Freeway commute questions

[Herm]

Eco mode does not increase your range.

Because you are a good EV driver..

 

[ksnogas2112]

2 cents...if I missed in the posting sorry....wouldn't this be a 'wait for the 6.6 charger in the 2013' scenario? I know that's still a little hypothetical since it's not out and no one has experience with it but wouldn't that trickle faster and resolve the concern? If so.....go Leaf.

 

[mkjayakumar]

Well not really.

With 120V, the 6.6W charger doesn't matter anyway. With 220V the current 3.3kW is good enough to get juice in 6 hours. Also by waiting for say 6 months more for 2013 model, he is not saving close to $3k on not buying gas, which he could if he gets one now.

 

[TonyWilliams]

NEMA L6-20 is what will come on the modified EVSEupgrade.com "charger". This will only work on the 2011 and 2012 LEAF, and the 2013 with the standard 3.3kW charger.

Sorry, Tony, but I believe that statement is wrong. The Mod 2 EVSEupgrade will tell the car that it can pull no more than 16A. Even if the car has a 6.6kW charger it will work quite happily at 16A; it just won't charge any faster than a car with a 3.3kW charger.

Ray

Yes, of course. I should have stated "will not work at 6.6".

 

[davewill]

In your shoes, I'd get a Volt. With the ability to L1 charge at work, you could manage to do up to two-thirds of your commute on electric...at the very least half of it. The LEAF just leaves things too tight to manage very well.

That's unless you can afford a Tesla, or course.

 

[dandrewk]

I think an EV range of 35 miles for the Volt on a freeway is a tad optimistic, especially with stop/go traffic. Add the heater, headlights etc., and that range drops even more. After that, Consumer Reports rates the Volt MPG at 32 mpg in mixed driving. Decent, but not exactly Prius.

I don't know if the new Ford Focus EV has a longer range than a Leaf, or if the upcoming Ford Fusion will run longer in EV mode with better fuel economy when switching to ICE (compared to Volt).

The OP may also want to look into the Prius plug-in if an EV is ruled out. The PIP has a shorter EV range than the Volt, but gets a much better MPG (44) after that. I believe it has a cheaper MSRP as well. I would never encourage anyone to go with ICE -anything-, but if the idea is to save money, the Prius may be the best option in this case.

 

[jkirkebo]

The cheapest Tesla Model S should work very well wit the distance and 120V charging. It is, however, $49,900 and delivery time for one ordered now would be about a year.

 

[thankyouOB]

i would not want to be in this commute situation ( hills, length, weather) without a fully reliable way to charge L2 at work.

 

[cwerdna]

The cheapest Tesla Model S should work very well wit the distance and 120V charging. It is, however, $49,900 and delivery time for one ordered now would be about a year.

The above price is after the $7,500 Federal tax credit.

 

[GRA]

(As someone who doesn't own a Leaf yet...)

I'd say the whole situation is a no-go. Its just too far. On really cold days, using the heater, it may not even be possible to reach your destination at all. As the car ages and you have gradual capacity loss (which is guaranteed putting that kind of miles on the battery) then it is only a matter of time before the entire situation would be bad.

Second thing.. I only advocate people to use a Leaf if they can make it to work and back on a single charge. Being able to charge at work is a great perk and removes some range anxiety and allows for unplanned trips during or after work. However, if you absolutely NEED to recharge before leaving work, what happens if there is an emergency? What if you are sick? What if a family member had an accident or illness? You would be stuck at work for hours waiting on a charge.

Being that you can charge at work, I think a Chevy Volt might be a better solution. You can drive 35 to 40 miles of your trip in EV mode each direction. The Volt can recharge on 120V in about 10 hours. So if you are at work for 9 hours like most people, it would be nearly recharged by the time you leave.

Agree completely w/all of the above.

I live in the Bay Area and the Leaf would be ruled out completely if I had such conditions that the OP mentions. The 110 volt charging is simply too slow at work.

Agree that if one wants the HOV stickers and some EV capability, a PiP or Volt is a better choice.

After further thought, I agree that it's definitely too far without L2 charging during the day, and personally I wouldn't want to cut the range that close every day, especially if you're looking to cruise in the HOV lane without causing apoplexy behind you. I think Coda (or RAV4 or Tesla, if you can afford them) is the way to go if you insist on a BEV, or PiP/Volt if a PHEV is acceptable. There are going to be days of high winds and rain with lots of defroster (at least) and wiper use, and traffic over the Altamont is generally moving even in the truck lane. If you're coming in from say Tracy you could take Grant Line/Altamont Pass Roads, but you're not looking to extend your commute time, you want to shorten it.

 

[Chris52]

I spoke to the powers to be today and asked about installing a L2 charger. Being I work for the city, it would make them look good. Hopefully I can make it happen. I will look into other options if they deny it.

Thanks everyone for your input, I really do appreciate it.

Chris

 

[MrIanB]

Consider this too, if you have few miles when you get to office and have a family emergency that you have to go home or somewhere, you are not gonna make it.

Just a thought.

Ian B

 

[TonyWilliams]

Consider this too, if you have few miles when you get to office and have a family emergency that you have to go home or somewhere, you are not gonna make it.

Just a thought.

Ian B

For an emergency, I'll bet an fellow office colleague with an ICE would trade for the evening.

Or call Enterprise and pick up a rental.

 

[MrIanB]

Consider this too, if you have few miles when you get to office and have a family emergency that you have to go home or somewhere, you are not gonna make it.

Just a thought.

Ian B

For an emergency, I'll bet an fellow office colleague with an ICE would trade for the evening. This is a maybe depending on many factore.

Or call Enterprise and pick up a rental.

By the time you get picked up and get the car, the emergency may be over and he has not left to go.

Just saying.

Ian B

 

[Smidge204]

By the time you get picked up and get the car, the emergency may be over and he has not left to go.

What kind of emergency are we hypothesizing here? Perhaps the better strategy would be to call an ambulance or taxi if the situation is that critical...
=Smidge=

 

[cwerdna]

By the time you get picked up and get the car, the emergency may be over and he has not left to go.

What kind of emergency are we hypothesizing here? Perhaps the better strategy would be to call an ambulance or taxi if the situation is that critical...
=Smidge=

A taxi is REALLY expensive for a 62 mile trip.

 

[Caracalover]

I spoke to the powers to be today and asked about installing a L2 charger. Being I work for the city, it would make them look good. Hopefully I can make it happen. I will look into other options if they deny it.

Thanks everyone for your input, I really do appreciate it.

Chris

If that 1000' elevation change is on your way home, you would likely be ok if you are frugal with your energy use as you head to work, capturing as much energy as you can from the hill, and not driving over 65. Defroster use does pull quite a bit of energy, and if the temp is below 60 you get heater whether you want it or not. This could be up to a third of your battery use on a one hour + drive.

Is your electricity rate really low? To save 500$ you will need to see what the higher tiered rates will cost you - it may actually be cheaper to go with a Volt or Prius.

I also work for a city, but they opted to not let me or others charge for free. They installed public chargers, and those will charge money soon. You may find that while the city is green, it doesn't extend to giving away energy to employees at tax payer expense. I actually heard a manager say that if they did that, they should buy him granola bars since he rides a bike to work.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

most of this has probably been addressed but

going there; drive 55-60 you have PLENTY of range. but you will not make it home. 120 Volt is simply too slow. i did it for over 5 months before hooking up my EVSE Mod from Phil

we have a 64 mile RT commute mostly freeway. Leaf does it fine, no issues. but could not do it 2 days in a row because it would not regain enough charge and we have more time to charge than you do.

with 240 volt charging at work, no problem, you can do it and TaylorSF is current living proof as he is doing almost exactly what you are doing except that his employer put in an L2.

finally; and this will be alien to most of the people on this board, but speed KILLS. i can EASILY get 85 miles on the freeway by simply driving 55-58 mph. i did it on Wed (mostly because i was relying on a DCFC being available and it was not) drove 112 miles with 80% of it freeway but freeway speeds were primarily 57-60 mph. had to charge L2 3 different times but started the day with a 55% SOC charge (wanted to be "wanting" when i got to the L3 right?) but ended up the day at 4.8 miles/kwh.

 

[davewill]

... I actually heard a manager say that if they did that, they should buy him granola bars since he rides a bike to work.

Sounds good to me. It would be well worth a granola bar a day to encourage biking to work.

 

[GRA]

most of this has probably been addressed but

going there; drive 55-60 you have PLENTY of range. but you will not make it home. 120 Volt is simply too slow. i did it for over 5 months before hooking up my EVSE Mod from Phil

we have a 64 mile RT commute mostly freeway. Leaf does it fine, no issues. but could not do it 2 days in a row because it would not regain enough charge and we have more time to charge than you do.

with 240 volt charging at work, no problem, you can do it and TaylorSF is current living proof as he is doing almost exactly what you are doing except that his employer put in an L2.

Dave, I don't doubt that he can do it when the car is new; the questions is what happens when it ages? At 55 mph he's maybe okay, at 60 I suspect not. Assuming 20% capacity loss, @ 60 mph, 82 miles x .8 = 66 miles, and that's without considering winds (although since surpassed, for many years Altamont Pass was home to the largest wind farm in the world), the 1,000 foot elevation gain, use of accessories, side trips, reserve etc.

finally; and this will be alien to most of the people on this board, but speed KILLS. i can EASILY get 85 miles on the freeway by simply driving 55-58 mph. i did it on Wed (mostly because i was relying on a DCFC being available and it was not) drove 112 miles with 80% of it freeway but freeway speeds were primarily 57-60 mph. had to charge L2 3 different times but started the day with a 55% SOC charge (wanted to be "wanting" when i got to the L3 right?) but ended up the day at 4.8 miles/kwh.

The problem being that he is looking to use the HOV lanes to speed his commute. If he has to slow down well below the speed of traffic he's going to cause bunching up, and a lot of really pissed-off people behind him who will undoubtedly engage in dangerous behavior to pass or get him to move over. Cruising well below the normal flow of speed in the HOV lane is discourteous at best and potentially fatal, to him or others, even when not considering rare incidents of road rage. It's just not worth it for most people.