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So I am just about to pull the trigger on a Turbo and I was interested to hear some thoughts on actual mileage range achieved.
It would be great to drive the Turbo up to Mammoth Mountain from Beverly Hills and it looks as though I would just need a single charge somewhere in the middle.
Is this doable and a reasonable car to take to the snow?
I also have a 2020 G63 too which is great up at the snow however I feel as though the Taycan will be the better Hwy car.
Last edited by Condor Man; 11-14-2020 at 10:57 AM.
once you hit 395 there is only 3 fast charger sites one 50 kW (southern), and two EA america in Bishop & Coso - and there is normal EV charging at only 4 locations in mamoth itself - it appears workable, but your choices are limited.
plug-share is your friend here - range is going to be 20-30% less if the ambient temps are 40F or less - and fast charging will be quite a bit slower depending on battery temperature…
I’d also check out a better route planner given it’s uphill you may not go as far as you think on the trip heading to mammoth - the combination of cold temperatures and uphill will mean a large whack at overall range.
you should review plugshare.com with the following plug-type filters: CCS, J-1772, NEMA 14-50, and Tesla (if you have a TeslaTap).
I’ve owned EV’s for 7 years and driven over 250,000 miles - but you’ll have to be a highly motivated EV owner to make this trip - and your passengers will have to be on board as well - the trip is definately possible but you have limited fast charging choices on the route, and once you are in mammoth there is also only a few L2 EV chargers.
Last edited by daveo4porsche; 11-14-2020 at 02:13 PM.
Beverly Hills to Mojave, Ca 94 miles - uses 56% battery - you have to stop here because once you’re north of this location fast charges become few and far between
charge in mojave
Mojave to CosoJunction 76 miles - uses 40% battery (53% to 13%)
Costo Junction Mammoth lakes uses 81% battery (91% to 10%) - this is the dicey part of the trip in the cold
but there is a fast charger in Bishop - which is pretty close to Mammoth Lakes
and you’ll need to make sure you can use one of the L2 chargers at one of 4 locations in mammoth - a full charge on these chargers will take at least 9 hours and you’ll be arriving @ 10% battery
the risky part of this trip is the segment from Coso Junction to Mammoth in cold weather - and once you arrive in mammoth you’re going to be down on battery % - and have very limited charging options - all of them slow.
if any of these EA chargers are “down” or simply not working - you’ll be stuck - they are the ONLY CCS fast chargers on that entire route.
I think it’s very likely you’ll end up stopping in Bishop - and there is no way I’d only stop for 6 minutes at the first stop
if I were doing the trip each stop would be charge until 85-95% battery - the extra electrons will be a nice comfort in the cold where consumption goes way way up
Mojave - charge to 80%
Coso Junction - charge to 95%
Bishop - charge here because charging is sooo slow in Mammoth - charge to at least 80% (you dont “need” the electrons, but means you’re arriving in mammoth with more battery, which will dramatically reduce the L2 charging time in mammoth such that 4-6 hours will fill you up over night
Last edited by daveo4porsche; 11-14-2020 at 01:59 PM.
the trip back is one stop due to downhill - one stop in Coso Junction - although ABRP estimated 25% SOC - you can easily burn 20% in cold weather - so I’d stop in Bishop on the way out of town and top off…once you’ve charged in Coso Junction the trip home is easy from there…
3 stops to mammoth because of cold weather, Mojave, Coso Junction, Bishop (to top off prior to arriving in mammoth)
charge over night at one of 4 locations in mammoth - running around mammoth is no problem with L2 charging at hotels
Leave Mammoth at 90% or more
2 stops on the way back because of cold weather (Bishop is technically un-necessary, but gives you a cold weather buffer)
and you need the EA stations to work reliablity because they are your ONLY option - there is not even a lot of L2 choices on the route - if the EA stations are not working your ONLY option will be flat bed truck.
according to plug-share - the Coso Junction and Bishop EA chargers have a 10 out of 10 reliabilty rating - with recent check ins from multiple EV owner’s - it looks like you can reliability depend on those charging locations - although with cold weather I’d suggest teh charging stops will _NOT_ be 30 minutes or less - I’d budget at least 45 minutes for each stop given reduced charging rate in cold weather, and if you’re sitting the car running the heater while charging charge rate will be even slower.
there are 5 possible charging locations in mammoth proper;
Juniper Springs - Tesla & J-1772
The Westin - Tesla & J-1772
80|50 Mammoth - Tesla & J-1772
The Village Lodge - Tesla & J-1772
Mammoth RV park - NEMA 14-50 (you’ll need your Porsche Mobile Charge Connect with you to use this charging site)
given each of these choice are associated with lodging I’d call ahead to verify they are functional, and available to you if you’re not a guest/customer of the lodging location.
you’ll need to plan your charging once you’re in mammoth - as fully charging the Taycan from these chargers may take as long as 12-14 hours in cold weather (if you are 15% or less battery %)
the closest fast charger to Mammoth is Bishop @ 42 miles distance - the Bishop to Mammoth segment appears to use 31% - I’d budget 40%
Mammoth to Bishop uses 15% (downhill) - I’d budget 25% for cold weather buffer
NOTE: up hill in the cold with limited fast charging options is _NOT_ the time to drive this car like a porsche - modest speed and steady progress will be your friend - and if the temps drop below 20F during the drive your consumption is going to go through the roof - given cold dense air the extra aero-dynamic penalty for faster speeds is extreme - couple that will less efficiency on battery discharging when the battery is cold, and it equals very very high consumption - 80 and 90 mph speeds are NOT your friend in these conditions where you need the extra battery capacity because of the cold weather, uphill, and the limited fast charging options.
based on my personal experience the Taycan Turbo in flat limited elevation spring/summer/fall conditions is a solid 270 mile vehicle - 290-300 if you try…
in cold weather conditions _ALL_ EV’s take a severe range penalty due to a number of factors:
cold dense air increase aero-dynamic drag
the battery uses it’s own capacity to heat itself to prevent damage - so you have less capacity in cold weather
colder batteries are less efficient at discharging - decreasing effective total capacity
degraded road conditions increase rolling resistances - snow, water, general bad road conditions are more expensive
you use extra battery capacity to keep the cabin temperature comfortable for the driver and passenger - heating is more expensive than A/C in the summer
all of these factors tend to mean you take a 20-30% cold weather driving penalty…
a budget of 20-30% less range in cold weather conditions is _NOT_ uncommon with EV’s - so if the Taycan is an easy 270 mile vehicle in spring/summer/fall - it could be only 190-220 mile vehicle in the cold (40F or less)…couple this will uphill driving (a typical pattern for cold weather driving) and practical range can effectively be 1/2 of it’s maximum flat surface range.
the mammoth trip from southern california is a minimum 2 stop trip in the cold - 3 for increased confidence and comfort - the trip back is 2 stops…
same trip in the spring/summer, would be a 2 stop trip to mammoth, and a 1 stop trip returning from mammoth.
Setting ABRP with 100% initial departure charge, 20% arrival charge, 110% speed, and 0F ambient temp, it predicts that you'd definitely need to make three stops on the way up - including the one in Bishop. If you can leave Mammoth at 100% charge, then it predicts only two stops needed on the way home. The various consumption figures it calculates are probably conservative since much of the trip won't be in the mountains - so ambient temps will be higher than 0F and heater use won't be so bad.
That said, would the G63 be more practical in terms of space for gear and stuff? When I drive in the Sierras in the winter I always choose my beater Suburban rather than one of my other cars. If it ends up in a ditch in a snow storm, it wouldn't be that great a loss.
11-14-2020, 10:55 AM
Let’s talk about Road Tripping in a Turbo
