Why don't you go on over to the Bolt group and ask them or search the two forums on the Bolt. I don't know the answer except that they have discussed it extensively.
mychevybolt.com
chevybolt.org
Paul
2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV vs. Death Valley: Range Anxiety in a Hot Seat
We drive Chevy's diminutive EV hatchback from one of the lowest towns in the Western Hemisphere to the highest peak in the lower-48 for an unorthodox range test.
Dk anything about the preheating part but I have seen 8 different examples of slow charging Bolts in temps ranging up to the upper 40's. In more extreme cases with temp at 25ºF, A Bolt was charging at 22 KW @ 40% SOC and had been charging 12 mins by the time the pix was snapped. All these were EA stations.specialgreen wrote: ↑Tue Jan 28, 2020 9:53 amQuestion on road-tripping a Bolt in winter (I'm a Leaf owner but considering buying a bolt to take trips without gas).
I take a few annual trips during winter... say, about 500 miles each way (3 DCFC sessions) at about 20F ambient (-7C). I've read that the Bolt is slow to DCFC when cold. But I've also read that the Bolt will preheat the battery to 27C (80.6F) if it is plugged-in and fully charged. If you are plugged-in overnight before a winter trip, would you get full-(bolt)-speed charging at all three DCFC stops? (like 40kw below 60%SOC at Chargepoint/Greenlots and 50kw at EA?)
If you didn't plug-in overnight (such as when staying at a hotel), would only the first DCFC be slow, then subsequent DCFC sessions would be full (bolt) speed?
In my experience, just driving the car in those temps actually cools the battery to lower than it was when preheated. So preheat for creature comfort, but don't expect any gain whatsoever what you stop to charge 3 hours later.DaveinOlyWA wrote: ↑Wed Jan 29, 2020 7:23 amFrom this, it would appear that even the heat of driving is not sufficient to heat the pack into the optimal range.
That's interesting. I've DCFC'd my Leaf three times within one day in winter, and each DCFC session was faster than the previous one. For the Leaf, there seems to be a "goldilocks zone" (ambient temperature somewhere below freezing) where the heating from repeated DCFC sessions is balanced by heat loss while driving to the next charger.GetOffYourGas wrote: ↑Wed Jan 29, 2020 7:45 amIn my experience, just driving the car in those temps actually cools the battery to lower than it was when preheated. So preheat for creature comfort, but don't expect any gain whatsoever what you stop to charge 3 hours later.DaveinOlyWA wrote: ↑Wed Jan 29, 2020 7:23 amFrom this, it would appear that even the heat of driving is not sufficient to heat the pack into the optimal range.
Interesting that these are the things you single out. Also only available on Premier trim is rear heated seats and integrated roof rails. The two reasons that I upgraded to Premier over LT. Everyone has their own priorities...
Indeed. I couldn't care less about the roof rails. If the rear heated seats were gone, oh well. It's not common I have any rear passengers.GetOffYourGas wrote: ↑Tue Feb 11, 2020 2:15 pmInteresting that these are the things you single out. Also only available on Premier trim is rear heated seats and integrated roof rails. The two reasons that I upgraded to Premier over LT. Everyone has their own priorities...