How many miles with the new efficient battery will you need to drive before you cover the cost of the battery swap? Mike
Short answer: It will be fully covered the day I die. I can not buy an EV equal to my 2019 Model 3 for $9,000. In fact, Tesla quoted "$8,500" as its trade-in value. So I've converted a rapidly deteriorating 2019 Model 3 into one with ~205 miles EV range and kept all the good parts I'd already put in to fix previous faults. Best of all, I still have Full Self Driving that I paid $6,000 for in October 2019. Let me share a practical experience today: Drove total of ~416 miles to Tire Rack in Atlanta to pickup two new tires: Reduced bill $20 by picking up the tires Avoided another $22 of "overnight" charges by picking up the tires Grinned and laughed at Atlanta Georgia traffic. First and last segment EV charging from my home solar project, free The last $5.07 could have been cut in half but I was eating brunch for me and the dogs The first $8.20 could have been reduced by using the Marietta GA $6.07 charger, $0.19/kWh versus $0.32/kWh of Adairsville The new tire performance will be added to the existing thread where I've already plotted the efficiency curves: (1) kWh/mi, and (2) mi/kWh: I prefer to use "mi/kWh" on trips. BTW, I got this note from Tesla: During the three day repair, I had a "loaner" Model S and try as I might, I could not get "4 miles/kWh" on the highway. My 2019 Model 3 regularly gets 4-5 miles/kWh on the good tires I bought in Atlanta. But I am tempted to do a head-to-head benchmark: My 2019 Model 3 with new tires and replacement battery Drive to and from home Tesla 2025 Model 3 with 'all stock' Drive to and from home Bob Wilson
Just finished. All four tires 225/45R18, 50 psi, and the lane oscillating is gone. Benchmarks tonight. Bob Wilson
Discount Tire | Tires and Wheels for Sale | Online & In-Person is what we used for a previous car that would occasionally press the limits.
Another view of the former and replacement battery: Typically getting 4 mi/kWh Adding 6 kWh * 4 mi/kWh ~= 24 extra miles, another 1/2 hour between chargers 45 kWh * 4 mi/kWh ~= 180 miles Car battery management system reports 204-210 miles Bob Wilson
I've never invested in a car. It is just another wear part like tires, front end joints, rubber bushings, and the occasional cracked windshield. EV batteries wear out sometimes faster than expected. Six months ago, replaced a stuck valve in the 5-way coolant, transfer "Super Bottle". That failure robably led to an early battery death from excessive heat over two years. Once repaired, I could tell the battery had degraded much faster than expected. I could still take long trips because there are so many more SuperChargers and I had added a CCS-1 adapter. But I could see the battery degradation had started to accelerate. Something similar happened with my first, 2003 Prius. My benchmarks showed evidence of heat damage later confirmed when it was replaced, ~$1,700. The new pack populated by matched, salvage, 2004-2009 modules, lasted longer than the brake pressure pump that killed it. Bob Wilson
EVs are different from ICE cars. For example: 40 mile reserve - typical threshold for leaving SuperCharger for next 100-180 mile segment 30 mile reserve - acceptable if distance remaining is 60 miles 20 mile reserve - drive softer and look at alternative charging options along route 10 mile reserve - look for alternative charging sources including 110 VAC outlets 2 mile reserve - what I use before starting a battery capacity, 100% charge at home We have very accurate Battery Management systems that tell us how much range remains. With one exception, a 95 F day, I have never run out and needed to be towed. That learning experience also punctured a false "reserve battery" claimed by some EV reviewers, I ran this set of benchmarks two days ago: When my reserve miles, destination_miles - current_range, reaches 20-30 miles, I set the cruise control speed to low enough to preserve the remaining reserve miles. Once I am close enough to my destination, I increase the cruise control speed. Full Self Driving handles the driving details and I listen to my tunes or the radio. Bob Wilson
If you would like a low-risk way to learn the EV way, I recommend a 2017 or later, BMW i3-REx: Depreciation is paid Larger battery for more EV range (2017 or later) Range Extender Engine means you can fall back to gas Four seat perfect goin' for groceries Has highway utility If you don't feel comfortable going all electric, this plug-in hybrid is a perfect trainer. You still might not like EV mode, so sell it for a minimal loss of value. Cheap enough, liability only makes sense. Bob Wilson
I'm still mastering "Tessie" App that records metrics directly from the car. So here are two charts from Tessie: The left dots are from the previous battery The middle and right dots are from the replacement battery Bringing the 100% SOC range to 203 miles 203 miles / 50 mph (block-to-block speed) ~= 4 hours longest segment I find 3 hours about as long as the segments I want to drive Bob Wilson
