R1T's range is so impressive, even on 20" tires. Averaged 2.38 mi/kWh on 400 mile road trip

[electricRaptor]

Yeah, not trying to sound accusatory or combative, just thinking out loud.

ABQ to Denver is only about 450mi but the tripmeter is showing nearly 900, so it's the full trip from Tucson that's being reported. I have heard reports of sometimes DCFC messes with the energy usage stat, which could underreport that figure and overstate the efficiency. Might be what happened.

Gotcha gotcha. Yeah, my "ABQ to Denver" is just shorthand to say from where I started on big highways (I-40 at Grants, NM, then N on I-25) to where I ended (I live nw of Denver in Westminster), which resulted in about 500 miles of trip from that point. Thought I'd point that out as that's where I observed most of the straightest, relatively level, yet headwinded portion of the trip.

The previous 387 miles (Tucson to Grants) were wildly curvy and mountainy, so I figured that portion would have reported a deviation from what was the total average over 887 miles. I suppose that would've been good to make as like "trip B" to see the diff! I'll do that next time... Trip A on the big highways, then use Trip B on the portion from Grants, NM to Tucson, AZ and see how far off they are.

Sponsored

 

[CharonPDX]

Assuming a round trip to capture both sides of those elevation changes, they should not be affecting your efficiency that much (that number would be indicative of you driving exclusively uphill). Downhill doesn't 100% offset uphill, because regen isn't 100% efficient, but I'd say it's probably 85-90%+ efficient, not 50%. I.e. Driving 10 miles flat vs. going up 800ft and back down, the efficiency achieved would only be slightly less for the latter.

There is something else contributing far more than elevation changes to your results. Is your driving consisting mostly of short trips?

Living at the top of the hill, I get significantly less regeneration on the way down due to charging at home. Even charging only to 70%, regeneration is still limited. And yes, lots of short trips - driving to the grocery store 15 minutes away at the bottom of the hill, then back home. Driving to the pharmacy 15 minutes away at the bottom of the hill, then back home. Driving to doctor appointment 15 minutes away at the bottom of the hill, then back home. Unfortunately, those three trips are in different directions, so even if combining them, it would mean going *AROUND* the hill 3/4 of the way to hit them all on one trip, then back home. (And it's rare that we need all three in one trip.)

 

[DJG]

Living at the top of the hill, I get significantly less regeneration on the way down due to charging at home. Even charging only to 70%, regeneration is still limited. And yes, lots of short trips - driving to the grocery store 15 minutes away at the bottom of the hill, then back home. Driving to the pharmacy 15 minutes away at the bottom of the hill, then back home. Driving to doctor appointment 15 minutes away at the bottom of the hill, then back home. Unfortunately, those three trips are in different directions, so even if combining them, it would mean going *AROUND* the hill 3/4 of the way to hit them all on one trip, then back home. (And it's rare that we need all three in one trip.)

Gotcha. Yeah, those trips are going to be very inefficient (<2mi/kwh, in line with the numbers you're seeing) even on flat terrain. It takes longer than that for the battery and drivetrain to reach optimal state. Plus, remember that if you go longish stints between drives, all of the energy consumed between drives is factored into the tripmeter stats which can really lower it.

 

[loudog3114]

I knew I was forgetting something!!

Really though, I do know it needs an alignment, and im fairly certain tires are inflated enough, but will double check. I considered increasing the psi to experiment if it'll help either way.

It is baffling to me how bad my range is. It doesn't bother me all that much, but leaving 30-50 miles on the table sure does suck. My range is like 265 if I am lucky.

Is your tonneau open?

 

[Ivman]

Is your tonneau open?

I don't think I've ever had it open when driving. I have attempted to reduce the risk of catastrophic failure by only opening it a couple times.

 

[loudog3114]

I don't think I've ever had it open when driving. I have attempted to reduce the risk of catastrophic failure by only opening it a couple times.

There is one highway near me that is wide open with no trees anywhere nearby that always seems to have a headwind where I get terrible efficiency in any EV. That's kind of all I can think of... Weird.

 

[itselectric]

Since I have seen the question repeated here a few times:

The wind was relatively low, though it was raining quite a bit. I have the windy app and it said I had a 5mph tail wind on the way up and 6mph head wind on the way back.

Due to the weather, there were periods of slower driving (60-65mph) but the majority was in the 70-75mph and some times over 80mph.

The terrain was roughly flat.

I wasn't paying attention to the efficiency numbers while driving, only when I needed to make sure I had the charge required to make it back.

 

[jclicky]

Hmm interesting reading through this thread. I too am with Sgt Beavis/Butthead, getting solid range estimates and mileage. Even better when drafting behind a semi using highway assist. Truck has a tick over 5,000 miles... in 3 months

I just finished a trip back to Denver from Tucson, AZ. 887 miles with a lot of up and down (Tucson -> Show Low -> ABQ -> Denver), and overall climb from 2600ft in Tucson to 5280ft in Denver. I got in the 3's when doing big downhill sections, but overall not bad. On the way down to Tucson, I got amazing mileage, around 2.45-2.5 mi/kwh. Here's what I observed on the route back:

Am I spotting the 20” all-terrains on your display model, are those the tires you’ve been getting these awesome #s with?! Awesome if so!

 

[loudog3114]

I don't think I've ever had it open when driving. I have attempted to reduce the risk of catastrophic failure by only opening it a couple times.

I just experimented some. Set it to auto height in conserve. Lowest seems considerably less efficient. Tested on 50 mile highway stretches.

 

[Cosmacelf]

This is exactly what I’ve been seeing. I’ve done multiple trips around Colorado and 320 miles is what I usually calculate in Conserve mode.

But here’s the thing. On a highway trip, if I actually try I can get higher. If I draft behind a semi truck, at a safe distance, my efficiency goes way up. I need to try a long trip where I do that more than 50% of the time.

This is my plan Z if all else fails. You absolutely get a huge boost in mileage doing this both because of the drafting and because you’re usually only driving 60-65 mph like that. So, nice option to have if you’re in the middle of a charging desert and are stretching to reach your destination!

 

[domoplaytime]

I don't think I've ever heard anyone claim 375miles of range on 20" ATs. Not sayin' it's not possible but I've never heard it claimed. Also, I live in Colorado. Considering the mountain ranges that I drive over, I'll be very happy with 320.

My best projection today was 314 miles on 20" ATs, based on a usable battery capacity of 125 kWh.

Conditions: no wind (and it was a round trip), 50⁰ outside, A/C on low, music on high, tonneau open, AP mode / standard ride height, steady driving (avg 54 mph) in the right lane on a flat highway with few bends. FWIW I had the truck unlocked for several minutes before leaving and it sounded like it had fully pre-conditioned the battery while plugged in.

Mountains and hills kill efficiency, and so does highway driving when you leave fewer than seven car lengths of room to the vehicle ahead. Regen isn't perfect.

 

[itselectric]

I'll throw out there that, now that the weather around here has turned cold, I am getting 1.8 - 2.0 miles per kWh in all purpose mode running the defroster in the front with my 21inch wheel config.

If I put it in to conserve, getting around 2.0 - 2.2 in the same type of conditions.

 

[DB-EV]

This is exactly what I’ve been seeing. I’ve done multiple trips around Colorado and 320 miles is what I usually calculate in Conserve mode.

But here’s the thing. On a highway trip, if I actually try I can get higher. If I draft behind a semi truck, at a safe distance, my efficiency goes way up. I need to try a long trip where I do that more than 50% of the time.

How far back are you supposed to draft? I think it is farther back than commonly thought.

 

[Sgt Beavis]

How far back are you supposed to draft? I think it is farther back than commonly thought.

I just use automatic cruise control and set it to the closest setting.

Sponsored