Maximum Range Remaining

[DonDakin]

Thanks for the explanation....

Lets make rules for this thread:

No towing the car

Last 20 km of your run must be in a circle with start and end point the same

Anything I missed ?

Don......

Btw it's great to see that number and hear about the new bar calibration it sounds like they are using a little more of the battery or have re calibrated it to remove the turtle....

Don.....

 

[Malm]

With me, there are no secrets. Mitsubishi should be like me and tell us all about the car. By the way, there are no japanese's in this forum? I think they also have many things to teach me.

 

[Leafboi]

With me, there are no secrets. Mitsubishi should be like me and tell us all about the car. By the way, there are no japanese's in this forum? I think they also have many things to teach me.

I agrees the Japanese owners would have much more than anyone to tell. There are so many blogs for the imiev I get tired searching then google translating lol!

 

[Pier]

Lately, I did a test to see how many max km I could drive on a single charge, at low speed ( 40 kmh : 25 miles h). Not too bad, 197,5 to zero RR (turtle).
But to my greater surprise, on recharge I got only 155 RR. It should have been around 200.

Pier

 

[Malm]

Lately, I did a test to see how many max km I could drive on a single charge, at low speed ( 40 kmh : 25 miles h). Not too bad, 197,5 to zero RR (turtle).
But to my greater surprise, on recharge I got only 155 RR. It should have been around 200.

Pier

With my new battery calibration, the car would give you more. In the last km you still used energy. My i-MiEV was actually charging in the last 20 km. I think these two factors explain the diference.

 

[fjpod]

Just an update on my RR... Have my iMiev about 15 months now. About 7500 miles on the odometer. Last spring, when the car was brand new, I was able to get a 99 mile RR. I was frequently in the low 90s, but I was babying the car

I've been driving the car a bit harder in the ensuing year, sometimes getting mid 70s during the winter with a little heater use. Usually never less than mid 70s.

For the past few days, weather has been good, so no AC use, and driving conditions were good, and I got a 96RR after a charge from about 25% SOC to full. So I guess my point is I don't think my battery has lost much capacity since it was new.

 

[mrannen]

I started this morning with 107 miles to go on the gauge and took a pic.

 

[FiddlerJohn]

I started this morning with 107 miles to go on the gauge and took a pic.

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Above is the mrannen photo that I uploaded to this forum by uploading to photobucket.com, copying the IMG and pasting into this text box.

That might be the world record. Please give us a few details. Tire pressure? Charged at home and returned to home to charge? (round trip to and from home?) Speed? Techniques/tricks? Transmission? Brakes?

 

[Don]

For the past few days, weather has been good, so no AC use, and driving conditions were good, and I got a 96RR after a charge from about 25% SOC to full. So I guess my point is I don't think my battery has lost much capacity since it was new.

As we have all seen, the RR numbers after a recharge are not very reflective of how far the car can actually go, so trying to read anything about battery capacity into them is probably flawed. Because it's an artificial, computer generated number reflective of only how you drove the last 15 miles or so, the RR number after a recharge probably has very little, if anything, to do with the condition or capacity of the battery pack. Years from now when you can confirm your pack has lost 15% or so of it's total capacity, you might still be able to break your own record and see 100 miles RR after a recharge

Don

 

[Malm]

For the past few days, weather has been good, so no AC use, and driving conditions were good, and I got a 96RR after a charge from about 25% SOC to full. So I guess my point is I don't think my battery has lost much capacity since it was new.

As we have all seen, the RR numbers after a recharge are not very reflective of how far the car can actually go, so trying to read anything about battery capacity into them is probably flawed. Because it's an artificial, computer generated number reflective of only how you drove the last 15 miles or so, the RR number after a recharge probably has very little, if anything, to do with the condition or capacity of the battery pack. Years from now when you can confirm your pack has lost 15% or so of it's total capacity, you might still be able to break your own record and see 100 miles RR after a recharge

Don

I totally agree with Don. I-MiEV never shows you, by anyway, the condition of your battery pack. With 2 years and five months, in this summer I obtained three times values of 171, 172 km. When it was new i got, maximum, 166 km. My battery pack, surely, is not in better condition now. I measure what it takes of electricity in a full charge, and I still get numbers between 16 to 17 kwh. That's a good sign, I think.

 

[RobbW]

As we have all seen, the RR numbers after a recharge are not very reflective of how far the car can actually go, so trying to read anything about battery capacity into them is probably flawed.

I can pretty much confirm that the RR numbers do not reflect how far you can actually drive in the i-MiEV. During the work week, I have the exact same commute to and from work. This past week and a half, the weather around here has been pretty much exactly the same every day. So, weather hasn't been a big factor on range. I decided to take advantage of the consistent weather and my unchanging commute to see just how much RR I could get on my Meepster after each night's charge. I have been babying the heck out of my i and employing a few easy hypermiling techniques.

While I have managed to slightly increase the RR that appears on my gauge in the morning, the results have been anything but consistent. Some mornings I wake up with mid to low 70s on the RR. Other mornings I have high 70s to low 80s. One morning, I woke up with 91 miles on the RR. This is all very confusing to me as my driving style has not really changed from day to day.

There's another thing I have noticed, and it actually annoys me more than the inconsistent starting RR numbers. I have a little personal game I like to play with my Meepster wherein I try to see how far I can drive while maintaining the same RR mile on the gauge. If I really baby it, I can usually go a couple miles or three (sometimes four) before I tick down to the next mile. However, I have notice that this is never the case first thing in the morning. When I first head out in the morning after unplugging, regardless of how carefully I drive, I almost always lose 2-5 miles off the RR gauge before I've even driven a mile. I understand that the RR is calculated off the last 15 miles you drove. But in the morning, I am always trying to drive as "nicely" if not better than I was during my ride home the previous evening. Why do the RR miles disappear so quickly?

 

[Don]

I recently recharged after a run down the freeway with the defroster on - This activated the heater, so my RR numbers were dropping like a stone while doing freeway speeds

I plugged it in and got a RR of 55 after the recharge, the lowest we've ever seen by far. We got in the car and drove it 5 or 6 miles to dinner and then back again (not needing the A/C for a change) and when we got back home, the RR read 58! :mrgreen:

Next day, we drove a 6 mile round trip to lunch and the RR was still showing 58 when we got back home. We had about 17 or 18 miles on the odometer at that point and the RR number was still larger than it had been immediately after the recharge. The low number after the recharge was due to the run down the freeway with the heater on and then the 35 to 40 mph trips we took after that didn't lower the number any because the computer was correctly predicting that we would be able to go 80 or 90 miles if we continued driving in that manner, so even though we were driving, the RR numbers were actually increasing . . . . or staying the same

The RR 'predictions' are not nearly so mystifying once you understand how the number is generated and what it's showing you

Don

 

[RobbW]

Has there been any research, studies, or tests to determine the minimum range for the i-MiEV? So far, it seems everyone is fixated on the maximum range. I would like to find out the minimum distance you can be guaranteed you can travel on a full charge even if driving under the absolute worst-case conditions. For example, if it were determined that you should always be able to get a minimum of 40 miles per full charge regardless of conditions, that would put my mind at ease for the approaching winter driving season in my new i-MiEV.

Say it's the dead of winter in the upper Midwest with daily high temps of 5° and snow on the ground. Your i-MiEV has been sitting outside unprotected in the bitter cold for 9 hours. You hop in, start her up, turn the seat heater on, and set the heat to MAX. You then proceed to drive on the expressway at highway speeds and traffic conditions prevent you from employing any driving efficiency techniques. How far could you realistically expect to drive under such harsh conditions? I would be greatly relieved to find out if I should be able to complete my daily 30-35 mile round-trip commute no matter what horrible conditions are thrown at me!

 

[aarond12]

You hop in, start her up, turn the seat heater on, and set the heat to MAX.

Ouch. So we need to think about NOT using pre-heating on AC power? While it will give you the worst-case scenario, is that truly realistic?

 

[sandange]

I had an experience recently relating to minimum RR, Which I will deny If confronted off in the future. LOL

I (for reasons I will not get into) had to drive very aggressively on the highway, for a stretch of about 15 minutes through the hills
at speeds between 115 up to 139 kmph, 71mph up to 86 mph

Following this, I exited the highway & had a some steep hills to climb for another 8 kms at a slower but still aggressive pace due to the road conditions.
This was just before I stopped to charge the car .

After charging the car all day at level2
The RR gauge showed 68 km 42 miles

Should have seen the surprised looks I got as the I Miev passed some of the ice vehicles.

No animals or people were harmed or put in danger.

 

[RobbW]

You hop in, start her up, turn the seat heater on, and set the heat to MAX.

Ouch. So we need to think about NOT using pre-heating on AC power? While it will give you the worst-case scenario, is that truly realistic?

Yes. During the winter, my Meepster will sit outside at work for up to nine hours. I have been told I will not be allowed to plug in at work unless it is a dire emergency! So, yes, I need to consider worst-case scenarios!

 

[DonDakin]

I would have to say that for minimum range you could get a really low number.I would guess it to be about 30 miles. That would be at very cold temps with the heat on full say -25 deg c. If you are in a full on snow storm at super low temps with 40 miles to go I think you would be ok but you would sacrifice heat. So my guesstimate would be 30 miles worst case and still maintain some comfort. For sure the worst case is having to drive an extended range when it's really cold.

I have driven home 35 km at night about -8 deg c starting from a nearly full charge and felt fine on the way home. I have also driven home 50 km in slush starting from about 10 bars with no heat at about -1 deg c and we were fine but I was really watching the RR and the GPS distance to go.

Basically The car always seems to make it but I think that's really because the driver adjusts or does not try the impossible. But I have to admit that I don't like the idea that you have to sacrifice comfort to make the destination when things get tight. The first time you do this it feels like an accomplishment but that can get old quick. A bit off topic but I think all Ev's that are going to operate in very cold climates should have a fossil fuel burner in them to make winters easier. We really should not have the option of freezing ourselves in order to make our destination. The only other real solution to this is to have lots of quick charging which would solve other problems also for people traveling longer distances in the summer. Can't wait for a few l3 chargers to come to my area (montreal)

Don.....

 

[sandange]

Yes. During the winter, my Meepster will sit outside at work for up to nine hours. I have been told I will not be allowed to plug in at work unless it is a dire emergency! So, yes, I need to consider worst-case scenarios!

Worst case I found for winter is dealing with a fine mist rain that instantly freezes on the windshield.
these conditions force you the have

the heater on full defrost all the time,
wipers on all the time
rear windshield defrost & wipers as well
can make roads very slipper which makes the drive take much longer

Can be a real energy drain.

 

[Don]

I would have to say that for minimum range you could get a really low number.I would guess it to be about 30 miles. That would be at very cold temps with the heat on full say -25 deg c. If you are in a full on snow storm at super low temps with 40 miles to go I think you would be ok but you would sacrifice heat. So my guesstimate would be 30 miles worst case and still maintain some comfort. For sure the worst case is having to drive an extended range when it's really cold.

I would guess your 30 mile estimate is about right - If I knew I had to make a 30 mile trip at freeway speeds with the defroster on MAX to keep the windshield clear, I'd be a bit concerned that I might not make it

Robb, in reality, most of us usually sacrifice climate control until we're comfortable that we'll have enough juice to make the trip. On a long round trip from home which might test the car's max range, we always use minimal climate control on the outbound leg and then once we're comfortable that we will have plenty of range to make it back, we readjust the climate control accordingly for the homeward leg

You can, in most cases, make the range of the car whatever you need it to be . . . . within reason. Drive slowly (even if that means taking a slightly longer route) minimize climate control usage and plan ahead - If you know it's going to be a challenge despite your best efforts, get a little recharge somewhere along the line to make sure you'll get back home. Only once over the 13,000 miles we've had the car did we have a close call and that was 100% my own fault . . . . I began a long trip without a full pack and only the fact that the car will go an extra six or eight miles after the last bar is exhausted allowed us to make it back without incident - THAT won't happen again, I can assure you!

Don

 

[RobbW]

Thank you all for your reasonable replies. If I can assume a minimum 30-mile range given worst-case conditions, I should be fine for driving my daily commute in the winter. My round-trip commute (not including running any errands at lunch) is exactly 30 miles. Obviously, worst-case conditions should not be a normal occurrence. So, I should have plenty of range without any worries most days. That has been my one biggest concern ever since I purchased my i-MiEV.