Questions we still have about Nissan Leaf

[JasonT]

Anyone know if the passenger air bag will automatically turn off if a child is sitting up front? I would like for my 7 yr old son to sit shotgun.

I believe this is a requirement in all cars now (one reference here). I went to nissanusa.com and looked at some of their other cars and every one I looked at mentioned the following under safety:

Nissan Advanced Air Bag System with dual-stage supplemental front air bags with seat belt and occupant-classification sensors

 

[garygid]

In "Park" the pawl usually engages a "gear", which usually keeps the vehicle from rolling on gentle slopes. For parking on more severe grades (possibly without curbs), a Parking Brake is usually provided.

I was talking about the "Parking Brake" system, which cin be either mechanical or hydraulic.

There is a speed reduction gear between the electric motor and the wheels, with about a 10-to-1 reduction: approx. 10,000 rpm motor to 1,000 rpm wheels. That can be considered a single-ratio transmission.

 

[planet4ever]

In "Park" the pawl usually engages a "gear", which usually keeps the vehicle from rolling on gentle slopes.

Really? I thought a pawl was a pin or lever which locked a gear so it could not turn at all -- unless you applied enough force to break the pawl. I must admit that, not wanting to have broken parts in my transmission, I have always used a brake to help it out on a steep slope, but I have sometimes wondered if it was necessary.

 

[BrendanDolan]

In "Park" the pawl usually engages a "gear", which usually keeps the vehicle from rolling on gentle slopes.

Really? I thought a pawl was a pin or lever which locked a gear so it could not turn at all -- unless you applied enough force to break the pawl. I must admit that, not wanting to have broken parts in my transmission, I have always used a brake to help it out on a steep slope, but I have sometimes wondered if it was necessary.

The pawl is a pin that locks into a gearset which is usually around the outside of the transmissions output shaft. Here's a pic off an ICE car.

It's good form on a steep hill to set the handbrake with the transmission in neutral, and once it is hold the car, then select park. It's hard on the pawl when you pull the car out of gear if you let the weight of the car rest on it, and then set the handbrake. Do it in something heavy, like an SUV on a steep hill in San Francisco, and it sometimes takes two hands to move the gear selector out of park, and there is a lovely resulting "BANGGGGGgggggggg" out of the drivetrain.

 

[EVDRIVER]

Yes, you don't want to "pre-load" it. This is the same basic idea on a fixed-gear EV drive.

On the EV 1

http://cafeelectric.com/EV-1Motor/DisassemblyParty/photos/IM0009.jpg

 

[nader]

In regards to the wheels specs, the Versa is a 4x114.3 bolt pattern. Are you saying the same spacing but a 5 bolt wheel, or 5x114.3?

I am trying to get an idea of what tire sizes the car will accomodate with mild lowering and alignment correction.

Also these are tire sizes that will maintain the factory gearing speedo calibration:
205/50/17
225/45/17
225/40/18
225/35/19 (rubber bands!)

 

[mwalsh]

In regards to the wheels specs, the Versa is a 4x114.3 bolt pattern. Are you saying the same spacing but a 5 bolt wheel, or 5x114.3?

Hmmm....I didn't realize that. They told me the bolt pattern was the same as the Versa AT NISSAN. :? I guess they must have been a bit confused. Damn, I thought we had put that to bed already. Altima maybe?

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

The Excel spreadsheet has:

205/55R16
16inch 6.5J PCD:114.3 5nut

I don't know how to interpret that, but 5nut seems pretty obvious.

 

[nader]

The Excel spreadsheet has:

205/55R16
16inch 6.5J PCD:114.3 5nut

I don't know how to interpret that, but 5nut seems pretty obvious.

Oh cool.

That means a 16" wheel, 6.5" wide with a 5x114.3mm bolt pattern, meaning the wheel lug pattern is 5 studs with a spacing of 114.3mm (aka the diameter of the circle the studs make, also known as the bolt circle).

I am looking for wheels that fit a Mazda 3 (same bolt pattern) as a reference since the Mazda 3 doesn't have room for very wide tires.

Thanks,

Nader

 

[garygid]

114 mm, only about 4.5 inches ... is that possibly the radius of the hub nut circle, not the diameter?

 

[nader]

nope it's diameter. There is a good visual on tirerack's website.

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=92

 

[mwalsh]

That means a 16" wheel, 6.5" wide with a 5x114.3mm bolt pattern, meaning the wheel lug pattern is 5 studs with a spacing of 114.3mm

...and also that it matches a slew of other Nissans when it comes to bolt pattern. The only thing one may still have to be careful of when trying to find replacement wheels is the offset.

 

[garygid]

OK, Diameter, Thanks.

Is "Offset" the distance of the mounting surface from the center of the two rims?

Do we expect zero (0 mm) offset, or is something else common?

 

[mwalsh]

OK, Diameter, Thanks.

Is "Offset" the distance of the mounting surface from the center of the two rims?

Do we expect zero (0 mm) offset, or is something else common?

No clue, I'm afraid. I guess it was backspacing I was thinking of. Either way, if those terms don't somewhat interchange, what I was getting at is that you don't want your wheels fouling on the suspension components or your tires rubbing on the fender-wells.

 

[palmermd]

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=101&currentpage=92

 

[Deleted member 1295]

Question I haven't seen asked yet: Is there any control over how "full" the battery is allowed to get before the charging is stopped? My use case is unusual in that I live about 2000' above everywhere I drive to, so my trips always start with a long descent. And I would like to get that energy back and not just heat up the brake pads.

If not, then I'll need to guess/calculate how long in time to charge it, and then manually stop it at the right point. Which isn't optimal, of course.

Actually, there is a related question: At the normal "full" point, when the charger shuts off, if you then go downhill, can regen fill the battery more? I'm assuming that the charger does not go all the way to 100% since I believe that reduces battery life.

 

[EVDRIVER]

Question I haven't seen asked yet: Is there any control over how "full" the battery is allowed to get before the charging is stopped? My use case is unusual in that I live about 2000' above everywhere I drive to, so my trips always start with a long descent. And I would like to get that energy back and not just heat up the brake pads.

If not, then I'll need to guess/calculate how long in time to charge it, and then manually stop it at the right point. Which isn't optimal, of course.

Actually, there is a related question: At the normal "full" point, when the charger shuts off, if you then go downhill, can regen fill the battery more? I'm assuming that the charger does not go all the way to 100% since I believe that reduces battery life.

The charger will charge the FULL 24 kwh unless you tell it otherwise. The pack is protected by various means so even if full you won't overcharge it. You could try a partial charge and see how much your downhill will give you and leave some room for that recharge, you will find this will not be difficult to estimate in most cases.

 

[LEAFer]

Question I haven't seen asked yet: Is there any control over how "full" the battery is allowed to get before the charging is stopped? My use case is unusual in that I live about 2000' above everywhere I drive to, so my trips always start with a long descent. And I would like to get that energy back and not just heat up the brake pads.

If not, then I'll need to guess/calculate how long in time to charge it, and then manually stop it at the right point. Which isn't optimal, of course.

Actually, there is a related question: At the normal "full" point, when the charger shuts off, if you then go downhill, can regen fill the battery more? I'm assuming that the charger does not go all the way to 100% since I believe that reduces battery life.

We've discussed this ... Try this thread ... http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1659

 

[Deleted member 1295]

We've discussed this ... Try this thread ... http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1659

Sorry. I'm new here and hadn't seen that. And thanks!

 

[kmp647]

you can choose 80% charge level stop instead of 100% in the carwings/charge control screen