Can anyone help a noob down on his charge?
- Thread starter charge
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Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:
coqui
Well-known member
I drive in Eco all the time, 100%, and I have hills too.
I also drive in ECO mode 100% of the time. When I don't, my foot seems to take on some lead. And my miles go way down. In my orientation to the car, the sales guy recommended keeping the acceleration down to "three dots" (in the center display). That does not work all the time, but if there's nobody behind me I find it keeps my own sense of timing and "hurriedness" more even.
Something else I find useful is cruise control. It does drive some of my fellow commuters crazy when I set cruise at 2 miles over the limit in a 45 mph zone -- there is a lot of pushing to 8 above around here. However, the car is so smooth that I find I go faster than I think when I don't use cruise.
I believe the manual says you can use cruise above 25mph -- in places where there are slightly rolling hills (not big variations in elevation), I find it helpful. Even more so when flat.
I LOVE my LEAF!
Nancy
Something else I find useful is cruise control. It does drive some of my fellow commuters crazy when I set cruise at 2 miles over the limit in a 45 mph zone -- there is a lot of pushing to 8 above around here. However, the car is so smooth that I find I go faster than I think when I don't use cruise.
I believe the manual says you can use cruise above 25mph -- in places where there are slightly rolling hills (not big variations in elevation), I find it helpful. Even more so when flat.
I LOVE my LEAF!
Nancy
lpickup
Well-known member
charge said:OK, here's the update. I think I can stop hyperventalating and start hyper-miling now
...
I tried to pre-heat but I don't think I'm doing it correctly. I tried this morning but carwings seems to be down. I went to the car and turned on the climate control with car still plugged in (charging was complete). I left it on for a while, but the cabin didn't seem to get much warmer even though the temp was set to 79 degrees. Will have to investigage that tonight
Good to hear!
As for pre-heat if you have a regular schedule, I think you can't beat the in-car climate control timer. Set it to the time you want to LEAVE and it should be all set for you then. It will figure out when it needs to start to get the cabin up to (or down to in the summer I suppose) 77F (you can't change that temp).
occ
Well-known member
charge said:
The 240v upgrade option will still allow you to use the EVSE to charge at 120...just need to also buy the optional 120v adapter cord.
After a while as you get more confident about what the car can do, you'll drive it down to the last red bar without worry..we don't do that often, but when we need to we do it without anxiety. Just know your driving style, terrain, and how many miles you have to go to get home. Also, there's some hidden bars below the last red bar, so knowing that boosts your confident to use the red bars if you need to.
Nissan and EPA est. of range assumes you use ALL of your capacity. Even when down the the last red bar, you still have some 20% or so of battery, so since you're not using all of the capacity, you can't expect to get the "expected" range.
BrainDonor
Well-known member
Gas pedal?!? I thought the whole point was to be rid of gas! Am I missing something?...keydiver said:
Nubo
Well-known member
charge said:
ECO mode's effect on the throttle takes some getting used to. You still have all the power available you just have to push down further to get it. I've found I actually prefer ECO once I got used to it. It helps make it easier to maintain a set speed and drive with more efficient rates of acceleration.
Just be careful when driving an ICE car after you've gotten used to ECO on the LEAF! I screeched the tires on my wife's Subaru a few times when I got back in it.
GRA
Well-known member
Just to make sure the OP understands the answer, Eco mode changes the response of the motor to the accelerator pedal position; you need to move the pedal further for the same power in Eco than you would in D. So, to get the same amount of extra power in ECO (to climb a hill, say) you might depress the accelerator 1 inch further, while you might only need to depress it 1/2 inch in D. Hope that's clear.Nubo said:charge said:
ECO mode's effect on the throttle takes some getting used to. You still have all the power available you just have to push down further to get it. I've found I actually prefer ECO once I got used to it. It helps make it easier to maintain a set speed and drive with more efficient rates of acceleration.
Just be careful when driving an ICE car after you've gotten used to ECO on the LEAF! I screeched the tires on my wife's Subaru a few times when I got back in it.
GRA said:Just to make sure the OP understands the answer, Eco mode changes the response of the motor to the accelerator pedal position; you need to move the pedal further for the same power in Eco than you would in D. So, to get the same amount of extra power in ECO (to climb a hill, say) you might depress the accelerator 1 inch further, while you might only need to depress it 1/2 inch in D. Hope that's clear.Nubo said:charge said:
ECO mode's effect on the throttle takes some getting used to. You still have all the power available you just have to push down further to get it. I've found I actually prefer ECO once I got used to it. It helps make it easier to maintain a set speed and drive with more efficient rates of acceleration.
Just be careful when driving an ICE car after you've gotten used to ECO on the LEAF! I screeched the tires on my wife's Subaru a few times when I got back in it.
Got it. I'm going to have to try it to see what it feels like. Since there's only so much room to press down the accelerator, I assume your max speed up a hill could be limited since you can only press down so far. Is this correct?
I know the feeling if trying to gauge the cars performance, i myself am considering a Leaf but at 93 Miles Round Trip....46.7 one way....im starting to think it may not be feasable because i have no 110v at my shop, and there is a charge point 1/2mile a way but i wonder how long would i be there waiting to have enough charge to go home ...sigh
...sigh
ebill3
Well-known member
Figure you get about 12 miles added range for one hour of L2 charge.rblover69 said:I know the feeling if trying to gauge the cars performance, i myself am considering a Leaf but at 93 Miles Round Trip....46.7 one way....im starting to think it may not be feasable because i have no 110v at my shop, and there is a charge point 1/2mile a way but i wonder how long would i be there waiting to have enough charge to go home
Nubo
Well-known member
charge said:
No, that's what I meant about "same amount of power available". You can still power the motor to its 80kW maximum in ECO.
I can't find the specific documentation for the LEAF, but here's an example from the Prius. It has a 3rd, "PWR" mode but this should at least illustrate the principle. All modes meet at 0% and 100%. But the ECO mode lags behind past the halfway point of pedal travel, then begins to increase power more rapidly, finally getting to 100% at the end. Hope this makes it clearer!
keydiver
Well-known member
rblover69 said:I know the feeling if trying to gauge the cars performance, i myself am considering a Leaf but at 93 Miles Round Trip....46.7 one way....im starting to think it may not be feasable because i have no 110v at my shop, and there is a charge point 1/2mile a way but i wonder how long would i be there waiting to have enough charge to go home
Where do you live, and what is the speed limit on your route?
I live In Orlando Fl, around 55mph is the speed limit...46.6 miles is what Google Maps is telling me one way. So obviously if im not able to get a 110v here im assuming but the numbers that i will have to use a charge station...there is 1 witin 1/2 mile and another 2 miles away...just wondering how long will i have to charge up to to get home or if its feasable ..lol
abasile
Well-known member
If you are careful to stay at 55 mph and below, and drive very efficiently as discussed earlier in this thread, then my rough guess is that around an hour of charging would be enough.rblover69 said:
If I were in your shoes, and felt absolutely comfortable counting on at least one charging station to be available every day, I'd leave the car plugged in to charge, and use my Rollerblades (or maybe a bicycle) to cover the 0.5 - 2 miles to the shop. I'd let it charge to 80% for the drive home, and pick it up during a break or when ready to drive home. I'd consider timing it so as to avoid hogging a charging spot all day, or at the very least leave a phone number with the car and be prepared to move it on short notice in case someone else needs to charge there. While that would probably be considered too much effort for most folks, I would appreciate the built-in exercise. I guess it depends on how much trouble you're willing to go through.
This would all be quite easy with 120 V at work, of course...
ebill3
Well-known member
There are Floriadians achieving 100 mile commutes. Warm batteries and minimal elevation changes sure help.
Bill
Bill
GaslessInSeattle
Well-known member
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I just managed a 75 mile commute today on an 80% charge, mostly freeway and hills, my personal best! I wouldn't have tried it but carwings went down and I couldn't top off to 100% remotely.
lpickup
Well-known member
charge said:
Okay, and that brings up another point I'm surprised most people haven't mentioned more (although they have).
DON'T use the guess-o-meter!
Instead, you'll start to get familiar with how many bars it takes to go to/from work. Just ignore the number and look at the bars. You'll be much happier!
