Long distance travel

[bwilson4web]

I've been taking several, ~1.5 hour trips, ~70 miles (~112 km) using different FSD and navigation techniques and found:

• ~5 mi/kWh (~8 km/kWh) - use "Chill" Autopilot mode and "Avoid highways" navigation. This uses typically rural, two lane roads with the shortest distance and often modest speeds. It tends to add about 10 minutes to a typically 90 minute trip. The risk is an accident can bring traffic to a complete stop while the vehicles are cleared which can be an unhappy time if there is a schedule or biological need to move on.
• ~4 mi/kWh (~6.4 km/kWh) - use "Hurry" Autopilot and disable "Avoid highways" navigation. This tends to use 4 lane, divided highways at higher speeds. It typically saves about 10 minutes out of a 80 minuted trip.

When taking a vacation or business trip, use "Hurry" and disable "Avoid highways" to get there. Often multiple ways to by-pass an accident and Waze notification, the car smoothly re-routes and the trip reliability completes. However, more charging will be needed and the distance further. Not tested, enable "Use tariff" to take faster, direct, low traffic routes along with rolls of quarters.

When returning, use "Chill" and "Avoid highways" for a leisurely return. The shorter distance and modest speeds will stretch the miles per kWh and often experience less traffic. In real life:

• 4 mi/kWh = 25 kWh/100 miles :: the current Model 3 energy rating
• 5 mi/kWh = 20 kWh/100 miles :: better than the Lucid Air 23 kWh/100 mi

Comparing "Chill" and "Hurry" autopilot modes:

• Chill - tends to follow the speed limit, not the signs but the aged, electronic map speeds.
• Hurry - tends to use the set or default "Max" speed as the upper limit. It does a fair job of following traffic safely but if you change lanes, it scoots forward and passes neatly.

Bob Wilson