Range question and night driving.

[Nielubie]

Just calculated my usual daily round trip and it comes up to be around 78miles/day. I would say that 85% of it is on the Highway and 1/2 of it would be night driving.

Do you think the 78/mile drive would be possible, especially with the majority being on the highway with 55MPH driving and running the lights?

-Pete

 

[scottf200]

Have you check out the range chart here: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=4295&p=101293&view=show#p101293" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You may need to add more details like typical weather, extreme weather, elevation change, etc for these folks to answer better.

 

[Nielubie]

Oh yes, i looked at that graph and it seems you need to be a genius to understand it.

I'm in Chicagoland area, live near O'hare Airport and drive down to visit my parents near Midway Airport and then to work near Downtown and come home late night. So temperatures get cold here, but I have a car for bad weather like that. I'd like to use the Leaf in the summer mostly for work commute and local driving. And winter I would use my polluter.

 

[planet4ever]

It's been 50 years since I lived in Chicago, but I think you can ignore the headlights. Low beams are LED, and I assume that is all you would ever use. Your problems, apart from winter cold, of course, will be rain and wind. I suspect the only way that route is likely to work for you is if you can charge while at work. Otherwise, if it were me, I'd try parking the car at 51st & Pulaski and taking the L downtown.

Ray

 

[N1ghtrider]

Had my longest one-way drive a few days ago, from Coral Gables to West Palm on I-95. 83 miles to free charge point chargers at Clematis Street garage. Then I drove all around Palm Beach until this (Friday) morning, when I went back to the garage to get a second charge while I was in trial at the courthouse nearby.

Note that I registered for (and received) my Chargepoint membership card, but could not find it this week. There is a toll-free number on the charging stations and you can call to request that the unit be activated even without the card.

I returned this evening 82 mile on that single charge, doing 60 mph on I-95 with the air conditioning on. About 12 miles of each leg was on city streets, with 70 actual interstate miles each way.

 

[scottf200]

Oh yes, i looked at that graph and it seems you need to be a genius to understand it.
I'm in Chicagoland area, live near O'hare Airport and drive down to visit my parents near Midway Airport and then to work near Downtown and come home late night. So temperatures get cold here, but I have a car for bad weather like that. I'd like to use the Leaf in the summer mostly for work commute and local driving. And winter I would use my polluter.

I think you can read it that at intersections like:
100% charge you can go 89 miles at 55 MPH.
84.0% charge you can go 78 miles at 55 MPH
77.9% charge you can go 72 miles at 55 MPH

Quite a few footnotes tho.

I'm in Chicagoland as well. I've driven a Volt mainly on electricity since Mar 2011. Based on temperature changes and my EV miles range throughout the range of seasons we have I honestly think your drive will NOT work at all. You'd have to charge at work.

 

[smkettner]

As long as you have L2 charging at the destination I would say good to go.
Sorry 78 round trip? s/b fine but still I would be looking for at least L1 if you plan to run the air/heat.
Headwind hurts more than a tailwind helps, go a little slower into a headwind.

 

[Nielubie]

I think you can read it that at intersections like:
100% charge you can go 89 miles at 55 MPH.
84.0% charge you can go 78 miles at 55 MPH
77.9% charge you can go 72 miles at 55 MPH

Quite a few footnotes tho.

I'm in Chicagoland as well. I've driven a Volt mainly on electricity since Mar 2011. Based on temperature changes and my EV miles range throughout the range of seasons we have I honestly think you drive will NOT work at all. You'd have to charge at work.

Thanks so much. Now i understand the chart, doesn't seem accurate though, since I haven't seen anyone here that has gotten 132miles on a charge no matter how fast they are going. I'll assume a Leaf can do around 75miles on a 100% charge, which means I would have to get a level 2 charger installed at my parents for a quick 4-5 hrs and then I should make it.

I work at the Tribune and noticed a reporter wanted to talk to some leaf owners for a story. I'm sending her an email, maybe she can help me get a lvl 2 charger installed at work and I'll give her all the news she wants.

 

[surfingslovak]

Thanks so much. Now i understand the chart, doesn't seem accurate though, since I haven't seen anyone here that has gotten 132miles on a charge no matter how fast they are going. I'll assume a Leaf can do around 75miles on a 100% charge, which means I would have to get a level 2 charger installed at my parents for a quick 4-5 hrs and then I should make it.

I work at the Tribune and noticed a reporter wanted to talk to some leaf owners for a story. I'm sending her an email, maybe she can help me get a lvl 2 charger installed at work and I'll give her all the news she wants.

Pete, the chart is as accurate as it gets. But don't take Tony's (or our) word for it. Nissan has published something similar in their recent technical bulletin (PDF).

When I arrived at this forum, one of my first questions was if getting 50 miles of range on the freeway was normal. It isn't, and it turns out that the Leaf is a very efficient vehicle, but it won't work optimally if you drive it like a gas car. It takes a period of adjustment. Of course, if you feel that this is not for you or perhaps not worth trying, then the EPA estimate of 73 miles per charge is pretty solid.

If you don't mind, what's up with your forum nick? No offence, but "nielubie" or "dislike", for those that don't understand Polish, doesn't sound like a good conversation starter.

 

[Nubo]

Just calculated my usual daily round trip and it comes up to be around 78miles/day. I would say that 85% of it is on the Highway and 1/2 of it would be night driving.

Do you think the 78/mile drive would be possible, especially with the majority being on the highway with 55MPH driving and running the lights?

-Pete

The LED headlamps only consume about 10 watts apiece. You'd have to run them over 10 hours just to consume a mile of range.

In the summer, night driving is going to probably be more efficient due to less AC use. And usually less wind at night.

 

[N1ghtrider]

I have exceeded 100 miles on a single charge 13 or 14 times and got up to 130 miles once. About half of my overall driving has been accomplished on single charges of more than 100 miles.

 

[LEAFfan]

Now i understand the chart, doesn't seem accurate though, since I haven't seen anyone here that has gotten 132miles on a charge no matter how fast they are going.

It all depends on how you drive and your driving conditions. Yes, 132 miles and more on one 100% charge is doable. I've found that multiplying my m/kW h (on the dash, not CW) times 21 (kW h usable) is within a few miles of actual driving the total miles. The chart says 6.3m/kW h @ exactly 35mph, but if I drove mostly @ 35mph (around our city), my m/kW h would be at least 6.5 (137 miles) and with hypermiling, I could easily boost that to 6.8 (143 miles) or higher. I once drove a 19 mile trip and had 7.2m/kW h at the end of that 19 miles. If some of the doubters on here want to challenge me (total miles on one charge), let them put their money up...they'll lose. Besides Japan (most speed limits @ 35mph), I believe our state has the best conditions for driving the most efficiently.
So, in the summer, your 78 MRT is definitely doable @ 55mph. Actually, the A/C is very efficient and you won't lose that many miles using it. However, the heater is a different story...it's not very efficient so if you don't have heated seats, I would recommend that you buy some inexpensive heated/massage cushions. Mine use only 9W max.

 

[GerryAZ]

For a 78-mile total trip you will realistically be on the edge when the battery is new (without using the heater). If you could charge somewhere, you would be fine. To put some of the long-range-on-a-single-charge posts in perspective, I hit "turtle" mode at 74.6 miles today a block from home (100% charge with no precooling before driving). I was not trying to stretch the range so I was accelerating briskly from stoplights and using the A/C extensively during surface street driving (no freeway miles) ranging up to 60 mi/hr. My dash display showed 4.3 mi/kWh (nav unit showed 4.4) when the battery management system shut down the high-voltage while running the A/C in the driveway to finish draining the battery. I will post charging from dead results tomorrow.

Gerry

 

[surfingslovak]

My dash display showed 4.3 mi/kWh (nav unit showed 4.4) when the battery management system shut down the high-voltage while running the A/C in the driveway to finish draining the battery. I will post charging from dead results tomorrow.

Gerry, are these numbers all trip related or for a longer period of time? Look forward to your charging data.

 

[Nielubie]

If you don't mind, what's up with your forum nick? No offence, but "nielubie" or "dislike", for those that don't understand Polish, doesn't sound like a good conversation starter.

Nice catch! No offense at all. My username is actually a great conversation starter. I actually wanted to personalize my plates with it but IL only allows 7 characters so I have to wait till they increase the limit. My username goes back a long way with me. Back to the AOL era. I was looking for the perfect username and all the ones i wanted were taken. So being Polish I said "Nielubie" that I can't have the usernames I want. And then a lightbulb went on and I tried "Nielubie" and it worked. Stuck with me ever since.

 

[Nielubie]

Well I'm reading mixed reviews on distance, I wasn't really planning on driving in the winter time since i have a Jeep that i use to plow snow which would be my normal winter car. But who knows, if I could install a charger at one of my stops or work, I might make it my 365 daily driver.

I work at the Chicago Tribune, and noticed one of our reporters wanted to talk to some leaf owners. I'll be emailing her this weekend, maybe she can help me get our company to install a 240charger. Free charger install for me, for all the data that she wants for her.

We'll see how it pans out.

Did you guys need to have an electrician from nissan install the charger, or can I just buy it from someone here and have my friend who is a licensed electrician do it for me? I heard some horror stories of some electricians wanting up to $6,000 for installing a charger, that isn't going to happen.

 

[Herm]

I think you could easily do that commute, no worries at all with just a tiny bit of slowing down on the highway.

You can buy the charging dock at Home Depot and have your friend install it, Home Depot will sell it to anyone without even showing a carry permit

 

[TonyWilliams]

Now i understand the chart, doesn't seem accurate though, since I haven't seen anyone here that has gotten 132miles on a charge no matter how fast they are going.

Good catch, because the all time record holder, on Feb 7, 2012, "TNleaf" drove 135.4 miles (217.905 km).

 

[Nielubie]

Now i understand the chart, doesn't seem accurate though, since I haven't seen anyone here that has gotten 132miles on a charge no matter how fast they are going.

Good catch, because the all time record holder, on Feb 7, 2012, "TNleaf" drove 135.4 miles (217.905 km).

That is awesome! Thanks for the link. I'm curious, anyone here drive 90%+ highway (55mph)? The more I read up on this, the more I think I can do it during summer months.

 

[GerryAZ]

You probably can make it with a little range to spare in the summer at 55 mi/hr on the highway. The A/C is very effective and quite efficient--don't be afraid to use it. The heat, on the other hand, will kill your range.

Gerry