LEAF in Kansas City

[mhigley]

Very cool! What speed were you doing most of the trip?

 

[ksnogas2112]

Very cool! What speed were you doing most of the trip?

Probably 30-35mph avg. Have to go speed limit on 95th and 87th and 103rd streets. Get past Renner Rd on Prairie Star PKWY you can get away with 35 in a 45 and neutral all the down hills because of limited traffic. Once you're past K-7 you can 20-25 the rest through the circle thingies then 20 through all the circles on Clare from 95th to 87th while in neutral, slight downhill because 0 traffic.

 

[eclecticflower]

Very cool! What speed were you doing most of the trip?

Probably 30-35mph avg. Have to go speed limit on 95th and 87th and 103rd streets. Get past Renner Rd on Prairie Star PKWY you can get away with 35 in a 45 and neutral all the down hills because of limited traffic. Once you're past K-7 you can 20-25 the rest through the circle thingies then 20 through all the circles on Clare from 95th to 87th while in neutral, slight downhill because 0 traffic.

All on one charge? Congrats, Tom! I'm starting to think "turtle" describes everybody in that 100-mile club, 'cause that's how slow ya gotta drive to achieve that range! :lol: Did any (VW) rabbits pass you by?

 

[ksnogas2112]

All on one charge? Congrats, Tom! I'm starting to think "turtle" describes everybody in that 100-mile club, 'cause that's how slow ya gotta drive to achieve that range! :lol: Did any (VW) rabbits pass you by?

Yup, all in one charge. No, didn't get passed by any Rabbits but I did see a few Beetles. I did either move over or speed up to keep from making other drivers mad. Funny was that I frequently caught up with them while they were sitting at lights burning dinosaurs.

 

[mhigley]

Funny was that I frequently caught up with them while they were sitting at lights burning dinosaurs.

I love that! Everyone is such a big hurry to speed up to a stop light and for what? I end up passing them most of the time because I've slowed down in advance and I end up not having to come to a complete stop. People are hilarious sometimes. I guess that's why I like my dog so much.

 

[eclecticflower]

I guess that's why I like my dog so much.

+1!

 

[ksnogas2112]

So Sunday it's off to summer camp #1 for the summer so I'll be offline. Next Saturday I get to celebrate the 1 year purchase anniversary of Prince By-Tor and he gets shown off at a church car show that afternoon.

Hope you all are well.

Eric, how did the Europe trip end up? The pix you shared were nice.

 

[DaveInKansas]

I would just like to say hello to the other Kansas City area Leaf owners. I've had mine since the end of April and really, really like it. If I had to give a short answer why I like it, I would just say it's "fun."

Dave

 

[eclecticflower]

Welcome, Dave! Thus far, there have only been 5 KC area LEAF owners chiming in here. Feel free to browse the board index and search the threads for topics you have questions about regarding operation of your LEAF. Lots of good information here. Which model did you get?

Kathy

 

[DaveInKansas]

Thanks Kathy. I got a white SV. I leased it since this is this is sort of new technology. I realize electric cars have been around for a hundred years, but this is bit more modern.

Even though I've been driving this car daily, I have yet to see another Leaf on the road.

I've spent quite a bit of time already reading though the various topics.

Dave

 

[eclecticflower]

They're just starting to show up around here. I actually see another red one near my neighborhood occasionally and have sighted a silver one a couple of times recently, but that's about all (other than cdherman's - we work at the same place). They're still an oddity here and Nissan just doesn't advertise them that I've seen, at least not in the last 9-12 months.

You made a good choice leasing an SV, because by the time MO and KS get any QC stations, you'll have had the option to turn over your car for one with a QC port if you need it. I bought my SL a year ago and love it, but have been sorely disappointed I can't get a QC in either state. :x Should've educated myself better first, but oh well. :roll: . I just passed 7500 miles on the odometer, so I'm a low mileage commuter. It has only affected my Saturday running a couple times (go in other family member's car). Tom (ksnogas2112) has really put the miles on his car, running around and testing out a lot of charging stations in KS and MO. I've yet to pull the EVSE that comes with the car all the way out of its case. :| I recommend getting the EVSE upgrade on yours, if you haven't installed a unit in your home yet.

Last year we planned a LEAFfest gathering, but there were so few of us and schedules were so conflicted (and then it got too hot to BBQ) that it never materialized. I met Tom and his wife at Pierpont's and after traveling the same highway as Eric (lots of sightings, we both live in KC north and work downtown), finally met him at Panera Bread. Tom is out with the boy scouts now, but we may have to reconsider our fest this year. If we do, it will be discussed under the LEAFfest thread. Enjoy your new LEAF!

Kathy

 

[ksnogas2112]

Hi Dave. Welcome to Team EV. I'll keep an eye out for another white one. Mark's is white but he's up in Leavenworth. Kathy and I have red one's. I've seen another red 2x or 2 red ones out here in JOCO.

See y'all online next week.

Tom

 

[cdherman]

Hello from San Jose.... Visiting family here this week. Have seen dozens of Leafs, 3-4 Tesla S's etc.. Will say this - the Tesla S seems too large for me, having now seen one in the wild. My EV is a commuter car and I like the option to park in small spaces. Tesla is NOT for that purpose at all.

Now, wanted to sit in Fiat 500e, so went to the Fiat dealer yesterday. But they did not have one. Sat in a standard 500, -- was very impressed. Perhaps the 500e will someday also be a sucess too. I was able to unfold my 6'5" frame pretty well, though once the seat was back that far, the back seat was bascially relegated to infants.....

Anyhow, greetings from California, will be back home in 4 days. A KC Leaf event would be appreciated this Summer. Maybe we could even host at my place and everyone could get some solar electrons for the trip back home! Just a thought.... I have enough 220V plugs that with some of the portable EVSE's we could get as many as three charging at once. Might be a hoot....

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[eclecticflower]

A KC Leaf event would be appreciated this Summer. Maybe we could even host at my place and everyone could get some solar electrons for the trip back home! Just a thought.... I have enough 220V plugs that with some of the portable EVSE's we could get as many as three charging at once. Might be a hoot....

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That's a very generous offer and a great idea! It looks like you have plenty of space for a bunch of EVs to rally. I might even unwrap my EVSE for a test plug-in :lol: , although the others would actually need the juice. Your neighbors will wonder what the heck all those alien-looking things are, attached at the noses to your plugs! I know we'll be working around Tom's scouting schedule, but I don't have any conflicts. Whenever you think you could host, I suppose we should resurrect the LEAFfest thread and go from there. Thanks!

Kathy

 

[DaveInKansas]

Thanks for the welcome, Tom. Question - does the AC keep your red Leaf cool enough in the summer? I have a red Pontiac and it is like an oven in the summer. The AC is barely able to keep it cool enough for me, so that is why I got a white Leaf. I'm surprised the Leaf AC works as well as it does.

I'd be very interested in a Leaf meet in the KC area. I'd like to meet everyone. And speaking of a meet, I received a postcard from Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village announcing their annual ice cream social and car show next Sunday, June 23. This year they are featuring electric cars. I contacted the organizers and will have my Leaf in it. Since it is still new and clean it shouldn't require much to make it look presentable. If any of you are in the area, feel free to stop by. The postcard says it runs from 4:00 to 6:00PM.

Oh, my wife claims she say another white Leaf on Shawnee Mission Parkway on Saturday. Of course, she might have seen my car. I stopped by the Nissan dealer and they didn't have any Leafs on the showroom floor or front lot. The salesman said he thought they had just received a couple more.

Dave

 

[eclecticflower]

Question - does the AC keep your red Leaf cool enough in the summer?

The AC works really well and cools the car pretty quickly. No complaints here. You'll find comments on the forum about how well it works and how little energy it uses (yep, you'll freeze).

 

[ksnogas2112]

Thanks for the welcome, Tom. Question - does the AC keep your red Leaf cool enough in the summer? ]

Yes. I typically have the temp as cold as it will go and then have the fan as low as it will go. But when I need to I blast it too. The a/c in the Leaf is the opposite of the heater. Very efficient.

I'd be very interested in a Leaf meet in the KC area. I'd like to meet everyone. And speaking of a meet, I received a postcard from Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village announcing their annual ice cream social and car show next Sunday, June 23. This year they are featuring electric cars. I contacted the organizers and will have my Leaf in it. Since it is still new and clean it shouldn't require much to make it look presentable. If any of you are in the area, feel free to stop by. The postcard says it runs from 4:00 to 6:00PM.

Dave

Yes, I'll be there too. Show up and set up is @3. I need to get the dirt and mud from camp off the car and clean up the interior dirt that sweaty Scout leeched into the fabric.

0900 now and 6 hours 'til set up so not a lot of time to go.

Tom

 

[ksnogas2112]

Yeah 1 year!!!

Kathy, Eric and I are all 1 year into our Leaf's. My 1 year anniversary was Sunday with 14,050 miles in a year. It was a nice EV showing at the ice cream social. Three Leaf's, two Tesla's, a Volt, three conversions, and two electric bikes. Everyone had a good time. We definitely need a LeafFest this year. I'll get a hold of Mark and see what we can come up with.


DOH....forgot CD offered up his place for LeafFest will have to get everything coordinated.

 

[cdherman]

Yes, we could gather at my place. I am torn between times and dates. A meet at high noon would somehow be cool (not exactly) in that my solar throws out over 7k watts that time of day. It would be just neat (since "Cool" seems unfitting) to run that juice right into some Leafs.....

But high noon is not a conducive time in July or August for enjoyment outdoors.... My cooled garage holds only 2 cars charging max.

Perhaps a Saturday in July or August and aim for 5PM? Or are there enough early risers that we could do an AM meet, say 9 AM for a brunch event? We could do this sort of "pot luck" either way. If we do PM, I am offering up hormone free, range fed beef or venison burgers, topped with some heritage tomatoes. Pickles and buns will have to be HyVee though!

Anyhow -- I am getting a little enthused. I am constructing a couple "Quick-240v" devices (see EVSE forum) just for grins, and I have 3 accessible 240V plugs. I have a Clipper Creek unit on one of them, as well as a modded portable charger from Nissan as well. So if three other parties show up with modded portable units, we could theoretically charge 5 cars at 240v at the same time! That would be worth a write-up for itself.

 

[eclecticflower]

Yep, July and August are tough for outdoor activities, unless we avoid the hottest part of the day. I'm leaning toward the evening, since it may cool off a bit (cool being relative in a heat wave). I can come up with an organic dish and won't mind sitting out the charge session so the furthest drivers can juice up (Tom, Mark, Dave). Maybe bring a fan and plenty of OFF, since the bugs seem to invite themselves to parties at night.