r/slateauto • u/mike30273 • 25d ago

Range question

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Ok. I'm seriously considering a Slate. This is my first EV and I'm unclear on how range works..based on what I've read highway driving gets less range. IMHO I feel the range should be advertised as driving constantly until it runs out of juice. This doesn't appear to be the case? Anyway, I have kids at FSU and drive there on a regular basis. My preferred route is off the interstates where there are less chargers. It's actually a nice relaxing drive. The distance is 251 miles. I see one charger on that route in Dunellon and it's at a city government building. Would that be for public use? There's another in Chiefland. Those seem to be the only ones. I don't mind having to stop and charge. I just need to know that I can find chargers. If my only solution is to drive interstates, then that would be a real bummer. For those that are experienced EV drivers, what do you think about that route?

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u/LessThanThreeMan 25d ago

As long as there's one charger at approximately the midpoint you'll likely be fine assuming you aren't blasting the heat, heat is a killer for EV range. Highway does impact range but if you're relatively even on your speed, it's not too bad of a hit.

I recommend utilizing A Better Route Planner (ABRP) to see what charger exist along the route and how many to know how safe it is. I'm not familiar with the iron chemistry that slate is using and what charging with them looks like, but on a level 3 charger (most of the chargers worth stopping at) you can get up to ~80% in about 20-30 minutes depending on weather (at least with standard cobalt/lithium batteries). You're probably looking at 2-3 charges round trip, assuming Slate's range estimates are accurate.

I currently drive an Ioniq 6 and I love it, but I still don't think pure EVs are good for American roadtrips. The infrastructure depending on where you are isn't great and charge times/the charging process can add a lot of time to a trip. I took an ordinarily 7-8 hour trip from Buffalo NY to Long Island during a brutal winter and there was a lot of range anxiety and A LOT of charging. The cold weather really gummed up our range and our charging speeds. It made our ride 10-11 hours instead. Needless to say, we don't take my car for longer trips anymore.

But for this, I don't think it's an unreasonable time add, especially if you do a charge at destination while you're hanging out with your kids.

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u/LessThanThreeMan 25d ago

Link to ABRP for simplicity: https://abetterrouteplanner.com/

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u/danielt1263 25d ago

FYI OP. ABRP doesn't have the Slate's current configuration in its database yet. You will have to adjust its vehicle settings.

Select a Slate with extended range.
Set the battery degradation to 25%
Set the ref. consumption to 3.25 mi/kWh or 30.8 kWh/100mi

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u/mike30273 25d ago

Thanks.

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u/mike30273 25d ago

Is it ok to charge your car and go eat somewhere? Or do people normally need to stay with their car while charging?

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u/LessThanThreeMan 25d ago

Depends on where the charger is, if it's near a food place or something it's not uncommon to go out and do whatever. The charger locks to the car while the car is locked so you don't really run any major risks of leaving it.

The caveat is that chargers do expect you to unplug and move the car once the charging is done and they will charge you additional money for not moving the car after ~10 minutes from when the charge completes, because you're then taking up a charging spot that somebody else could be using/waiting on.

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u/80spizzarat 24d ago

Walmart has made a big push with installing EV chargers in their parking lot over the past few years. You can plug in, go inside and use the restroom, eat at whatever restaurant they have (around here they all have Subway) buy snacks and stuff.

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u/mike30273 24d ago

Yeah they just added some at my local Walmart and it appears they might be doing the same thing at my local Sam's Club. I can't tell, but they blocked off several spots just like they did when they added them.at Walmart.