They should really consider putting in a two speed transmission where it kicks into higher gears after 60mph to decrease battery drain. Lucid's chief engineer said it wasn't necessary as EV motors are efficient at 20,000 rpm, but the way they begin to lose efficiency after 65 mph it might be a good move, especially for a car like the Plaid

 

Does the two speed tranny make it slower? If so, no thanks. I’ll gladly take the trade off.

 

The motors are pretty efficient overall though. I get 300 wh/mi or 30 kwh/ 100 mi as you put it at 75-80mph. The EPA assumes around 240 wh/mi which is driving around 60mph without wind.

 

Nah...i hear it makes it slightly clunky at low speeds. It actually helps make it a bit faster at higher speeds as gearing is better utilized but mainly for autobahn efficiency. Doesn't matter, the Plaid is way faster at any speed using single tranny because motor design is far superior.

 

Wow that pretty good! At 75 mph I jump to 38 to 40 kWh per 100 miles

 

No, you'll get a higher top speed. Although now you're introducing additional complexity, something we brag about having less of

 

Switch to battery percentage instead of estimated range to get a better feel for the car. My stated range has been off since I switched wheels on my car and the percentage gives a much better reference for state of charge

 

Did a 190 mile road trip today. Started with 100% and the first leg of the trip was about 85 miles and used 35% of the battery. The drive was pleasant and I basically ripped it to my destination and it took about an hour. So my average was about 85 mph. At that speed, my Wh/mi was about 310 which is pretty good in the EV world

Explored the city and decided to get Starbucks but there was a V3 Supercharger so I plugged in, got my drink and when i came back it was done charging. Probably cost me $5.

I really ripped it back home...I don't think a single car passed me and my wh/mile was 290...probably due to elevation. Basically, fully charged and ripping around 80-90mph would yield me about 240 miles of range. Not bad.

I probably didn't need to charge but I don't care about efficiency as much as speed so I wanted a buffer. I got home with over 30% so I would easily made it though. The whole thing cost me $5 for a 190 mile trip.

 

Imagine if you drove a gas car like that with the same power as your Tesla you'd be getting 15mpg.

 

That's awesome! Can't wait to do the Socal trip in May, that will give me a better idea of range. BTW I now see more Tesla's on the road than Camrys, Civics and Corollas. Like roaches 😝

 

great trip report!

you said you started with 100%... do you normally charge to 100% or you used the app or car controls to charge to 100% in prep for this trip?

 

I rarely charge to 100% actually. Once in a blue moon, you are supposed to do it to balance the battery if there is any imbalance. Its not really required. I typically only charge to 90% on a long road-trip. Charging to 100% removes ability to regen and if you do charge to 100%, you are supposed to not leave it there for a long time. These are just rules of thumb...its not like charging to 100% destroys the battery. Charging daily to 100% increases degradation so not recommended.

 

If you put destination, your percentage in nav will be very accurate. If you are looking at number at top without it knowing where you are going, it is useless.

​​​​​​Generally i always use percentage, not miles left, as miles depend on your trip.

 

yup, i was aware of those things, but to do the 100% for this trip, how do you tell the car to do that? just do it through the app or on the screen before the night it charges?

 

You can actually set the charge limit in the car or the app. You can also set the charging times through both the car and the app too.