109 RR

I set a new personal record today of 109 range remaining. I didn't especially make a conscience effort but was just not in a hurry. I really think it had to do with the luck of not having someone "pushing" me by following me home. I didn't go on turtle but I think I was under 10 miles left when I parked it. Picture to follow.

mrannen said:

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From MRANNEN

Congratulations Mrannen. You just keep doing better and better. Now you are living me behind. I just have to settle for second place.

Only by magic i can do better now. I'm now having some lessons with someone called Harry Potter, and i learned some tricks maybe i can use to get more then 108 miles. If i fulfill this dream, it will be just an illusion.

I have a feeling you'll beat it.

Harry Potter says that i have a big chance of doing that. He says i have the potential and the talent, but i have to work hard to accomplish. The problem is that i'm becoming lazy. No, not becoming lazy, just fighting to keep degradation under 20%. That´s my goal now.

mrannen said:

I set a new personal record today of 109 range remaining. I didn't especially make a conscience effort but was just not in a hurry. I really think it had to do with the luck of not having someone "pushing" me by following me home. I didn't go on turtle but I think I was under 10 miles left when I parked it. Picture to follow.

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[my personal reflections on this]
That is a hard thing getting over, 'someone pushing you from behind". This is the psychology of driving at efficient speeds instead of trying to keep up with the herd. I used to be one of those that would drive at a competitive speed and get upset when someone got in my way. For me, age has brought some wisdom to my fuelish ways. I used to have a two hour commute and I began to notice that if I slowed down a bit that I saved gas and that my stress level went down. I started to use my cruise control more and find ways to relax. A few weeks before I bought my EV, I began to practice driving at the speed limit and see how that felt. When the average speed on the QEW is 120kmh with a posted limit of 100kmh, it took a lot of my effort to keep calm and drive on. Then I began to like it and found driving was more enjoyable when I slowed down and let the others run the race and waste the gas. Now I'm between 80 and 90kmh on the QEW and I can get to work on less energy than I used before. That is a great feeling. I still struggle with people coming up behind me and keeping calm (anger mangement issues - I'm working on it). My point is that the EV for me is teaching me to calm down and enjoy the savings. I think its funny to find the people that worked so hard to pass me, that a few miles down the road I'm usually behind them again. The turtle always said, "Slow and steady wins the race."

MLucas said:

My point is that the EV for me is teaching me to calm down and enjoy the savings. I think its funny to find the people that worked so hard to pass me, that a few miles down the road I'm usually behind them again. The turtle always said, "Slow and steady wins the race."

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+1

Since buying an EV, I'm much more conservative with how I drive

I grew up driving high performance V-8's and really enjoyed the song they sang at full throttle and I used full throttle often, just for the enjoyment. Gas was less than a buck a gallon and how much I used was of no consequence - I frequently took long drives just for the pleasure of driving my machine

Then I 'graduated' to high performance inline sixes - First a 240Z and later a Toyota Supra. I had just as much fun as before, but I got 22 or 23 mpg doing it as opposed to the 15 to 20 I got with the V-8's

About 10 or 12 years ago, I graduated again to high performance 4 cylinder cars - I wouldn't even consider buying something if it couldn't get at least 30 mpg on the highway. My Mazdas (Miata and Protégé 5) are both 5 speed cars and to me they are as fun to drive as my earlier cars, but they get better mileage - I still enjoy romping on them from time to time and they sound great

Then came the EV. I now find I can go virtually anywhere I want/need to go and get back home on one 'tank' of juice . . . . which is a good thing as there is not a single public charging station anywhere in range of my car. If my trip is more than 25 or 30 miles away, I drive very conservatively and at lower speeds to ensure I have plenty left to make it back home . . . . which is good, since I can't recharge anywhere

Owning an EV has made me a much more conservative, much less wasteful driver . . . . and I love it!

But . . . . recharging at the top of a mountain and feather-footing it downhill just to see who can get the highest RR numbers doesn't sound like much fun - In all fairness, you guys really should also photograph the RR numbers you get after driving *UP* the hill and recharging! :mrgreen:

Don

My next photograph (if there will be a next one) of my best mRR will be surely over then 109 miles. That will be a unique photo. Photos with -- are easily obtained. I believe i can do it, but i will have to make over then 20 km avoiding using the accelerator, full charge and... perform my mysterious magic trick.

Sorry, but I don't live on a hill but if you want to consider the elevation involved, the 108 was set coming home "uphill".

I did about a 150 mile trip yesterday and came home very cautiously with the lights on. This morning the range gauge read 108, which is undramatic now but still encouraging. It knew it would be a close one :roll: .