Real World Range

[Pegasus]

I'm trying to convince the landlord where I work to install a 110V outlet in the parking lot. Haven't heard back yet. I hope he's environmentally friendly.

If he's going to go to the trouble, ask him to install a 240V outlet instead so you can charge up faster (with a portable charger.) The ideal would be to run a 70A circuit with a range/stove style plug for future higher-power charging. But even a 20A 240V circuit will charge a Spark EV as fast as it can (currently) support (3.3 kW.)

 

[iletric]

Went to the beach yesterday. Backroads speed between 35 and 45, occassional 50 mph. The combined miles, trip driven + GOM ended up being 110 miles. I think it was 73 driven, 37 remaining on GOM.

Wish my Leaf could do that.

 

[Anonymous]

Just picked up my Spark yesterday. The dealer had a full charge on it.

Went from Thousand Oaks up to Simi Valley and stopped for lunch, then up and over Santa Susana Pass (1600 feet) and up and over Newhall Pass (2100 feet) into Santa Clarita. AC and radio on the entire way, 55 miles total at 60-70 mph. I still had 41 miles range when I got home and plugged it in.

Got up this morning and had almost a full charge (missing one bar) and drove to work (freeway), 34 miles to downtown LA (mostly downhill). Got to work with 64 miles range and plugged it in to the 240v charger. Says full charge at 9:30.

Couldn't be happier! This car will meet 80% of my driving needs and is basically free once the cost of saved gas is taken into account.

 

[jayfay]

Wait, isn't there two motors in a Tesla S? If so, that means each one is 221.5 foot pounds? Makes getting a single motor to reach 400 foot pounds seem pretty impressive to me, if that is the case.

The Model S has one motor driving the rear wheels. Model X will have AWD with two motors as an option.

So this is a single motor?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Tesla_Motors_Model_S_base.JPG

Sure looks like 2 motors driving the reduction box from either side. Common shaft maybe? Why is one side bigger than the other?

Yes, looks like two motors but it is not. One side is an AC induction electric motor and the other side is the inverter. The reason behind there choice to do this is to reduce the large (expensive & heavy) high voltage cables required to connect the inverter and electric motor. Instead they are able to use a completely different, more reliable and less expensive interconnect between the motor and inverter.

 

[Sparkler]

Yes, looks like two motors but it is not. One side is an AC induction electric motor and the other side is the inverter. The reason behind there choice to do this is to reduce the large (expensive & heavy) high voltage cables required to connect the inverter and electric motor. Instead they are able to use a completely different, more reliable and less expensive interconnect between the motor and inverter.

That makes a lot of sense, use a short bus bar instead of a longer wire.

 

[TonyWilliams]

In addition, the single Tesla motor used in Model S, X, Toyota Rav4 EV and Mercedes Benz B Class ED is an induction motor.

 

[DenverShaw]

I bought our 2014 Spark about a month ago and I do love it. However, after being fully charged the range shows at most 72 miles, which is improved from the mid 60s when we first bought the car. This is with conservative driving, temps 60-75, and limited climate control. I do use the stereo and daytime running headlights and it is a little hilly where I drive.

I'm going to keep trying to improve the range, but I am wondering if my experience is unique. Is there something I need to get checked out?

 

[CCIE]

I bought our 2014 Spark about a month ago and I do love it. However, after being fully charged the range shows at most 72 miles, which is improved from the mid 60s when we first bought the car. This is with conservative driving, temps 60-75, and limited climate control. I do use the stereo and daytime running headlights and it is a little hilly where I drive.

I'm going to keep trying to improve the range, but I am wondering if my experience is unique. Is there something I need to get checked out?

How many miles are on the car?

 

[nikwax]

I bought our 2014 Spark about a month ago and I do love it. However, after being fully charged the range shows at most 72 miles, which is improved from the mid 60s when we first bought the car. This is with conservative driving, temps 60-75, and limited climate control. I do use the stereo and daytime running headlights and it is a little hilly where I drive.

I'm going to keep trying to improve the range, but I am wondering if my experience is unique. Is there something I need to get checked out?

Your range will improve as your tires break in. Also, do you have a sense of how many miles you can actually drive on a charge? Do you drive in D or L? Sport mode on or off? Rain?


How many miles on the car when you bought it? How many now?

 

[MrDRMorgan]

I bought our 2014 Spark about a month ago and I do love it. However, after being fully charged the range shows at most 72 miles, which is improved from the mid 60s when we first bought the car. This is with conservative driving, temps 60-75, and limited climate control. I do use the stereo and daytime running headlights and it is a little hilly where I drive.

I'm going to keep trying to improve the range, but I am wondering if my experience is unique. Is there something I need to get checked out?

When I bought my used 2014 Spark EV 2LT from a dealer in Concord, CA, it had 1500 miles on it and the dealer was 70 miles from my home. When I arrived to pick up the car in August 2015 it was very hot and the car had 77 miles on the GOM and was fully charged. I drove home wondering if I would make it so I left the AC off and drove home with a very light foot. I made it home with some range to spare. It took some time of conservative driving before the GOM broke 100 miles. This year, I started driving in L and I still saw the GOM rise as high as 112 miles this summer. Most of the year the full-charge GOM reading has been around 105 - 110 miles. Now, the winter weather has turned cold with the morning temperatures dropping to 30 - 40 deg. F. The GOM has dropped as well and now reads in the low to mid 70s. I do use the heater but in the AUTO mode with the cabin temp set to 72 deg. F. The current ODO reading is almost 9,000 miles.

 

[NORTON]

.... I do love it. ..... range shows at most 72 miles, .... This is with conservative driving, temps 60-75, and limited climate control. ....
I'm going to keep trying to improve the range, ....

Are you pushing the limits of 72 miles during your daily commutes?
If not, then why "keep trying to improve the range" and "pushing the limits"??? All that takes is driving slower.
Are you trying to pinch those expensive electrons?

It's a fast, fun car! Too bad you are not having fun with it.

I'm seeing a low of 58 miles on the ol' GOM during the 5° - 15° F weather we had a while back.
You don't see me turning down the climate control or fretting about 'using radio and DLR's'.
Plus, you don't see me slowing down one bit. I'm still in the left lane with all my 70-80 MPH buds.

Life too short to start pinching it now !

(They say the reason the Prius got such a bad reputation as a slow car was because of that 'Instantaneous MPG' display and the penny pinching driving of some owners that stared at that display. It's not a slow car.)

EDIT, just to cheer things up!:
Doing a slightly longer commute in the summer using suburban and country roads, with only one stretch at 50 MPH, I'll see 94 miles on the ol' GOM.
Hang in there for Summer ! :mrgreen:
And calculate your time vs. pennies saved if you decide to drive slow.

 

[DenverShaw]

Are you pushing the limits of 72 miles during your daily commutes?
If not, then why "keep trying to improve the range" and "pushing the limits"??? All that takes is driving slower.
Are you trying to pinch those expensive electrons?

It's a fast, fun car! Too bad you are not having fun with it.

I'm seeing a low of 58 miles on the ol' GOM during the 5° - 15° F weather we had a while back.
You don't see me turning down the climate control or fretting about 'using radio and DLR's'.
Plus, you don't see me slowing down one bit. I'm still in the left lane with all my 70-80 MPH buds.

Life too short to start pinching it now !

(They say the reason the Prius got such a bad reputation as a slow car was because of that 'Instantaneous MPG' display and the penny pinching driving of some owners that stared at that display. It's not a slow car.)

EDIT, just to cheer things up!:
Doing a slightly longer commute in the summer using suburban and country roads, with only one stretch at 50 MPH, I'll see 94 miles on the ol' GOM.
Hang in there for Summer ! :mrgreen:
And calculate your time vs. pennies saved if you decide to drive slow.

An update and response

A couple more months of conservative driving now has me regularly seeing the GOM start at 82 - 86 miles, with the upper limit being as high as 113 miles. This was important for me to see because it confirms that my used Spark (and first electric car) does not have issues - especially with the battery. I still love the car!

As to whether I need the 82 miles, or if getting them cramps my lifestyle... I usually only drive ~40 miles in a day, but there have been days where I needed more than the car will offer with a heavy right foot. Where I live seldom requires climate control, so I'll use it when I need it, but that's not much of a factor. My driving habits don't affect my electric bill enough to raise eyebrows. More importantly, understanding the limits of both economy and performance in the Spark (and electric cars, in general) is of interest to me. I've had fast cars and I drove them fast, which was fun (and dangerous). With the Spark, believe it or not, I am finding a lot of satisfaction in squeezing more miles out of it, which has the added benefit of being safe, economical, and earth-friendly. That said, I am looking forward to owning a Model 3 for other pursuits

 

[SparkMoore]

My 2014 Spark EV has recently been showing over 100 miles on the GOM now that the weather has gotten nicer and there's more daylight. So I decided to test it. I started off Monday charging at work on a Level 2. I didn't charge completely to full, but I suspect it was close. The indicator on the dash said that the charge would be complete at 1:15 pm, but I unplugged at around 12:50 pm. So I was near 100%. I drove the car on my usual commute which is about 40 miles round trip. On the way to work in the morning, I take the highway and have light to medium traffic and drive about 16 miles in 30 minutes. On the way home, I take the back roads. It takes about 40 minutes and is around 24 miles. Plus I run some errands here and there.

By the time I got back to work today, I had clocked in 83.4 miles. During lunch, I drove it around on surface streets to see how far it would go. I would estimate that overall, about 30 miles were highway miles, and the rest were not. The end result is that I drove 101.1 miles before driving back to the exact same charger that I charged on on Monday. The GOM said I had six miles left, with seven on the high end and four on the low end. I averaged 6.4 mi/kWh over the course of that trip. Not too shabby. So yes, 100+ miles is achievable in the spark. I've done it before, but what is more impressive to me now, is that the car is nearly three years old and has 32,275 miles on it. I don't know if there has been any battery degradation, but I certainly don't notice it if there is.

A bit more info. The weather has definitely been cooperative. It's been sunny and in the 60s and 70s over the last couple of days, so for the most part, I didn't use the A/C, heater, seat warmer or defroster. No rain either, so no windshield wipers. It's light enough in the mornings and evenings to not have to use the lights, and I turn them off as soon as I start up the car. I did turn on the fan a couple of times when it got warm on the way home, but only for a few minutes. Besides that, I make an effort to drive as efficiently as possible, without causing a safety issue or annoying my fellow commuters too much. No one has honked at me or tailgated me for a while, so I think I've got it down to where I can be efficient, without being a traffic hazard.

 

[SparkevBlogspot]

107 miles at 6.4 mi/kWh would require a battery of 16.7 kWh. I'd say the battery has degraded. If it still has ~19 kWh available, your range would be 122 miles.

6.4 mi/kWh is pretty good. I only get that when driving local. Even 55 MPH is only 5.4 mi/kWh.

 

[SparkMoore]

Hmm... Interesting way to think about it. I guess I've learned to be more efficient over time, and that has lead me to not notice the battery degradation. I guess at this rate, that will put me just shy of the warranty threshold in 8 years... Funny how that works!

 

[SparkE]

107 miles at 6.4 mi/kWh would require a battery of 16.7 kWh. I'd say the battery has degraded. If it still has ~19 kWh available, your range would be 122 miles.

6.4 mi/kWh is pretty good. I only get that when driving local. Even 55 MPH is only 5.4 mi/kWh.

Don't use the "kWh average used", which isn't super accurate. Instead, fill up *completely* (enough to reset the "energy used since last full charge" screen - that you get to using the "LEAF" button under the display). Write down your exact mileage at that point. Pick a road that will allow you to drive without stopping or slowing down much (as much as possible). When you are 'close to' empty, pull over and look at the "energy used since last full charge" amount. Then use the "% charge remaining" to calculate an estimate of total usable battery capacity.

Example:

- You fill up completely (your charge is 100%, and leave on L2 or L1 charger for 20-30 minutes after 'full')

- You unplug and immediately get in the car, get on expressway and drive 78 miles, then pull into rest stop

- your "energy used since last fill" screen says that you have used 16.2 kWh since last full charge

- the "my chevrolet" (or On*Star) app tells you that you have an 8% charge left in the battery

Calculate :
* Since you have 8% left, you used 92% of the battery charge
* 16.2 / .92 = 17.6 kWh total battery capacity (estimate)

The reason that you want to avoid stopping or slowing down is that regen will affect 'total kWh used', and regen is not anywhere near 100% efficient, so it may 'blur' (i.e., not exact) the numbers somewhat.

Temperature DOES have an effect on capacity and efficiency of the batter. It would be best to do this all when temps are between 70-80 degrees F.

 

[SparkevBlogspot]

You are correct that mi/kWh would not give you the most accurate data. But as rough estimate, mi/kWh would give some clues.

Some of us don't charge to 100%. I did charge to 100% couple of times in past year, and it shows degradation similar to what I found using DCFC data. Details of my findings here.

http://sparkev.blogspot.com/2017/05/year-of-dc-fast-charging-and-battery.html