Third Brake Light Flasher

[Don]

I drive most all the time in the 'Brake' mode as it allows me to slow without using the brakes and it also recharges the battery pack. I'd like something which will flash the center brakelight when the dash indicator goes into the blue 'Recharge' area - A slow flash when the gauge first enters the blue and faster the more into the blue the needle goes. This would alert drivers behind you that you are indeed slowing down even when you're not touching the brake pedal

Don

 

[jennrod12]

Don,

I think that's a GREAT idea!

Jenn

 

[Jon]

I used to drive in B too, but then realized that when you touch the brakes the car regens the same as if you were in B, except the brake lights illumnate. At least the pwr guage seems to indicate that.

 

[JoeS]

Don - good idea, and could alternatively be accelerometer-activated. I seem to recall taxicabs having this feature, but I bet it's now governed by some specific regulations.
Jon, lightly depressing the brakes gives you even better regeneration than B. You can test this by keeping it in B at around 20mph with the foot off the go-pedal and seeing what happens to regen when you then depress the brake.

 

[Don]

Jon, lightly depressing the brakes gives you even better regeneration than B. You can test this by keeping it in B at around 20mph with the foot off the go-pedal and seeing what happens to regen when you then depress the brake.

Yes - I've noticed this too. When I misjudge the point where I roll out of the throttle a bit and see that it's not going to slow enough in B and then I just touch the brake pedal (enough to activate the brake lights) you can hear the whine of the motor increase as it regenerates even more and it slows appreciably more too. I've already trained myself to the point where I use the brakes very little

Don

 

[mievsolar]

Don,

The benefit of not using the breaks as often is simple. Less maintance! Yet another great benifit of owning an EV.

 

[fjpod]

I used to drive in B too, but then realized that when you touch the brakes the car regens the same as if you were in B, except the brake lights illumnate. At least the pwr guage seems to indicate that.

+1

Also driving in B makes you accelerate faster...which is counter -productive to battery saving. And if you let it slow you too much only to have to re-accelerate, it is very counter-productive.

 

[Don]

I used to drive in B too, but then realized that when you touch the brakes the car regens the same as if you were in B, except the brake lights illumnate. At least the pwr guage seems to indicate that.

+1

Also driving in B makes you accelerate faster...which is counter -productive to battery saving. And if you let it slow you too much only to have to re-accelerate, it is very counter-productive.

If you drive the iMiEV with a constant modulating of the go-pedal (like so many ICE auto trans drivers do without even realizing it) then I suppose the B mode *might* cost you energy, but that certainly hasn't turned out to be the case for me - Even using the A/C 90% of the time, I regularly see numbers between 75 and 85 on the RR gauge after a full recharge

Nothing 'makes you accelerate faster' . . . . you're driving the car, not a computerized autopilot. How fast you accelerate is only dependant on how hard you press the pedal, irregardless of whatever driving mode you select - The acceleration 'rate' in B is exactly the same as it is in D so nothing has changed there. You accelerate just as rapidly (or slowly) as you want to, so there is zero disadvantage to always using B - If you're accelerating faster in B than you do in D, it's 100% you and your foot, because the car sure isn't doing anything differently

Also, if you see that you're slowing too much with your foot off the pedal, you don't actually 're-accelerate' . . . . you just roll into the throttle a tiny bit so you're not slowing quite so fast - You're still regenerative braking (glance at the needle still in the blue while you're doing this) so I really don't see any disadvantage there either.

My car has gone more than 3500 miles now, all of it in the B mode. Done properly, constant use of the B mode is all plusses and zero minuses!

Don