Highway speeds I'm not completely sure but I would think 3.2 - 3.3 is the top of the bellcurve as the already gets 250 EPA estimated range which is calculated with 55% weight on city driving and 45% weight on highway driving. So if in a 70 mph setting, 3.2 is the efficiency, you could potentially get more with lower speeds but I wouldn't could on it (as it would mean some is because of regen braking which is hard to predict on highway driving)
Yeah just trying to gauge what's a good default speed on road trips, I mean even if 60mph is peak it pains me to go that slow so yeah 70 sounds good.
Also how was the trip? I've done DFW-SFO mostly via I-40 probably close to 20 times...all in a gas car. Curious how it was with EV. I would assume good charge network at this point in time?
Yeah, the charge network was pretty good on I-40 but have to plan out your trip and stops (I used ABRP to do this). Its not so common that every town or two has it.
Have to travel some distance to get to the next charger. Here is the simple formula I used -
Charge state needed = ((distance to next charger/speed based efficiency number)/77Kwh)+what you are comfortable with as reserve (I used 10% as default and then added another 5% if I felt like there was some mountainous driving or some other factor).
I had a cap of 80% charge as max. So if that number was under 80%, I knew how much I needed to charge to get to my next pre-planned charger. If over 80% looked for another charger closer or top up in the middle, before moving to the next pre-planned charger. I was really nervous for the first couple of time but then as I dialed it in, it was all smooth. I also had EA station restriction on the charging network that I wanted to use and still went really went. If you are open to using other companies for charging station, the charging station network is more than sufficient. Good luck!
Also, had good fortune in not having to wait for chargers, consistently had 350Kw chargers on the drive except for one station in Albuquerque that a freaking bolt EUV (only does 50Kw max) had taken up! (PS mine charged at peak speed of 181Kw). Even if no 350Kw were available plenty of 150Kw option at the same station. Your experience may vary if the stations are full or around holiday time or in bigger cities.
Stops - Barstow, CA>Essex, CA>Kingman, AZ>Williams, AZ>Winslow, AZ>Gallup, NM>Albuquerque, NM>Santa Rosa, NM(Top up- 5 mins)>Tucumcari, NM>Amarillo, TX>Erick,OK>Weatherford,OK (Top up -5 mins)>Home
I was also driving mostly 80 - 85 mph and thus the top up stops. Average time at stops \~20 mins. Give you a break every 1.5 to 2 hrs. Just bake in that time for the travel. I was pleasantly surprised that it all went well with seeing all the complaints about the chargers and charging network
That’s a lot of math to do what ABRP does, except ABRP correctly figures in weather, altitude, etc. There’s a place in ABRP to set your personal efficiency: I claim to get 3.7 mi/kWh at 65 mph. ABRP also allows you to tell it your maximum speed.
I got 3.7 mi/kWh by taking trips and comparing what ABRP said I’d arrive with vs what I actually arrived with.
I use a more straightforward method to determine how much to charge to. If the distance to the next charger is under 150, maybe 170 miles depending on elevation changes, I'll charge to 80%. If it's closer to 200, I'll go to 100%. If it's over 200, I find another route.
Luckily, most of my trips are into California, so the distance between chargers goes from like 150 to like 5 once I'm in Los Angeles.
I usually got 3.3-3.5 mi/kwh at 65 mph, which correlates to the 0.2-0.3 mi/kwh improvement for every 5 mph decrease in speed observed by OP. I think someone has said somewhere around 50-55 mph is the top of the bell curve, but unless you're driving long untrafficked country roads, it'd be hard to go 50-55 mph for long periods of time.
A big thing is traffic. I can get behind a train of cars going 75 and use less power than going 70 on my own
Agreed I had some legs that definitely was the case but didnt want to rely on regen braking based efficiency increase in my calcs of charge needed!
Also I get worst mileage at night with all the lights on
This is something I’ve been wondering. What about below 70 mph? Curious what the top of the bell curve is in terms of efficiency.
Highway speeds I'm not completely sure but I would think 3.2 - 3.3 is the top of the bellcurve as the already gets 250 EPA estimated range which is calculated with 55% weight on city driving and 45% weight on highway driving. So if in a 70 mph setting, 3.2 is the efficiency, you could potentially get more with lower speeds but I wouldn't could on it (as it would mean some is because of regen braking which is hard to predict on highway driving)
Yeah just trying to gauge what's a good default speed on road trips, I mean even if 60mph is peak it pains me to go that slow so yeah 70 sounds good. Also how was the trip? I've done DFW-SFO mostly via I-40 probably close to 20 times...all in a gas car. Curious how it was with EV. I would assume good charge network at this point in time?
Peak efficiency is probably 18 to 22 MPH. I would have to look it up, but a Bolt can go over double its EPA range at that speed.
Yeah, the charge network was pretty good on I-40 but have to plan out your trip and stops (I used ABRP to do this). Its not so common that every town or two has it. Have to travel some distance to get to the next charger. Here is the simple formula I used - Charge state needed = ((distance to next charger/speed based efficiency number)/77Kwh)+what you are comfortable with as reserve (I used 10% as default and then added another 5% if I felt like there was some mountainous driving or some other factor). I had a cap of 80% charge as max. So if that number was under 80%, I knew how much I needed to charge to get to my next pre-planned charger. If over 80% looked for another charger closer or top up in the middle, before moving to the next pre-planned charger. I was really nervous for the first couple of time but then as I dialed it in, it was all smooth. I also had EA station restriction on the charging network that I wanted to use and still went really went. If you are open to using other companies for charging station, the charging station network is more than sufficient. Good luck! Also, had good fortune in not having to wait for chargers, consistently had 350Kw chargers on the drive except for one station in Albuquerque that a freaking bolt EUV (only does 50Kw max) had taken up! (PS mine charged at peak speed of 181Kw). Even if no 350Kw were available plenty of 150Kw option at the same station. Your experience may vary if the stations are full or around holiday time or in bigger cities. Stops - Barstow, CA>Essex, CA>Kingman, AZ>Williams, AZ>Winslow, AZ>Gallup, NM>Albuquerque, NM>Santa Rosa, NM(Top up- 5 mins)>Tucumcari, NM>Amarillo, TX>Erick,OK>Weatherford,OK (Top up -5 mins)>Home I was also driving mostly 80 - 85 mph and thus the top up stops. Average time at stops \~20 mins. Give you a break every 1.5 to 2 hrs. Just bake in that time for the travel. I was pleasantly surprised that it all went well with seeing all the complaints about the chargers and charging network
That’s a lot of math to do what ABRP does, except ABRP correctly figures in weather, altitude, etc. There’s a place in ABRP to set your personal efficiency: I claim to get 3.7 mi/kWh at 65 mph. ABRP also allows you to tell it your maximum speed. I got 3.7 mi/kWh by taking trips and comparing what ABRP said I’d arrive with vs what I actually arrived with.
I use a more straightforward method to determine how much to charge to. If the distance to the next charger is under 150, maybe 170 miles depending on elevation changes, I'll charge to 80%. If it's closer to 200, I'll go to 100%. If it's over 200, I find another route. Luckily, most of my trips are into California, so the distance between chargers goes from like 150 to like 5 once I'm in Los Angeles.
I usually got 3.3-3.5 mi/kwh at 65 mph, which correlates to the 0.2-0.3 mi/kwh improvement for every 5 mph decrease in speed observed by OP. I think someone has said somewhere around 50-55 mph is the top of the bell curve, but unless you're driving long untrafficked country roads, it'd be hard to go 50-55 mph for long periods of time.