Replaced My Pack!

DB, if I was a betting man, I’d say the biggest differences between my range and Jay’s range is terrain and speed.

All main roads around me are 45-55 MPH and most climb and fall more than a rollercoaster. Also, most destinations are at a lower elevation than home, so the furthest out I’m comfortable traveling without charging is 30 miles in order to have enough for the climb back home. From my house to downtown Pittsburgh and back is 65 miles, and with no charging away from home, I can only do this trip off-highway in the summer. Cold temps or highway driving require charging somewhere to make it home.

Now, if I lived much closer to downtown, I could likely squeeze another 10 to 20 miles out of the car simply because the terrain and speeds are different (mostly level in downtown at no more than 40 MPH). One really hot day a few years ago, I had A/C running full blast to keep me and the battery cool for most of the day during a trip to downtown. This time, I had to take a different route that dramatically reduced my travel speed. When I got to downtown and charged the car, I had a full charge estimate of 96 miles. Not only is this how I figured out that the range calculations are separate for HVAC usage and driving, this still stands as my personal record for highest RR number. The combination of really high outside temperatures and low speeds can make these cars travel an unprecedented distance.

Bear’s range (with a 45.5 Ah capacity) is 65-70 miles in the summer (RR in high 70’s, low 80’s) and 50-55 miles in the winter (60-65 RR). I always try to leave a cushion of two bars, as charging is sparse close to home. Koorz is 55-60 in the summer and 40-50 in the winter.

Regarding that 65 mile airport run, I guess I neglected to say that yes, of course I exercised “rather attentive driving”. Hypermiling an I-MiEV is the epitome of attentive driving.
However, I did not set out to hypermile on the outbound leg- I was simply faced with gridlocked highway traffic so took the shortest route on 35 mph roads to the airport and was amazed to arrive with 10 bars. My late night return was traffic-free over the same slow route, so I drove even more slowly and timed the lights, etc..
The airport elevation is only 57 feet above my home, but it is a hilly route down 470 feet and back up a few times.

jray3 said:

Regarding that 65 mile airport run, I guess I neglected to say that yes, of course I exercised “rather attentive driving”. Hypermiling an I-MiEV is the epitome of attentive driving.
However, I did not set out to hypermile on the outbound leg- I was simply faced with gridlocked highway traffic so took the shortest route on 35 mph roads to the airport and was amazed to arrive with 10 bars. My late night return was traffic-free over the same slow route, so I drove even more slowly and timed the lights, etc..
The airport elevation is only 57 feet above my home, but it is a hilly route down 470 feet and back up a few times.

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That would explain the impressive number. Pittsburgh traffic rarely lends to hypermiling.