100 Mile Club, 200 km, 300 km, 200 Mile Club (24kWh LEAF)

[TomT]

In my case, it is not caring... I drive only slow enough to meet my range needs on a given day and I make little effort to hypermile on a regular basis.

Tony, how can we explain only a dozen of us reporting actually achieving over 100 miles on a charge? :?: How many members of the forum are there? Is it a matter of people not knowing how to maximize mileage; not caring; or what?

 

[Nubo]

I can only speak for me, but I don't see the point. My regular driving has only passed 50 miles in a day once or twice in February. Though I drive carefully, I'd rather not have to think about how to get to 100 miles, preferring instead to auto-charge to 80% and just not worry about it.

All of you have proved it can be done if I cared to -- that's good enough for me.

You Never Know Until You Try

+1. It's one thing to read about it, another to put it into practice. Good to know how to stretch it, see it react and push the envelope for yourself. Could come in handy someday. Same reason why, in the snow belt, I would take a new car to a parking lot to do skids, slides and "donuts".

In my case, yes I deliberately had to take a route designed to run 100 miles into the pack at speeds which had a decent chance of allowing that to happen. Not sure if it was in the spirit of the challenge, but I thought it a valuable exercise. If you limit to actually running 100 miles in the course of your "regular" driving then it will be fairly rare that 100 miles and arrival home on some leg, would coincide. My commute is just shy of 30 miles, with about 8 unavoidable freeway miles and some hills. I've run 3 consecutive commutes without a charge. Doubt I could squeeze in a fourth even under optimal weather conditions, without driving in a socially unacceptable manner. Maybe I'll get lucky and there will be traffic jams 4 days in a row :lol:

 

[LEAFfan]

Tony, how can we explain only a dozen of us reporting actually achieving over 100 miles on a charge? :?: How many members of the forum are there? Is it a matter of people not knowing how to maximize mileage; not caring; or what?

For me, I don't need to actually drive the 100 miles or more(charging to 80%) or the 135 or more miles with a 100% charge. For example, in October I could have driven about 110 miles on an 80% charge and 135 miles on a 100% charge if I had chosen to do so. I AVERAGED 6.4m/kW h on the dash for the whole month! And a few times, I averaged 6.8m/kW h on a single charge during that month. The highest m/kW h on the dash was 7.1 on a 15 mile trip. So just taking the average, here is the math: 6.4X17 (80% charge)=109miles or 6.4X21 (100% charge)=134. These are very accurate numbers(within a mile or two). Notice that the GOM isn't used at all. In October, I was #1 for driving efficiency in the U.S. and 11th in the world. As some others have said, when the day's driving is done, I usually recharge for the next day's driving (may have driven anywhere from 50-95 miles with 6.4-6.5 on the dash) which means it would be no problem to reach over 100 or 135 depending on the previous charge.
However, I can see how it would be a challenge for people living in cooler climates and hilly terrain plus freeway driving to achieve 4.8m/kW h and actually drive 100 miles on a 100% charge and that's great for those accomplishing that. It takes some really good hypermiling to reach that under those conditions.

 

[LEAFfan]

I can only speak for me, but I don't see the point. My regular driving has only passed 50 miles in a day once or twice in February. Though I drive carefully, I'd rather not have to think about how to get to 100 miles, preferring instead to auto-charge to 80% and just not worry about it.

All of you have proved it can be done if I cared to -- that's good enough for me.

Good to know how to stretch it, see it react and push the envelope for yourself.

If you really want to know how to stretch it, get yourself an SOC meter. I can take it down to just before Turtle now if I would need to. EVERY TIME, 17.4% is LBW, 8.5% is VLBW, and 2.4% is Turtle. If there is anyone that has done this with Gary's meter, I would be curious if it reads the same. This is the BEST way to know what you have and how far you can go. It makes no difference on how hot or cold it is, how fast you go, terrain, or how much wind, etc., it will always show those %s when LBW, VLBW, and Turtle appear.

 

[spike09]

I usually get 60 to 70 miles on a charge and travel between 50 to 70mph. I made it 85 miles on a charge once, never 100 miles. I live in the East Bay Area and going nowhere is flat, anywhere else is up or down.

I could get 100 miles on a single charge, I bet, if I drove on a flat route at speeds below 40 mph for hours wasting time just proving that I could do it. I tried on the freeway a few times to go the distance, but everyone passes so fast, I cause a hazard. No thanks, I'd rather have somewhere to go and get where I am going. In a pinch I'll go for the distance.

Freeway driving is stressful. Commuting on side streets also has its challenges but is a definite change of pace. Best to enjoy all your new car offers. Before the Leaf the option to take an EV 100 miles or on the freeway was extremely limited.

Plan a leisurely Sunday drive to a restaurant that is 50 miles away and magically you have driven 100 miles on a charge! Just don't forget to charge up before you leave. :lol:

 

[Nubo]

If you really want to know how to stretch it, get yourself an SOC meter. I can take it down to just before Turtle now if I would need to. EVERY TIME, 17.4% is LBW, 8.5% is VLBW, and 2.4% is Turtle.

Thinking about it. But who knows, maybe we are only a firmware update away from having this on the console. For now, using the time-to-charge readout gives decent resolution.

 

[edatoakrun]

Several recent posts on this thread saying hills limit their range, suggest the same underestimate of energy ascent recovery, as is shown in the range chart. Most of the energy used in climbing, will be recovered, as long as you return to the same altitude you started from.

In fact, I think most all those who regularly drive their LEAFs with large ascents and descents, have found similar ratios of ascent energy recovery that I have, about 80%, rather than the 50% shown in the range chart.

So while ascent is a significant factor in trips with ascents and descents of thousands of feet, it is a smaller variable, when only totaling hundreds of feet, than battery/ambient temperature.

The greatest range variable, by far, is speed.

I have never done a 100 mile drive without recharging simply because it is not easy to safely drive, slowly enough, on a flat enough road, near my home. My longest range drive, over 92 miles to just past VLBW, on a hot summer day averaging about 40 mph, was a two way trip on the road profile below, with the first few (left of profile) miles repeated several times at the end, for a total ascent/descent of between 5,000 and 5,500 ft.

Maybe this Summer, I’ll try to repeat a few of the relatively flat miles near Burney Falls State Park, at the right of the profile, at low speed, to reach 100 miles with 5,000 feet of ascent and descent. It shouldn't be too difficult.

 

[TonyWilliams]

get yourself an SOC meter. I can take it down to just before Turtle now if I w EVERY TIME, 17.4% is LBW, 8.5% is VLBW, and 2.4% is Turtle. If there is anyone that has done this with Gary's meter, I would be curious if it reads the same.

You're kidding on the "has anybody done this", right?

Yes, it's been done many, many, many times. The numbers have been on the range chart since last fall.

 

[TonyWilliams]

If you really want to know how to stretch it, get yourself an SOC meter. I can take it down to just before Turtle now if I would need to. EVERY TIME, 17.4% is LBW, 8.5% is VLBW, and 2.4% is Turtle.

Thinking about it. But who knows, maybe we are only a firmware update away from having this on the console. For now, using the time-to-charge readout gives decent resolution.

The two methods are not exclusive.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Are you really certain no one in San Diego has ever attained 100 miles/charge? After all, it is your chart that indicates a Leaf can get 100 miles when you average 49mph (on a level road, no climate control, Temp 70F, windows closed, etc) :mrgreen:

First, let me clarify that the data is specifically >>>NOT<<< average speed.

I did 100 miles... once. 100 miles exactly at mostly 45mph arriving at my house in turtle mode at 2am. There's a whole thread on.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=151646#p151646" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Nubo]

First, let me clarify that the data is specifically >>>NOT<<< average speed.

Right. People don't generally realize that drag increases as the square of the velocity. Thus while 10 minutes at 60 mph followed by 10 minutes at 30 mph will give an average speed of 45, the average drag is well above the drag at 45mph.

It's a fact that is masked quite well by ICE vehicles where the effect is swamped by the inefficiencies and you get better highway mpg than city. Driving a LEAF (or better yet, riding a bicycle) thousands of miles may eventually makes this clear

 

[dgpcolorado]

Tony, how can we explain only a dozen of us reporting actually achieving over 100 miles on a charge? :?: How many members of the forum are there? Is it a matter of people not knowing how to maximize mileage; not caring; or what?

All it takes to get 100 Miles on a charge is a little self control and forethought. Every Leaf owner should do it at least once to overcome the fear of Range Anxiety! Running on Empty" is an uncomfortable situation and the desire to recharge while you still a few bars left is strong. I agree it is not necessary or possible to get 100 Miles every time. We are not talking about attempting a death defying thrill seeking activity. We are taking about driving the car until it can go no further!

Bull. Maybe that's true for warm climate flatlanders but not everyone lives in such places. When you can do your 100 miles with 2500+ feet of elevation change at subfreezing temperatures, some of it on dirt roads, I'll be a bit more impressed. Yes, I could get 100 miles if I went downhill the whole way but it would take two charges to get home—and there are no public charge stations here whatsoever. So, what's the point?

I can't even leave my house without major elevation changes; there are essentially no level roads at all here. Yet the LEAF fits my needs just fine. The biggest surprise for me was how effortlessly the car accelerates up the very steep hills (8-14% grades) here. That strikes me as lots more fun than hypermiling on the flat.

 

[LEAFfan]

The biggest surprise for me was how effortlessly the car accelerates up the very steep hills (8-14% grades) here. That strikes me as lots more fun than hypermiling on the flat.

I had the same feeling when I drove in the mountains (almost 3000' elevation) here! I've never had a car that could accelerate up the grades like my LEAF. I loved taking the tight curves at much higher speeds than posted without ANY squealing. What really surprised me was that the m/kW h loss was minimal compared to driving in the wind or in cooler temps with the denser air. I expected at least a - 1m/kW h loss, but it was only a few tenths by the time I was back down.

 

[N1ghtrider]

In response to those who say they have not topped 100 miles because their routes do not take them those distances in a single day, I say "huh"? My routes do not either. the issue is not how far you drive in a single trip or a single day, but on a single charge. My latest 100 mile-plus achievement took me 4 days, commuting 10 miles each way to work and then with various errands througout the week. I am not going to plug in the charger when I have several bars left unless I have a long trip planned for the next day.

This 105 miles was mostly on city streets in Miami, with about 20 miles on I-95 at 55 mph or less (due to traffic), in temps of 73-78 with climate control only on for about 30 miles. Elevations are flat, but I do have a hard time finding parking in my garage at work below level 6, so that should could as a climb.

 

[edatoakrun]

"N1ghtrider"...In response to those who say they have not topped 100 miles because their routes do not take them those distances in a single day, I say "huh"? My routes do not either. the issue is not how far you drive in a single trip or a single day, but on a single charge...

For many, their "minimum" daily drive exceeds 50 miles, so multiple days on a single charge is not possible.

"N1ghtrider"...This 105 miles was mostly on city streets in Miami, with about 20 miles on I-95 at 55 mph or less (due to traffic), in temps of 73-78 with climate control only on for about 30 miles. Elevations are flat, but I do have a hard time finding parking in my garage at work below level 6, so that should could as a climb.

Funny.

"N1ghtrider", why not try driving up and down from your parking space about 100 times, and see what range you get?

I didn't mention that the several hundred feet of ascent and descent before I reach what Google considers a "road" did not show up on the profile I posted yesterday, p 23 of this thread.

I have never done a 100 mile drive without recharging simply because it is not easy to safely drive, slowly enough, on a flat enough road, near my home. My longest range drive, over 92 miles to just past VLBW, on a hot summer day averaging about 40 mph, was a two way trip on the road profile below, with the first few (left of profile) miles repeated several times at the end, for a total ascent/descent of between 5,000 and 5,500 ft.

Maybe this Summer, I’ll try to repeat a few of the relatively flat miles near Burney Falls State Park, at the right of the profile, at low speed, to reach 100 miles with 5,000 feet of ascent and descent. It shouldn't be too difficult.

 

[N1ghtrider]

For many, their "minimum" daily drive exceeds 50 miles, so multiple days on a single charge is not possible.

I guess I forgot about how many people are suburbanites driving long distances to work every day.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I don't work, and I frequently go over 100 miles per day. One size doesn't fit all.

 

[N1ghtrider]

Tony:

Because you have days that you drive more than 100 miles, you (and everyone who needs to log more than 100 miles a day) have the opportunity to achieve more than 100 miles on a single charge. Edatoakrun's point in saying that many people have a "minimum" daily drive that exceeds 50 miles was (I assume), that those people cannot drive for several days without recharging, yet don't have trips totalling 100 miles in a single day.

I thought he was saying that, if (for example) someone has a commute of 35 miles each way, it will not be possible to drive 100 miles in one day without finding other trips totalling 30 miles after returning from work; nor would it be possible for that person to acheive 100 miles by the second day, because he or she would have already logged 70 miles the first day and cannot make it to work on the amount of charge remaining.

Does that make sense?

 

[essaunders]

In response to those who say they have not topped 100 miles because their routes do not take them those distances in a single day, I say "huh"? My routes do not either. the issue is not how far you drive in a single trip or a single day, but on a single charge. My latest 100 mile-plus achievement took me 4 days, commuting 10 miles each way to work and then with various errands througout the week. I am not going to plug in the charger when I have several bars left unless I have a long trip planned for the next day.

I've got a 14 mile RT commute, but I charge every night (to 80%). I figured that going from ~65% to 80% daily was less stressful on me and perhaps the battery than charging to 100% then fully discharging to turtle before I recharge.

Is there a reason you use a full single charge over multiple days? Is it to get distance "records" or is there some other motivation?

-Erik

 

[N1ghtrider]

I've got a 14 mile RT commute, but I charge every night (to 80%). I figured that going from ~65% to 80% daily was less stressful on me and perhaps the battery than charging to 100% then fully discharging to turtle before I recharge.

Is there a reason you use a full single charge over multiple days? Is it to get distance "records" or is there some other motivation?

-Erik

Not trying for records (although I briefly held the long distance record on the forum with 130 miles). When I park at night with 5 or 6 bars left and know I am only driving 30 or 40 miles tomorrow, I will just wait until tomorrow night to recharge. I have no range anxiety and on the rare occasion that I need to go somewhere and have insufficient charge, it gives me a good excuse to take my Harley.