Out of Spec: CO to LV race, including Mach-E

[dbeth]

Saw this video get posted this morning, and yes, I watched all 90 minutes of it.




Thought it was a very nicely done video and much fairer than the MKBHD one from last summer. Instead of Marques getting to drive his own Tesla, another group in a ICE, and two others in a Mach-E they've never driven and have no idea about CCS networks, here everyone got to drive cars they were familiar with driving and charging. The 5 cars making the drive: Model 3 (Plaid?) LR, Model X Plaid LR, Porsche Taycan, Hyundai Ionic 5, and a Mach-E ER AWD (Mach-e VLOG crew!).

Out of Spec Kyle's intention is to see how much of a time difference there is between the Tesla Supercharger network and CCS DCFC networks in handling road tripping from Fort Collins, CO to Las Vegas, NV. This video is only Part 1, but it's interesting seeing charging & navigation strategies they put to use.

Just more of the "research" I continue to do as I wait for my 8/9 order, 1/24 build group, 3/1 "built", and 4/19 "shipped" Mach-E.....

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[Mach-E VLOG]

Hiya, that's us in the Mach-E. After Out of Spec releases the whole race, we'll have our own edited version with more focus on the Mach-E. Plus, we will have the return trip documented in another video.

BTW... Our early mistakes included having to make a bathroom stop early instead of going to Glenwood Springs. (We had about 3 or 4 hours sleep and drank too much coffee.) We also thought we could get the chargers started faster bypassing plug & charge. I never tried that before and I think I just confused the charger.

Anyway... if you have any questions (besides who won), fire away! @Liv and I will be here to answer them all!

 

[SWO]

Saw this video get posted this morning, and yes, I watched all 90 minutes of it.

The Race to Vegas

Thought it was a very nicely done video and much fairer than the MKBHD one from last summer. Instead of Marques getting to drive his own Tesla, another group in a ICE, and two others in a Mach-E they've never driven and have no idea about CCS networks, here everyone got to drive cars they were familiar with driving and charging. The 5 cars making the drive: Model 3 (Plaid?) LR, Model X Plaid LR, Porsche Taycan, Hyundai Ionic 5, and a Mach-E ER AWD (Mach-e VLOG crew!).

Out of Spec Kyle's intention is to see how much of a time difference there is between the Tesla Supercharger network and CCS DCFC networks in handling road tripping from Fort Collins, CO to Las Vegas, NV. This video is only Part 1, but it's interesting seeing charging & navigation strategies they put to use.

Just more of the "research" I continue to do as I wait for my 8/9 order, 1/24 build group, 3/1 "built", and 4/19 "shipped" Mach-E.....

Spoiler...









The Mach E comes in last place I believe.

 

[Logal727]

Hiya, that's us in the Mach-E. After Out of Spec releases the whole race, we'll have our own edited version with more focus on the Mach-E. Plus, we will have the return trip documented in another video.

BTW... Our early mistakes included having to make a bathroom stop early instead of going to Glenwood Springs. (We had about 3 or 4 hours sleep and drank too much coffee.) We also thought we could get the chargers started faster bypassing plug & charge. I never tried that before and I think I just confused the charger.

Anyway... if you have any questions (besides who won), fire away! @Liv and I will be here to answer them all!

Yeah I think back in the day p&c used to take longer but not an issue anymore

 

[silverelan]

Out of Spec Podcast discussed the results a couple of weeks ago.

For those interested in the outcome, the Taycan was first and covered the 800 miles to Las Vegas in just under 13 hours. Their average charging session was 14 minutes.

Ioniq 5 was 25 mins behind the Taycan.
Tesla Model X was 35 mins behind Kyle
Tesla Model 3P was 60 mins behind Kyle
@Mach-E VLOG & @Liv were 90 mins back.

Three interesting things to me were that:
a) the Mach-E 4X was on par with the HI5 arriving together to the 2nd charging stop.
b) the 4X was only 55mins back from the Model X LR and just 30 mins back from the Model 3.
c) as Patrick already said, they flubbed by refusing to use PnC.

 

[silverelan]

Hiya, that's us in the Mach-E. After Out of Spec releases the whole race, we'll have our own edited version with more focus on the Mach-E. Plus, we will have the return trip documented in another video.

BTW... Our early mistakes included having to make a bathroom stop early instead of going to Glenwood Springs. (We had about 3 or 4 hours sleep and drank too much coffee.) We also thought we could get the chargers started faster bypassing plug & charge. I never tried that before and I think I just confused the charger.

Anyway... if you have any questions (besides who won), fire away! @Liv and I will be here to answer them all!

@OutofSpecKyle & team had a good chat about the race and its results on their podcast. When they were speculating on why Blucifer stopped in Frisco with 45% SoC along with the HI5, I was totally thinking it was because you guys had to have a dehydration stop. I was right!

Can Blucifer make the gap from Glenwood Springs to Green River on 80%?

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I try very hard to understand these kinds of "endurance" races. Yes, a Cannonball Run style race is always fun to imagine and watch in the theaters, but I don't really see a difference between the "first place" and "last place" here when the time difference is only 90 minutes.

I used to do this kind of extreme, marathon sitting in uncomfortable vehicle seats when I was younger. But these days I appreciate a relaxed, calmer drive. I like going a bit slower than traffic, and I much prefer stopping to walk around, stretch, get refreshed. For me it makes it a much more enjoyable drive.

So, in my view, the Mustang team won because they had an extra 90 minutes to enjoy their drive.

I know, I know, I'm in the minority on this.

Regardless of my lax attitude toward getting somewhere, the reports have been fun to read!

 

[silverelan]

I try very hard to understand these kinds of "endurance" races. Yes, a Cannonball Run style race is always fun to imagine and watch in the theaters, but I don't really see a difference between the "first place" and "last place" here when the time difference is only 90 minutes.

I used to do this kind of extreme, marathon sitting in uncomfortable vehicle seats when I was younger. But these days I appreciate a relaxed, calmer drive. I like going a bit slower than traffic, and I much prefer stopping to walk around, stretch, get refreshed. For me it makes it a much more enjoyable drive.

So, in my view, the Mustang team won because they had an extra 90 minutes to enjoy their drive.

I know, I know, I'm in the minority on this.

Regardless of my lax attitude toward getting somewhere, the reports have been fun to read!

Kyle explains it as more of a competition between Tesla Superchargers and the public CCS network. As it so happens, it’s no contest. The public CCS network is significantly faster than Superchargers on this major travel corridor.

Tesla owners go on and on about Supercharger PnC and its advantages. It’s a shame that neither the Taycan nor Blucifer used PnC to shut that narrative down.

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

Three interesting things to me were that:
a) the Mach-E 4X was on par with the HI5 after 1 charging stop.
b) the 4X was only 55mins back from the Model X LR and just 30 mins back from the Model 3.
c) as Patrick already said, they flubbed by refusing to use PnC.

I think it's interesting that after all the teeth gnashing over 800V vs. 400V as it relates to charging, that it didn't ultimately mean that much overall. We keep hearing from some circles that the Mach-E (and the Lightning) are completely hamstrung by the 400V architecture and unsuitable for long trips as a result... 1.5 hours vs 13 hours is about 11.5% which for some people is huge and for others is basically margin-of-error (depending on the person's driving style, their tolerance for long trips without stops, etc.) In a 40-hour drive from NY to LA, that's a difference of about 4 hr 37 min, which is kind of nothing at that point...

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Kyle explains it as more of a competition between Tesla Superchargers and the public CCS network. As it so happens, it’s no contest. The public CCS network is significantly faster than Superchargers on this major travel corridor.

Oh, right. I noticed that, thought it made sense, then promptly forgot 20 minutes later. Sigh.

 

[Mathington]

Saw this video get posted this morning, and yes, I watched all 90 minutes of it.




Thought it was a very nicely done video and much fairer than the MKBHD one from last summer. Instead of Marques getting to drive his own Tesla, another group in a ICE, and two others in a Mach-E they've never driven and have no idea about CCS networks, here everyone got to drive cars they were familiar with driving and charging. The 5 cars making the drive: Model 3 (Plaid?) LR, Model X Plaid LR, Porsche Taycan, Hyundai Ionic 5, and a Mach-E ER AWD (Mach-e VLOG crew!).

Out of Spec Kyle's intention is to see how much of a time difference there is between the Tesla Supercharger network and CCS DCFC networks in handling road tripping from Fort Collins, CO to Las Vegas, NV. This video is only Part 1, but it's interesting seeing charging & navigation strategies they put to use.

Just more of the "research" I continue to do as I wait for my 8/9 order, 1/24 build group, 3/1 "built", and 4/19 "shipped" Mach-E.....

This was an awesome video and so entertaining, I also watched the entire thing! I look forward to the Mach-E focused video by @Mach-E VLOG! Based on my previous experience, I also would have assumed that it would have been faster to pre-activate the chargers instead of plug&charge. I think it was that one stop which put you behind the Ioniq 5 as you spent 10+ minutes trying to get the charger to activate.

I was quite surprised and pleased with the charging speeds that @Mach-E VLOG got, even in the cold weather. It seems like they were pulling at least 100kW for most of the time until 70-80% I think?

I would love to see how the Mach-E would do if it pushed it to the limit and was rolling in with 1-3% charge (if possible due to the charger locations) given the long range of the Mach-E 4X.

 

[silverelan]

I think it's interesting that after all the teeth gnashing over 800V vs. 400V as it relates to charging, that it didn't ultimately mean that much overall. We keep hearing from some circles that the Mach-E (and the Lightning) are completely hamstrung by the 400V architecture and unsuitable for long trips as a result... 1.5 hours vs 13 hours is about 11.5% which for some people is huge and for others is basically margin-of-error (depending on the person's driving style, their tolerance for long trips without stops, etc.) In a 40-hour drive from NY to LA, that's a difference of about 4 hr 37 min, which is kind of nothing at that point...

You’re 100% correct, the time differences are almost invisible when you’re talking about so much time/distance. 90 mins over 800 miles is relatively minor but may make the difference between doing the drive in one day or two.

I had to edit my post to clarify that the HI5 and 4X arrived together to the second charging stop.

 

[Mathington]

Hiya, that's us in the Mach-E. After Out of Spec releases the whole race, we'll have our own edited version with more focus on the Mach-E. Plus, we will have the return trip documented in another video.

BTW... Our early mistakes included having to make a bathroom stop early instead of going to Glenwood Springs. (We had about 3 or 4 hours sleep and drank too much coffee.) We also thought we could get the chargers started faster bypassing plug & charge. I never tried that before and I think I just confused the charger.

Anyway... if you have any questions (besides who won), fire away! @Liv and I will be here to answer them all!

What was your initial strategy for the race and did it change over the course of the race? Were you thinking more frequent stops to maximize charging curve or planning on going to longer between stops?
What apps were you using for route planning? Was @Liv acting as navigator and checking plugshare to help plan your upcoming stops or did you rely on the ABRP?

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I think it's interesting that after all the teeth gnashing over 800V vs. 400V as it relates to charging, that it didn't ultimately mean that much overall. We keep hearing from some circles that the Mach-E (and the Lightning) are completely hamstrung by the 400V architecture and unsuitable for long trips as a result... 1.5 hours vs 13 hours is about 11.5% which for some people is huge and for others is basically margin-of-error (depending on the person's driving style, their tolerance for long trips without stops, etc.) In a 40-hour drive from NY to LA, that's a difference of about 4 hr 37 min, which is kind of nothing at that point...

And if you're charging to 100% overnight, you're really only looking at ~10% or less of your time being spent on charging per day, not for the overall trip.

 

[Mach-E VLOG]

What was your initial strategy for the race and did it change over the course of the race? Were you thinking more frequent stops to maximize charging curve or planning on going to longer between stops?
What apps were you using for route planning? Was @Liv acting as navigator and checking plugshare to help plan your upcoming stops or did you rely on the ABRP?

We really didn't develop much of a strategy. I wanted to go pretty far on the first leg because I thought that would be an advantage. But, we had hardly any sleep and drank too much coffee resulting in the first stop being a bathroom break. Liv was checking PlugShare and the EA app to make sure things were OK before we got to a charger. Although we have the new charging curve, we still wanted to avoid going above 80%.

Overall, we just tried to take the trip as we normally would -- not rushing too much, not speeding too much, taking breaks when we wanted, etc. If the "race" was to be a test between efficiency and charging networks, doing those other things makes it more about who is willing to cut some corners (literally), do without heat, hold off on bathroom breaks, etc.

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