Cyberbeast: Austin to Las Vegas (Round Trip) - 2,700 miles @ 469 Wh/mi

[Cyber]

I had a BougeRV mini-fridge plugged in. I didn't do too much extra-ciricular activities, so this is fairly accurate for what I had going on. Only change I would have made to improve efficiency over such a long highway distance is to increase tire inflation from 50 to 65 PSI. I ran 50 PSI most of the way, and then 60 for the final 25% of the trip.

I kept speed to +/- 3 MPH. High speeds (70+) definitely take their toll. The trip had plenty of 75+ MPH portions.

AC was blaring. This is August in the Texas through the arid flats of Vegas. Flagstaff was a nice reprieve.

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[GatorCyber]

I had a BougeRV mini-fridge plugged in. I didn't do too much extra-ciricular activities, so this is fairly accurate for what I had going on. Only change I would have made to improve efficiency over such a long highway distance is to increase fire inflation from 50 to 65 PSI. I ran 50 PSI most of the way, and then 60 for the final 25% of the trip.

I kept speed to +/- 3 MPH. High speeds (70+) definitely take their toll. The trip had plenty of 75+ MPH portions.

AC was blaring. This is August in the Texas through the arid flats of Vegas. Flagstaff was a nice reprieve.

I just did a 4k roundtrip to LV from FL in the Model X (no way I'm manually driving the cybertruck that far!)
I did 7-10mph over speed limit (75-85 MPH) and used about 325 Wh/mi.
Is it safe to run tires at such a high PSI?

 

[mongo]

I just did a 4k roundtrip to LV from FL in the Model X (no way I'm manually driving the cybertruck that far!)
I did 7-10mph over speed limit (75-85 MPH) and used about 325 Wh/mi.
Is it safe to run tires at such a high PSI?

All terrains are rated at 65psi and the manual calls out inflating them to that pressure if towing or at max payload.

Doing it with a light load might increase wear at the center of the tread, along with possibly a harsher ride.

 

[SentinelOne]

I had a BougeRV mini-fridge plugged in. I didn't do too much extra-ciricular activities, so this is fairly accurate for what I had going on. Only change I would have made to improve efficiency over such a long highway distance is to increase tire inflation from 50 to 65 PSI. I ran 50 PSI most of the way, and then 60 for the final 25% of the trip.

I kept speed to +/- 3 MPH. High speeds (70+) definitely take their toll. The trip had plenty of 75+ MPH portions.

AC was blaring. This is August in the Texas through the arid flats of Vegas. Flagstaff was a nice reprieve.

Sounds about right….colorado is all 75mph in my area and my lifetime is mid 400’s.

 

[CyberGus]

My understanding is that underinflated tires will increase drag significantly, but over-inflating provides little if any benefit.

 

[CursedFlintlock]

I just did a 4k roundtrip to LV from FL in the Model X (no way I'm manually driving the cybertruck that far!)
I did 7-10mph over speed limit (75-85 MPH) and used about 325 Wh/mi.
Is it safe to run tires at such a high PSI?

People who own Teslas are so hilarious.... ThE cAr CanT dRIvE ItSeLf!?!?
Just so you know, we drove cars manually for a century and still do, before that we rode horses or walked

I do 70mi highway trips daily and I always get about 420 wh/mi in my cyberbeast in Florida 100 degree heat with the AC at 67 going 75-80mph. It ends up at like 380 if there's traffic.
Honestly, I think range is way over fixated upon with EVs. Charge it every night or every other day... Unless you drive 250mi+ a day, it's irrelevant. If you are driving that much, an EV isn't for you regardless of the range. I've never owned a gasoline or diesel vehicle with more than a 300mi range for 25 years... If you have range anxiety, EVs just aren't for you.
EVs are very cool but if they stress you out, there are alternatives

 

[HaulingAss]

My understanding is that underinflated tires will increase drag significantly, but over-inflating provides little if any benefit.

It's true that the benefit of more pressure decreases as pressures rise, it's not really accurate to say there a certain point on every tire at which the benefits decrease and/or stop.

First we must consider that there is nothing consistent about manufacturers recommended pressures. They are a compromise of efficiency, ride smoothness, tire wear, grip, etc. This means there is no good baseline with which to apply that statement to.

Secondly, different tires have significantly different constructions and behave differently as pressures increase. Some will show more benefit with a 3 psi increase than others.

The best pressure for grip, tire wear, reliability and comfort will increase as payload increases.

The best pressure for efficiency will increase if travelling on smoother roads. For example, on a concrete interstate with significant expansion joints, a higher pressure can actually decrease efficincy. Smoother roads will return better efficiency with higher pressures.

Tires that do a lot of hard cornering, such as travelling on mountain highways, or on curvy roads above the posted speed limits, will see more consistent wear across the tread with 2-4 psi more than a car travelling mostly on straight roads. Too much pressure in a tire that is confined to mostly straight roads can experience faster treadwear in the center of the tread while too little pressure will lead to accelerated treadwear on the outer portions of tread.

This is why the manufacturers recommendations are only recommendations. I've found all manufacturers recommendations to be at least 2 psi, and sometimes 6 psi, too low for me to achieve optimum grip during spirited driving, even treadwear as well as good efficiency.

Then there is the variable of people not knowing what "cold psi" means. If you live in an area that only has a 10 degree day/night temperature differential, or you keep your car in a warmer garage overnight, you will not see nearly as much pressure rise while driving in the middle of the day as someone who parks where the early morning temperature is 30 degrees below the afternoon temperature. That's why the cold psi is the pressure your tires should never fall below. In many cases your tires should never reach the recommended cold psi, based upon all the factors discussed above. Just know that there is nothing wrong with your tire pressure rising 4 to 8 psi or more above the recommended pressure while driving in the warm part of the day. This does not mean your tires are over-pressure. During extended highway driving, if your tires are only reading 2 psi above the recommended cold PSI, you are almost certainly below the optimum inflation pressure for treadwear, grip, efficiency and ability to do evasive maneuvers tp save you and your family members/friends bacon. You might be at the optimum pressure for the smoothest possible ride, at the expense of everything else.

When lightly loaded, the AT tires on my Cybertruck are pretty happy at 52 psi. cold. This might rise to around 56 psi while driving during the warmth of the day.

 

[Ljhughes8]

I had a BougeRV mini-fridge plugged in. I didn't do too much extra-ciricular activities, so this is fairly accurate for what I had going on. Only change I would have made to improve efficiency over such a long highway distance is to increase tire inflation from 50 to 65 PSI. I ran 50 PSI most of the way, and then 60 for the final 25% of the trip.

I kept speed to +/- 3 MPH. High speeds (70+) definitely take their toll. The trip had plenty of 75+ MPH portions.

AC was blaring. This is August in the Texas through the arid flats of Vegas. Flagstaff was a nice reprieve.

What tires do you have AT or AS

 

[GatorCyber]

It's true that the benefit of more pressure decreases as pressures rise, it's not really accurate to say there a certain point on every tire at which the benefits decrease and/or stop.

First we must consider that there is nothing consistent about manufacturers recommended pressures. They are a compromise of efficiency, ride smoothness, tire wear, grip, etc. This means there is no good baseline with which to apply that statement to.

Secondly, different tires have significantly different constructions and behave differently as pressures increase. Some will show more benefit with a 3 psi increase than others.

The best pressure for grip, tire wear, reliability and comfort will increase as payload increases.

The best pressure for efficiency will increase if travelling on smoother roads. For example, on a concrete interstate with significant expansion joints, a higher pressure can actually decrease efficincy. Smoother roads will return better efficiency with higher pressures.

Tires that do a lot of hard cornering, such as travelling on mountain highways, or on curvy roads above the posted speed limits, will see more consistent wear across the tread with 2-4 psi more than a car travelling mostly on straight roads. Too much pressure in a tire that is confined to mostly straight roads can experience faster treadwear in the center of the tread while too little pressure will lead to accelerated treadwear on the outer portions of tread.

This is why the manufacturers recommendations are only recommendations. I've found all manufacturers recommendations to be at least 2 psi, and sometimes 6 psi, too low for me to achieve optimum grip during spirited driving, even treadwear as well as good efficiency.

Then there is the variable of people not knowing what "cold psi" means. If you live in an area that only has a 10 degree day/night temperature differential, or you keep your car in a warmer garage overnight, you will not see nearly as much pressure rise while driving in the middle of the day as someone who parks where the early morning temperature is 30 degrees below the afternoon temperature. That's why the cold psi is the pressure your tires should never fall below. In many cases your tires should never reach the recommended cold psi, based upon all the factors discussed above. Just know that there is nothing wrong with your tire pressure rising 4 to 8 psi or more above the recommended pressure while driving in the warm part of the day. This does not mean your tires are over-pressure. During extended highway driving, if your tires are only reading 2 psi above the recommended cold PSI, you are almost certainly below the optimum inflation pressure for treadwear, grip, efficiency and ability to do evasive maneuvers tp save you and your family members/friends bacon. You might be at the optimum pressure for the smoothest possible ride, at the expense of everything else.

When lightly loaded, the AT tires on my Cybertruck are pretty happy at 52 psi. cold. This might rise to around 56 psi while driving during the warmth of the day.

That's a lot of info to digest.

Is a higher pressure more or less likely to eat nails/debris than a lower pressure? After my Model X ate a tire weight on a Sunday and trashed a new tire, and had to get towed for a Monday replacement, I don't wanna have that happen again. I had one flat in my first 30 years of driving, and now with Tesla's it's 2 more flats in the last 4 years.

I've always pumped my tires right up to the recommended psi on the door label. I notice when I park outside, the sunny side tires are about 2-3 psi higher than the shady side.

In the Florida panhandle I get about a 2-4 psi difference when cold vs operating temp. I usually add air in the winter as temps drop 30 in our short winters and my psi drops with the air temp.

I guess I should start going 52psi on the CT and 47psi on the X

 

[HaulingAss]

That's a lot of info to digest.

Is a higher pressure more or less likely to eat nails/debris than a lower pressure? After my Model X ate a tire weight on a Sunday and trashed a new tire, and had to get towed for a Monday replacement, I don't wanna have that happen again. I had one flat in my first 30 years of driving, and now with Tesla's it's 2 more flats in the last 4 years.

I've always pumped my tires right up to the recommended psi on the door label. I notice when I park outside, the sunny side tires are about 2-3 psi higher than the shady side.

In the Florida panhandle I get about a 2-4 psi difference when cold vs operating temp. I usually add air in the winter as temps drop 30 in our short winters and my psi drops with the air temp.

I guess I should start going 52psi on the CT and 47psi on the X

In my experience under-inflated tires pick up punctures quite a bit more easily. Thats not to say that some hazards might be be handled better by lower pressures, just that higher pressures lead to fewer flats overall.

 

[Cyber]

Cyberbeast comes with the ATs. It was a great trip.

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