Tesla Model 3 Sets New EV Cannonball Run Record • Hacker News Board

Re: Tesla Model 3 Sets New EV Cannonball Run Record

#191

Post by maxxxxx » Wed, Jan 03, 2018, 7:16 PM UTC

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #154

maxxxxx wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The main skill of Cannonball is to be more reckless than others and see what you can get away with. I don't want to meet some sleep deprived and probably drugged up "racers" on the road. If they want endurance they can do a 24 hour race. If they want a difficult track they can go to the Nuerburgring in Germany and do the 24 our race there. Or just try it in the wet.

No, the main skill is planning. Whether or not you're endangering other people it's hard to cover lots of miles quickly on roads with other people. Nobody who's serious about a good time is going to be on a crowded road. It's a waste of time. You have to balance your route planning between weather, peak commuter hour, shortest route, fuel stops, speed traps, etc, across a few thousand miles and a few time zones. The…

That's like saying robbing a bank requires planning and the only risk is that one of the bank employees does something "dumb". They are endangering people and if they want to show their manhood they can go to a race track and show what they can do there. That's where the big boys go. Doing Cannonball is a pseudo achievement.

Re: Tesla Model 3 Sets New EV Cannonball Run Record

#192

Post by juanmirocks » Wed, Jan 03, 2018, 7:19 PM UTC

gcheong wrote: post #187

juanmirocks wrote: post #71

Arguably, Tesla & Elon Musk already achieved their goal of speeding up the adoption to EVs away from combustion engines: all car companies are working now on or have plans for electric vehicles. Elon Musk has already succeeded big big time.

Guessing it's more likely due to California's ZEV mandate.

Despite the huge importance of California, this is a global phenomenon. And the lead is in China.

Re: Tesla Model 3 Sets New EV Cannonball Run Record

#193

Post by ltdanimal » Wed, Jan 03, 2018, 7:41 PM UTC

Retric wrote: post #127

mikeash wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn’t describe the ~30MPH you get from a 240V RV plug as “fairly quickly.” It’s fine for an overnight charge, but you’ll basically be limited to driving the car’s single-charge range each day. It’s possible but I wouldn’t want to try it.

You can go from east to west coast in the US in 10 days while limiting yourself to ~210 miles per day. For a retired person with little need to hurry that's reasonable even with only nightly charging. Personally, I have little interest in driving 600+ miles per day making fast charging minimally useful.

What coastal cities are 2100 miles away? Maybe for few that are retired, but 210 isn't the best for trips that far, and that's assuming the chargers are exactly at where you need them to be

Re: Tesla Model 3 Sets New EV Cannonball Run Record

#194

Post by ploxiln » Wed, Jan 03, 2018, 8:00 PM UTC

Robotbeat wrote: post #172

wils1245 wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The doubt on Tesla is not whether the cars are great, it’s whether they can scale production. You need both to be a Model T.

People had the same questions about the Model X, the Model S before that, and even the Roadster before that . In every case, Tesla eventually was able to get production up and deliver. Tesla has no problem producing enough S and Xes. The question is not "whether" but "when."

To be fair, Roadster production was never really "up". I'm not sure demand was at any point satisfied before the model was discontinued. Less than 2,500 were produced.

Re: Tesla Model 3 Sets New EV Cannonball Run Record

#195

Post by woolvalley » Wed, Jan 03, 2018, 8:02 PM UTC

Retric wrote: post #127

mikeash wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn’t describe the ~30MPH you get from a 240V RV plug as “fairly quickly.” It’s fine for an overnight charge, but you’ll basically be limited to driving the car’s single-charge range each day. It’s possible but I wouldn’t want to try it.

You can go from east to west coast in the US in 10 days while limiting yourself to ~210 miles per day. For a retired person with little need to hurry that's reasonable even with only nightly charging. Personally, I have little interest in driving 600+ miles per day making fast charging minimally useful.

The big long range use cases in California is San Jose-Tahoe (with its mountain climb reducing range), LA-SF, LA-NV & SF-SD. So you would want a supercharger for those trips.

Also for car commuting in big metros, 40-60 mile one ways are common enough, which is 120mi round trip. The previous generation of affordable EVs had 80 mi ranges, which didn't work for those metros.

Re: Tesla Model 3 Sets New EV Cannonball Run Record

#196

Post by dsfyu404ed » Wed, Jan 03, 2018, 8:05 PM UTC

default-kramer wrote: post #180

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, the main skill is planning. Whether or not you're endangering other people it's hard to cover lots of miles quickly on roads with other people. Nobody who's serious about a good time is going to be on a crowded road. It's a waste of time. You have to balance your route planning between weather, peak commuter hour, shortest route, fuel stops, speed traps, etc, across a few thousand miles and a few time zones. The…

> The biggest risk to "others" is that when traveling much faster light traffic you have little margin for error if someone in that traffic does something dumb. The speed limit exists partially because "dumb things" are inevitable. A driver who ignores this inevitability is at least as guilty as the driver who did the "dumb thing."

In a theoretical world that doesn't include ticket revenue and "think of the children" speed limit is a function of road design and some reasonable average vehicle/driver/conditions. They are an output rather than an input. You don't just assign a speed limit. It's based on the road and condition. In the real world US speed limits outside of urban areas are laughably low for reasonably attentive drivers in clear weather and light traffic.

In an well maintained sedan there is no reason why one cannot drive at triple digit speeds on the vast majority of the US interstate highway system if traffic conditions are light enough to permit it. The biggest risk from traveling much faster than other traffic on limited access highways is rear ending someone who changes lanes without a signal.

Speed limits exit not because "dumb things are inevitable" but because dumb things are far less common when traffic is moving a close to uniform speed and providing a suggested speed that most drivers find reasonable most of the time helps traffic flow more uniformly and safely.

Furthermore, the rules of the road provide massive redundancy. That's why a margin for error exists. By going much faster or slower than other traffic you are getting rid of the margin. If you're going fast you're depending on other people to not move unexpectedly. If you're going too slow you're depending on other people to be driving slow enough and paying attention enough

The person who changes lanes without signaling while going 50 in a 60 where everyone goes 70 can only claim the moral high ground over the person who rear ends them because they were going 80 and couldn't compensate adequately so long as the latter party doesn't have a dash cam.

Re: Tesla Model 3 Sets New EV Cannonball Run Record

#197

Post by myself248 » Wed, Jan 03, 2018, 8:16 PM UTC

WorldMaker wrote: post #171

atourgates wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I think it's when an EV can make a 9-hour drive without needing more than about 30 minutes of total charging. 9 hours is (in my opinion) the max amount of driving you can seriously do without at least a couple hours of resting. That'd be about 540 miles total, maybe a bit less if you could make those 30 minutes of rest stops at a fast charger. Right now, EV's are clearly the future. I'd say that when they…

A problem here is everyone's personal anecdotes are different. I have an uncle that has driven 10-12 hour hauls between Kentucky and Louisiana enough that he doesn't blink at doing it all in one day, with as minimal a break as possible. On the flipside, I know that my limit before wanting to murder people and/or feeling bone-weary exhaustion is somewhere between 4-5 hours cumulative in a day, regardless of the number…

You make some really good points here. I'm no stranger to long roadtrips; I do Detroit-to-NYC at least every few years, and I've gotten pretty comfy with Detroit-to-Orlando with an overnight stop. It's been a few years since doing Vegas straight-through with a co-driver, but I've done that a few times too.

The trips where I have plenty of time and can stop and go for a jog, or hike up some scenic terrain and take some photos, feel a lot safer than the ones where I'm nose-to-the-grindstone the whole time. I'm simply more focused when I get back in the car because I've had those minutes to let my mind and body wander.

I do feel like 15-20 minutes every 4-5 hours is a good and comfy amount of rest on a roadtrip. I've tried to do the 5-minute fuel stops and it just adds more stress than it's worth. Now, if more Supercharger stations happened to have a park or a gym nearby...

Re: Tesla Model 3 Sets New EV Cannonball Run Record

#198

Post by myself248 » Wed, Jan 03, 2018, 8:24 PM UTC

elsonrodriguez wrote: post #151

atourgates wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I think it's when an EV can make a 9-hour drive without needing more than about 30 minutes of total charging. 9 hours is (in my opinion) the max amount of driving you can seriously do without at least a couple hours of resting. That'd be about 540 miles total, maybe a bit less if you could make those 30 minutes of rest stops at a fast charger. Right now, EV's are clearly the future. I'd say that when they…

I don't think 500 miles of range is what will trigger it as the obvious choice. A proliferation of decent, non "ev looking" cars with 200 miles of range will be all it takes for people to realize that they only really drive 50 miles a day, and paying for gas is for suckers.

Yeah, 50 miles a day, most days. My daily commute is quite normal, easily within the range of a Leaf or whatever, but I also enjoy frequent roadtrips to Chicago, Cleveland, Dayton, Toronto, occasionally Kansas City or Washington DC. Most of those are weekend jaunts, but there are longer trips too – I drove to Eagle Harbor last summer and Orlando over the holidays. I’ll probably drive to NYC this summer, as I have in 4 of the last 10 years. I love roadtrips and consider them a wonderful part of the American experience. (Following Route 66 with a few friends from school is an adventure everyone should have, and I simply don’t know if there’s a European equivalent. This is very hard to explain to folks who didn't grow up in the US.)

The standard EV-evangelist response to this is “take the train” or “rent a car for the weekend”, but I’m sorry, those just aren’t comfortable for me – the train lacks the freedom and sense of adventure, and rentals usually smell funny, among other things. Altering my lifestyle to suit the car’s limitations means it was the wrong car in the first place: The car should serve me, not the other way around. The Tesla’s longer range and presence of Supercharger stations along the routes are totally irrelevant for my daily commute, but they completely change the game when you include the other driving I consider important.

With any other EV, I would need a second car to address the other part of my usage, and that means twice the insurance, twice the registration cost, twice the driveway-space, and the chance of forgetting something important in the one car while I’m using the other. And feeling like a glutton for owning an “extra” vehicle.

With a long-range and fast-charging EV, I can finally have a single car that handles my daily commute and my road-trip habit, and that's been the main thing keeping me out of EVs so far. I've saved my place in line and I'm looking forward to the day they call my name.

Re: Tesla Model 3 Sets New EV Cannonball Run Record

#199

Post by abritinthebay » Wed, Jan 03, 2018, 8:58 PM UTC

ploxiln wrote: post #194

Robotbeat wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People had the same questions about the Model X, the Model S before that, and even the Roadster before that . In every case, Tesla eventually was able to get production up and deliver. Tesla has no problem producing enough S and Xes. The question is not "whether" but "when."

To be fair, Roadster production was never really "up". I'm not sure demand was at any point satisfied before the model was discontinued. Less than 2,500 were produced.

which is a shame, because it was a lovely car.

Re: Tesla Model 3 Sets New EV Cannonball Run Record

#200

Post by notimetorelax » Wed, Jan 03, 2018, 9:05 PM UTC

juanmirocks wrote: post #71

Arguably, Tesla & Elon Musk already achieved their goal of speeding up the adoption to EVs away from combustion engines: all car companies are working now on or have plans for electric vehicles. Elon Musk has already succeeded big big time.

Agree with that, whenever others post how Tesla is dead because others caught up, I feel they miss the point. Musk did this not to be a billionaire but to actually switch earth to electric cars and renewable energy.

Same goes for SpaceX, if other's say that some competitor is going to beat SpaceX at its price or booster reuse. Well, again, that's the whole point - to make humans multi-planetry species, not to be a billionaire.