philipscoggins said:
Why can't you go from Knoxville to Nashville in the Leaf?
If you take I-40 there are 3 Level 3 chargers along the way, but for the 70 mile stretch from Cookeville to the east edge of Nashville's Cracker Barrel level 3 charger you could stop in Lebanon to top off for a little while.
Ok, just checked the Blink map and it seems 2 of the 3 you need on I40 are down (that would be a deal breaker), But there seems to be a level 3 about every 30 miles if you take the southern route down I75 then I24 west...
I live near Manchester TN & there are 3 level 3 charging stations between here & Nashville (about a 75 mile drive)
I'm just trying to understand your point as I'm intending to get my LEAF soon & I'd like to drive all over the state.
Philip
Phillip,
Let me caution you against trying to drive a Leaf from Nashville to Knoxville (~170 miles). My experience up here in Seattle, is that a daytrip from Seattle to Portland (~170 miles one way) is not something that I want to repeat for one very good reason - HEAT.
Driving down was no problem. After 4 quick charges, battery temp was still in the center of the gauge. I spent half a day shopping, wandering, letting the battery cool, then headed home. Halfway home, Battery temp was high and rising higher. It got so hot (10th bar) that I lost all of my regen bubbles and some of my traction bubbles - the pack was limiting power output to protect itself. After that one daytrip, my usually stable GID reading of 281 dropped by about 20 GIDs and started to be all over the place. Today, months later, I'm finally seeing GIDs at 270, but still not as high as I had every day before that daytrip.
It only takes a quick look thru the Phoenix thread to make you wonder about the effects of battery heat. Couple this with the desire to make the battery last to 80% in 5 years at a minimum (prefer the 70% in 10 years) for my daily commute and I just can't justify taking the risk of heating up my battery thru multiple quick charges on a daytrip.
I won't tell you it can't be done - it can. But the tradeoff's may make it less appealing than you think:
Drive Slower - Lower power heats the battery less. I am one who believes that if you can't drive the speed limit, then you have the wrong tool for the job.
Take Back Roads - Back roads tend to have lower speed limits. See Drive Slower.
Spend The Night - Letting the battery pack cool overnight can make you ready for the heat of a few more quickcharges and keep you out of the danger zone. Spending the night negates the benefits of a daytrip - saving the cost of a motel.
Travel Off Season - Not driving in the high ambient temps of Summer will increase how quickly your battery will shed heat and be ready for more. But there is a very good reason a lot of trips are taken in the summer - better weather!
Lease - I debated long and hard about leasing vs. purchasing. On the one hand, leasing offers protection from the unknowns of new technology. On the other hand, the crushing of the EV1 was still in my mind. In the end, it came down to money - my dealer wouldn't offer any attractive rates for leasing, or purchasing (even from my credit union), and I had to bring in my own financing to get a reasonable rate (hence the purchase).
Good Luck no matter how you want to approach it.
