At the moment Nissan Leaf says the Leaf will have 100 miles (160km) driving range or a few miles more which depends on driving conditions. Do you think it would be nice if Nissan could add more range (extra battery or larger battery pack) as an option at the dealership?
Longer range option
- Thread starter Tokyotony
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AndyH
Well-known member
According to one article that I've seen, Nissan may have 1.5-2x the range in the cars that hit the streets in 2012.
They've had LiIon EVs on the road since the late 1990s (Altra) and own 51% of their battery company (49% NEC). I don't know another car company that has their own battery capability. I wouldn't be at all surprised if 100 miles range per the LA4 drive cycle isn't the shortest ranged variant of the car.
They've had LiIon EVs on the road since the late 1990s (Altra) and own 51% of their battery company (49% NEC). I don't know another car company that has their own battery capability. I wouldn't be at all surprised if 100 miles range per the LA4 drive cycle isn't the shortest ranged variant of the car.
portableal
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I would be more than happy to give up that pit area in the rear hatch for a larger battery pack. all the other SUV's that are like the layout of the 5 door "Leaf" don't have a pit. whether its because of the gas tank or spare tire there is no room for one. i'm sure they could make a "either/or" bracket system and heavy duty plug that could make it an option.
if its only a 50mile pack 2 guys might be able to lift it out and only install it for longer trips when needed. or just stop in a rental store on there way out of town. i really believe an extra 50 miles would give most people the comfort zone to remove "range anxiety" from the concerns of owning a "Leaf".
if its only a 50mile pack 2 guys might be able to lift it out and only install it for longer trips when needed. or just stop in a rental store on there way out of town. i really believe an extra 50 miles would give most people the comfort zone to remove "range anxiety" from the concerns of owning a "Leaf".
richard
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Tokyotony said:
Either faster (6.6 kW) onboard charging, or a higher capacity pack would have been great options for those willing to pay a premium.
Honestly, I'm just glad they got the base model out, though. There are endless upgrade options, right?
The Infiniti model is supposed to have a 31 kWh (150 mile LA-4) battery and be somehow compatible with the LEAF platform. What exactly they mean by that, however, remains to be seen.
TomT
Well-known member
Scaling from the current 24Kw "100 mile" pack, a 12Kw "50 mile" extension would weigh somewhere around 350 pounds... Considering what it would have to cost, I don't see it being practical.
portableal said:
TomT
Well-known member
Unless the Infinity version is far lighter and/or much more aerodynamic, I don't see how they can produce a 50 percent increase in range with only a 29 percent increase in pack capacity...
richard said:
EVDrive
Well-known member
There is plenty of room in the empty area below the trunk storage space for an additional smaller pack (where they should have put the charger, instead of behind the rear seats). There or in the trunk would be great spots for batteries. I would buy an upgraded pack or an additional extended range pack in a minute if given the option.
If the LEAF drivetrain was put in a Prius body, that would improve highway range by 10% or more - it's CdA is about 15% lower than the LEAF. That combined with about 20% more battery capacity would give people true 100 mi freeway range rather than low-mid 70 miles.
Nissan should think about offering an emergency battery pack that could give 10 to 25 miles that you could put in your trunk and easily plug in to a receptacle if needed. One would only need to carry it around on trips where range might be an issue. It would be a great extra option.
mitch672
Well-known member
There is a third party mfr working on range extenders for the Leaf, using a pack that would fit in the rear. I heard this last night from the owner of a PHEV conversion company, I can't say any more than this for now. I'm sure we will hear about the product when they are ready to announce it.
I don't know where Richard got the 31kWH pack figure from. But I've also heard 150 miles LA4 / 100 miles RW (real world) for the Infiniti EV.
You may have missed it in the LEAF Limo thread, but I asked the folks from Liberty Electric if they'd give consideration to marketing the extender pack they're developing for the limo, if aftermarket demand was sufficient and any technical limitations could be overcome. They seemed quite willing to consider the possibility.
You may have missed it in the LEAF Limo thread, but I asked the folks from Liberty Electric if they'd give consideration to marketing the extender pack they're developing for the limo, if aftermarket demand was sufficient and any technical limitations could be overcome. They seemed quite willing to consider the possibility.
JPWhite
Well-known member
portableal said:
+50
JPWhite
Well-known member
mitch672 said:
Perfect except one thing. Being a 3rd party one would be concerned how it would affect the warranty on the main battery pack. If Nissan sold and installed/warranted it, that would be much more palatable. IMHO an aftermarket 'extender pack' will be a good buy once the battery warranty has run out and folks either want extended range and/or to replenish lost battery capacity.
Caracalover
Well-known member
Warranties are often offered because they will never be used. I would be interested in a range extender now, for a once a week use.JPWhite said:
Herm
Well-known member
JPWhite said:
Its range fear or warranty fear
.. btw, that "pit" in the hatch area IS your cargo space, but you could pack a large battery there.. who knows?.. Nissan may offer it one day.An Enginer type pack installation could be made undetectable from a warranty point of view.
dgpcolorado
Well-known member
How? Wouldn't there have to be some sort of obvious connection spliced into car's cables somewhere? How about codes recorded by the car's data recorder?Herm said:
JPWhite
Well-known member
Caracalover said:
While it true that warranties are seldom needed, the price of a battery pack is considerable. That's a big financial risk to take. I too would welcome a range extender battery pack, but not if I could face a five figure bill should the unlikely failure of the battery pack actually happen.
Herm
Well-known member
dgpcolorado said:
Codes is a possibility, but you can use a dummy harness if you dont want to permanently modify your existing harness.. finding the connectors may be hard with an early production car.
mxp
Well-known member
JPWhite said:
The other issue with these sort of aftermarket products is usually the sunk costs in installation services. ~$1000 is probably how much I'd expect given the complexity for these implementations.
