Colorado Springs to Denver

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Yes, half were still down but nobody else was there. Was easy to kill time there with a walk to Einstein bros and back too.

I will try 105 next time. I don't think I have ever driven that route in all my years in CO.

So has anyone done c springs to boulder? Doable with no stops and no battery degradation?
 
Nfuzzy said:
Yes, half were still down but nobody else was there. Was easy to kill time there with a walk to Einstein bros and back too.

I will try 105 next time. I don't think I have ever driven that route in all my years in CO.

So has anyone done c springs to boulder? Doable with no stops and no battery degradation?

Depending on where you are leaving from in Co Springs I don't know that it would be possible. It is more than 100 miles depending on what route you take. Luckily there does seem to be some charging available along the way.
 
Only 86 miles from where I am on the north end of town. Based on my two trips to downtown Denver the elevation change really helps but I don't know about that final push over the hill into boulder. Don't know if I will get a chance to try it before cold weather hits but worst case is a stop in Westminster or Louisville.
 
Nfuzzy said:
Only 86 miles from where I am on the north end of town. Based on my two trips to downtown Denver the elevation change really helps but I don't know about that final push over the hill into boulder. Don't know if I will get a chance to try it before cold weather hits but worst case is a stop in Westminster or Louisville.
You could put in your route from google maps to see what it looks like. http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/profile_input
 
Thanks. I had seen someone post that link before but couldn't find it. That makes it look more than doable as I only have to gain back 350ft of elevation near the end of the trip.
 
Nfuzzy said:
Only 86 miles from where I am on the north end of town. Based on my two trips to downtown Denver the elevation change really helps but I don't know about that final push over the hill into boulder. Don't know if I will get a chance to try it before cold weather hits but worst case is a stop in Westminster or Louisville.

I drove to Boulder once from Monument last summer on a single charge, freeway all the way. Important to keep speed down, especially on the climb north of Castle Rock and again on US 36 from Denver to Louisville, and forget it on cold days. This year it's a bit easier as you can pit stop at one of the two quick chargers in downtown Denver.
 
Just thought I would post since this is the first time I have ever taken the Leaf outside of its range. We headed up Saturday which was a warm day for post-Halloween weather. Started at 100%. Took 51% to get to the Arapahoe Nissan dealership. The L2 charger was blocked by 2 dealer Leafs NOT charging. The QC was blocked by some lady in a giant SUV and she luckily was reversing as I was going to give up and leave. So I took the spot and charged for a few minutes to bring it back up to 90%-ish. First time using a quick charge. I accidentally hit the emergency shut-off button! But I immediately corrected that and all seemed well... It said "press button to start charging" and it was the only button lol.

Then we drove around Denver, took in a show, played some ping-pong at dinner, went to the 16th street mall area, book stores, lots of cool stuff. Stopped by the dealership at night when they were closed but all the sales reps were still putzing around inside. Plugged in and walked to the gas station next door and brought back a pop, and at that point car was up to 89% again (less than 5 minutes).

Drove back to the Springs, and got home with 25% remaining.

I took I-25 the entire way. I definitely went slower because I had no idea how it would perform. I could have gone faster on the way there, on the way back maybe...

This is of just the I-25 drive. The part in Denver I paused the tracks. And it is symmetric since it is the same route (ish) there and back.

screenshot20141104093559___0Vrh7Hop5p.png
 
2k1Toaster said:
This is of just the I-25 drive. The part in Denver I paused the tracks. And it is symmetric since it is the same route (ish) there and back.

Thanks for posting. The elevation is showing a bit lower than actual - the summit should be about 7350.

If you were at the 16th street mall there were several L2s and one L3 in nearby parking garages that you could have used.
 
cgaydos said:
Thanks for posting. The elevation is showing a bit lower than actual - the summit should be about 7350.

The positioning is a bit off. You can tell from the difference in heights even though they are the same physical route. But not bad for super tiny signals picked up from satellites miles away through the car and into my pants pocket! Power saving was on, so it is also less accurate than it could be.

cgaydos said:
If you were at the 16th street mall there were several L2s and one L3 in nearby parking garages that you could have used.

We were actually at the Denver Performing Arts Centre for a bit too, and there was an L2 charger there. We did not park in the EV spot since I had lots o' charge left and did not want to hog the spot for 3 hours during the performance. Plugshare shows L3 and L2, but I didn't see the L3.

I knew I was going to charge on the way back so I didn't care if I ran it down to near empty within Denver itself and didn't want to rob someone else of charging opportunity when I didn't need it.

Next trip is the airport! COS to DIA
 
MikeinDenver said:
What app is that?

Google Tracks.

I use it for hiking, skiing, driving, lots of stuff. It is useful for a lot of Colorado trails since it shows you where you have been, where you are, and of course speed/alt stats. Sometimes when going up a mountain you can get turned around on the way down so a quick glance at the map shows you are roughly going the right way to get to where you started which is nicer than hiking blind.

tracks001lizardrock___Tac7qulPhW.png


I find it to be pretty accurate. If you have ever done "The Incline" in Manitou Springs, you know of the false summit that crushes souls. The elevation map picked it up perfectly around 8100ft-8200ft.

tracks002incline___8PRAi2QqQM.png


And for comparison, this is a drive back I did in the Prius a couple weeks ago from Springs to Denver:

tracks003denvertocos___9Ar0wjlHJj.png


I doubt the Leaf would make it under those driving conditions. Prius still got 48mpg :)
 
So glad that Arapahoe L3 is back up and available after hours from the sound of it!? I hope it is reliable. I have never quickcharged yet. Heading to Westminster this weekend but coming back at night so I don't want to tempt fate and will take the ice.

The performing arts center L3 is just one space over from the L2s.

I am starting to plan a c springs to Breckenridge trip next summer... Seems easy enough with a quick charge at Arapahoe and a long enough stop at Idaho springs.
 
Nfuzzy said:
So glad that Arapahoe L3 is back up and available after hours from the sound of it!? I hope it is reliable. I have never quickcharged yet. Heading to Westminster this weekend but coming back at night so I don't want to tempt fate and will take the ice.

The performing arts center L3 is just one space over from the L2s.

I am starting to plan a c springs to Breckenridge trip next summer... Seems easy enough with a quick charge at Arapahoe and a long enough stop at Idaho springs.

I've found the most reliable L3 is in the parking garage next to the Denver Art Museum/Cultural Center. They close at 10 pm so watch for that at night. The charge is usually $1 for the first hour but some nights they do a $5 flat charge for an event. It's on the way back from Westminster and with a full charge I can get the 48 miles to Monument Hill in my 10% degraded 2012 battery with some hypermiling (the 2200 foot elevation climb, with the extra climb at Castle Pines, is a battery sink).

The Arapahoe L3 has been back up and running for a few weeks, but check the comments on Plugshare to get the latest info. If open they'll move any cars that are blocking it for you. If not you may find cars blocking the way, although usually you can drive around to the back of the L3 and plug in. Occasionally someone else may be using the charger.
 
2k1Toaster said:
Next trip is the airport! COS to DIA

Your best bet is Canopy parking. Print the discount coupon from E470 tollway's web site and it's something like $15/day for valet, where you are guaranteed a charge. The only problem is that they now have QCs and of course prefer to put LEAFs on them since few other cars have the QC port. The QC stops at 80% on the older LEAFs and you have to call them and remind them to stop and start it to get the last 20%.

There are a few L1s in the garages at DIA (see Plugshare) but they get occupied fast - usually by Volts. I've been there at 5 am on Monday and gotten the last available spot.
 
cgaydos said:
2k1Toaster said:
Next trip is the airport! COS to DIA

Your best bet is Canopy parking. Print the discount coupon from E470 tollway's web site and it's something like $15/day for valet, where you are guaranteed a charge. The only problem is that they now have QCs and of course prefer to put LEAFs on them since few other cars have the QC port. The QC stops at 80% on the older LEAFs and you have to call them and remind them to stop and start it to get the last 20%.

There are a few L1s in the garages at DIA (see Plugshare) but they get occupied fast - usually by Volts. I've been there at 5 am on Monday and gotten the last available spot.

I don't take E470 because of the hassle of paying the toll and it has never been faster. I just go I-25 to I-225 to I-70 to DIA. I almost always drive the Prius and park in the designated hybrid spots next to the dedicated EV spots in the garage (usually East Garage). We fly almost every weekend and I find there is usually at least 1 open space. I don't really want to deal with the hassle of a valet, but I have never done it so the "hassle" is so far completely imagined. $26/day isn't too bad. I don't think I will take the Leaf over the winter break time when it would occupy the spot for 3 weeks. DIA really needs an internal shuffle system for those chargers or just put more in. Even some outlets here and there would be nice. Anyone know if there are some outlets sprinkled throughout the garage?
 
2k1Toaster said:
I don't take E470 because of the hassle of paying the toll and it has never been faster. I just go I-25 to I-225 to I-70 to DIA. I almost always drive the Prius and park in the designated hybrid spots next to the dedicated EV spots in the garage (usually East Garage). We fly almost every weekend and I find there is usually at least 1 open space. I don't really want to deal with the hassle of a valet, but I have never done it so the "hassle" is so far completely imagined. $26/day isn't too bad. I don't think I will take the Leaf over the winter break time when it would occupy the spot for 3 weeks. DIA really needs an internal shuffle system for those chargers or just put more in. Even some outlets here and there would be nice. Anyone know if there are some outlets sprinkled throughout the garage?

First, you don't need to take E470 to get the coupon - just print it out (or have it on your smart phone) and you get the credit. And, yes, if you only go to DIA on weekends E470 isn't a better route.

The biggest hassle with Canopy is that you have to take a shuttle to/from DIA - and this is a factor (add 20 minutes each way on average) so all things being equal I prefer the DIA garage. But things aren't always equal, both in terms of cost and in terms of getting a full EV charge. The valet actually minimizes the hassle otherwise - you drive up, they take the car, and you get the priority pickup for the shuttle meaning you are the last stop when taking people to DIA and first stop when arriving back at parking. When you get back the shuttle driver radios ahead so your car is ready to go when you arrive. If you use the valet they'll charge the car when needed then park it elsewhere so for 3 weeks is fine - they'll even do an 80% charge to start then if you call to remind them they'll do the top-up a few hours before you arrive.

AFAIK there are electrical outlets somewhere in the DIA garage because the article which announced the L1 spots specifically mentioned that people were charging using the various outlets there. However, I've never seen one although I've looked a few times.
 
cgaydos said:
First, you don't need to take E470 to get the coupon - just print it out (or have it on your smart phone) and you get the credit. And, yes, if you only go to DIA on weekends E470 isn't a better route.

The biggest hassle with Canopy is that you have to take a shuttle to/from DIA - and this is a factor (add 20 minutes each way on average) so all things being equal I prefer the DIA garage. But things aren't always equal, both in terms of cost and in terms of getting a full EV charge. The valet actually minimizes the hassle otherwise - you drive up, they take the car, and you get the priority pickup for the shuttle meaning you are the last stop when taking people to DIA and first stop when arriving back at parking. When you get back the shuttle driver radios ahead so your car is ready to go when you arrive. If you use the valet they'll charge the car when needed then park it elsewhere so for 3 weeks is fine - they'll even do an 80% charge to start then if you call to remind them they'll do the top-up a few hours before you arrive.

AFAIK there are electrical outlets somewhere in the DIA garage because the article which announced the L1 spots specifically mentioned that people were charging using the various outlets there. However, I've never seen one although I've looked a few times.

Great info on all accounts. Maybe tomorrow when I am at the airport (or more likely sunday when I am not supposed to be boarding a plane!) I can walk around and see if I can spot any of the outlets just hanging around. It might be a good backup for emergency situations. Make a little map of outlets...
 
Well I took the Leaf up from COS to the Denver Airport, and it was fun. Re-affirmed my dislike for Volt owners too.

We drove to Arapahoe Nissan, did a quick L3 (from 32% to 85%) headed to the airport and got there with 30-somthing percent. Go the EV areas and every single spot was blocked by a Volt. None of them were even charging. Then there were 2 hybrid spots, 1 next to the charger, the other 2 spots down and a Volt just pulled in. I politely asked if he would mind moving 2 spots down to the other hybrid spot so I could use the L1 charger from the hybrid spot. Guy flat out said no. Couldn't be bothered to move his car over. So I just parked in a normal spot and got on my plane. Got back about 26 hours later and 2 volts had left, now occupied by a BMW (i3?) and a Tesla. And there were 4 other Teslas parked in that row but not at the spots.

Drove to Canopy, they charged me for free up to 58% when I asked them to stop since that was more than enough. Drove to Arapahoe Nissan again for another L3. There was a white Leaf parked at the L3 and it had stopped charging at 90%. I unplugged it, plugged it into the L2 that was there (it started charging up) and I left a note. Plugged me into the L3. Drove slowly on the way back. I am still not comfortable guessing the battery usage from DEN to COS on I-25. I am fairly certain I could not make it all at 75mph. Add to that the GF was cold, so we had the heat blasting the whole time. I just found a semi and drove behind it.
 
After reading all the reviews on the airport EV spots, I will definitely go with Canopy when parking to fly going forward. I used them twice in my pre EV days and they are always nice and helpful. I just hate the wait on the bus when you get back, but they don't wait around as long as some.
 
AlanSqB said:
After reading all the reviews on the airport EV spots, I will definitely go with Canopy when parking to fly going forward. I used them twice in my pre EV days and they are always nice and helpful. I just hate the wait on the bus when you get back, but they don't wait around as long as some.

We are going to try Canopy some time this year. We have at least another 8 flights before the end of the year, so we will give them a go. With Canopy right there it is a good backup plan to the garage parking. But after having used it for the first time, I really want to support their business more. We just rarely have the time to wait for a bus. We were parked 45 minutes before our flight took off and got to the gate just as the first group was boarding 15 minutes later. I am sure the shuttle ride isn't too long but I wish they had valet service *at* the airport. Drive to the departure dropoff, hand them your keys, and walk inside. I would pay extra for that.
 
Back
Top