Taycan to the Norwegian Fjords (Summer 2024 Trip Journal)

[f1eng]

This polaroid looks like it was taken in the early 90s – but it is actually your intrepid road-trippers tonight – taken by a local bar that snaps their patrons on an ancient looking instant camera. It took about five minutes for the picture to "develop" and appear.

Sometimes analog is more fun!

This makes me feel old!
I had a folding SX70 Polaroid camera for "instant" pictures pre-digital. It was indeed fun.

I used Kodachrome 64iso or 25iso in my film cameras (Leica M6 and Olympus OM-1) and it makes me laugh now when the base iso of most digicams is 200, and usable much higher and massive criticism of micro 4/3 because of "noise" at 6400 iso whereas for me it is "goodness photography is so easy now".

I still use an M Leica (M10, M240 and M9) and Olympus OM-1 digital

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[tigerbalm]

Staying in a Hydro Electric Station

The control station for seven hydro dams in the region. Our hotel – the former mess hall for staff – is the building higher up on the left.



A high-voltage switch yard that the hotel overlooks. You can both hear the buzz and "smell" the electricity as you walk under the lines.



Many of the small streams in the area are actually controlled by the hydro station – and are more dangerous than they first appear.

 

[tigerbalm]

Porsche Connect service update

All functionality restored for us about an hour ago. Both PCM and iOS app.

Interestingly no logout/login to PCM account required. We just checked the app while away from the car eating dinner and it was all functional.

 

[tigerbalm]

Day 7: Nesflaten (Norway) -> Bekkjarvik (Norway)

A good portion of today is a repeat of yesterday – because we drove it to get food and wait out the road closure. Nevertheless – this section of Road 13 is a really enjoyable drive and as the weather is still dry – we make the most of it.

Every meter we've driven since Dublin is recorded on our FitCamX and we're looking forward to cutting some of it into a video to share what driving here is really like.

We continue to stop off where there is something interesting to see.



Such as the many waterfalls in the region – a picture doesn't do the "noise" of the fall any justice.



Today we have three "road" ferries on our route – and it is very enjoyable to thread through the windy roads and hit the ferries on schedule. Locals take this for granted, but there is just something very "road-trip" about combining drives with ferry crossings.

Because we have three crossings today – we set our PVTS+ tracker to transport mode for the entire day – to save us having to scramble to set it each time we board.



We're still on Apple Maps and it handles the ferries very well – telling us which exact one we should take each time we approach the dock. Many of the ports here have multiple ferries – so its not always obvious which one to take.



The day gets increasingly wet – and the forested areas give us some reprieve from the elements. Unfortunately, the forecast for the rest of our trip is for wet unsettled weather – so we'll just have to accept it.

We come across a Camper Van that has pulled in too far to the verge and is stuck. Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do with a Taycan to help. Perhaps – in the future – all the new Macan EV drivers will be pulling people out of ditches?

Second ferry of the day – and it too – like most in this region – is an electric ferry. So quiet, smooth and fast – just like our EV.

It is interesting to watch it interact with the chargers at the docks – where it gets ten minute top-ups.



The crossings here are between islands in the North Sea – rather than the calm fjords – so with the weather today – you can feel a slight roll in the vessel.

We stop off at a convince store for some lunch supplies.

Final crossing of the day – onto the island we'll be staying on tonight.



Eventually arriving at our hotel for tonight where we plug into Porsche Destination chargers. They need a Porsche Charging Service card to start – but are free for active Porsche customers. Though they are rated at 22kW on the app - they deliver us a 11kW charge.



This hotel is taking the Porsche charging service seriously.

The hotel we're staying in has these Renault Twizy EV's to use – they look like fun – if the weather was a little more co-operative.



We notice the that while we are at dinner – we get a charging notification from the My Porsche app – and load it up to it back fully functional. After dinner – and soaking wet from the rain falling heavily now – we stop by our car to confirm that the PCM is also back to full health.

The days charging stats

Location	Start SOC %	End SOC %	kWh added	Cost	Duration	Ambient Temp	Battery Temp	Charger Type	Network
Beckerwyc House	41%	100%	49.4	€0.00	3 hours 50 mins	14	31	AC 11 kW	Porsche Destination Charging

Today we did 181 km over 5:29 hours, with an average speed of 34 km/h, consuming 24.8 kWh/100km.

 

[cityhpper]

Glad to hear your PCM is shaping up again, @tigerbalm! I much prefer it to CarPlay, so am happy that my car/PCM has been working as expected this whole week (knock on wood).

It is also interesting to note the difference in design, for the car ferrys that cross our fjords and to/from the islands along our coast. Ferrys that travel routes where one in autum/winter usually see rough conditions, have a more protected car deck and different bow designs. They are also more powerful, to better cope with the elements.

Enjoy your stay, and keep the pictures coming

 

[tigerbalm]

It is also interesting to note the difference in design, for the car ferrys that cross our fjords and to/from the islands along our coast. Ferrys that travel routes where one in autum/winter usually see rough conditions, have a more protected car deck and different bow designs. They are also more powerful, to better cope with the elements.

Yes, it is surprising how many different design layouts there are among the different ferries – even the fjord based ones.

The final ferry we got to Husavik looked like it was a converted electric ferry. While you could hear the whine of the electric motors and see the "ferryCharger" cabinet – it also had exhaust funnels. Or perhaps they are hybrids if such a ferry exists?

 

[cityhpper]

Indeed, some are hybrid designs. They can fall back to diesel generators if HPC-solution at the dock, should fail or are being serviced. We noted use of generators on several hybrid ferries, while travelling along the coast this summer.

 

[Scandinavian]

Great that your Connected Services came back online.

Great reports and pictures as always.

Thanks for sharing

 

[Sace]

Yes, it is surprising how many different design layouts there are among the different ferries – even the fjord based ones.

The final ferry we got to Husavik looked like it was a converted electric ferry. While you could hear the whine of the electric motors and see the "ferryCharger" cabinet – it also had exhaust funnels. Or perhaps they are hybrids if such a ferry exists?

We have local lake ferries here that have been converted to "hybrids". But they are basically two parallel power systems. So when they run out of charge they just power up the old diesels and run them old-school - Not through a generator and electric motor.

 

[anonymouse]

Though they are rated at 22kW on the app - they deliver us a 11kW charge.

Don’t know whether this applies in your case, but for the benefit of other readers: in addition to charger errors and mistakes on the database, this can happen if either (a) you don’t have the 22kW optional charger; or (b) you don‘t have a 3-phase cable. Our car was supplied with the latter problem and we got the dealer to replace with a proper 3-phase one. And many UK owners don’t specify the 22 kW option because their dealers don’t know what it is for

 

[tigerbalm]

Don’t know whether this applies in your case, but for the benefit of other readers: in addition to charger errors and mistakes on the database, this can happen if either (a) you don’t have the 22kW optional charger; or (b) you don‘t have a 3-phase cable. Our car was supplied with the latter problem and we got the dealer to replace with a proper 3-phase one. And many UK owners don’t specify the 22 kW option because their dealers don’t know what it is for

Currently getting (a very picturesque) 22 kW destination charge. But valid points - especially on the cable.

 

[RacingDuck]

It's not just three phase or not. Three phase cables come in 11 kW and 22 kW. You need more copper for 22 kW and the cable has an identifier, so the charger can tell it's only rated for 11 kW.

 

[McgR]

@tigerbalm semi back on topic but have you found ACC comes with a not inconsiderable efficiency cost?

In middling two lane motorway traffic I found at 120kmh with ACC I was getting 2.2-2.4 m/kwh but driving manually I was getting 2.7-3.0. I only have one data point on the manual as I found ACC and ALK very useful.

In my personal experience I think ACC is less economic than I can do my self. I would release the accelerator earlier and start coasting earlier. Increase speed a bit more gradually and earlier when the car in front moves to the right. This would give a more constant speed and less accelerations.
Maybe for economics it would be better to use standard CC mode and switch it off your self when approaching another car.
CC it self is more efficient when driving

 

[Midlifecrisis]

In my personal experience I think ACC is less economic than I can do my self. I would release the accelerator earlier and start coasting earlier. Increase speed a bit more gradually and earlier when the car in front moves to the right. This would give a more constant speed and less accelerations.
Maybe for economics it would be better to use standard CC mode and switch it off your self when approaching another car.
CC it self is more efficient when driving

If you have ACC I am not aware of a way to move it to “standard CC”. If you know how, please let us all know how to do this

 

[tigerbalm]

Day 8: Bekkjarvik (Norway) -> Balestrand (Norway)

We awake to a brighter morning after the heavy rain overnight.



And head out to our fully charged car. It was a good system that required a valid Porsche Charging Service card to start the charger – but offers the energy for free if you are a Porsche owner.

This is part of the agreement that properties sign-up to when applying for a destination charger. Porsche covers the cost of the chargers, the installation cost, the electrical contracting, etc – they can charge for use of the chargers – so long as it is offered free to Porsche owners.



We head north of the island and queue for our first ferry of the day.



As @cityhpper pointed out – these islands are off the coast of Norway and hence in the North Sea – and thus have much more robust bows and enclosed structures to the car deck.

Here you can see that this ferry is a hybrid – with both the charging "plug" and exhausts of the diesel generator backups alongside each other.



The PCM weather app reminds us that we'll be ducking rain all this week.



With the passenger display on "satellite" mode showing our route progress between the islands.



Off the ferry and into tunnels. The various Porsche drivers assistants are useful to both maintain speed and lane positioning through the tunnels – many of which as multiple kilometres long.

There are plenty of damn camper vans along the route – but not so many to delay progress – or ruin the enjoyment of the twisty bits.

When its dry – we stop off to enjoy the scenery.



And how well the Norwegian cottages blend into the landscape – with grass on their roofs.



The waterfalls are full of energy with recent rainfalls.

We climb up to 1000 meters.

Before dropping down again to sea level. It is rare to experience going from 1000 meters straight down to zero. And a great reminder that with the 270 kW regenerative capability of the Taycan – altitude is a form of stored energy.

We capture an amazing 5% of battery on our way down.

And onto our last ferry of the day across to our hotel. With this being a calm fjord – the bow is much smaller – and many lean over it for better views.



Approaching the dock on the other side – and we'll be first off.



It is a short few km to our hotel – where we check-in and plug in for a picturesque destination charge. Can you spot the car?



These are 22 kW chargers – are easy to get started with the correct app – and immediately deliver us 19.5 kW effective energy into our battery.

We arrived at the hotel with 39% battery after six hours of driving – a testament to the effect of regen on these twisty, mountainous roads.

We're living on destination charges now – stringing between all our stays. We don't plan on getting them – but when we do – it makes driving an electrical vehicle magical.

My co-driver contemplating the road-trip so far!



Watching the ferries endlessly crossing over and back the fjord.

Before walking around the quaint town of Balestrand – our home for the next two nights.



And seeing the remnants of a recent Russefeiring – suggesting the town isn't always this quiet!



Heading back into our hotel for some food.



And booze priced like it must be made of heavy water.

The days charging stats

Location	Start SOC %	End SOC %	kWh added	Cost	Duration	Ambient Temp	Battery Temp	Charger Type	Network
Kviknes Hotel	39%	100%	51.1	€33.15	2 hours 55 mins	16.5	30	AC 22 kW	Easy Park

Today we did 233 km over 6:04 hours, with an average speed of 40 km/h, consuming 20.3 kWh/100km.

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