LEAF Performance in Extreme Winter Conditions

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ENIAC

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 6, 2011
Messages
656
Location
Sun Diego, CA USA
Here's an interesting video of auto journalists driving the LEAF on three snow packed test courses in Shibetsu, Hokkaido in the freezing temperatures of northern Japan.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VGu0cfCuTM[/youtube]
 
Any Leaf users in Seattle to report what it was like during the show/ice storm? I was just up there and tried to drive my ICE rental car on Thursday and it was covered in one quarter inch of ice! A total no-can-do. I got to wondering how Leaf users fared operating in 25 degree weather and in snow. How did it (running the heater, etc.) affect range? How did it handle in the snow and slush?
Thanks in advance.
 
One of our Ontario, Canada LEAFers, rborba, just made this run from 100% to Turtle. He didn't use the climate control much, just the seat heater and steering wheel heater. He drove really slow.

Assumed battery temperature at start: -13C (8.6F) up to -10C ambient (14F)

Final Dash Km/kWh: 7.0 (4.34 miles/kWh)

Km traveled total: 125.1 (77.56 miles)

Calculated Battery Capacity: 17.87 kWh - 85% of 21kWh

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=167881#p167881" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
We took our Leaf out in the snow, it was deep for this area, around 6-8 inches. the only way I drive in this stuff is with chains. People give Seattle area drivers a lot of guff for the chaos that happens here when it snows, but that's because it hovers around freezing enough that what we end up with is slush and ultimately ice, not good snow pack. I think they reported a thousand accidents in Seattle in one day last week! the car did great. we had the heater blasting knowing we only had some relatively short errands. went about 30 miles in all and averaged about 1.9 MPkW... slipping and sliding and being luxurious with the heater/defrost eats up the range, but it was fun and handled very well. The low center of gravity is very nice!

gmuzhik said:
Any Leaf users in Seattle to report what it was like during the show/ice storm? I was just up there and tried to drive my ICE rental car on Thursday and it was covered in one quarter inch of ice! A total no-can-do. I got to wondering how Leaf users fared operating in 25 degree weather and in snow. How did it (running the heater, etc.) affect range? How did it handle in the snow and slush?
Thanks in advance.
 
Mt. Hood, Oregon hill climb today, 3736' up. I did 100% charge with preheat ending with to 1.5-2 bars left (19 on the GOM) from 30-24 degree temperatures, all on snow, total miles was 52.2. I started in Odell, OR, 725' elevation and went up to Teacup Lake Nordic ski area to cross country ski, 4461'. I drove between 35-50 mph going up and got there with four bars remaining and 13 miles on the GOM. I have 17 lb. wheels, with General Altimax Artic, siped and studded tires filled to recommended psi. I coasted back down the mountain, reaching up to 53 mph at times, but mainly was going about 40-45 mph. I used my heated seats, and only used the defrost at 60 degrees when the windshield needed it, both ways. Fun experiment. We have had snow and ice since last Wednesday and this car performs very well with the low center of gravity, traction motor, and studs. I could not be happier with the handling of the LEAF in this winter weather.
 
ColumbiaRiverGorge said:
Mt. Hood, Oregon hill climb today, 3736' up. I did 100% charge with preheat ending with to 1.5-2 bars left (19 on the GOM) from 30-24 degree temperatures, all on snow, total miles was 52.2. I started in Odell, OR, 725' elevation and went up to Teacup Lake Nordic ski area to cross country ski, 4461'. I drove between 35-50 mph going up and got there with four bars remaining and 13 miles on the GOM. I have 17 lb. wheels, with General Altimax Artic, siped and studded tires filled to recommended psi. I coasted back down the mountain, reaching up to 53 mph at times, but mainly was going about 40-45 mph. I used my heated seats, and only used the defrost at 60 degrees when the windshield needed it, both ways. Fun experiment. We have had snow and ice since last Wednesday and this car performs very well with the low center of gravity, traction motor, and studs. I could not be happier with the handling of the LEAF in this winter weather.
Thank you for the great report! Hopefully I'll be able to do some backcountry skiing tomorrow; we're finally expecting more snow after quite a few weeks of dry conditions.
 
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