Range extender !

[jray3]

I'll second GDB that a motorcycle-based pusher should be very good. I took another long pusher trip last week, this time with my wife as accessory to the crime! We drove through the metro area on electric and then stopped for a fast charge and energized the engine once we found some virgin air to pollute. Starting from under 100' elevation, we pushed over Tiger Mountain Summit at 1375 feet, Snoqualmie Pass at 3022 feet, and then down and up Blewett Pass at 4102 feet.

We went 159.7 miles with one 4.81 kWh fast charge boost and exactly 5 gallons of gas (ran out of fuel before cresting Blewett Pass and made it over the top with less than two bars). That last 26 miles into Leavenworth almost made me nervous, but we finished up with less than one mile on the turtle, after the downhill grade leveled out in town.

I think Volt drivers would call that 32 mpg in Mountain Mode. TESLA drivers might call it a hamburger run... My wife calls it tolerant.

Similar results on the return trip, though we took a longer route and refueled once; no CHAdeMO.
As mentioned when I made this trip on electric only last year, the i-MiEV can barely maintain regen at highway speed, even with miles of 7% grade- UNLESS you've got a pusher behind you. Then it's full regen at cruising speed (with instant engine braking at your disposal in case of elk encounters).

Thank you PV1. I'll agree that CHAdeMO is my preferred range extender within the metro area, but the novelty quickly wore off for highway trips, especially when trying to keep a schedule but running into lineups of LEAFs or a DCFC station out of order.

[Phximiev]

Here's an interesting range extender notion: http://insideevs.com/regen-suspension-status-report/

[fjpod]

I would love a small auxiliary suitcase style battery pack, that I could put in the trunk. All I want is another 10 miles.

[Phximiev]

Range extender: Posted on insideevs?

http://insideevs.com/mitsubishi-miev-range-extender/

[jray3]

Yep, my cover is now fully blown! Oh well, was bound to happen sooner or later. Now I can really have fun with it.

[Phximiev]

You should post a reply to the article.

[JoeS]

jray3, you're now famous ... or is that infamous?

Using a motorcycle as a pusher could prove to be a relatively simple implementation, especially if you already own a motorcycle and have a trailer hitch on your i-MiEV. Google "motorcycle towing cradle" to see the possibilities.

[Phximiev]

This is a great response:

http://insideevs.com/explained-mitsubis ... der-story/

Well done!

[JoeS]

jray3, thank you for publishing those details. Good writeup!

[jray3]

Thank you Joe and Phximiev. We'll see if I get a nastygram from Mitsu now. So far, they've acted oblivious to everything that happens once we leave the dealer lots, and at this point, a continuation of that practice would be welcomed.

Surprisingly, I continue to be surprised by folks who don't get the point and feel compelled to enlighten me that a Prius or Volt or whatever would be better for a long highway trip. BOOring and NOT cheaper, and despite some ASSumptions, not less polluting when one stretches out the numbers. Carting around more car than we 'mericans need 99% of the time digs a deep hole that is very difficult to drive out of, even if comparing 19,000 electric miles plus 1000 pusher miles per year to a 20,000 mile per year hybrid. I just re-ran the numbers, and I'm at over 800 miles now on the pusher, so time to get serious about emissions and safety improvements. (Plus I dislike averaging 20 mpg in charge sustaining mode.)

I've picked up a good 2 kW propane genset (vintage salvage in keeping with my theme). Am torn on whether to mount that to a pusher for dual modality (plus I could rig that propane regulator to also supply the pusher engine for cheaper, cleaner fuel). No desire yet to charge and push, just to charge OR push. Am thinking to preserve the pusher for posterity in it's original form, but continue the experimentation with my lighter-weight plywood-bodied pusher, built before we resurrected the Straubel pusher.