Johnny Mayday

Apparently the new Taycan will be able to get an 80% charge in just 15 minutes, which doesn't sound too bad at all. Cars like this make me really wonder about the future of Tesla. They had the segment all to themselves for a long time, but now that competitors are coming in, the future doesn't look so bright.

goin2drt

daveo4porsche

the devil's in the detail here…

how many locations will have this "fast charging" hardware
how many stalls will be at each location
and how often will that actually be true since Porsche has already announced that charge rate will require a local stationary battery that is full to achieve that charge rate

I will patiently wait to see how practical that charge rate actually is in real world terms and if they can deliver as a real world example as opposed to a rigged demo

I have _NO_ doubt the charge rate will be possible with the production car with a charger that is lightly used…and therefore spends most of it's day idle accumulating power to quickly distribute to the incoming car...but the newly opened Daily City charger with 24 stalls is seeing > 75% occupancy for most of the day with very tight turn over - it will be interesting to see how that works

the good news is to date only the Taycan can charge at that rate and there will be so few of them that it may be practical

we will see.

Archimedes

928 GT R

Correct! Few of Porsches 800 volt chargers will be in place when the Taycan is released and most charging will take place at home where charging can be overnight and leisurely. Porsche is continuing to market the Taycan as if it will look like the Mission E, but the mules are ruling that design as marketing hype and the final product will be quite different. Design is important and discussions elsewhere suggest that unless the new Taycan is quite striking, there will be few takers.

Perhaps the entire VW group will build 800 volt fast chargers to gain a market advantage? We will see...

umwolverine

I agree - People don't buy a Porsche to drive cross-country. My longest local trip is under 300 miles RT, and I think 90% of buyers won't be taking the Taycan on any multi-day trips. I just don't see the 15 minute charging time as a real factor in who buys the car. I do see looks, performance and 'user interface' as key factors that will influence people. If it looks anything like the concept, it will be a huge hit.

Another big plus for me that nobody has talked about is the absence of a 'break-in' period. I've always broken in my Porsches very carefully - typically with a long drive through backroads to vary speed, engine rpm and gears without a lot of starts and stops. We'll be able to enjoy full performance immediately with the Taycan - a big plus for me.

bdoviack

Although a Tesla doesn't have the traditional drive train characteristics of an ICE vehicle (no pistons, valves, multiple gears, etc.), I would still drive lightly the 1st 1000 miles just to be safe. You still have a traditional braking system that has pads and rotors, and you do have a reduction gear(s) as well (although it is one fixed gear as opposed to an ICE multi-gear transmission). Most likely nothing would happen if you "drove it like you stole it" mentality, but when you're purchasing a $100,000 vehicle I think I would play it safe for the first few charges.

Some people even change the drive unit fluid after break-in but most say it's not necessary
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/thre...e-train.19220/

Johnny Mayday

Brake in is something I never thought about regarding electric cars... but it's interesting that it may be basically a non-issue.

whiz944

The vast majority of braking during daily driving is done through regeneration. So the pads and rotors are hardly used for more than the last couple of feet before a complete stop. The original set may last the life of the car! (Of course track use is a very different use case.)

As far as charging goes, a '100%' charge really isn't. All manufacturers leave a buffer for battery longevity. Same on the bottom of the charge where '0%' really isn't fully discharged. Nonetheless in Teslas case, they generally recommend charging to 80- or maybe 90% for daily driving. Go to 100% right before a long trip. Even charging to 80%, the car has so much range I only bother to charge mine once or twice a week. Our 2016 Volt usually gets charged to 100% daily and often twice daily. After three years and 38k miles, it is not showing any signs of battery degradation. (https://www.voltstats.net/Stats/Details/6986)

There are no combustion by-products to contaminate the fluid. No real reason to change it for a very long time.

earl pottinger

When I got my Honda generator, I was told the change the oil after the first all day run.

The reason I was given was since it was brand new from the manufacturer there is a lot of wear and tear as new moving parts slide and rub themselves to fit tightly.

I did the oil change because it sounded right, and what could it hurt.

Earl Colby Pottinger (Tesla and Bollinger fan)

umwolverine

I did a bit more research on Tesla and break-in requirements for electric cars in general. I am quite a fanatic about break-in for my ICE cars, and I've logged over 100K miles on my V10 M5 and will probably do the same on my Panamera without any significant decrease in performance. A good break-in period for an ICE is 3-5K miles, and ideally you do it with long drives over varying terrain at varying speeds, gears and without ever getting the rpm much over 4K. This is one heck of a boring time for a high-performance car, but I've had some very beautiful drives.

For the Taycan, other than 'bedding' the brakes in the first mile or so for conventional pads, I don't believe we have anything else that needs to be broken in. No sliding parts - just a few gears that don't require any type of break-in. So, no need to 'take it easy' for any period of time - this means you can really start enjoying the car several months earlier than you could with an ICE. Great benefit IMO.