Tips and best practices for a first time EV owner?!

[Red Beard Ops]

Well I'll be getting my hands on a CT AWD FS this week.... I've been a Chevy Silverado guy with multiple variants since 2010 (great trucks, don't dislike them). The tech is really what drew me to the CT and I'm excited to play with a vehicle on the cutting edge! This will be my first EV so I'm nervous about getting accustomed to a shorter range and charging strategies.

Just as a note I'll be installing the UWC on a dedicated 60 amp circuit for home charging and my general commute is only 60 miles round trip.

I'm looking for general EV ownership advice as well as advice on handing larger trips. Things to do, things not to do, things that could harm the vehicle, optimal best practices, ect.

Common destinations for me can be upwards of 400 miles one way...

Cheers,
James

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[chaosmarine92]

For your daily driving only do a partial charge. Tesla recommends 80%, I prefer to only go to 60%. It is better for the longevity of the battery if you are not doing constant full charge and discharge cycles. If you need to charge to 100% for a trip then use the charge scheduler in the car to set a departure time. This will finish the charge right as you are leaving. Staying at 100% for long periods isn't great. Also don't get to 0% if you can avoid it. Things can shut down in weird ways if you fully deplete the battery and you may need a service center visit to fix it.

All that said, charging really isn't that complicated. Plug it in when you get home everyday and you'll be golden.

I know it's long but read the entire users manual. There is a ton of good info in there and a lot of stuff that you wouldn't think to ask about but that it quite helpful to know.

 

[Pops]

Common destinations for me can be upwards of 400 miles one way...

With superchangers you can make this trip in the same time as a gas truck, 1 way at least and assuming 1 bathroom/food stop. Even a 10 or 15 minute charge should be enough to finish the trip. The important part is to use the navigation, even if you know the directions. The UI will tell you how long you and where need to charge to make it.

 

[chaosmarine92]

With superchangers you can make this trip in the same time as a gas truck, 1 way at least and assuming 1 bathroom/food stop. Even a 10 or 15 minute charge should be enough to finish the trip. The important part is to use the navigation, even if you know the directions. The UI will tell you how long you and where need to charge to make it.

To add to that if you have a supercharger as a stop in the navigation then as you get near it will warm up your battery for faster charging.

 

[HaulingAss]

Congratulations! You're going to love the Cybertruck!

My advice, kick back, relax and enjoy. You will have a better experience if you stop thinking in terms of gas vehicles in terms of how "full" your tank is. On trips that exceed its range, get comfortable learning how to drive it down below 20% before charging so your charge sessions are quick affairs, just long enough to stretch your legs and find something to eat or drink. 20 minutes instead of 35 minutes. It's amazing how much faster the trip SEEMS to go by when you are actually enjoying it. Trust the trip planner. Charge to 90-100% before departing, depending upon whether that last 10% will get you to your favorite Supercharger stop or not.

Avoid the temptation to stay seated inside the vehicle when charging, even if you brought your own food and drink. You have been on the road for hours, get outside and stretch your legs, take a short walk. If it's hot and sunny, leave the climate control on "Keep" during your stop so it's comfy when you return.

On the road, don't have "get there itis", it's amazing how little time you save by cruising at higher speeds, slow down, select an interesting play list on the stereo, look around, converse and enjoy the trip. People mostly speed on long straight, boring highways because they are discontent or they left too late. By enjoying the trip you will want to leave 15 minutes sooner so you can relax in the comfort of the cabin, listening to your music or having good conversation. It's not a race, the journey is part of the trip.

For local driving, charge to 65-80%, depending upon your needs. Obviously, if you only drive 50 miles per day there is no need to keep it topped up to 80% all the time.

Don't make the mistake of thinking your tire pressure is good because the center display reads 50 or 51 psi in the middle of the day. 50 psi is the COLD tire pressure, the display should normally read around 53-55 psi to achieve that. I've found the AT tires on the Cybertruck drive best on pavement a little above 50 psi COLD, even when unladen. They corner better and I can feel them roll easier. The only reason to ever go lower is you drive on a lot of broken pavement or concrete highways with abrubt expansion joints and you want a slightly smoother ride. Flat tires are more likely with lower pressures, not higher pressures. Tires are not balloons, they have reinforcements inside and work best when not working the sidewalls too hard. And by filling a bit above the standard pressure of 50 psi COLD you have more time before you need to top them up again. If you tow things, know that the recommended tire pressure for towing is 65 psi COLD.

For public roads drive in the "Lower" ride height preference. It will reduce the amount of work the compressor needs to do by reducing raising and lowering (the "Higher" ride height cycles up and down depending upon speed).

Don't dismiss the importance of efficiency, even if you don't care about the cost to charge. Home electricity is amazingly cheap in many areas of the country, but Superchargers typically are not. By keeping your vehicle's efficiency high, you will reduce the number of miles powered by Superchargers. As another benefit, battery longevity is very proportionate to the amount of electricity used. A Cybertruck that is 10% less efficient, will have a battery that lasts 10% fewer miles. Tire selection alone can vary your efficiency by 10% or more. Know that all hits to efficiency are cumulative, so a bunch of inconsequential inefficiencies add up to something of consequence. Avoid leaving a bunch of dead weight in your truck simply due to laziness. Weight only has a small hit to highway efficiency; it matters more around town.

Learn how not to constantly go from acceleration to regen when trying to maintain a steady speed. Some drivers get notoriously poor efficiency simply because they have undetected erratic throttle inputs. This is generally not a problem above 60 mph because you are pushing a wall of air and the throttle is not near the breakpoint between acceleration and regen, but at speeds between 30 and 50 mph many people ruin their efficiency by not being able to maintain a steady throttle. Chill Mode can help those people a little bit, the real fix is to adjust your throttle technique such that you are no longer giving erratic throttle commands.

Know that electricity is the most American form of energy because we make it all ourselves. Even electricity made with coal or natural gas is cleaner than buring gasoline or diesel in your tank because large powerplants can be more efficient than small engines. So you are doing your part to make America more energy independent and clean up the air on our highways and in our cities. Powerplants are not located in high population density areas but where there are a lot of cars, there are also a lot of people that are breathing the air.

Congrats on your first electric vehicle and enjoy!

 

[tmeyer3]

To add to that if you have a supercharger as a stop in the navigation then as you get near it will warm up your battery for faster charging.

This is a good point. I've learned to just drop the destination in even if I know the way because it does condition the battery for better charging prior to arriving. I've also been saved time when I wasn't aware of an accident, etc, many many times

 

[igs]

Try to keep your state of charge close to 30%

 

[Red Beard Ops]

Yall thanks a ton for these tips! A wealth of information. Very well thought out replies!

Really loving this CT community!

 

[CTSoFL]

For your daily driving only do a partial charge. Tesla recommends 80%, I prefer to only go to 60%. It is better for the longevity of the battery if you are not doing constant full charge and discharge cycles. If you need to charge to 100% for a trip then use the charge scheduler in the car to set a departure time. This will finish the charge right as you are leaving. Staying at 100% for long periods isn't great. Also don't get to 0% if you can avoid it. Things can shut down in weird ways if you fully deplete the battery and you may need a service center visit to fix it.

All that said, charging really isn't that complicated. Plug it in when you get home everyday and you'll be golden.

I know it's long but read the entire users manual. There is a ton of good info in there and a lot of stuff that you wouldn't think to ask about but that it quite helpful to know.

Quick question...

I though the CTs battery tech were more robust and were designed to go to 100% (I intend to keep 80% local, 100% long trips) with no issues lime all other EVs who really need to stay in that 20%-80% range.

Am I off here??

 

[REM]

Install the PlugShare app, and learn how many free level 2 chargers are out there. Also go ahead and make an account so you can contribute to helping others. I've traveled all over the country and that has been the most helpful app.

Thank me later ?

 

[Darthamerica]

Well I'll be getting my hands on a CT AWD FS this week.... I've been a Chevy Silverado guy with multiple variants since 2010 (great trucks, don't dislike them). The tech is really what drew me to the CT and I'm excited to play with a vehicle on the cutting edge! This will be my first EV so I'm nervous about getting accustomed to a shorter range and charging strategies.

Just as a note I'll be installing the UWC on a dedicated 60 amp circuit for home charging and my general commute is only 60 miles round trip.

I'm looking for general EV ownership advice as well as advice on handing larger trips. Things to do, things not to do, things that could harm the vehicle, optimal best practices, ect.

Common destinations for me can be upwards of 400 miles one way...

Cheers,
James

Try not to pay attention to the “range” in miles and instead focus on the battery %. Just like many ICE vehicles have an analog gas gauge and you “just know” at 1/4 or 1/8th of a tank to fill up. It will help to avoid range anxiety. You will quickly get an idea of how far you can go. For me I charge my Cyberbeast to 80% daily and I don’t worry about charging unless I am on a road trip or below 20%(You’ll see it turn yellow).

 

[CyberGus]

Quick question...

I though the CTs battery tech were more robust and were designed to go to 100% (I intend to keep 80% local, 100% long trips) with no issues lime all other EVs who really need to stay in that 20%-80% range.

Am I off here??

It’s not about “robustness” but the properties of specific chemistries. The LFP cells in the Model 3 do very well at 100% SoC, but have a much lower energy density than the nickel-based cells of the Cybertruck. These cells will suffer lower degradation when stored at lower SoC, ideally in the 50-80% range.

 

[Red Beard Ops]

Install the PlugShare app, and learn how many free level 2 chargers are out there. Also go ahead and make an account so you can contribute to helping others. I've traveled all over the country and that has been the most helpful app.

Thank me later ?

Just made an account!

 

[CyberGus]

I'm excited to play with a vehicle on the cutting edge!

Literally

 

[REM]

Also.

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