Range Recommendations from Gudy?

[Timaz]

I just found this article (http://www.plugincars.com/first-nissan-leaf-experiences-highway-driving-provides-60-miles-range-106573.html) which had a bold statement saying:

"Olivier is not recommending the car for those with a daily commute above 25 miles each way."

Is this really your experience Olivier? I know a lot of people would be disappointed with those range limitations! Not everyone will be driving 75+mpg on the highway for their commute.

Just wanted a clarification please? Maybe others have seen similiar reports from some of the first owners?

 

[kmp647]

I think what he said is not over 25 miles each way if you cant charge at work

 

[evnow]

Shows that Gudy will have to be more circumspect in what he writes. People can take it out of context ...

Gudy was only talking about highspeed (75mph) driving.

Even then, I think the range will get more ...

 

[mitch672]

I'd like to see him keep his speed to 60-65mph on the highway, both directions, and see how much range is left when he gets home. I'm betting its a lot better than when driving at 75mph, not everyone has a lead foot...

 

[DaveEV]

I'd like to see him keep his speed to 60-65mph on the highway, both directions, and see how much range is left when he gets home. I'm betting its a lot better than when driving at 75mph, not everyone has a lead foot...

Even better would be doing a series of tests at various speeds so we can plot it...

 

[gudy]

The problem is that the range is an average over the last few minutes (maybe 5?). So it takes time to measure these things.
I got to go read this article ...

 

[gudy]

I'm not driving like a "maniac" as a commenter said
It's really tough to really estimate range.
I'll come back using the 280 tonight, traffic is usually good, and I'll reset the average miles / kWh, as I reach 75mph. I'll turn off climate control (I'm going to be freezing), and I'll use the speed regulator. I'll try and maintain the speed for 10 minutes, to get a good average. Then we can use the 24kWh figure in the battery pack to estimate range.

I'll keep you guys updated.

 

[EVDRIVER]

Can you drive backwards for 10 minutes at 65 to see if the car does better that way? Also, try and inflate the tires to 120 PSI and put some dimples on the hood and fenders, thanks.

 

[gudy]

haha
I haven't tested if speed is limited when going backwards ;p

 

[evnow]

Gudy,

Look at this. I think you should be able to get energy usage from here ... Menu -> Energy Info -> History / Energy Usage

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/fd8-OQ6YXOrphbR9swAB-A?feat=directlink

 

[gudy]

That's the screen I'm planning on using tonight.

 

[garygid]

Here,
75 is not "required", but often encountered in lanes 1 & 2.
60 is so slow that even travel in the right lane (with trucks, cars, exits, and merging traffic) is not as safe as other lanes.
70 is typical, often found in any lane.
65 is often too slow for lanes 1 & 2.

So, tests at 70, and then 65, would be most useful.

If a 50-mile RT is a fast-speed practical "limit", that leaves
only 30 miles RT if the battery ages down to 60.01% capacity.

 

[gudy]

And the number is....
2.9 kWh / mile
Quite impressive actually, it started at 1.7 going uphill on the 280, and the car had no problem maintaining the speed.
Ac off, lights on (it was at night), ECO mode, but it shouldn't matter with cruise control.
If someone wants to look at elevation gain / loss, I reseted the meter right after getting on 280 from the 92, and exited on Alpine road.
I tried from alpine to farm hill blvd, at 65, and ended up at 2.4 but this is constantly uphill.
After exiting I turned the climate control on and I'd set it at 90, with the outside temperature being 40. It uses between 1.5 an 4.5 kW.

 

[gudy]

Btw, that would give a range of almost 70 miles at 75 mph, really I'm impressed.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

wow. i am surprised as well. the amount of power consumed between 60 and 75 mph is pretty extreme.

if you were to guess. what do you think you could get from a full pack doing 60 mph?

 

[Nubo]

I'd like to see him keep his speed to 60-65mph on the highway, both directions, and see how much range is left when he gets home. I'm betting its a lot better than when driving at 75mph, not everyone has a lead foot...

Let gudy be gudy. :lol:

Actually, it's kind of cool that the first owner insists on driving it as a "normal car", speeding and all. It will be soon enough that there are LEAF drivers on the road with lighter feet.

 

[jludwi2]

I'm not driving like a "maniac" as a commenter said
It's really tough to really estimate range.
I'll come back using the 280 tonight, traffic is usually good, and I'll reset the average miles / kWh, as I reach 75mph. I'll turn off climate control (I'm going to be freezing), and I'll use the speed regulator. I'll try and maintain the speed for 10 minutes, to get a good average. Then we can use the 24kWh figure in the battery pack to estimate range.

I'll keep you guys updated.

On the 680, I can rarely go above 55 on the way home. Of course, if you are going to go 70, then it's more important than ever that you draft behind somebody so you don't have to push so much wind out of the way.
The only problem with that is two-fold:

1) pebbles will break your windshield, eventually.
2) it's insane to be closely behind somebody going 70 miles an hour on cal freeways.


Anyway, there are a LOT of factors involved with anybody's range, not just speed.

Thanks for giving us one data-point, Gudy. I assume you weren't right behind a big truck (hyper-miling)
while you were going 70?

Jerry

 

[gudy]

No, I had no one in front of me.
I'm not used to hyper-milling.
I wish I had more time to run more tests, but I also have stuff to do at work, and traffic is pretty bad in the morning (especially on 101).
Got to drop the kids at pre-school tomorrow morning, so I won't be able to try a long stretch of highway at 60mph. Maybe tomorrow evening.
in the meantime, here's a pretty lame video of me accelerating on a ramp, it's going uphill, and I can't even get to 60 mph, because of the cars in front of me. But you can kinda hear the sound of the electric motor in the video.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8Spgvi74Q4[/youtube]

 

[LEAFfan]

Here,
75 is not "required", but often encountered in lanes 1 & 2.
60 is so slow that even travel in the right lane (with trucks, cars, exits, and merging traffic) is not as safe as other lanes.
70 is typical, often found in any lane.
65 is often too slow for lanes 1 & 2.

So, tests at 70, and then 65, would be most useful.

If a 50-mile RT is a fast-speed practical "limit", that leaves
only 30 miles RT if the battery ages down to 60.01% capacity.

Gary, you keep talking about the battery capacity down to 60%. IF that should happen within the warranty period, it is covered. Did you miss what Olivier said about his battery warranty? Also, Mark Perry told me exactly the same thing. So please try not to be so negative about the battery pack...it will not be a problem.

 

[LEAFfan]

I just found this article (http://www.plugincars.com/first-nissan-leaf-experiences-highway-driving-provides-60-miles-range-106573.html) which had a bold statement saying:

"Olivier is not recommending the car for those with a daily commute above 25 miles each way."

Is this really your experience Olivier? I know a lot of people would be disappointed with those range limitations! Not everyone will be driving 75+mpg on the highway for their commute.

Just wanted a clarification please? Maybe others have seen similiar reports from some of the first owners?

Nissan has already said that the lowest number of miles would be 62 at 90mph with light climate control, so even at 75 (which is dangerous here and ticketable) the LEAF will obtain at least 70 miles.