FrozenRobert

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I've posted this recently in the Cherry Metallic Red corner, but thought for fun I'd re-post some of my recent Winter experiences in the General forum.

We've been hit with an extreme (and frankly dangerous) Arctic storm here in Western Canada, and I have purposefully taken out the Taycan to see how it performs in this awful weather.

Also, my old MB 350 SUV won't start. LOL. So the Taycan automatically wins by default.

Here's the recent weather forecast:

Porsche Taycan Taycan 4S vs Arctic Blast 2022: Stuttgart Strikes Back! IMG_2625


And here's what the roads looked like last night (04 Jan 2022):

Porsche Taycan Taycan 4S vs Arctic Blast 2022: Stuttgart Strikes Back! IMG_2614


This was my morning drive today (05 Jan 2022):

Taycan computer says - 29C (that's -344 degrees in F or something):

Porsche Taycan Taycan 4S vs Arctic Blast 2022: Stuttgart Strikes Back! IMG_2626



My valiant steed:
Porsche Taycan Taycan 4S vs Arctic Blast 2022: Stuttgart Strikes Back! IMG_2629


Porsche Taycan Taycan 4S vs Arctic Blast 2022: Stuttgart Strikes Back! IMG_2632


The car even with stock All Season tires is amazing even in this extreme cold. The weight + low centre of gravity makes it immune to even these awful conditions.

But there is a price: I have calculated a ~40% decrease in range. Even when charged to 85%, I didn't get anywhere near 250km of range. Interesting.

Porsche Taycan Taycan 4S vs Arctic Blast 2022: Stuttgart Strikes Back! IMG_2609


At -30 C the entire electrical system is under duress. I can subjectively "feel" the car complaining. The regen system is making odd noises, the front fascia motorized vents are groaning, the internal battery system (high voltage) is making odd sounds. And range is max at ~ 250-260km (about 162 miles), even with 85% charge and conditioning. Hmm.

If I turn ON all the heating stuff (seats, warm air circ., heated steering wheel etc.) I can watch the range drop by the second. Literally.

So I've put the car into RANGE mode and ECO for the HVAC. It helps. But range is drastically reduced.

But Stuttgart said they drove this in Sweden under the same conditions, so I'm holding them to their word that this car is 100% capable under any extreme climactic conditions.

And man, it is STILL so much fun to drive... :)

And believe it or not, even at - 30 C, I still get thumbs ups and friendly honking from passers by! Great to see people interested in electric technology. Even if they're on the planet Hoth like I am! LOL
 

kmcdonal

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That is very similar to what I have seen under very cold conditions. I also love the ability to pre-heat the car before I jump in, but I totally agree that you have to watch the battery carefully at those temps. If you blast the heating, you can run down the battery pretty quickly.
 

Windpower

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Taycan computer says - 29C (that's -344 degrees in F or something):
Ha! Its actually only -20 degrees F. Which is pretty freaking cold!!

The coldest I've ever experienced was one year when I flew to Minneapolis in January and my nostrils froze as I left the airport. And then it was only 10 below 0 F.

At -30 C the entire electrical system is under duress.
... range is max at ~ 250-260km (about 162 miles), even with 85% charge and conditioning.
Not too bad actually. When its just below freezing (+30 degrees F) my Tesla model Y only gets about 190 miles on an 80% charge. You're getting 162 miles at MINUS 22 degrees F.
 
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FrozenRobert

FrozenRobert

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I frankly am not surprised at the 800V lithium battery architecture having to struggle at these extreme temperatures.

Even my iPhone is dying faster than normal -- everything electrical around here seems to be having problems. And don't get me started on how many frozen / bricked / abandoned vehicles I've seen on my modest 12-minute drives.

Despite the reduced range, I am finding the Traction Control to be doing a great job of keeping the car steady and on target -- the roads are so awful you cannot see any lane markings and there is no longer any pavement. It's sheer ice. Everywhere.

The municipality here is doing its best with grading / snow removal / sanding etc. but there's over 1+ million people here. That's going to take a good week or more to tackle.

My biggest challenges are #1 Other Drivers (OMG), and #2 The Taycan's ability to literally stop safely. This is where some Nokians would be very welcome, but I'm managing OK and being extra careful.
 
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FrozenRobert

FrozenRobert

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Ha! Its actually only -20 degrees F. Which is pretty freaking cold!!

The coldest I've ever experienced was one year when I flew to Minneapolis in January and my nostrils froze as I left the airport. And then it was only 10 below 0 F.
Yeah we Canadians have a strange affection for Minnesota. Kinda like the movie "FARGO", if you recall. Except I don't murder anybody around here.

Sorry about my Fahrenheit conversion, I'm horrible from converting out of Metric. I blame growing up in the late 1970's when Canada gave up the Imperial system and we joined, uh, 110+ other countries and became Metric.

So yes, -10 F is pretty cold. That's like Fahrenheit 425, but instead of burning books, the pages are getting stuck together. Kinda.
 


JimBob

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As an experiment you could park the car outside overnight, not plugged in and see how it does. It would be interesting to see what temp the battery reports.
 

optik382

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As an experiment you could park the car outside overnight, not plugged in and see how it does. It would be interesting to see what temp the battery reports.
Would be fascinating to see if it'll actually "start" when the pack is at -30C and it's not plugged into shore power to help pre-heat the battery!
 


kmcdonal

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Would be fascinating to see if it'll actually "start" when the pack is at -30C and it's not plugged into shore power to help pre-heat the battery!
I have left it outside and not plugged in at temps close to that and didn't have an issue. No clue what the battery temp was.
 

GreggT

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Hop on this thread if I may.
Madison WI here and it's high teens outside.....but always in 30s in my garage where the Tay is and where charger is.
Let me relate and see if this jives with what others experience.
I set profile to 100% because I'm driving out of town the next day.
Full 100% charge in the morning shows (just) 214 mile range as I back out.
In first 3 miles the range drops to 190 and as I head down the road I'm starting to wonder if I'll make it back at day's end.
End of the story is that I did make it back......however I only showed just 6 mile range as I pulled back into the garage.
It made the trip 'interesting' for me as well as my three passengers.....but also disappointing :(.
 

Windpower

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Full 100% charge in the morning shows (just) 214 mile range as I back out.
In first 3 miles the range drops to 190 and as I head down the road I'm starting to wonder if I'll make it back at day's end.
The 'guess-o-meter' probably started with the garage temperature and then adjusted when the ambient temperature changed. This is always a guess since the car doesn't know whether the elevation will increase while driving (loss of range) or elevation will decrease (increase in range) or how fast you'll be driving or what the temperatures will be. Too many variables and that's why we call it a guess-o-meter.

How far did you drive? It would be interesting to see what the actual range was.
 

GreggT

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The 'guess-o-meter' probably started with the garage temperature and then adjusted when the ambient temperature changed. This is always a guess since the car doesn't know whether the elevation will increase while driving (loss of range) or elevation will decrease (increase in range) or how fast you'll be driving or what the temperatures will be. Too many variables and that's why we call it a guess-o-meter.

How far did you drive? It would be interesting to see what the actual range was.
About 130 miles.
Is that really all this car is good for in the winter?
 

Wakesurfer

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Hop on this thread if I may.
Madison WI here and it's high teens outside.....but always in 30s in my garage where the Tay is and where charger is.
Let me relate and see if this jives with what others experience.
I set profile to 100% because I'm driving out of town the next day.
Full 100% charge in the morning shows (just) 214 mile range as I back out.
In first 3 miles the range drops to 190 and as I head down the road I'm starting to wonder if I'll make it back at day's end.
End of the story is that I did make it back......however I only showed just 6 mile range as I pulled back into the garage.
It made the trip 'interesting' for me as well as my three passengers.....but also disappointing :(.
I see similar results leaving a warm garage.........but I live in Texas. Earlier this week the garage temp was in the high 50's early in the AM. Garage is well insulated and contains 4 geothermal units that heat the house. Outside temp was 19. I lost about 10-12 miles on SOC leaving the garage and heading down the street. I parked the car, went for a run/walk and returned to the car in about 1.5 hours. Car is now in the sun with temps in the mid-20s. SOC showed +2 miles from the time that I left the car for the run. Not as dramatic as yours (I would be a nervous wreck if I returned home with 6 miles on the SOC), but kind of the same results - cold air has a 'visual' impact on the battery via the SOC.
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