Cruise Control under 45mph drain on battery?

[nemrut]

Often use CC when driving under 45mph on relatively flat city streets. Since posted speed limit is often 40mph, able to make through several intersections before light turns red.

Is this an efficient way to use CC on the Leaf or does it drain the battery quicker?

 

[derkraut]

Different folks will give different views on this. IMHO, cruise control is always the most economical way to drive on level ground at a constant speed----unless you are constantly changing speeds (ie: hyper-miling), or going up/down hills.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Often use CC when driving under 45mph on relatively flat city streets. Since posted speed limit is often 40mph, able to make through several intersections before light turns red.

Is this an efficient way to use CC on the Leaf or does it drain the battery quicker?

The fact that you timed the traffic lights so that you didn't have to stop and then accelerate is the big savings here.

Sounds great.

 

[thankyouOB]

dunno--
why?
cause it produces less efficiency on th "trees" gauge.
try going in and out of cruise and watch the circle around the trees. it is always more efficient, according to that gauge, to be out of cruise.

i am not sure the gauge is accurate or has some setting that auto handicaps use of cruise.

 

[mrdcmills]

I use cruise control to lower donations to the pollice and FHP in my town. I travel a SIX lane road with a 40 mph speed limit. They seem to be collecting about 3 of the five days I travel that way.

 

[Caracalover]

Turn on the enrgy use screen and watch what the cc is doing. I think it uses less regen if you are in D, rather than Eco. In Eco you will likely be less efficient in this type of situation, unless the energy draw is constant. The car cannot know what the terrain ahead is, and if it is slowing the car and then trying to regain that speed, it will not be as efficient. On the other side if the terrain is such that you see energy spikes, Eco would be better. Either way the energy use/loss is too minimal to worry about, including using cc or not. Nissan says the optimal speed is 37, so if you really need the efficency, slow down.

To be the most kinectic energy effective, get the car rolling and then go into N. Time the lights and add speed only when needed. When you have to stop or slow the car switch to D and then Eco to get the most regen before touching the brake.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Nissan says the optimal speed is 37...

No, they don't.

Practically, it's between 10-15mph.

Even the very heavy (4600 pounds) Tesla Model S is about 22mph.

 

[LEAFfan]

Nissan says the optimal speed is 37...

No, they don't.

Practically, it's between 10-15mph.

+1 I was able to obtain 9.1 m/kW h for 15 miles at 15mph. Someone else did even better driving below this speed.

 

[DarkStar]

I have always been able to beat the cruise control at energy efficiency. Sometimes by about 0.5 miles/KWh. One thing I noted is that the cruise control really liked to keep three "bubbles" always showing, while if I didn't use cruise control, the same road segment would be around two "bubbles" with the occasional spike into three.

 

[Caracalover]

Nissan says the optimal speed is 37...

No, they don't.

Practically, it's between 10-15mph.

Even the very heavy (4600 pounds) Tesla Model S is about 22mph.

Practically, 10-15 mph can be achieved on a bicycle, and is better for you. 10-15 mph in a car is not practical to me.

I recall reading in either my original owners manual or on line somewhere from Nissan that 37 (Actual speed 35 I assume since the speedo is off by 2.) was the optimal speed (Wind tunnel?). In practice it does seem correct. While the gauge in the car may tell you you are getting some high M/kwh rate at a lower speed, it is not factoring in the constant draw that the car has from just being on, and if it is you haven't driven it long enough at that speed for it to adjust for that draw. If you drive for an hour at 37 speedo mph you go 35 miles. At 17.5 miles an hour you would take more than two hours, and at speeds lower than that the draw from just being powered on will cost you more than you are gaining by going that slow, don't you think?

By travelling at 35 or so miles per hour I have maxed out the eco tree gauge in a little over two hours time, and it was quite practical for a 70 mile drive. At 10 miles an hour that would take 7 hours. Not practical, and the energy draw of 5 more hours of being on would have eliminated any gain - don't you think?

 

[Caracalover]

Nissan says the optimal speed is 37...

No, they don't.

Practically, it's between 10-15mph.

+1 I was able to obtain 9.1 m/kW h for 15 miles at 15mph. Someone else did even better driving below this speed.

One hour to go 15 miles? Really? If that is fun for you go for it, but measure the wall to wheels energy use next time.

 

[DaveEV]

I recall reading in either my original owners manual or on line somewhere from Nissan that 37 (Actual speed 35 I assume since the speedo is off by 2.) was the optimal speed (Wind tunnel?). In practice it does seem correct.

Nissan did not say that 37 mph was the most optimal speed, it just used it as an example. For sure if they had used a speed between 10-37 mph it would have been more efficient than 37 mph.

Not sure why you're being so stubborn on this, many people have proven that 37 mph is far from the most efficient speed.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

anyone can beat cruise control if you have the dedication to do so. its a pain and requires near constant attention to what you are doing.

in any city driving scenario, i find very small windows that allow me to drive at a constant speed. if you can do it, more power to you. I cannot so CC is something I like to use but rarely see an opportunity to do so.

what you want to do is try to maintain as constant a speed as you can (i find it to more likely be under the posted speed limit and the heavier the traffic, the lower the speed) with minimal regen. regen is good but still not as efficient since it does not recapture all the energy exerted to get you up to speed.

so your best bet is maintain the speed you have which in most cases means going 5 under, not 5 over. but like i said; if you live in an area where you can do that, that is awesome

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Nissan says the optimal speed is 37...

No, they don't.

Practically, it's between 10-15mph.

Even the very heavy (4600 pounds) Tesla Model S is about 22mph.

Tony; is this comment necessary? since when is "10 to 15 mph" practical?

you want to circle the lot with Broder? leave us out of it...

 

[nemrut]

I have always been able to beat the cruise control at energy efficiency. Sometimes by about 0.5 miles/KWh. One thing I noted is that the cruise control really liked to keep three "bubbles" always showing, while if I didn't use cruise control, the same road segment would be around two "bubbles" with the occasional spike into three.

I only go into CC when it can be maintained at 1 bubble, so if speed limit is 40 will use 2 bubbles to get to 42 then drop off pedal till it hits one bubble and then engage CC.

 

[TomT]

My experience has been nothing like that and logic would dictate that the amount of bubbles (or energy used in the case of a Gid Meter) is based on the speed and drag. To maintain a given speed is going to require the same amount of energy be it on CC or manually... I use CC whenever possible and practical.

I have always been able to beat the cruise control at energy efficiency. Sometimes by about 0.5 miles/KWh. One thing I noted is that the cruise control really liked to keep three "bubbles" always showing, while if I didn't use cruise control, the same road segment would be around two "bubbles" with the occasional spike into three.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Nissan says the optimal speed is 37...

No, they don't.

Practically, it's between 10-15mph.

Even the very heavy (4600 pounds) Tesla Model S is about 22mph.

Practically, 10-15 mph can be achieved on a bicycle, and is better for you. 10-15 mph in a car is not practical to me.

I recall reading in either my original owners manual or on line somewhere from Nissan that 37 (Actual speed 35....

You're still wrong. The peak efficiency speed doesn't include what's practical to you.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Nissan says the optimal speed is 37...

No, they don't.

Practically, it's between 10-15mph.

Even the very heavy (4600 pounds) Tesla Model S is about 22mph.

Tony; is this comment necessary? since when is "10 to 15 mph" practical?

you want to circle the lot with Broder? leave us out of it...

What the F does BS like this serve? Whatever insults and craziness you chose to do or believe, the LEAF is still most energy efficient at about 12 mph. Since that is difficult to maintain, practically, that is 10-15 mph if you're trying to stretch your range (cruise control doesn't work below 24 mph). This speed has been on the Range Chart for quite a while, and thankfully is true whether you believe it or not.

Tesla actually publishes their peak efficiency data, again, whether you believe it or not.

I really don't understand your vitriol, and certainly you weren't even addressed, yet you choose to jump in and comment in the way you did. Dude, seriously, get a clue and leave "us" out of your crazy world. You can travel around with Broder... seems your speed.

 

[LEAFfan]

+1 I was able to obtain 9.1 m/kW h for 15 miles at 15mph. Someone else did even better driving below this speed.

One hour to go 15 miles? Really? If that is fun for you go for it, but measure the wall to wheels energy use next time.

Really! And no, it wasn't fun. Evidently, you didn't read about the experiments some of us did to find the optimum speed. Mine was done on a continuous loop.

 

[TonyWilliams]

My experience has been nothing like that and logic would dictate that the amount of bubbles (or energy used in the case of a Gid Meter) is based on the speed and drag. To maintain a given speed is going to require the same amount of energy be it on CC or manually... I use CC whenever possible and practical.

I have always been able to beat the cruise control at energy efficiency. Sometimes by about 0.5 miles/KWh. One thing I noted is that the cruise control really liked to keep three "bubbles" always showing, while if I didn't use cruise control, the same road segment would be around two "bubbles" with the occasional spike into three.

I doubt many folks could beat the cruise control on level terrain, but certainly with hills, there should be "fixed power" mode instead of fixed speed. No, I don't think Nissan will come out with this, but it has been done in airplanes (and I've commented on it previously).