Porsche club tour, Houston to Fayetteville, TX - Max range test! 😲

[Watchesandburgers]

Lone Star Region Porsche Club (Houston) hosted a driving tour event today. I signed up, knowing I’d be the only EV and that it would test the range of my 2022 Taycan GTS. The drive started at Buc-ee’s, 40 miles from my house, and the route stretched 140+ miles through twisty Texas roads. After the mid-day lunch stop in Fayetteville, it was another 20 miles to the nearest EA charger in Columbus, TX. Let’s go!

I left home with a full 100% charge, and for good measure, charged back up to 100% at Buc-ee’s, which had 20 Supercharger stalls, 1/2 of them with CCS MagicDock adapters. $8.22 later, I was ready to go.

I knew the 140 mile route included some stints at the, uh, speed limit, so even with 229 starting miles, I knew it would be close. Here’s a pic en route. The estimated remaining range would be just enough to get me to the charger.

Made it to our lunch stop with the aforementioned 12%-13% estimated range remaining, about 25 miles for a 20 mile drive to the charger.

The car alerted me several times that I didn’t have enough charge to make it to the destination. I counted on a little bit of post-zero buffer to get me there.

Made it! Barely. I switched to Max Range mode for this stretch, which limits max speed to 60 mph and reduces A/C usage. The 350 kW EA charger worked flawlessly, and gave me 160 miles or range in my free 30 minute charging session.

A little nerve-wracking at the end, but overall a great trip! Thanks PCA!

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[Flying ace]

That was close. That's the issue using a Taycan for a PCA drive, itinerary is designed for ICE cars. Were you the only Taycan?

 

[trycan]

The car alerted me several times that I didn’t have enough charge to make it to the destination. I counted on a little bit of post-zero buffer to get me there.

FYI for anyone with a 2025 model (or newer) Taycan. The post-zero buffer is reported to be *much* smaller after the refresh. I haven't pushed mine that far, but some YouTube videos showed you could only get a couple of miles after the car reports 0%.

 

[love2scuba]

Been tempted to go on some PCA drives. Hope their reception of an EV joining the group was a positive one. Thanks for the report, looks like fun (other than some range anxiety). Beautiful GTS BTW.

 

[Capt Mike]

Lone Star Region Porsche Club (Houston) hosted a driving tour event today. I signed up, knowing I’d be the only EV and that it would test the range of my 2022 Taycan GTS. The drive started at Buc-ee’s, 40 miles from my house, and the route stretched 140+ miles through twisty Texas roads. After the mid-day lunch stop in Fayetteville, it was another 20 miles to the nearest EA charger in Columbus, TX. Let’s go!

I left home with a full 100% charge, and for good measure, charged back up to 100% at Buc-ee’s, which had 20 Supercharger stalls, 1/2 of them with CCS MagicDock adapters. $8.22 later, I was ready to go.

I knew the 140 mile route included some stints at the, uh, speed limit, so even with 229 starting miles, I knew it would be close. Here’s a pic en route. The estimated remaining range would be just enough to get me to the charger.

Made it to our lunch stop with the aforementioned 12%-13% estimated range remaining, about 25 miles for a 20 mile drive to the charger.

The car alerted me several times that I didn’t have enough charge to make it to the destination. I counted on a little bit of post-zero buffer to get me there.

Made it! Barely. I switched to Max Range mode for this stretch, which limits max speed to 60 mph and reduces A/C usage. The 350 kW EA charger worked flawlessly, and gave me 160 miles or range in my free 30 minute charging session.

A little nerve-wracking at the end, but overall a great trip! Thanks PCA!

It’s really the role of the fun run coordinator to ensure that there are chargers along the route. The design of the run should include 350 watt chargers so that all aren’t waiting for those of us who have EVs.

 

[Watchesandburgers]

Answering questions posed above:
* Yes, mine was the only Taycan in the group.
* People were certainly welcoming to me and the Taycan. I've attended other PCA events and I'm frequently the only Taycan, so I was fully expecting that to be the case for the drive.
* I posted pics - including the zero-range shot - on the PCA Facebook page and the drive organizer reached out for more information on charging locations, which is nice.

Knowing that the 2020-2024 GTS has the longest advertised range of the J1 cars, I can't imagine any non GTS cars participating. J1.2 cars have a much longer range (bigger battery, improved aero, etc.), so maybe we'll see one of those on a future drive. Fortunately, there were charges at the starting point (thank you, Buc-ee's!) and relatively close to the finishing point. Though I certainly pushed the car through the first 75% of the drive, I laid off during the last 25% due to range. The drive was scheduled at 140-ish miles, so a slightly shorter drive would work for me and my car. But I couldn't ask for anything more with regard to the charging situation.

 

[Flying ace]

Agreed, the coordinator should consider a Taycan's need for 150kw or 350kw charge stops when they plan this so that it's more inclusive. Luckily your 2025 has the 400v booster. Had it been me (50 kw only), the group likely would have left me.

 

[Tighlines]

I can't figure out the 'guess-o-meter,' and why you would only be at 229miles at 100%. What was the outside temp that morning?
My 'guess-o-meter' read nearly 100 miles more at 100% ('23 4S). Of course, all I have to do i drive 10 miles and I'll lose 100 miles in range ?‍.

 

[Watchesandburgers]

I can't figure out the 'guess-o-meter,' and why you would only be at 229miles at 100%. What was the outside temp that morning?
My 'guess-o-meter' read nearly 100 miles more at 100% ('23 4S). Of course, all I have to do i drive 10 miles and I'll lose 100 miles in range ?‍.

When I bought the car last year it showed 250 miles of range at 100%, but after one or two long drives, it seemed to reset downward. I'm a little disappointed, but am glad it's at least more accurate this way. The car meets 99.5% of my driving needs, so I'm good with that.

Oh, weather in Houston has been in the 50s... no wait... now it's in the 70s.... Winter lasted about 1.5 weeks this year.

 

[DerekS]

It sounds like your region is more civilized than Maverick region (DFW).

They did a driving event at a Buccees and blocked every single Supercharger stall, posting "hilarious" photos of people "charging their Boxsters."

I was incensed.

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