RVD
Active member
i live about 30 miles from SEA (seattle-tacoma airport).
i had a business trip recently where i got a ride from one of my friends. i drove down to the airport and went from 100% down to 55% (so 45% used) when i got out of the car. my friend drove my car back to my house and when he got home, he sent me a picture showing that he was at 19% (so 36% used). this was really early on a sunday morning so there was no traffic and i was driving in B mode mostly at around 60 or so mph. i tried to regen here and there and drove conservatively as i usually do (no sudden and hard accelerations, etc.).
the same friend picked me up from the airport and when he got to the airport the car was at 65% (so 35% used). i asked how he is able to make the same trip as me by using 10% less battery than me and he just said "i drive differently than you."
when pressed for more details, he said that he drove the car in D and eco mode but also shifts into neutral whenever it goes downhill. he drives the car up to about 60 mph and then when downhill (or slightly downhill) he's in neutral so the car stays in the 60-70mph range and if it goes too fast he puts the car into B mode to slow down (and then back to neutral again).
sure enough, when we got to my house, the car was at 32% (so 33% used).
i generally hear that it's not good to coast in neutral on the freeway and streets. some even say that it doesn't help save gas anyway in an ICE car. i can understand that if i'm in a situation where i have to move away quickly (e.g., another car veers into my lane), it's bad to be in neutral but are there other reasons why we all shouldn't drive this way to increase range?
i had a business trip recently where i got a ride from one of my friends. i drove down to the airport and went from 100% down to 55% (so 45% used) when i got out of the car. my friend drove my car back to my house and when he got home, he sent me a picture showing that he was at 19% (so 36% used). this was really early on a sunday morning so there was no traffic and i was driving in B mode mostly at around 60 or so mph. i tried to regen here and there and drove conservatively as i usually do (no sudden and hard accelerations, etc.).
the same friend picked me up from the airport and when he got to the airport the car was at 65% (so 35% used). i asked how he is able to make the same trip as me by using 10% less battery than me and he just said "i drive differently than you."
when pressed for more details, he said that he drove the car in D and eco mode but also shifts into neutral whenever it goes downhill. he drives the car up to about 60 mph and then when downhill (or slightly downhill) he's in neutral so the car stays in the 60-70mph range and if it goes too fast he puts the car into B mode to slow down (and then back to neutral again).
sure enough, when we got to my house, the car was at 32% (so 33% used).
i generally hear that it's not good to coast in neutral on the freeway and streets. some even say that it doesn't help save gas anyway in an ICE car. i can understand that if i'm in a situation where i have to move away quickly (e.g., another car veers into my lane), it's bad to be in neutral but are there other reasons why we all shouldn't drive this way to increase range?