Doing things better the second time around

[asemeco]

Hopefully.
I recently ended a 2-year lease and purchased a new 2015 S Leaf.

This time around I know a few things I didn't two years ago:
- I am using delayed charging. The "End charge timer" in the S trim is all you need.
I used to charge as soon as I got home, 'just in case.' No need to do that, unless you know you're going back out.
- No more 'hypermiling'. It got tiresome quickly. Once I learned what the car was capable of, there was no need to tweak my driving habits too much.
- I am less reluctant to use A/C and heating. Having "No Charge To Charge" and an EVSE at the work place gives me extra range.
- Installed a Bluetooth dongle and LeafSpy Pro. Use logs extensively to analyze trips and charging sessions.
- Increased tire pressure to 40 psi. LeafSpy helps keeping tire pressure in range.
- Use PlugShare Trip Planner + Google Maps to plan for long trips. In Google Maps, I use Bicycle mode to get elevation profile view of the route.
I wish there was an app that took elevation into account to estimate range.
The Google Maps mobile app cannot handle multiple destinations, but you can feed them to the app one by one.
- Got a portable 120/240 V EVSE with several adapters (welder, dryer, campground R/V hookup).
- Got a tent that attaches to the hatch of the Leaf. Now I can camp in an air-conditioned (or heated) tent.

I plan to enjoy the Leaf even more now that I don't have to watch miles driven.

 

[mbender]

I'm with you on almost all of this, although I can't get out of the 'hypermiling habit'... in fact, it may have gotten worse! ;-)

I leased again, but given that I'm already averaging more than 200 miles over my monthly "allotment", I think I'm subconsciously forcing myself to buy it at the end of the lease. :shock: We'll see though, I have a while to try to bring back my mileage to within the limit.

 

[mayo]

Could you send me a link to the tent you have for the Leaf. Thanks

 

[LeftieBiker]

I can do that. It's the second one down, the 86000 model.

http://www.autoanything.com/truck-tents/65A2952A0A0.aspx

 

[GRA]

Hopefully.
I recently ended a 2-year lease and purchased a new 2015 S Leaf.

This time around I know a few things I didn't two years ago:
<snip>
- Use PlugShare Trip Planner + Google Maps to plan for long trips. In Google Maps, I use Bicycle mode to get elevation profile view of the route.
I wish there was an app that took elevation into account to estimate range. <snip>

https://evtripplanner.com/planner/2-5/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; allows you to select a LEAF, and does take elevation into account. It's primarily used by and designed for Teslas though, so the LEAF calculator is still in beta. Jurassic test, http://www.jurassictest.ch/GR/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; can also do the LEAF, but IMO isn't as easy to use. Try them both and decide for yourself.

 

[asemeco]

I actually went for this one:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F5EAXAS?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Doesn't fit quite as well, but it is about half the price of the other one.

For the other one, select the "Hatchback" style.

 

[TomT]

It's funny... Once I got the new battery, all hypermiling tendencies disappeared! I cruise at a corrected (real) 66 on the freeways now!

I'm with you on almost all of this, although I can't get out of the 'hypermiling habit'... in fact, it may have gotten worse! ;-)

 

[davewill]

It's funny... Once I got the new battery, all hypermiling tendencies disappeared! I cruise at a corrected (real) 66 on the freeways now

Yeah, once I got into the RAV, I sped back up to 70+ and started enjoying the ride more.

 

[mwalsh]

^ Meanwhile, some of us can only dream of such delights.

 

[ishiyakazuo]

I regularly go 65-70, but it took me awhile to feel comfortable doing that, and my commute is short enough (40 mi. r/t) where I can get away with it if the weather is even half-way decent.

 

[Sondy132001]

I live in South Orange County, and work in Irvine near John Wayne Airport, 16 miles one way. The 405N in the morning is a nightmare. I take the told road 73 to work and it has two "HUGE" steep hills and they suck up my power. I am usually 65-72 (eco mode) when I leave my house and end up at 45-50 when I hit my parking structure. I tend to drive 70-79 mph on the toll road. The toll road costs me $133 a month and that's one way.

Going home I take the 405S and it's not good, stopped traffic. Going slow in traffic makes your car use less power obviously, but once you hit the 133 it opens up and people are flying, so I am usually doing 70-75 and again sucks up my power, I am at about 8-15 (eco mode) when I hit my driveway.

I applied for CAV/HOV stickers, back in April and as of today still have not received them, they cashed my check, just no stickers yet. I heard 6-8 weeks to get them and that's BS. I am hoping that two flat ways to and from work will give me more SOC when I get home so I can actually run errands after work.

Plus side, my road rage has gone down immensely, I'm never in a hurry in my Leaf =)

 

[asemeco]

I started off trying to maximize efficiency and range. Two years later, with charging stations at home and work, and over 30 QC/DC stations around Atlanta, I've settled down to enjoy a comfortable, quiet ride comparable to that of a luxury sports sedan. My commute is just 48 miles round trip.

 

[asimba2]

At well under $2 per 'tank' to fill the LEAF, I have zero reason to drive efficiently or curtail heat or AC use. I do, however, feel 'gas anxiety' when I drive our gas cars and do my best to hypermile those.

When my friends see me in one of my gas cars they ask me "feeling spendy today?"

 

[Sondy132001]

I am happy to say when I got home last night my CAV/HOV stickers were there, so I took the carpool lane to work today ! Happy dance for me, no more TOLL ROAD !!

 

[TomT]

Plus, I find flowing with the traffic far less stressful than going 55 or 60 and constantly worrying about the idiots behind me... Since I am only going to have the car for less than a year, I feel no hesitation about pushing the new battery to the max.

It's funny... Once I got the new battery, all hypermiling tendencies disappeared! I cruise at a corrected (real) 66 - or more, on occasion - on the freeways now

Yeah, once I got into the RAV, I sped back up to 70+ and started enjoying the ride more.

 

[ishiyakazuo]

I am happy to say when I got home last night my CAV/HOV stickers were there, so I took the carpool lane to work today ! Happy dance for me, no more TOLL ROAD !!

I'm surprised that more states don't do it similar to IL -- here, we just have special plates for EVs. We don't have HOV lanes yet, but they're coming in the next few years, I'm told, and I suspect just having the EV plates will make it OK for me to use them.

 

[asemeco]

I forgot to mention, in Atlanta I get HOV lane access and free Peach Pass (express lane) access.
Too bad they killed the state tax credit, but there's talk of bringing it back.