Ok, I need more range. What mods can I make

[DougWantsALeaf]

With engineer a flash in the pan, any other range extension batteries/kits out there for the leaf?

 

[TonyWilliams]

With engineer a flash in the pan, any other range extension batteries/kits out there for the leaf?

Honestly, there are plenty of folks who can build you a "one-off"... I would even consider doing it as a learning experience. The bottom line; how much do you want to spend? That will determine what cells and how many.

They all go in a box, there's a charger installed, probably some BMS for the cells, viola!

 

[KJD]

You just need to be a little cautious when adding on extra battery pack to your car. You do NOT want to end up like this guy.

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/07/fire-destroys-a-pioneering-plug-in-prius-conversion/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A 2004 Toyota Prius that had been converted to run on grid-supplied electricity caught fire at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night in Corte Madera, Calif., according to The Marin Independent Journal and other Bay Area news outlets. Nobody was hurt, but the fire killed a cat and caused about $250,000 worth of damage to the owner’s condominium.

 

[Ingineer]

Nobody was hurt, but the fire killed a cat...

The feline death could have been attributed to the use of CAT-5 wiring. =)

-Phil

 

[aeb2335]

I noticed at the beginning of this thread you mentioned skinny tyres in order to increase your range. I am afraid this will most likely adversely effect your range. Before I begin it's worth mentioning that tyres are incredibly complex to model, the best the automotive industry has to offer is called "the magic equation". That's just the tip of the iceberg.

Short Story: You actually want wide, light, low rolling resistance compound tyres coupled with a with low moment of inertia and high tyre pressure

Long Story: From an energy stand point you ideally want to have as few rotations of your tyre as possible, so all things (mass, moment of inertia etc) being equal it would be ideal to have a wheel and tyre package with the largest possible "rolling radius". Remember the tyre deforms under load, by decreasing the width of the tyre you are effectively lengthening the contact patch the tyre makes with the ground. That larger deformation results in a lower dynamic rolling radius than the wider tyre. See below for a more complete illustrated explanation.

http://www.schwalbetires.com/tech_info/rolling_resistance

http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/03/bikes-and-tech/technical-faq/tech-faq-seriously-wider-tires-have-lower-rolling-resistance-than-their-narrower-brethren_209268

For reference once I buy my leaf I will be fitting the following wheels

Oz Ultraleggera 18'' in their widest size
https://www.performancealloys.com/wheel-details.aspx?id=620

The 18'' will allow me to run a lower profile tyre which will again, deform less.

Aero on wheels doesn't really make a difference as you can just cover the spokes. I would focus much more on the wheel's moment of inertia. Also if you cover the wheel you might want to take a page out of those non spinner rims you see on pimped out cars. That will save some rotational energy as well.

 

[dhanson865]

Short Story: You actually want wide, light, low rolling resistance compound tyres coupled with a with low moment of inertia and high tyre pressure

and I'll be doing somewhat the opposite.

I'm buying lower weight 15" rims, just under 13 pounds and putting 15" tires on the car.

I will go for higher diameter tires to correct the speedometer while I'm at it but I won't be going for wider tires.

High tire pressure works no matter the size of tires so I'll be doing that as well.

 

[imaric]

Not sure if someone mentioned it: portable seat-heater mat. So, instead of running heat in the car, you put a jacket on, and plug in the seat heater in 12V outlet. Saves me 5-10 miles of energy in the winter.
Other things that help me is pre-heating the car while still on the charger, and timing for charge to finish just before I will drive in the morning. I charge to 80 % overnight, then turn of the timer when I get up. So, in 30-60 min it gets another 5%-10% of charge or so. Enough for my daily commute.
Driving slow (not slower, SLOW) will help the most. Accelerating with one "dot" and driving like your wife has cut your brake lines, helps too.
You decide if you want to put with it. Or find a DC station along the way.

Ivan

 

[LeftieBiker]

Not sure if someone mentioned it: portable seat-heater mat. So, instead of running heat in the car, you put a jacket on, and plug in the seat heater in 12V outlet. Saves me 5-10 miles of energy in the winter.

At this point there are only a relatively small number of Leafs on the road without heated seats and wheel, but your point is valid: the 12 volt heaters use vastly less power then the cabin heater - especially in non heatpump-equipped cars. I also cobbled up a prototype for a 12 volt heating system that heats the cabin or driver just enough to keep it non-frigid: search "Heater in a Box" for the topic here. EDIT: here is the topic:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=15519

 

[rdhauser]

Here's a link to an article in Clean Technica. Seems someone is selling (like for $6,500) a battery pack that doubles the capacity to 48 kWh.

http://cleantechnica.com/2016/01/19/3rd-party-nissan-leaf-battery-pack-upgrades-doubling-to-48-kwh/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IM-cleantechnica+%28CleanTechnica%29

 

[DaveEV]

For reference once I buy my leaf I will be fitting the following wheels

Oz Ultraleggera 18'' in their widest size

Your advice goes contrary to every recommendation I have seen, and even what you see in extreme situations.

You do not want wide, very low profile tires, you want narrow, very high profile tires.

Except at very low speeds, aerodynamics is the major source of drag from tires/wheels and narrow, high profile tires are far more aerodynamic than wide, low profile tires.

Why do you think BMW went through all the trouble of designing a special extra tall and extra narrow wheel/tire combo for the BMW i3? Even high performance plug-ins have narrower than normal tires. Look at the tire width of the Model S and i8. Also, note that the Model S with the 21" wide/low-profile tire/wheel combo is noticeably less efficient than the 19" narrow/higher-profile tire/wheel combo.

Covering the spokes as you suggest is not enough as there is still a substantial amount of turbulence on the back of the wheel/tire. Covering the spokes on a thin tire/wheel combo will also be more effective than covering the spokes on a wide tire/wheel combo.

 

[dgpcolorado]

Your advice goes contrary to every recommendation I have seen, and even what you see in extreme situations.

You do not want wide, very low profile tires, you want narrow, very high profile tires...

Yes. It is well known in the Tesla community that the cars with 19 inch wheels and high profile tires get better range than those with 21 inch wheels and low profile tires.