Category: News

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How much do 19 inch Gemini Wheels and Tyres improve the Energy Efficiency of the Model Y Performance?

The only way to correctly test energy efficiency is by having two similar cars driven on the same roads at the same time over a reasonable long distance.

This test was conducted using two almost identical 2023 White Model Y Performance vehicles built in the Shanghai factory within days of each other. Both had covered over 1,600kms in the first week of ownership. Both had aircons set to 22°C. Both had cold tyre pressures of 42psi. Both had two occupants. It is crucial to note that neither car used the Williams Supercharger to navigate to and thus battery preconditioning was NOT used to avoid contaminating the results. During the test, the cars were driven no closer than 60 metres at highway speeds with the biggest gap being approximately 400 metres. Each car drove the front position for half the journey.

Cars were driven at the speed limit (max 110km/h) as much as possible with overtaking of slower traffic only conducted on designated overtaking lanes. Luckily traffic flow was generally good during the whole test.

To be clear, the test was conducted mostly on the Albany highway, a coarse road surface that’s consumes plenty of energy and is often used by Tesla drivers visiting the Great Southern.

Over the total 272km test (136kms south, 136kms north), the Performance model Y with factory fitted 21 inch Überturbines averaged 178Wh/km while the Performance model Y with the 19inch Gemini rims and hub caps (acquired from a new standard range model Y) averaged 158Wh/km, an improvement of 11%. That’s not a typo, that’s eleven percent with every other aspect of the two cars being identical.

There’s two main factors that cause the difference in energy efficiency: The 21inch Überturbines have what could be described as “sticky” Pirelli tyres, great for putting down the power and torque of the dual electric motors under extremely hard driving, but energy hungry in general driving. The 21 inch wheel/tyre combo has less smooth tyre surface and more rough wheel surface on the outside of the car. The Gemini wheels have more smooth tyre surface and a fairly smooth hub cap so airflow at higher speeds is less interrupted. If you’re a City Slicker, the 21 inch Uberturbines are fine. If you plan on long distance driving away from reliable DC charging, the energy wasted may be an issue.

Model Y
Performance
21″ Überturbines		Model Y
Performance
19″ Gemini
Leg 1
31 km		212Wh/km195Wh/km
Leg 2
105 km		168Wh/km149Wh/km
Leg 3
105 km		200Wh/km175Wh/km
Leg 4
31 km		105Wh/km95Wh/km
Total
272km		178Wh/km158Wh/km
TOCWA Note: Distance per Leg is approximate
  • Leg 1: Byford to Albany Hwy T junction. Moderately uphill, average speed 64 km/h
  • Leg 2: T junction to Williams Woolshed Supercharger. Moderately downhill, average speed 97 km/h
  • Leg 3: Return Williams Woolshed to T junction. Moderately uphill, average speed 102 km/h
  • Leg 3: T junction to Byford. Moderately downhill, average speed 71 km/h

Conditions: dry 22°C to 29°C, light winds. Start time 9.30 am, finish 1.15 pm.

Überturbines (left photograph), Geminis (right photograph). Both “Since Charge” screens did not reset to zero as per normal after Supercharging???

This test was conducted by Harald Murphy and Rob Dean, two of the most experienced long distance drivers in Australia.

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The WA EV Network has Arrived!

The much-needed WA EV network is here! Geraldton and Northampton are the first two sites to have been commissioned and, as of today, both are now operational. Geraldton boasts two 150kW fast DC chargers which are ready to replace the temporary 50 kW TOCWA (Tesla Owners Club of Western Australia) DC charger that has been a godsend for hundreds of EV road trips. Northampton has one 150kW DC charger as well as a 7kW AC charger.

One of two 150kW Kempower DC chargers at Geraldton
WA EV Network Map

EV drivers eager to hit the country roads during these school holidays, will take comfort in knowing that each 150 kW charger shares its capacity across two CCS2 cables which means that up to four EVs can charge at any one time. If two EVs are sharing a single charger, the 150 kW capacity will be shared between the two cars, however, if the two EVs are spread across the two chargers, drivers may be able to draw up to the full 150 kW rate, which is good for a peak charge rate of approximately 1,000 km an hour in WA’s most popular EV, the Tesla Model 3 Rear Wheel Drive. This means that the majority of charging sessions are expected to take approximately 20 to 25 minutes, which is not only the minimum recommended break duration on long road trips but also just enough time to use the bathroom and grab a drink, coffee, or a bite to eat.

From left to right: Carl Van Heerden – Synergy, Sandra Giry – Synergy, Liam Dunphy – HEC, Pushpa Gurung – Synergy, Diarmuid O’Donovan – HEC, Jong Yiing Yang – Jetcharge, Harald Murphy – TOCWA, Guy McHugh – Synergy, Mary Davadra – Synergy, Sean Henderson – Jetcharge.

Geraldton and Northampton are the first of a total of 49 charging locations that will span the state, enabling EV drivers to fast charge every few hundred kilometres from the Northern Territory border, along the coast, all the way to the South Australian border. The WA EV Network has been funded by the WA State Government and will be available on the Chargefox network, however, a simple swipe of a credit card will be sufficient to get the electrons flowing. (This feature is not currently activated but it is coming soon.)

Originally the brainchild of Professor Thomas Braunl, the WA EV network, which comprises of Synergy and Horizon Power chargers, will add to the existing charging assets, including Tesla’s Supercharger network, the RAC Electric Highway, as well as other networks and dozens of commercial, donated, or crowd-funded chargers, such as the 50 kW AEVA DC units in Lake Grace and Ravensthorpe. You can find the WA EV Network chargers on the Chargefox app or for a complete listing check out www.plugshare.com

Full House at the First Test-Charge with four EVs charging simultaneously
The Northampton site at 202 Hampton Rd, Northampton
A successful test-charge in Geraldton. The Geraldton site is located at 31 Foreshore Dr, Geraldton.
The cafe across the road from the Geraldton charger will be a handy place to take a break on long road trips.
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Australian Y Tour – Two Brand New Model Ys around the country at once

TOCWA committee members, Harald Murphy and Pete Petrovsky took delivery of their brand new Model Y’s on the first day in Perth.

But why just take delivery when you can go on an epic road trip?

Becuase it hasn’t been done before, and what better away to raise awareness of both what’s possible, and what obstacles actually exist.

Pete Talks to Chris Vanderstock about the AUSYTour:

To follow the adventure, use this link

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The Model Ys are coming

The first batch of Model Ys have arrived at Fremantle Port today in preparation for the first WA deliveries over the next few weeks.

Nearly 800 new Teslas so far this quarter

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Tesla Opens Model Y Reservations in Australia!

From the 14th of March 2019, the day Elon Musk unveiled his new Tesla sneakers and then the Model Y at the Tesla Design Studio in Hawthorne California, Australians have been wondering when the car that is destined to become the world’s bestselling passenger vehicle will become available down under.

Elon Musk sporting his new Tesla Nike sneakers at the Model Y unveiling at the Tesla Design Studio in Hawthorne, California. Photo: mashable.com

It was great to see production begin in California’s Fremont factory in January of 2020 with deliveries following only a couple of months later on the 13th of March. We then had little choice but to spend almost the next year and a half eagerly watching YouTube videos of ecstatic new Model Y owners posting their reviews, and we were all buoyed when we saw right-hand drive orders open in countries like Hong Kong on 2nd of July 2021 and later in the UK on 15th of October last year. We were also glad to see the Model Y fully approved by Australian regulators in September 2021.

When the Australian order page briefly went live on 9th of April 2022, Aussie EV fans were on tenterhooks. Some Tesla enthusiasts such as TOCWA Chairman Rob Dean and his wife Robin got a chance to almost place an order before the reservation page was taken offline but not before they got a chance to take a screen shot. (As reported by The Driven, there was also at least one Australian who managed to pay a deposit that weekend, but their money was later refunded and the order cancelled.)

Rob and Robin Dean’s screenshot of the Tesla Model Y Order page on 9th of April 2022

Rumours and speculation ensued but finally this morning the well-worn ‘Stay Updated’ button was finally replaced with the long-awaited invitation to ‘Order Now’. So yes, it’s finally happening, Australians can now place their Model Y reservations!

 To begin with, Australians are being offered two variants. The entry level Rear-Wheel Drive (which used to also be referred to as the Standard Range Plus) but now known as simply the ‘Model Y’ and the top of the range Performance. Both versions will be made in Shanghai, and they’ll initially only be available in the 5-seat configuration.

The Model Y shares approximately three quarters of its parts with the Model 3 and to the superficial eye it looks almost identical but there are differences. Although both cars share the same platform and powertrains, being an SUV, the Model Y is heavier and bigger in all three dimensions. It is about 41mm wider, 56mm longer and 183mm taller with about 27mm more ground clearance at about 167mm. That said, the Performance with its 21’’ Überturbine wheels will ride a little lower.

Tesla Model Y and Model 3, dimensions comparison. Photo: Tesla Owners Online

As one would expect, the Model Y has more leg room and it’s easier to get in and out thanks to its higher seating positions. I found this to be a handy YouTube video with a real-world comparison between the rear seat leg room of the 3, the Y and the Model X. You can also refer to TOCWA’s very own Grumpy Old Man’s YouTube video at the 4’35” mark. Nigel is currently in the UK taking the Model Y through its paces.

There are also other differences, the most obvious being the Model Y’s hatchback versus the Model 3’s sedan boot design. Additionally, the Model Y’s three rear seats can recline into three positions, and they can also fold down individually compared to the 60:40 split in the M3. There’s also a handy button in the boot of the Model Y enabling the rear seats to automatically fold down and there’s also a hidden manual rear door release. The factory glass tinting on the Model Y is also different in that it runs all the way to the end while the Model 3 tapers off about 60cm from the bottom. Some of these features are demonstrated in this YouTube Video by Tesla Raj starting at the 9’35”mark.

Photo: Teslarati / Tesla Raj

The Model Y also has an additional smaller boot well or sub boot as can be seen in this video at the 5’30” mark and the front boot or frunk is about three inches deeper. There are also two side compartments in the boot as opposed to just the left one in the Model 3. As one would expect, the Model Y has considerable cargo volume, almost 50% more than the Model 3, with the M3 specified at 649 litres and the MY at 971 litres with 5 passengers, or 2,158 litres with just a driver and front passenger.

In terms of acceleration, the Model Y is only a little less lively at 3.7 seconds versus 3.3 seconds for a 0-100km/h sprint for the Performance models and 6.9 compared to 6.1 seconds for the entry level Rear Wheel Drive versions.

Being a larger and heavier car, the Model Y Performance is rated at 514km of WLTP range which is 33km less than the M3P. The Rear-Wheel Drive is rated at 36km less at 455km. When it comes to real world range, however, the EPA standard is a closer approximation with the MYP rated at 488km. Furthermore, this range will be reduced on rough country roads where there is little opportunity to use regenerative braking or when driving in the rain, in cold weather, going up hills, against a headwind or towing. Speaking of towing, the Model Y should be rated at 1.6 tonne braked or 750kg unbraked, as reported here by Bridie Schmidt in The Driven.

As one would also expect, the Model Y is more expensive, however, as I have touched on previously in this article, the Total Cost of Ownership is what is important rather than just the sticker price.

To check prices and delivery time frames see the Australian order page and if you like what you see don’t hesitate to reserve what in the next 3-5 years I’m tipping will become Australia’s bestselling car, first by revenue and then by volume. Considering that EVs account for only about 2% of Australia’s new car sales and the world is currently gripped by supply chain bottlenecks, I realise it’s a big call but to double down further and to be clear, I’m not saying it will just be the best-selling electric car, or the bestselling SUV, or the bestselling car in any other segment, I expect either the Model Y or the Cybertruck to become Australia’s best-selling car, period. With Australia accounting for less than a fraction of a percentage point of Tesla’s global sales volumes, the harder question is whether Tesla will have a global best seller before it tops the rankings in Australia or vice versa.

Pete Petrovsky is an active TOCWA (Tesla Owners Club of Western Australia) committee member and a long-time EV enthusiast. He placed a $6,000 deposit for a Model X (#39) in 2014 but when it came to taking delivery he couldn’t justify the cost, so instead, he and his wife decided to buy two PHEVs and wait for the Model 3. In March of 2016 they bought the Holden Volt and a couple of weeks later the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, and on the day it was unveiled, Pete ordered the Model 3. After selling the Outlander, in September 2019, Pete received his long awaited first Tesla, a Model 3 Performance. Despite still loving their Volt, Pete and his wife took delivery of their second Model 3 in December 2021. In his spare time, Pete also runs the ‘Tesla Ahead of the Curve’ YouTube channel and is also a long-term Tesla shareholder.

(13 June’22: the range estimates in the 3rd last paragraph of this article were corrected to correctly reflect the figures as per the Tesla website.)

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A Quarter of a Million Kilometres in Seven Years and the Tesla Model S is Still Going Stronger Than Ever

Having waited nine months for their Model S to arrive, it’s no wonder Rob and Robin refer to their Model S P85D as their “baby”. Back in 2015 Tesla deliveries in Western Australia were fairly rare, there was no delivery centre, no showroom, no service centre or local Tesla employee to hand over the cars. Each delivery experience was unique. In Rob and Robin’s case, Tesla sales requested they collect their Model S from a transport depot in Canning Vale a suburb in Perth, Western Australia. The car was clean, charged to 90% and the key fobs were handed over with little fuss. There was no one trying to sell window tinting or seat protection, less talk and more driving, the way it should be.

The car had plenty of features but only two they really cared about, firstly it was insanely fast, and second, they could charge it from their excess home solar power. In those days the Deans “couldn’t care less about supercharging, software updates, autopilot or the massive touchscreen on the dashboard.” They also weren’t bothered by the fact that in 2015 Tesla was a very small car company, living on the edge, with no service or support within 3,000kms of Perth, but to them it was worth the risk to support the only car maker taking EVs seriously.

The plan for the car was fairly simple, have some fun, take a regular weekend drive camping and attend a few car shows, maybe clock up 20,000 kms per year. The only long trip Rob & Robin had initially planned was in winter of 2016 when they were preparing to drive from Perth to Broome and back, but that trip turned out to be so enjoyable it became a catalyst for many more trips to all parts of Western Australia and eventually a visit to every state and territory including:

Home (Mandurah) -Exmouth-Broome return, 4,900kms June 2016 AC charging only

Home-Shark Bay return 1,800kms November 2016 AC only

Home-Albany-Esperance-Kalgoorlie-Perth return 2,000kms April 2017 AC only

Home-Adelaide return 5,600kms December 2017

Home-Tom Price- Newman-Marble Bar-Port Hedland-Onslow-Exmouth return 4700kms April 2018 AC only

Home-Kalgoorlie-Leinster-Yalgoo-Shark Bay return 3,100kms October 2018 AC only

Around Australia clockwise including Tasmania 19,620kms Sept-Oct 2019

Home- Exmouth- Yardie Creek-Kalbarri- return 2,800kms June 2021

Home-Eucla-Esperance return 3,000kms January 2022

More than a dozen other trips between 700 and 1,800kms at 140 overnight destinations.

Seven years and 250,000 kms later they still love the car as much as they did the first week they had it, so much so, they can’t wait to buy another Tesla. This time it will be the Model Y which they plan to use as their second car, because they say they’ll never sell the Model S P85D.

To hear more about Rob and Robin’s experience with their Model S click on the video below or try the following URL: https://youtu.be/7uvoFdJsmDM

I interview OG Tesla owners Robin and Rob Dean to get the first-hand account with their 7-year old Model S after they recently competed 250,000 kms in the P85D.

Q&A:

How has the battery held up?

In short, it’s not an issue, it’s all been as expected. After 250,000kms the car’s range is 420km in the city and 370km on the highway which is roughly 10% less than new, but as expected, the first 5% of battery degradation was much faster than the last 5% which is now barely noticeable.

What are your total out-of-pocket running costs? I just had the 4th set of tyres fitted, the average lifespan has been 81,000kms per set. I’ve kept with Michelin’s paying between $350 and $410 per tyre fitted. All up including two minor repairs it’s added up to $4660.

How much do you think you’ve saved on fuel?

Who cares? Well okay, put it this way, if the bloke up the road had the time to drive his less powerful and slower high performance V8 250,000kms over the past 7 years he would have consumed $39,000 worth of fuel at city prices. If I paid full grid price for the electricity consumed the cost would be $11,500, the fact is charging has cost us virtually nothing as most charging has been free from our home solar system. The car also comes with free lifetime supercharging and most of the AC charging we’ve done around Australia has been complimentary and the few dollars spent on DC charging is immaterial.

What about servicing?

It’s often incorrectly claimed that Teslas don’t need servicing; it all depends on how much the owner values their vehicle. As this car spends a large amount of time far away from a service centre, I’m happy to spend some cash making sure it’s in the best possible condition. $1,300 over 250,000kms is money well spent.

Any warranty repairs?

At 160,000kms Tesla replaced the rear drive unit due to the milling noise showing up in some early Model S vehicles, the car was in the care of Tesla service for just a few hours. The MCU was replaced at 220,000kms under a recall due to a potential eMMC failure, this took half a day at Tesla service.

What don’t you like about your Model S?

The paint appears soft and has suffered more than previous cars have from loose stones (chip seal) on country roads. Tesla also make unnecessary changes to the charging screen via software updates. At one stage, the Tesla charging screen was perfect, but not anymore. Some bored tinker-man in California adds complexity for no reason.

What has turned out to be surprisingly good beyond your expectations?

As I said earlier Supercharging didn’t interest me, and to be honest if it didn’t exist I’d still be just as supportive of EVs, but after experiencing the simplicity, reliability and convenience of Tesla Supercharging on both sides of Australia I can see how important the Supercharging network is to encouraging everyday Australians to change from petrol to electric transport.

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Enhanced Autopilot

In other markets, Tesla offers “Enhanced Autopilot” as an option below “Full Self Driving”. This option offers Nav on Autopilot, Auto lane change, Autopark and Smart summon for approximately half the cost.

Full Self Driving then adds Traffic Light and Stop Sign control on top.

A screentshot of the UK order page for Enhanced Autopilot

If this option were offered in Australia, for those that have not purchased FSD, would you buy Enhanced Autopilot?

We’d love to get your feedback via the poll on our Facebook page linked below – or feel free to comment on this post.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1627907424194896/posts/2993552684297023

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TOCWA on Flashpoint – Channel 7

Pete Petrovsky, TOCWA Committee Member and Model 3 owner participated in a panel discussion on Channel 7’s Flashpoint about EV adoption in Western Australia – if you missed it on Monday night, You can stream the episode here:

https://7plus.com.au/flashpoint?episode-id=FLAS05-001 

– You may have to log in – and choose Season “5” rather than “2021” at the bottom – It’s marked as Season 5 Episode 1 – see the image below:

If you have any comments – please let us know