I’m actually in the California Bay Area, not NOVA, but it sounds like they are similar roads. No outright cliffs but you’ll certainly in trouble if you end up off the road. And there are enough blind curves with the potential for some slowpoke ahead that I couldn’t press things too much. I passed a 2-car wreck on the way up; looked to be around $50k of damage.
The 3 has no conventional transmission, just a single-speed gearbox. It has a perfectly smooth response from 0 to its top speed. This was one of my prime motivations for buying an EV–I’m coming from a manual and can’t stand automatics due to gear hunting and other reasons. EVs nicely bypass the problem by not needing gears. It’s even better than a manual in this respect.
Musk stuck his foot in his mouth on this one: “This is not some situation where, for example, we are just greedy capitalists who decided to skimp on safety in order to have more profits and dividends and that kind of thing. It’s just a question of how much money we lose.
The 120v charging is actually working just fine, and has proven to be sufficient for my needs. I can add ~32 miles/day at the lowest electrical rates on weekdays (11p-7a off-peak), but only need 8 miles. And I can add 160 miles on the weekend. Even if I drive more than that on the weekend, it’s no problem just to make up the difference later in the week (or hit a Supercharger).
Still–it’s always nice to start on a full “tank” and so I was hoping for some type of enhanced charging situation. However, I had an electrician over and it looks like the only way to get L2 charging in my garage is to tap into the line going to the A/C unit and install a transfer switch. I can then direct the 240v/30A either to the A/C or the charger.
Obviously, this isn’t ideal. I actually don’t run my A/C much since the climate is so mild, but this is still kinda annoying. I’m currently trying to get some architectural plans to see if there’s a way I can run wiring from my breaker down to the garage. Unfortunately, I have a neighbor in the way.
As it turns out, I have a Tesla-owning neighbor in a different building, but is in the exact same condo relative to his building as I am to mine. I wrote him to see what he’d done for charging, but haven’t heard back yet.
Oh well; worst comes to worst, I stick with 120. Actually I probably won’t mind at all once I sell the BMW and can park in the garage with the charger right there. And either way, it’s way better than gas stations.
The 19" tires have softer compound and improved 0-60, 60-0, and the skidpad numbers. Skidpad went from 0.85g to 0.93g, which is a pretty nice improvement. Not sure if it’s gaining more from the sidewall, the compound, or some other aspect of the tire there.
Yeah, not sure it was due to different testing conditions at Edmunds, but seeing that video made me slightly regret not selecting the 19" wheels when I configured. But I figure I can always change tires.
Surely you have enough amps for a dryer. You should have a free slot on both sides of the buss to add a 240 breaker. All you need is a parking space in front of your condo.
Got a new software update today: they added “chill mode”. Limits peak acceleration and peak change in acceleration (jerk). Pretty handy when grandma is in the back seat balancing an open pot of chili.
Actually it’s pretty easy to drive smoothly without that as long as you gradually depress and release the accelerator. Otherwise there can be a bit of a jerk as the regeneration kicks in. I probably won’t use chill mode but it could be useful for someone still getting the hang of things, or just doesn’t feel like managing their accelerator use so carefully but still wants a smooth ride.
Early on, Musk said the dual option would cost less than on the S, but recent rumors are that it’s linked with the air suspension. Back when air suspension was an option instead of the default, it was $3k, making the dual+air total $8k. I can see the same package on the 3 costing $5k, but much less than that seems unlikely. I really don’t know, though.
run it outside and down the wall. If you run it along a corner cap it will be almost invisible. It would be on the same order as running cable TV service.
Yeah, that’s not happening with my HOA. That would require fat armored cable, and due to the walls being stucco and there being a bunch of gutters and shit in the way it would inevitably damage the outside. They would, at a bare minimum, demand a restuccoing and repainting. And likely just say no. Although in California an HOA can’t legally prevent me from making reasonable changes in order to install a charger, this clearly goes beyond that point, especially considering that there are less damaging alternatives.
I see mains run on the outside of houses around here sometimes. Electric code just specifies it must be inside a metal tube/enclosure. That was what they did when I added solar panels to the roof. the 240V AC cable comes out of the attic through a soffit vent down the outside garage wall in a metal tube, then through the wall into the breaker box. All code compliant and looks neat and orderly.
Yes Captain Obvious. You run it in conduit. How do you think air conditioners get wired?
When I said It would be on the same order as running cable TV service I meant adding a service to the building. The person in the unit below couldn’t object to it.
Running it along the corner cap (assuming it has siding) was a suggestion to visually blend it into the building. If the air conditioner unit is near the car port then you run another line next to it.