HYPER RANGE?

[bryantracy]

Hi Sparkers!

i drove the hell out of my Sparky last weekend.
Oakland to Sacramento in wicked 106 degree heat.
Deep discharges on both end of the trip, (made it with 4 miles to spare!)

Anyway, when i got home and charge her up again, she read:

130 miles MAX
109 miles estimated
87 miles minimum

so far the number seem to be holding at least roughly
has anyone else seen this effect?

bryan tracy

 

[Chaconzies]

Wow that's impressive. I think this definitely goes to show that the Spark EV can go well over 82 miles if driven very cautiously. Personally I have a short 18 mile commute to school with charging stations on both sides so I have as much fun as possible and usually see the advertised max range. I have made a commute to Riverside from Downey before (57 miles) and did see that I was getting better efficiency even though I was averaging like 65mph. All freeway driving, low AC, and cruise control. I think the cruise control really helps honestly. I've stayed under 25kw/m while going 70 miles simply by using cruise control. Did you use the AC? How long did it take you to charge in Sacramento, and did you see any battery conditioning?

 

[bryantracy]

Hi Chaconzies

i will reply shortly in more detail, but if you send me your email, i will send the picture of the range meter.

I am getting about 8-9 KW @50mph in cruise control. Love crusie control. I had medium level of AC going.

The honest truth was that i picked up 20miles while eating lunch in Davis (free charging in Davis)
On the way home, i went all the way from Sac State to Lafayette, but then i was really hot, thirsty,
and a little nervous about getting thru the Highway 24 tunnel to Oakland, so i picked up 5 more free
miles while drinking a lemonade at the Lafayette Whole Foods. Make it back to my house with 5 miles to spare!

I definetly think some battery conditioning is going on. Can't wait to try out a FAST CD charger somewhere.

thanks for your reply

bryan

Wow that's impressive. I think this definitely goes to show that the Spark EV can go well over 82 miles if driven very cautiously. Personally I have a short 18 mile commute to school with charging stations on both sides so I have as much fun as possible and usually see the advertised max range. I have made a commute to Riverside from Downey before (57 miles) and did see that I was getting better efficiency even though I was averaging like 65mph. All freeway driving, low AC, and cruise control. I think the cruise control really helps honestly. I've stayed under 25kw/m while going 70 miles simply by using cruise control. Did you use the AC? How long did it take you to charge in Sacramento, and did you see any battery conditioning?

 

[gra]

High temps = low air density = less drag (and higher tire pressures if you haven't adjusted them).

 

[amndrin]

Why didn't you just use the quick charger in Sacramento if you wanted to try out a quick charge. Seems like that would be the perfect time to use one. I'm actually thinking of driving from Sacramento to Berkeley in a week for the night. How much did you charge in sacramento(and where?) I figure I'll be driving from sacramento at about 96%(coming from 70 miles out of sacramento with a qc pitt stop) and most likely driving sacramento to Berkeley at about 55-60 the whole way.

 

[tigger19687]

Wait wait wait...

You said 130 miles max.
Is that what you got with NO CHARGING in between ?

 

[Chaconzies]

No, the reader stated above he charged for a total of 25 miles.

The honest truth was that i picked up 20miles while eating lunch in Davis (free charging in Davis)
On the way home, i went all the way from Sac State to Lafayette, but then i was really hot, thirsty,
and a little nervous about getting thru the Highway 24 tunnel to Oakland, so i picked up 5 more free
miles while drinking a lemonade at the Lafayette Whole Foods. Make it back to my house with 5 miles to spare!

 

[tigger19687]

No, the reader stated above he charged for a total of 25 miles.

The honest truth was that i picked up 20miles while eating lunch in Davis (free charging in Davis)
On the way home, i went all the way from Sac State to Lafayette, but then i was really hot, thirsty,
and a little nervous about getting thru the Highway 24 tunnel to Oakland, so i picked up 5 more free
miles while drinking a lemonade at the Lafayette Whole Foods. Make it back to my house with 5 miles to spare!

Correct, but he didn't state that in the 1st post and I admit I didn't read the full 2nd post by the person who started this.

I just wanted to be clear that is wasn't 130 miles driven WITHOUT any top offs

 

[nozferatu]

I've gotten up to 152 Max and around 117 actual range...if I remember correctly

 

[xylhim]

I managed to peg everything starting at a full charge on top of a mountain (in Idyllwild) and regening like crazy going down hill:

http://imgur.com/6zfanKd

 

[Pegasus]

I managed to peg everything starting at a full charge on top of a mountain (in Idyllwild) and regening like crazy going down hill:

http://imgur.com/6zfanKd

LOL that's great! Though I doubt you got much in the way of regen with the battery already nearly full.

 

[xylhim]

I managed to peg everything starting at a full charge on top of a mountain (in Idyllwild) and regening like crazy going down hill:

http://imgur.com/6zfanKd

LOL that's great! Though I doubt you got much in the way of regen with the battery already nearly full.

I had to do some climbing before going down, so I used up about 2kW before going down the biggest slopes, got most, but not all of it back.

 

[ezryder]

The worst thing about these cars is it makes people drive 55-60 on the FREEWAY, which is designed for 70 and has a 65 mph speed limit. Traffic happens because of this. Please worry less about the range and plan more carefully and PLEASE do at least 65. Preferably 70-75. I'm planning on buying this car, but I just can't drive that damn slow. It'll drive me crazy and everyone else behind me crazy.

 

[JoeSchmoe]

...not sure what you're talking about. Your making assumptions.

 

[xylhim]

The worst thing about these cars is it makes people drive 55-60 on the FREEWAY, which is designed for 70 and has a 65 mph speed limit. Traffic happens because of this. Please worry less about the range and plan more carefully and PLEASE do at least 65. Preferably 70-75. I'm planning on buying this car, but I just can't drive that damn slow. It'll drive me crazy and everyone else behind me crazy.

If driving slow is not something you want to do often, I wouldn't suggest getting this car. You won't get the advertised range, and you will be sorely disappointed.

From the wikipedia article on drag: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_%28physics%29

Note that the power needed to push an object through a fluid increases as the cube of the velocity. A car cruising on a highway at 50 mph (80 km/h) may require only 10 horsepower (7.5 kW) to overcome air drag, but that same car at 100 mph (160 km/h) requires 80 hp (60 kW). With a doubling of speed the drag (force) quadruples per the formula.

 

[JoeSchmoe]

Let's refine that a bit. If doing 75-80MPH for 100% of your driving is your goal, no you will not get the advertised range of 82 miles. I can't say I know what the range would be for 100% freeway driving at that speed, but as mentioned, diesels are better at 100% freeway driving so look there if that's your goal. I'm sure there are people who don't mind driving in the slow lane....so what?

Now, if driving quickly *on the street* is your goal, you can certainly do that and meet or slightly exceed the advertised range depending on the temps outside and your accessory usage. I can be the fastest car out there on the street and if I drive wisely with the regen I can get 90 miles of indicated range with 2 extra PSI in the tires during fair warm weather. In the cold, indicated range is down to about 72 miles with similar driving styles and no heater usage...maybe some seat heater usage.

My commute is about 30 miles total and I tend to go straight home after work more or less so 10 or 20 miles +/- doesn't really matter to me. Whether you push your mileage daily and do or don't recharge when out and about will be big factors.

So...no one HAS to drive slow. And this is NOT a slow car. I *NEVER* drive "slow". If one did want to drive slow, I'd advise them to pick up one of the other attainable EVs that isn't as small as the Spark.

 

[ezryder]

The "slow lane" is not realistic in commute traffic. We can't afford to have people driving slow in ANY lane, because you become the bottleneck very quickly. Study the dynamics of what causes traffic jams. If you're retired and in no hurry I'm very happy for you. But drive fast or drive off-commute hours, please.

This message has been a Public Service Announcement.

 

[tigger19687]

no offense but you don't have to be on the highway either..... Nor do you need to drive behind the slow one.

And I know I am not in CA but Rush hour traffic (or commuter traffic as you say) NEVER goes even the speed limit here !

 

[ezryder]

no offense but you don't have to be on the highway either..... Nor do you need to drive behind the slow one.

And I know I am not in CA but Rush hour traffic (or commuter traffic as you say) NEVER goes even the speed limit here !

Well, you clearly DON'T live in CA. Traffic congestion is caused mostly by one or two - that's all it takes - slow drivers poking along at 55. I've seen people on the highway doing 45!! I've driven like a mad-man, weaving in and out of traffic, to get thru the mess - breakdown lanes, and all - to get to the front of the pack - and there they are... do-de-do-de-do, putting along without a care in the world, or noticing the MILES of traffic behind them and the long stretch of space between them and the nearest car in front of them. It can be a three or four lane highway, but if you have just two of these people in some sort of proximity to each other, they will create a traffic jam that takes serious time to ease up even once they get off the highway. They create a bottleneck. It doesn't mean you can't go around them; it means there are 5 million people trying to get around them, which slows everyone down and you get a ripple effect. And yes, I have to be on the highway to get to work; there's no other way to get there.

When you say commuter traffic never goes the speed limit, I assume you mean they go faster? Otherwise, you just made my point. Yes, some of it is accidents or rubber-necking at accidents, or road construction, but more often than not, I find the culprit at the front of the pack, whistling to their favorite tune, happily putting along at 45, not a care in the world. Ah... retirement; the slow life...

 

[Sparkler]

I've driven like a mad-man, weaving in and out of traffic, to get thru the mess - breakdown lanes, and all - to get to the front of the pack - ...

After you _chill_ up you will see this sort of behavior for what it is, dangerous and inconsiderate of those around you. More accidents occur because of those trying to rush through traffic than those that maintain an even, legal, speed.