited to 32A on a 48A Wall Connector). Middy charges just fine.

I have a service appt scheduled just to see the estimate to fix it. Out of warranty. Car still supercharges as I'm thinking the Power Converter is only needed for AC.


----------



## garsh




----------



## FRC

Reasonable argument for not using sentry. Unnecessary near heart attack right there.


----------



## garsh

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1384453520745660417


----------



## FRC

Do you need any advice on how to road trip?


----------



## iChris93

FRC said:


> Do you need any advice on how to road trip?


Is this an attack?


----------



## FRC

HEY @garsh, I think it's time to start the countdown...42,600, 42,599, 42,598...


----------



## garsh

I'm watching @FRC sleeping in his car RIGHT NOW.


----------



## GDN

garsh said:


> I'm watching @FRC sleeping in his car RIGHT NOW.


PICS!


----------



## lance.bailey

GDN said:


> PICS!


please no. thank you.


----------



## FRC

Was I doing anything unsuitable for public consumption? Could you see my banana hammock pj's?


----------



## iChris93

FRC said:


> Was I doing anything unsuitable for public consumption? Could you see my banana hammock pj's?


Things of nightmares.


----------



## JasonF

FRC said:


> Was I doing anything unsuitable for public consumption? Could you see my banana hammock pj's?


Maybe...it is illegal to sleep in a car in certain areas in Florida.


----------



## oshw

There's a problem with the way they did the clutch/gear mechanism on the charge port door. The early doors will fail eventually... 

The "magnet" is aluminum (non magnetic), used to sense door closure and "press to open" functionality - it's sensed with an inductive sensor, so any conductive object will do in that spot.... Failure to open or close is typically the internal door encoder (potentiometer) becoming decoupled from the output shaft which thoroughly confuses the software in sensing the approximate position of the door.


----------



## FRC

JasonF said:


> Maybe...it is illegal to sleep in a car in certain areas in Florida.


Not many laws apply in Titusville around a launch date. They want you there spending money and turn a blind eye to almost anything non-violent.


----------



## garsh

Thanks for picking a great spot for watching the launch, @FRC! That was the first launch that Zach, Donna and I had seen in person, and that location was perfect!

For anybody else, if you get a chance to watch a pre-dawn or post-dusk launch, it's worth it. The sun hits the spaceship as it rises in the sky, and you get to see all the various plumes from the second stage ignition, first stage entry burn, and the first stage's cold gas thrusters. It's quite a sight!

EDIT:
Here's a video I found that does a pretty good job of capturing what I saw.


----------



## FRC

garsh said:


> Thanks for picking a great spot for watching the launch, @FRC! That was the first launch that Zach, Donna and I had seen in person, and that location was perfect!
> 
> For anybody else, if you get a chance to watch a pre-dawn or post-dusk launch, it's worth it. The sun hits the spaceship as it rises in the sky, and you get to see all the various plumes from the second stage ignition, first stage entry burn, and the first stage's cold gas thrusters. It's quite a sight!
> 
> View attachment 38194


You're very welcome, @garsh family! And you're right about the nighttime launch; I've seen one daytime and one nighttime now, and the night launch was special. And spectacular. To see those shockwaves as huge rainbow-like arcs in the sky was totally unexpected and awesome. And our mobile phone filming is totally unable to capture the granduer. If you have the chance to see it in person, DO IT. Best fireworks show ever!


----------



## Madmolecule

Although I’m not sure if they were heading to the moon, I did see a lot of Saturn launches as a kid from a nearby FP&L plant platform. It was usually down wind from the launch site which is an amazing place to be, experiencing the sound is also something you’ll never forget. So much energy that you can taste it, And that’s while standing on top of a power plant.


----------



## garsh

After driving to Florida and back, I let my car sit overnight at low SOC (~25 miles).
I checked this morning, and the Tesla app says I will have 267 miles at 100% charge. That's the lowest I've ever seen.

I'm going to charge it up to 90%, let it sit overnight again, and see if that helps calibrate the BMS.


----------



## garsh

I'm also up to 45,000 miles.
I'm running out of time to have warranty work performed.  

I'm also going to try to get to Texas this summer to watch a Starship launch. 🤠


----------



## FRC

garsh said:


> I'm also going to try to get to Texas this summer to watch a Starship launch. 🤠


ROADTRIP!!


----------



## garsh

FRC said:


> ROADTRIP!!


Yep.


----------



## Madmolecule

garsh said:


> After driving to Florida and back, I let my car sit overnight at low SOC (~25 miles).
> I checked this morning, and the Tesla app says I will have 267 miles at 100% charge. That's the lowest I've ever seen.
> 
> I'm going to charge it up to 90%, let it sit overnight again, and see if that helps calibrate the BMS.


Good luck. This is similar to the results from mine. I wonder if the slope flattens in time. That's why I'm wondering if it's better to buy a used long range or a new standard range.


----------



## garsh

garsh said:


> After driving to Florida and back, I let my car sit overnight at low SOC (~25 miles).
> I checked this morning, and the Tesla app says I will have 267 miles at 100% charge. That's the lowest I've ever seen.
> 
> I'm going to charge it up to 90%, let it sit overnight again, and see if that helps calibrate the BMS.


Update: after sitting overnight at 90% SOC, it now shows 293 miles at 100% charge.


----------



## Madmolecule

One thing I noticed if my car is set to %, the range is in sync on both displays, but if I have it set to miles my third-party display shows about 10 additional miles of range. That gray on gray really makes the range stand out on the display. I don't like the gray battery much better.


----------



## garsh

garsh said:


> Update: after sitting overnight at 90% SOC, it now shows 293 miles at 100% charge.


Went for a long drive this morning (90% down to 20%), then charged to 50%. My full-charged miles inched up to 294.


----------



## garsh

I'm currently on a roadtrip in Texas. Before leaving, I increased tire pressures from 42 to 47. In the Texas heat, that became a cold pressure of 49.

It's been great for efficiency. We're generally beating the car's estimates for battery SOC at arrival. We've also hit a few potholes where I believe the higher pressure may have saved us from bending a rim. 

The downside is a harsher ride. I'll live with it on this trip given the benefits.


----------



## garsh

I'm also learning a bit about v2 supercharger slowdown issues.

V2 superchargers seem to overheat regularly in 90-110 temps. It will throttle down to about 70kW too early. Seems to be the cable overheating - switching to the other charger in the pair seems to solve the issue.

Try to avoid using a charger that another car just left - it will overheat more quickly.

No issues for water-cooled v3 stations.


----------



## iChris93

garsh said:


> I'm also learning a bit about v2 supercharger slowdown issues.
> 
> V2 superchargers seem to overheat regularly in 90-110 temps. It will throttle down to about 70kW too early. Seems to be the cable overheating - switching to the other charger in the pair seems to solve the issue.
> 
> Try to avoid using a charger that another car just left - it will overheat more quickly.
> 
> No issues for water-cooled v3 stations.


Have you noticed a difference between cables in the sun vs. in the shade?


----------



## SoFlaModel3

garsh said:


> I'm also learning a bit about v2 supercharger slowdown issues.
> 
> V2 superchargers seem to overheat regularly in 90-110 temps. It will throttle down to about 70kW too early. Seems to be the cable overheating - switching to the other charger in the pair seems to solve the issue.
> 
> Try to avoid using a charger that another car just left - it will overheat more quickly.
> 
> No issues for water-cooled v3 stations.


This happens in my garage with my wall charger when it gets really hot out.


----------



## GDN

iChris93 said:


> Have you noticed a difference between cables in the sun vs. in the shade?


What shade? :laughing:


----------



## iChris93

GDN said:


> What shade? :laughing:


You can sometimes find it under trees or umbrellas.


----------



## Feathermerchant

Not in Texas


----------



## GDN

Hey not to worry - we had some showers today and temps dropped form 100 down to about 76- at least around DFW.


----------



## garsh

GDN said:


> Hey not to worry - we had some showers today and temps dropped form 100 down to about 76- at least around DFW.


We got hit with one downpour. It was while we were at the Space Center Houston, just as we were getting on the tram to go back to the museum. We were soaked by the time we got back.

The reprieve from the heat was short-lived. Temps only dropped into the 90s, and we were quickly north of 100 soon after.


----------



## garsh

I once again have a data point to support the "overheating cable" hypothesis.

I was supercharging at a V2 station (in Alabama now) in somewhat cooler high-80s weather, late evening (no direct sun anymore). Rate dropped to about 115 kW, which isn't bad, but the car can support 150kW when it's below 50% SOC. So I switched to the other station in my pair, and it immediately began charging at 140+ kW again.


----------



## Bigriver

garsh said:


> . Rate dropped to about 115 kW, which isn't bad, but the car can support 150kW when it's below 50% SOC. So I switched to the other station in my pair, and it immediately began charging at 140+ kW again.


Wow, I don't think I've ever stayed anywhere near the max all the way to 50% SOC. But glad to hear I'm not the only one jumping stalls when I don't like the rate I'm getting!


----------



## Feathermerchant

So the V3 should be that much faster with the better cooling.


----------



## TrevP

garsh said:


> I once again have a data point to support the "overheating cable" hypothesis.
> 
> I was supercharging at a V2 station (in Alabama now) in somewhat cooler high-80s weather, late evening (no direct sun anymore). Rate dropped to about 115 kW, which isn't bad, but the car can support 150kW when it's below 50% SOC. So I switched to the other station in my pair, and it immediately began charging at 140+ kW again.


Did you try Kyle's "wet rag" trick on the SC wand?


----------



## Feathermerchant

I don't know the trick but I am habitually averse to adding wetness to anything electrical. Besides if you fool a sensor that whose purpose it is to prevent a fire, it is not wise.


----------



## garsh

TrevP said:


> Did you try Kyle's "wet rag" trick on the SC wand?


Had not heard about that! Thanks!


Feathermerchant said:


> I don't know the trick but I am habitually averse to adding wetness to anything electrical. Besides if you fool a sensor that whose purpose it is to prevent a fire, it is not wise.


Superchargers work in the rain. Wetness is nothing to worry about.

And, it's not *fooling* a temperature sensor to use a wet rag to actually cool down the item. It's more like a "poor-man's V3 liquid cooling". 

This is actually pretty ingeneous.


----------



## garsh

Feathermerchant said:


> So the V3 should be that much faster with the better cooling.


For the most part, that's been true.

But I had a terrible experience with the v3 chargers in Brentwood TN.

There are 12 stations here.
Tesla listed three of them as out-of-service.
I managed to try five of them (including the 3 completely non-functioning units) before finding one that charged at more than 170 kW.
That fifth one ramped down to 120 kW quickly.
Tried two more. Gave up and charged the rest of the way at about 150 kW.
So there's still some work to be done to make these superchargers bullitproof.


----------



## garsh

I've been REALLY disappointed with Autopilot and NoA on this trip. There seem to be two big regressions, though I'm not sure exactly when they were introduced.

*Cones*
This car is DEATHLY afraid of cones - or more precisely, construction barrels. I can kind of understand the logic for the car recommending to move away from the cones into an adjacent lane. Sometimes, they are kind of close. But the car recommends that even if the cones are well outside the lines of the lane I'm in. And it will recommend that even if the OTHER lane ALSO has construction barrels on the other side. So the car is going to complain and recommend switching lanes the whole way through the construction zone. And sometimes it decides to start slowing down for no other discernible reason than the presence of barrels.

But that's not the only problem. Every now and then, it will perform the "IMMEDIATELY TAKE OVER STEERING" message. Even if my hands are on the wheel, and even when I'm already torquing the wheel - in which case it beeps and flashes up for a fraction of a second, which is damn annoying. It could at least check for steering wheel torque BEFORE deciding to throw up that warning.

*Semi Trucks*
This one is a little subtle. Basically, the car seems to have difficultly determining if a semi truck is remaining within its lane. This was mostly an issue on 3-lane interstates while using NoA. If I was in the left-lane passing, and attempting to return to the middle lane, and there is a truck in the right lane beside me, then ALMOST every time the car would suddenly decide that the truck was also trying to enter the middle lane (it wasn't), and slam on the brakes. VERY annoying when in each of these instances I had just passed another vehicle in that middle lane, so I'm sure it looked to that poor person that I was brake-checking them.

I really hope these FSD improvements that Tesla has been working on can solve these sorts of basic issues. Better highway driving is MUCH more important to me than FSD on city streets, and I've been very disappointed at the lack of improvement from Tesla in this area over the last year.


----------



## Mad Hungarian

garsh said:


> I'm also learning a bit about v2 supercharger slowdown issues.
> 
> V2 superchargers seem to overheat regularly in 90-110 temps. It will throttle down to about 70kW too early. Seems to be the cable overheating - switching to the other charger in the pair seems to solve the issue.
> 
> Try to avoid using a charger that another car just left - it will overheat more quickly.
> 
> No issues for water-cooled v3 stations.


You might want to try Kyle Connor's trick of wrapping the handle with an ice cold wet towel or cloth, as apparently the connector is the hottest point and is also where the temp sensor is that controls the throttling. It's apparently worked for him, would love to see if you can duplicate his results.


----------



## FRC

Mad Hungarian said:


> You might want to try Kyle Connor's trick of wrapping the handle with an ice cold wet towel or cloth, as apparently the connector is the hottest point and is also where the temp sensor is that controls the throttling. It's apparently worked for him, would love to see if you can duplicate his results.


Birds of a feather. See Trev's post #204 above!


----------



## garsh

@Mad Hungarian, @TrevP, I just now tried it. Caveat: I'm in Ohio now, and the morning temp is only 80, so environment is not as extreme. I also had no ice water, but I had some cold water in a cooler, so I used that. I experienced no premature slowdown this time. 

We're now on our way to the v3 supercharger in Washington PA. Hopefully this will be better than my last v3 experience. I should only need to charge for about 5 minutes here to make it home.


----------



## Mad Hungarian

FRC said:


> Birds of a feather. See Trev's post #204 above!


Premature Response Syndrome


----------



## Mad Hungarian

garsh said:


> @Mad Hungarian, @TrevP, I just now tried it. Caveat: I'm in Ohio now, and the morning temp is only 80, so environment is not as extreme. I also had no ice water, but I had some cold water in a cooler, so I used that. I experienced no premature slowdown this time.
> 
> We're now on our way to the v3 supercharger in Washington PA. Hopefully this will be better than my last v3 experience. I should only need to charge for about 5 minutes here to make it home.


Hmmm, I don't think you'll have an issue at 80F ambient, it really only seems to be a big problem at 100F+. Oh well, next time!


----------



## garsh

I fixed a leak in my windshield washer reservoir.

https://teslaownersonline.com/threads/fixing-a-leaky-windshield-washer-reservoir.18820/
And while I had the frunk apart, I vacuumed out a LOT of debris I found under the evaporator cover.

https://teslaownersonline.com/threads/psa-clean-under-your-evaporator-cover.18796/#post-319651


----------



## garsh

I'm in the middle of a New England road trip. I haven't found the energy to post any sort of record about it. Sorry. But I did set aside some time to meet with @JWardell!
It's always been great to meet online friends IRL.


----------



## DocScott

garsh said:


> I'm in the middle of a New England road trip. I haven't found the energy to post any sort of record about it. Sorry. But I did set aside some time to meet with @JWardell!
> It's always been great to meet online friends IRL.


That's great, but it must not be a very good picture--you don't look nearly as blue as you do in your thumbnail.


----------



## lance.bailey

youngsters


----------



## garsh

lance.bailey said:


> youngsters


Really? I thought you were younger than me.


----------



## lance.bailey

I may have shoes older than you.


----------



## JWardell

Was great to finally meet someone from the forum after all these years...we definitely need to schedule some organized meetups some time!


----------



## iChris93

JWardell said:


> Was great to finally meet someone from the forum after all these years...we definitely need to schedule some organized meetups some time!


The party at giga Texas if they do it like giga Berlin!


----------



## GDN

iChris93 said:


> The party at giga Texas if they do it like giga Berlin!


So speaking of age - I think I'm too old for a party like that from the pics I saw.


----------



## garsh

I charged Yolandi to 100% this morning after a few weeks of staying between 50-80%.
Showing 283 miles.

Driving up to Ithaca to visit with my youngest at college this weekend. We'll see if the estimate improves after several long drives. I suspect it will go back up to 286-287 when we get back.


----------



## garsh

garsh said:


> I charged Yolandi to 100% this morning after a few weeks of staying between 50-80%.
> Showing 283 miles.
> 
> Driving up to Ithaca to visit with my youngest at college this weekend. We'll see if the estimate improves after several long drives. I suspect it will go back up to 286-287 when we get back.


Well, that backfired.

Got back from the trip, let it sit at 3% for a few hours. Then charged it up to 80% and let it sit a couple of days.
Now it shows 279 miles.


----------



## Bigriver

garsh said:


> Well, that backfired.
> 
> Got back from the trip, let it sit at 3% for a few hours. Then charged it up to 80% and let it sit a couple of days.
> Now it shows 279 miles.


That was also my experience in middle of 2020. Did some long trips. Purposely cycled state of charge. BMS settled in around 10 rated miles below what it had been. The thesis that the BMS predicts conservatively low and will improve when presented the data it needs just doesn't seem to always play out.


----------



## JWardell

I've never seen range increase while sitting at a low charge. Then again I've almost never been that low unless I'm pulling into a charger.
I've seen it driving more like 50% on an hour or so trip.
If you have teslafi, you can look at the idle after the drive and see the estimate range creep up while it sits there


----------



## garsh

JWardell said:


> If you have teslafi, you can look at the idle after the drive and see the estimate range creep up while it sits there


I do not have TeslaFi.

Oh well. In a few years, I'll upgrade to one of those 520+ mile Cybertrucks.


----------



## garsh

garsh said:


> Now it shows 279 miles.


After a couple more (shorter) drives, it's inched up to 282 miles.


----------



## JWardell

garsh said:


> I do not have TeslaFi.
> 
> Oh well. In a few years, I'll upgrade to one of those 520+ mile Cybertrucks.


Well I suppose you can sit in your car for half an hour and stare at the range display on your screen


----------



## garsh

garsh said:


> After a couple more (shorter) drives, it's inched up to 282 miles.


I finally started to work-from-work, so I'm doing my 30-mile-one-way commute again. And that also means I'm charging up pretty high (100% on Tuesday) and allowing the battery to go pretty low (9% this morning) between charges.
I only charged to 90% today, but it's now showing 286 miles for a 100% charge.


----------



## FRC

garsh said:


> I finally started to work-from-work, so I'm doing my 30-mile-one-way commute again. And that also means I'm charging up pretty high (100% on Tuesday) and allowing the battery to go pretty low (9% this morning) between charges.
> I only charged to 90% today, but it's now showing 286 miles for a 100% charge.


How many miles on the odo @garsh? After 106K I'm showing a range of 280, and I believe the BMS is pretty well balanced. So about 10% degradation over 3 1/2 years. With about 90% of charging coming from superchargers.


----------



## garsh

FRC said:


> How many miles on the odo @garsh? After 106K I'm showing a range of 280, and I believe the BMS is pretty well balanced. So about 10% degradation over 3 1/2 years. With about 90% of charging coming from superchargers.


I'm at 61k miles now.

10% degradation seems to be the historical norm for Tesla. MUCH better than the ~50% degradation I had with my Nissan Leaf.


----------



## bwilson4web

Another data point:

62,725 miles
2 years, 11 months (purchased March 26, 2019)
(220 - 240) / 240 ~= -8.3% (BMS reported)
Bob Wilson


----------



## FRC

Range anxiety was never an issue for me, but I'll admit that I still suffer from a minor case of degradation anxiety.


----------



## bwilson4web

FRC said:


> Range anxiety was never an issue for me, but I'll admit that I still suffer from a minor case of degradation anxiety.


For me, the SuperCharger network growth has given better cross-country travel faster than battery degradation. For example, I used to take about 2-3 hours on L2 for a gap at Fort Smith AR between our home and my Mom.

Two new SuperCharger stations in western Arkansas eliminated the L2 gap and relocating a third in Joplin to a 24x7 gas station really helps. I can put a 100% charge at the nearest SuperCharger and round-trip to Mom in Coffeyville KS.

Bob Wilson


----------



## garsh

garsh said:


> I only charged to 90% today, but it's now showing 286 miles for a 100% charge.


I charged to 100% today, and it's showing 289 miles.
It's been a long time since I've seen it go that high.

Wow, that's only a 7% drop in capacity from new at 64k miles.


----------



## JasonF

garsh said:


> I charged to 100% today, and it's showing 289 miles.
> It's been a long time since I've seen it go that high.
> 
> Wow, that's only a 7% drop in capacity from new at 64k miles.


I just checked mine: 265 at 90%, which would be around 291 at 100%. The calculator says that's 6% drop from 310 (original advertised range), or 11% from 325, if you believe the "extra range" that the 2018's had for a short while.


----------



## bwilson4web

What I like is the increased SuperCharger network density is running a little faster than my battery degradation. It is complemented by more L2 chargers.

I would like to see 150 kW rated, CCS-1 adapters at say $500. My peak charge rate is 170 kW.

Bob Wilson


----------



## shareef777

garsh said:


> I charged to 100% today, and it's showing 289 miles.
> It's been a long time since I've seen it go that high.
> 
> Wow, that's only a 7% drop in capacity from new at 64k miles.


My 3 is down to 275mi, 12% drop (just a bit over 30k mi and 3 years)
My wife's Y is down to 313mi, 3.5% drop (just a bit over 10k mi and a few months short of a year).


----------



## John

My 2018 3LR @ 63K miles: 100% = 294 (5.5% drop)
Wife's 2020 Y @ 24K. miles: 100% = 306 (2% drop if orig range was 311—was it 311 in 2020?)

The displayed range on my 3 went up about 10 miles when I disabled Teslafi for a couple of months and let the car deep sleep more.


----------



## garsh

*My phantom drain experience*

I just got back from a two-week vacation. I stopped the Tesla app and never accessed it until after I got home. I also have no third-party apps accessing the car.
Sentry Mode and Cabin Overheat Protection are also turned off.

The battery was at 75% when I left, and was at 71% when I got back.
So that's only 1% loss every 3-4 days (about a mile per day).


----------



## garsh

That'll buff right out. Right?


----------



## FRC

While you're writing the check for $2,500, tell us the story we don't really care to hear.


----------



## garsh

I'm not writing any checks - I'm getting a check.

Yolandi has been declared totaled.  

Damn deer.


----------



## Bigriver

garsh said:


> I'm not writing any checks - I'm getting a check.
> 
> Yolandi has been declared totaled.
> 
> Damn deer.


Oh dear, a deer. So sorry to hear.


----------



## shareef777

garsh said:


> I'm not writing any checks - I'm getting a check.
> 
> Yolandi has been declared totaled.
> 
> Damn deer.


Wow, didn't look THAT bad. Is there any axle/motor damage? Just seems to be all cosmetic from the image. Anything on the front?


----------



## FRC

I assume all persons are unscathed? RIP, Yolandi!!


----------



## garsh

shareef777 said:


> Wow, didn't look THAT bad. Is there any axle/motor damage? Just seems to be all cosmetic from the image. Anything on the front?


Deer hit the passenger side. Damaged the headlight, front fender, and both doors on that side.
But that threw me into a median barrier. Cracked a wheel, buggered up every panel on that side, and smacked the rear suspension into the barrier hard enough to break it. It's hard to tell from that photo, but that rear tire is rubbing the inside of the fender area.


FRC said:


> I assume all persons are unscathed?


I was alone driving to work. No other cars involved.

Final odometer reading: 74,375 miles

If anyone is looking for a salvage car to fix, it might not be a bad choice. No airbags went off. Battery & front motor should be fine. Hopefully the rear motor is fine too - I would hope the half-shafts would fail in such a way to protect the motor itself.


----------



## PiperPaul

garsh said:


> Deer hit the passenger side. Damaged the headlight, front fender, and both doors on that side.
> But that threw me into a median barrier. Cracked a wheel, buggered up every panel on that side, and smacked the rear suspension into the barrier hard enough to break it. It's hard to tell from that photo, but that rear tire is rubbing the inside of the fender area.
> I was alone driving to work. No other cars involved.
> 
> Final odometer reading: 74,375 miles
> 
> If anyone is looking for a salvage car to fix, it might not be a bad choice. No airbags went off. Battery & front motor should be fine. Hopefully the rear motor is fine too - I would hope the half-shafts would fail in such a way to protect the motor itself.


Glad you're OK.
Deer can be a problem here too - various neighbours have had damage but no injuries and certainly no write-offs.
Sounds extreme to lose the car but I realize repairs are very expensive.


----------



## LUXMAN

garsh said:


> That'll buff right out. Right?
> 
> View attachment 45514


Damn! Sorry to hear that, but glad you are OK


----------



## Bigriver

@garsh were you on 279? I drove that today and the deer along the side of the road look like an overflowing morgue. Couldn’t believe how many dead deer there were.


----------



## garsh

Bigriver said:


> @garsh were you on 279? I drove that today and the deer along the side of the road look like an overflowing morgue. Couldn’t believe how many dead deer there were.


Yep, I was southbound on I279 less than a half mile before I579. So one of those was probably mine. And if you noticed skid marks heading toward the median, that was probably from my car.


----------



## FRC

Please keep us informed of your replacement plans and good luck!!


----------



## garsh

FRC said:


> Please keep us informed of your replacement plans and good luck!!


I've put money down on a Hyundai Ioniq 5. It's supposed to come in at the end of the month.


----------



## francoisp

Why did you decide against getting another Tesla? Was it the insurance payment?


----------



## garsh

francoisp said:


> Why did you decide against getting another Tesla? Was it the insurance payment?


Several reasons:

I had already planned to get myself a Cybertruck when that's available.
We were also planning to get an EV SUV for my wife. We decided to move up the timetable on that purchase, but I would use the new SUV for now until I get the truck.
I need a vehicle ASAP, and new Model Y orders have a delivery window of Dec-Mar.
Existing inventory Model Ys have a starting price of around 80k. 
I can deal with software updates that change the UI every few months, but that would drive my wife nuts!


----------



## Madmolecule

garsh said:


> Deer hit the passenger side. Damaged the headlight, front fender, and both doors on that side.
> But that threw me into a median barrier. Cracked a wheel, buggered up every panel on that side, and smacked the rear suspension into the barrier hard enough to break it. It's hard to tell from that photo, but that rear tire is rubbing the inside of the fender area.
> I was alone driving to work. No other cars involved.
> 
> Final odometer reading: 74,375 miles
> 
> If anyone is looking for a salvage car to fix, it might not be a bad choice. No airbags went off. Battery & front motor should be fine. Hopefully the rear motor is fine too - I would hope the half-shafts would fail in such a way to protect the motor itself.


Sorry to hear your long journey has come to an end. Glad everyone’s OK and thanks for sharing your long story throughout the years.

I proposed a while back that Tesla use its cameras and AI to detect deer and use its boombox and horn to scare them away, or give them one final good tune. Maybe they can make it work to keep love bugs also your bumper also


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## garsh

garsh said:


> If anyone is looking for a salvage car to fix, it might not be a bad choice. No airbags went off. Battery & front motor should be fine. Hopefully the rear motor is fine too - I would hope the half-shafts would fail in such a way to protect the motor itself.


@iChris93 found the copart listing:



https://www.copart.com/lot/66721772/2018-tesla-model-3-pa-pittsburgh-north


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## PNWmisty

garsh said:


> @iChris93 found the copart listing:
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.copart.com/lot/66721772/2018-tesla-model-3-pa-pittsburgh-north


I shed a tear for Yolandi! So sad...


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