So a lot of hoopla over the Model S getting 423.5 miles... But...

1649 Views 4 Replies 3 Participants Last post by AnOutsider, Dec 24, 2012

SoCalGuy

Discussion Starter · Dec 23, 2012

So I'm sure you all have read about the Model S father and son pair that met Elon's 400 mile plus challenge. They were able to get 423.5 miles on their Model S which has an EPA rated 265 miles. They were able to accomplish this by driving an average of 25 mph in the wee hours of the morning with no traffic or altitude change. Thing is, that record they set really is only 1.6x the EPA mileage rating. In Fisker terms, that would be like the Karma getting 51.1 miles (1.6x32). There have already been a few folks that have gotten 50 miles on a charge. I regularly get 41-43 miles under normal driving. Anyone up for seeing if they can best this Tesla record on the Karma?

As an aside, interesting that most Model S owners get substantially less than the EPA range (210-240 miles out of the EPA ranting of 265 miles) while all Karma owners get more - most cases, substantially more range than the EPA rating (38-45 miles vs EPA rating of 32 miles)!

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smoothoperator

· #2 · Dec 23, 2012 (Edited)

SoCalGuy said:
So I'm sure you all have read about the Model S father and son pair that met Elon's 400 mile plus challenge. They were able to get 423.5 miles on their Model S which has an EPA rated 265 miles. They were able to accomplish this by driving an average of 25 mph in the wee hours of the morning with no traffic or altitude change. Thing is, that record they set really is only 1.6x the EPA mileage rating. In Fisker terms, that would be like the Karma getting 51.1 miles (1.6x32). There have already been a few folks that have gotten 50 miles on a charge. I regularly get 41-43 miles under normal driving. Anyone up for seeing if they can best this Tesla record on the Karma?

As an aside, interesting that most Model S owners get substantially less than the EPA range (210-240 miles out of the EPA ranting of 265 miles) while all Karma owners get more - most cases, substantially more range than the EPA rating (38-45 miles vs EPA rating of 32 miles)!

If Henrik were to offer a prize (like Elon did) I am sure there will be some takers.

With regards to the EPA rating vs Ideal vs Actual miles on the Model S there are a few things in play here that are not immediately obvious. The Tesla Model S has two charging/battery modes. In order to realize the full 300 "Ideal" miles or 265 "EPA" miles you must first charge the car in "Range" mode. Using this mode frequently will cause unwarranted wear and will prematurely stunt the capacity of the Model S battery. The "normal" mode that most people will use everyday, gives the Model S about 228-240 "Ideal" miles. In practice this is good for 197-212 "real world" miles.

A couple other interesting tid-bits

1. A full charge in range mode will cause regen to be turned off
2. From my experience I feel a noticeable drop in power when in Range Mode when compared to Standard Mode.

With the Karma, it seems as if Fisker only uses 16-17kwH of the full 20 kwH battery capacity . I am pretty confident that there will be a larger battery/6.6kw charger upgrade available for the Karma soon; perhaps not from Fisker directly. Of course this is all rumor, but when I get some more substantial information I will be getting one.

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SoCalGuy

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 24, 2012

smoothoperator said:
With the Karma, it seems as if Fisker only uses 16-17kwH of the full 20 kwH battery capacity . I am pretty confident that there will be a larger battery/6.6kw charger upgrade available for the Karma soon; perhaps not from Fisker directly. Of course this is all rumor, but when I get some more substantial information I will be getting one.

What I have yet to get a straight answer on from the TMC folks is whether the 85kwh is the full 'range mode' capacity or the standard mode.

Also, I think Karma uses the full 20.1 kwh (the battery itself is probably more like 22-23 kwh). This is evident when I deplete my battery completely and see the full charge session draw 19-20ish kwh on the charger.

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smoothoperator

· #4 · Dec 24, 2012

SoCalGuy said:
What I have yet to get a straight answer on from the TMC folks is whether the 85kwh is the full 'range mode' capacity or the standard mode.

Also, I think Karma uses the full 20.1 kwh (the battery itself is probably more like 22-23 kwh). This is evident when I deplete my battery completely and see the full charge session draw 19-20ish kwh on the charger.

The 85kwH capacity is the full capacity of the pack. A standard mode charge would only use ~70kwH (since a full charge or discharge is detrimental to battery longevity).

There will be energy that will be consumed when charging your vehicle. For example on a Roadster; I have drawn 60kwH+ even though my battery capacity is 53kwH. There are fans and other cooling systems, vampire load etc that may not be directly related to the energy going into the pack.

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AnOutsider

· #5 · Dec 24, 2012

I don't even think we get the full 85 in range mode. 420 miles is impressive but the way to achieve it was impractical. Give me 230 miles driving at highway speeds and I'll be happy.

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