Range on full battery in one drive?

[tigger19687]

Has anyone done a range test like Tony Williams did with the Leaf, Spark EV, Kia Soul EV ?

He did a highway run at 62 mph solid in one trip with a full battery to see REALLY how far it would go on one "tank".

I see posts about drives, but none of them have been done at the same speed, one trip, no stopping.

I don't know if Tony is on this forum or not. But wondered if anyone else had seen the other threads on it or have done it themselves.

Would be nice to see the results on it.

 

[PV1]

I've done 56 miles between 25-50 mph on main roads, and climbing about 1,500 feet.

I've done multiple trips to Pittsburgh and back, rounding 61.1 miles at 45 mph and less on main roads, mostly level, which charge to spare. The most I've done on one charge was 78 miles.

I never did a constant speed range test as the roads in my area don't allow it (stoplights, terrain, traffic).

My trips to 7 Springs are about the best I can do for one shot drive, but the two big hills skew my numbers. I can go all out on the way back and not worry, though .

 

[JoeS]

Has anyone done a range test like Tony Williams did with the Leaf, Spark EV, Kia Soul EV ?

To answer your question, no one has done a controlled maximum range test, but if you peruse this forum you will see topics such as Maximum Range Remaining.

We do not have a manual throttle or cruise control, most of us are reluctant to fully deplete the battery, hills and headwinds and temperature can greatly alter the results even if speed is held constant (at 62mph like Tony Williams does his test), and of course traffic makes a difference. I'd be willing to bet that two different drivers doing the same trip in two different i-MiEVs with the same average speed could get results that could probably vary by 20%.

As we all know, the misguided preoccupation with Range by non-EVers is something we have to deal with on a daily basis, whereas it is a non-issue once you get to driving the EV. Like I tell people, range is whatever I want it to be, and if it's too far even with hypermiling and I can't charge either along the way or at the destination, I simply don't take the i-MiEV. Doing the math ahead of time simply eliminates any "Range Anxiety" - hate that GM-fostered expression.

If we were to do a semi-controlled test such as Tony Williams has done, at 62 mph with a new battery pack I think we might be close to the i-MiEV's EPA rating of 62 miles, depending on how much we want to stress the battery pack. Here's a graph that I think gets us pretty close but perhaps errs on the conservative side: http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=17565#p17565.

More to the point, many of us have done over 70 miles on a single charge with no issues and not even stressing the battery pack ... all you need to do is slow down.

 

[Don]

He did a highway run at 62 mph solid in one trip with a full battery to see REALLY how far it would go on one "tank".

Was he into the wind, downwind or on a windless day? Was it level ground, with the start of the test and the end of the test at the same elevation? Hilly ground or flat?

There are just too many variables to make testing of that sort mean anything, which is why we have the EPA 'official' number of 62 miles - At least all of the tests of all of the models were done under similar circumstances and by trained drivers

The BIG variable though is . . . . speed. We can go maybe 50 miles at 65 mph, 65 miles at 55, 85 miles at 35 and city drivers have been known to go 100 miles on a full charge - All of that is assuming the operator knows what he/she is doing

Don

 

[JoeS]

I forgot, we already have a topic akin to this one: Maximum Miles Driven on One Charge

 

[tigger19687]

Right, I understand that there are many variables. That is why I asked if someone has done it like Tony had (same map, same speed etc..... someone in Cali maybe ?
If I lived close to where he did the trial, I would do it in a heart beat. Just to show how it fared against the other EV's

I was just asking. I read the other threads and they all had different speeds.

So I guess the answer is no.

 

[Don]

The EPA says a Leaf can go 84 miles and an iMiEV can go 62 miles. I don't think any amount of 'amateur testing' will give you a better idea than the 22 mile differential they report. A careful driver will go about 22 miles futher on the Leaf's 24 Kw battery he could go with the 16 Kw battery in the iMiEV and that's about what you would expect - 62 miles from 16 Kw is 3.875 miles per Kw and 84 miles from 24 Kw is 3.5 miles per Kw. The larger your pack (and therefore the heavier your car) the fewer miles per Kw you should expect. The numbers make perfect sense to me - You go 33% farther with a 50% larger battery pack

Don

 

[user 1835]

The larger your pack (and therefore the heavier your car) the fewer miles per Kw you should expect.

There is another variable: aerodynamic efficiency.
The Tesla Model S uses lower energy than my Smart ED on the highway at 120km/h.
Whereas the Smart ED is far more efficient in the city.

 

[me68]

Hello!

I have done this last year twice - from 100% SOC to 2% SOC.

Have a look to my detailed (german) report: http://67183441.foren.mysnip.de/read.php?28653,395517,395517#msg-395517

Martin

 

[Don]

Whereas the Smart ED is far more efficient in the city.

As is just about EVERY EV - "The BIG variable though is . . . . speed. We can go maybe 50 miles at 65 mph, 65 miles at 55, 85 miles at 35 and city drivers have been known to go 100 miles on a full charge"

Don

 

[DaveMiller]

.... "The BIG variable though is . . . . speed....

I absoluely agree. However I would say wind speed. A tail wind helps, while a head or side wind hurts.

Dave

 

[TonyWilliams]

He did a highway run at 62 mph solid in one trip with a full battery to see REALLY how far it would go on one "tank".

Was he into the wind, downwind or on a windless day? Was it level ground, with the start of the test and the end of the test at the same elevation? Hilly ground or flat?

There are just too many variables to make testing of that sort mean anything, which is why we have the EPA 'official' number of 62 miles - At least all of the tests of all of the models were done under similar circumstances and by trained drivers

The BIG variable though is . . . . speed. We can go maybe 50 miles at 65 mph, 65 miles at 55, 85 miles at 35 and city drivers have been known to go 100 miles on a full charge - All of that is assuming the operator knows what he/she is doing

Don

Don,

You can link to ANY of my numerous tests that will answer all your questions.

http://insideevs.com/kia-soul-ev-range-autonomy-demonstration-nets-100-miles/

http://insideevs.com/all-the-results-from-the-largest-independent-test-of-nissan-leafs-with-lost-capacity-not-instrument-failure/

http://insideevs.com/real-world-test-2013-nissan-leaf-range-vs-2012-nissan-leaf-range/

http://insideevs.com/nissan-leaf-side-by-side-range-comparison-2012-vs-2013/

http://insideevs.com/real-world-test-shows-chevy-spark-ev-has-substainally-more-range-than-nissan-leaf-62-mph-wvideo/

LEAF Range Test links:

Planning for September 15, 2012 range test in Phoenix

Phoenix Range Test, Sept 15, 2012

LEAF-S San Diego Range Test on Feb 22, 2013

Nissan LEAF Side by Side Range Comparison, 2012 vs 2013, March 8, 2013

 

[TonyWilliams]

.... "The BIG variable though is . . . . speed....

I absoluely agree. However I would say wind speed. A tail wind helps, while a head or side wind hurts.

Dave

 

[TonyWilliams]

Here's the results of cars we have tested.

Range at about 65mph indicated (100km / 62mph actual ground speed) on dry, hard surface level road with no wind or cabin climate control with new condition battery at 70F, battery capacity is "useable" amount, not advertised amount. Ranges are at maximum available charge and EPA rating is the maximum published.


BMW
i3 - 4.7 miles per kWh (213 wattHours per mile) * 18.8kWh = 89 miles (the "REx" version has less electric range)


VW
eGolf - 4.1 miles per kWh (244 wattHours per mile) * 24kWh = 100 miles


GM / Chevrolet
2014 Spark EV - 5 miles per kWh (200 wattHours per mile) * 19kWh = 95miles / EPA 82

2015 Spark EV - 5 miles per kWh (200 wattHours per mile) * 18kWh = 89 miles / EPA 82



Nissan
LEAF - 4 miles per kWh (250 wattHours per mile) * 21.3kWh = 85.2 miles / EPA 84



Daimler / Mercedes
B-Class ED - 3.6*** miles per kWh (278 wattHours per mile) * 31.5kWh = 113 miles / EPA 104


Toyota
Rav4 EV - 3.4 miles per kWh (295 wattHours per mile) * 41.8kWh = 142 miles / EPA 113



Kia
Soul EV - 4 miles per kWh (250 wattHours per mile) * 27kWh = 108 miles / EPA 93


*** Mercedes consumption meter is calibrated so that 3.6 miles per kWh will show 3.0 on the dash. The correction factor is 83.7%, or 1.2