Hi. I am picking up my new to me mini Cooper SE 2024 this Saturday. SOOOOOO excited. I live in the Atlanta area and am getting it in Asheville, NC. I have never owned an electric vehicle before and this whole charging thing is foreign to me. I am having difficulty trying to figure out how to get this baby home. It's about 133 mile trip so I expect to have to charge somewhere. Anyone made this trip and have any suggestions. The ones I search on plug share, EVGO and electrify America all seem to be just out of a range to be able to only charge once. Thanks in advance. It's all very confusing with so many different payment app requirements!!
Mini Cooper SE charging questions while traveling
- Thread starter Rmini
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ColdCase
Active Member
Puppethead
Well-Known Member
One charge for 8 minutes to 65%, getting "home" with 10%? I'd charge to 80% minimum, it should only take an extra 10 minutes or so.
Also, I'd use PlugShare to confirm any charging locations are operational.
Also, I'd use PlugShare to confirm any charging locations are operational.
Darrell Hayes
Member
Make sure the tires are inflated to spec or a few lbs higher if you can stand the ride. Try to find charger locations with several chargers. Check your intended charger status as you get close. Stay at the speed limit to extend range. Batteries charge faster at lower state of charge so try to drain the battery down to 10% or so to speed up the trip. Enjoy the ride.
ColdCase
Active Member
Always have a plan B and C should you arrive at a charging station and happen to find it down.
You can adjust ABRP preferences to arrive at whatever charge you are comfortable with. As mentioned, Plugshare can provide real time station status, but it is user reported. Sometimes the app for the station owner will provide more current info.
Once you get into the swing of things it will become second nature. EV drivers tend to be helpful.
You can adjust ABRP preferences to arrive at whatever charge you are comfortable with. As mentioned, Plugshare can provide real time station status, but it is user reported. Sometimes the app for the station owner will provide more current info.
Once you get into the swing of things it will become second nature. EV drivers tend to be helpful.
@Rmini I think you are smart to do some research on the charging networks you are most likely to use and figure out how payments work for that/those networks. It will save some time and frustration when you are standing at the charger.
It hasn't been mentioned but you will be looking for DC fast chargers with CCS1 connections. CHAdeMO and NACS don't work for the SE. J1772 works for the SE but would likely be too slow for your charging needs on a road trip.
The SE will charge at up to 50kW, so you won't need to find a super high-speed DC fast charger. If the charger can supply more power the car and charger will negotiate a 50kW maximum.
Putting the car into GREEN or GREEN+ mode will give you some extra range if you are feeling anxious. Be aware that this impacts the air conditioning. The drive may not be as comforable as it would be in the default MID mode.
Budget extra time so you can work out any kinks. Enjoy the trip and the new car!
It hasn't been mentioned but you will be looking for DC fast chargers with CCS1 connections. CHAdeMO and NACS don't work for the SE. J1772 works for the SE but would likely be too slow for your charging needs on a road trip.
The SE will charge at up to 50kW, so you won't need to find a super high-speed DC fast charger. If the charger can supply more power the car and charger will negotiate a 50kW maximum.
Putting the car into GREEN or GREEN+ mode will give you some extra range if you are feeling anxious. Be aware that this impacts the air conditioning. The drive may not be as comforable as it would be in the default MID mode.
Budget extra time so you can work out any kinks. Enjoy the trip and the new car!
MichaelC
Well-Known Member
All of the above suggestions are great. My additions:
- Another way to "gain" range is to slow down. This lowers the amount of energy needed to push the air out of your way, which gives you more energy to go further.
- The GOM (Guess-O-Meter, a.k.a. estimated range number shown) on these cars is notoriously pessimistic. If the distance to your destination is less than the number the GOM shows, you will make it. Do check it periodically, though, and adjust speed as noted above--or find an earlier charging stop--as needed.
- If you think you will take more road trips with this car, consider buying the premium subscription for ABRP and getting a bluetooth OBDII dongle so it can see realtime battery information and plan/react more accurately. Some caveats: Since the SE was an EV retrofit at the factory, the battery information reported out of the OBDII port can occasionally get wonky. At least, that was the case in my 2021, so I don't know if that was improved in the newer models. In particular, changing drive modes would sometimes cause it to either report bogus values or stop communicating altogether until the next charge or power cycle.
- If the charging networks you will use offer RFID cards/tags, consider getting one before the trip (if you have enough time). Sometimes the app won't work due to cell phone reception problems or other technical issues, so the RFID card is a nice backup option to have.
CuriousGeorge
Well-Known Member
All I will say is, 1) congratulations, and 2) view it as an adventure.
CuriousGeorge
Well-Known Member
Based on the distances and consumption, that appears to be just an example, using an EV with a much larger battery.
Good point about being cautious on the first go-round, though. Once you have the car for a while you learn just how far you can push, but no need to do that at first (unless you absolutely have to).
CuriousGeorge
Well-Known Member
Ah, I see what happened: by choosing "MINI Cooper 2024+ SE", you inadvertently selected the J01, which isn't actually available in the US. If it were, it would be a 2025 model year, just because of the weird way model years work here.
Interestingly, starting at 90% and using the reference consumption of 4.15 mi/kWh an F56-based SE could also theoretically make the same trip with only one stop at the same location. However, it would take another 24 minutes, charging at that point from 17% to 97%, and you'd arrive in Atlanta with only 5% instead of 10%.
Busdriver
Member
I too had to "bring mine home" albeit not quite as far as your journey. IIRC I used PlugShare and chose the most conservative
route, then halved the info it gave me. Someone also mentioned making sure the stations are available. I will say
Western NC, all of NC for that matter, does not have a real strong charging infrastructure. That is why the remark about
having plan B and C is wise. Looking at availability once you get close to home you are golden
route, then halved the info it gave me. Someone also mentioned making sure the stations are available. I will say
Western NC, all of NC for that matter, does not have a real strong charging infrastructure. That is why the remark about
having plan B and C is wise. Looking at availability once you get close to home you are golden
Puppethead
Well-Known Member
It seems to me that some charging networks are reporting automatically to PlugShare these days. I've specifically noticed ChargePoint seems to share charger status with PlugShare. I could be wrong, but PlugShare seems to always accurately reflect ChargePoint charger status.
Sorry for the long delay. It has been a saga which I will spare you all the details. Bottom line, the car was not ready due to numerous hiccups on the dealers end when I was scheduled to pick it up. Due to that, the dealer shipped it to me at no cost to me and she just arrived 3 days ago. I know! Anyway, she is here and I am in love. 