Road Trip!

[jjdoe]

Quick questions... I think we found our Leaf. 2015 SL with premium pkg and pearl paint. 12k miles, $18k.
(blah blah gab below). 'Corporate lease', which the dealer claims is just a Nissan lease, with one driver?

The adventure? We are in Atlanta, and the car is in Gadsden Al. A 140mi trek. We found another dealer 43 miles away, at the interstate (L2). And an L3 52 miles further, at another dealer (and 3 L2 chargers, nearby). Then 64 miles to home. I suspect a 30 min charge at each stop? Why do I feel like I'm crossing the plains in a wagon? (with AC). Of course we could have it shipped, but what fun is that?
I'll call ahead, to check charger availability.

This will be mostly freeway driving, but we could take regular roads. Does that matter much? Wife will be driving the other car. We will get a full charge at the L3, and at the L2, should I figure a 25% reserve, charging to 65mi? (it will be sunny, 80º. I'd like to use some AC). I guess the car will tell me how fast to drive? Once we get near Atlanta, there will be dozens of chargers. But we'll just do L1, overnight. Is this easy to tow? Should I bring the strap, just in case? If it is towed, in regen - would it be charging the battery much? And after a hard drive, how long until the battery cools down, for the L1 charge? I guess the car will tell me that, too?
2 other selling points - we get zero financing, and because it's a certified car, the drive train warranty is extended to 7y/100k miles.

So do the charging times and distances sound good? The deal? Will a cross on the mirror help???
Thanks. Maybe now that we own, I'll stop asking stupid questions on the forum. Maybe...
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Sales guy said he can't come down any lower (this is the 'online price'. 'I've got $17,300 in it'...). So I will ask if they can do the 15k service, if needed, and toss in the cargo net and the bumper guard. Both cheap. And a printout of the battery condition. I have an idea of what the auction price might have been. They've had it for 10 days, and it will be a quick sale for them. This shop, an hour NE of Birmingham, is establishing a niche business in Leafs? They seem to be buying up all the SL's, and selling some to adjacent states. (they had 9 used cars in stock - all SL's)
It's the exact car we want, and we've been seriously looking for 3 weeks. So we won't battle on price. Some pearl paint I like, some, not. Here's hoping. I sent my wife a photo of a 370z in pearl. Now she wants THAT car! Can't win. (like that would be losing...)

 

[jjdoe]

Is EVO of any use on the interstate? There is some regen braking or deceleration, but not much. And might you use more power, getting back up to speed, if it slows you down too much?
So for freeways - which mode is recommended, especially if your range is limited?

 

[GRA]

Is EVO of any use on the interstate? There is some regen braking or deceleration, but not much. And might you use more power, getting back up to speed, if it slows you down too much?
So for freeways - which mode is recommended, especially if your range is limited?

ECO has little value in freeway cruising, especially using the cruise control - you generally want to be able to coast. The main effect of
ECO will be to limit the power draw of the HVAC system to 1.5kW; in addition, it remaps the throttle pedal response so that you need to move it further to get the same power. Just remember that the main thing controlling your range is your speed - the slower you drive, the further you can go, down to quite impractical speeds (max. range is at 12 mph). So, for any distance beyond your un-recharged battery range, driving slower gives you the shortest total time (including charging time) en route, especially if you're limited to L2 charging. You can drive on the freeway (best in the right lane, at slightly below the flow of traffic speed, so people pass you rather than vice versa), but you'll be able to get where you're going faster if you can take parallel side roads that allow you to drive slower safely, 55 or less, and don't significantly increase the distance.

Be sure to print yourself out a copy of Tony Williams' range chart, study it, and take it with you: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=4295

Depending on how many capacity bars the car has, I'd print out either the 93% chart or the 82% one. You might as well print out both of those (plus the 100% chart if you want). You may do better, but it's better to be cautious while you're still learning the car's capabilities.

 

[jjdoe]

Interesting chart. Thank you. I will print that. The car is a year old, with all battery bars. The print-out for the battery, at the dealer, was pretty simple. For the 3 tests, the battery was 'very good condition'. The 93% chart will probably be closest.
I'm not too worried about the range, between the chargers. Mostly for how long it will take to recharge at the first (L2) charger. The battery will be down to ~40%, and I'll need to charge for a 50 mile drive. (so I'll charge to 65mi). I'll grumble for every minute I have to wait, over 30. But that's the breaks. (we'll probably eat lunch at this point). But the less power I use, the less time spent on the slower L2 charger.

I looked into renting a dolly, or a trailer. But the Lexus RX didn't make the cut, even tho it's rated at 3500#. The Leaf weighs 3300, so I guess they wanted more reserve? (plus I read that the RX's transmissions like to overheat, even with the towing package). For $100, I could rent a pickup truck, but it probably doesn't have a hitch. Looks like we're driving! Or trucking, if the 2nd stop doesn't have an L3 charger.

 

[GRA]

Interesting chart. Thank you. I will print that. The car is a year old, with all battery bars. The print-out for the battery, at the dealer, was pretty simple. For the 3 tests, the battery was 'very good condition'. The 93% chart will probably be closest.
I'm not too worried about the range, between the chargers. Mostly for how long it will take to recharge at the first (L2) charger. The battery will be down to ~40%, and I'll need to charge for a 50 mile drive. (so I'll charge to 65mi). I'll grumble for every minute I have to wait, over 30. But that's the breaks. (we'll probably eat lunch at this point). But the less power I use, the less time spent on the slower L2 charger. <snip>

Yes, which is why driving slower decreases your total time en route, as you need to replace less of your charge. Way back in the early days of the forum lots of people did spreadsheets and the like showing total time versus charge and driving times, but it quickly became apparent that even using a CHAdeMO QC, the LEAF will always have a shorter total time en route if you drive slower, increasing your drive time for a given distance, but decreasing your charging time even more. Only Teslas can charge fast enough (using their proprietary Superchargers) for this relationship not to be true.

Remember, too, that the charge rate tapers considerably above 80% State of Charge (SoC), so you can get a faster charge by taking the battery down more (i.e. driving further before stopping to charge), and only charging to 80 or 90%. The last 20% takes about the same time as the charge from the Low Battery Warning (LBW) at ~17% SoC, up to 80%.

 

[Reddy]

1st: Charging will be slower than you think, so double your estimated charge times and then you should be fine. Charging slows (especially DCQC) significantly above 80%. Also, since this will be your first nail biter trip, you will have trouble arriving at each station exactly at 1% charge. The DCQC charging is fastest below 50%, 40 min from 0-80% or so. 2nd: Expect broken, missing, in use, or blocked charging stations. Always have an alternative. 3rd: Be prepared to spend the night and charge on 120 V. It's slow, but it will fill the battery in 20 hours. 4th: Drive slow and steady. If you can manage 55 mph in the right lane range is greatly improved. Also, drafting big trucks helps, but sometimes they want to go 70 mph, so there may not be as much benefit as you think. 5th: Choose your route wisely, shave miles (and hills) off of the route even though it might be slower driving. Also, I prefer multi-lane highways over the single lane routes. I've done both, but if driving at or below the speed limit there is much less stress when other traffic has a safe passing lane. 6th: Bring a good 10-12 ga extension cord just in case. I've used it at hotels and it is imperative at times. 7th: Drive FAST when you can. I know that might be counter intuitive, but if you have only 40 miles to the next station and a full battery because you took a nap, had dinner, or whatever and over charged, then blow through the miles, until you arrive at near zero (especially if the next station is DCQC, home, or a hotel for the night). 8th: Read about others road trip experiences and you will know better what to expect.

Finally, good luck and have a fun adventure. If you think of it as an adventure, instead of a chore, then it will be much more enjoyable and easier.