[lucasfunkt]

All the information refers to a 2019 SR+ Model 3.

On the first of May last year I decided to see what the warmer weather would do to my overall consumption/efficiency.
So I set a trip starting May 1st-the end of September.
I didn't drive any differently other than the fact that I did a little less driving than normal as the vast majority of the miles were just from commuting rather than for many day trips and pleasure as this was throughout the pandemic.

I did 5,060 miles at 254 Wh/mi. (3.9 miles per kWh)

To compare I recorded the winter period from the 1st October to 30th April

I did 6,462 miles at 294 Wh/mi (3.4 miles per kWh)

Roughly around 25 miles of range less in the winter compared to the summer.

Both of these were without the aero wheel covers on, just the standard 18-inch wheels.

Like I say as we've been in lockdown for most of the last 12 months the vast majority of the driving has been commuting which is 30 miles each way on the A1 and A1(M) with very cold starts in the winter 4-5am well before the sun comes up, so pre-heating the cabin. So even in the summer months I'm starting at the coldest part of the day and the average driving speed is probably a little higher than most as the vast majority of the driving was done on 70mph speed limit roads.

My total for the car is 22,381 miles at 275 Wh/mi
(August 2019-April 30th 2021)

That's up from last October with one less winter when it was
15,953 miles at 268 Wh/mi (August 2019 - October 2020)


My next trip will be the same 5 summer months as last year (1st May - end of Sept) but this time with the Aero wheel covers on to see if that will make a difference and hopefully bring the efficiency over those months to less than the 254 Wh/mi from last year.

I'll update this thread with the Aeros for comparison in October.

 

[TomH]

That's what I call a proper experiment!

 

[i-s]

Useful real world data!

I think we can infer that the later heat-pump equipped cars would probably go to about 270-275Wh/mi in winter for the same usage.

 

[lucasfunkt]

Useful real world data!

I think we can infer that the later heat-pump equipped cars would probably go to about 270-275Wh/mi in winter for the same usage.

Would be great for someone to do a similar experiment who has one of the new cars. Very easy to do, just set a new trip and leave it for several months.

 

[lucasfunkt]

Well with only a few hours of September left and the warmer months coming to a close it is time to update this thread with my findings from May-September with the Aero wheel covers on.

So at 249 Wh/mi my average consumption was better than last summer where it was 254 Wh/mi.

I also drove around 1000 fewer miles in the summer of 2020 as compared to 2021 but the result seems to be that the Aero wheel covers do help but not very much.

Maybe the better test will come when I compare it through the longer winter period of October - April. Last year with the Aero wheel covers off I averaged 294 Wh/mi. Let's see if I can beat that going through the whole 7 month period with the covers on.

And just for consistency the full lifetime Wh/mi has now gone down to 270 after 28,534 total miles.

 

[lucasfunkt]

I am about to post the update for October-April with the aero wheel covers on but first I want to know how to reset the trip.

Since this update I can't find anywhere that enables you to reset one of your saved trips A or B. It only lets me rename them, can anyone help?

I want to reset my winter trip to the new summer one. Starting May at the start of May.

 

[lucasfunkt]

Worked it out, you have to scroll up, it's hidden at the bottom of the page.

So 'amazingly' my efficiency got better, not just from 2020-21's winter to last winter but my full lifetime efficiency has gone from 270 Wh/mi to 267 despite having an extra winter under it's belt.

This I don't think is just due to the addition of the Aero wheel covers, I moved house right at the end of November and my commute from work changed from being a 60-mile round trip mostly on motorways to a 42-mile round trip being half on A roads and half on country roads.

I think that factors quite heavily in the huge difference of 20-21's winter 294 Wh/mi with the aero covers off to 21-22's winter of 254 Wh/mi with them on.

Needless to say, I'll be keeping the aeros on for May-September 2022 and seeing if I can beat last summer's 249 Wh/mi when I also had the aeros on. This summer however will show what the difference is between the two different commutes.