johnr
Well-known member
Went from Exeter to Mineral King the other day. It was an experiment in completely draining the battery on a long steep climb, then relying on regenerative braking on the way back to make it home again - and it was a success!
The first half of the route is highway and mostly level, then the second half is a narrow, twisty, steep road. Total distance is 49 miles one way, 98 miles round trip. On the highway, we kept to about 50mph on the way up, and 40mph on the way back (not much traffic, so it wasn't a problem) - and of course, slower on the twisty road. The Leaf handles it in style, no problem at all. Except it sure eats up electrons! Starting with a full charge, the indicator changed to triple dashes three miles before reaching the top - but we made it there. I figure another mile and it would have entered turtle mode. After a nice hike on a beautiful day, it was time to head back home. On the way back down, it managed to regenerate two solid bars of range which was just enough to make it all the way back home without stopping to charge (if I had to, I could have stopped at a friend's house in Lemon Cove). Here's a map, an elevation profile, and a couple of photos.
{View in Google Earth}
Map of route: {Bing Maps}
The first half of the route is highway and mostly level, then the second half is a narrow, twisty, steep road. Total distance is 49 miles one way, 98 miles round trip. On the highway, we kept to about 50mph on the way up, and 40mph on the way back (not much traffic, so it wasn't a problem) - and of course, slower on the twisty road. The Leaf handles it in style, no problem at all. Except it sure eats up electrons! Starting with a full charge, the indicator changed to triple dashes three miles before reaching the top - but we made it there. I figure another mile and it would have entered turtle mode. After a nice hike on a beautiful day, it was time to head back home. On the way back down, it managed to regenerate two solid bars of range which was just enough to make it all the way back home without stopping to charge (if I had to, I could have stopped at a friend's house in Lemon Cove). Here's a map, an elevation profile, and a couple of photos.
{View in Google Earth}
Map of route: {Bing Maps}