Efficiency

[VTbuckeye]

One time years ago when our efficiency went down in our Chevy Volt I found that one or two of the brake calipers were a little bit sticky. They were not hot, but warmer than ambient temperature. Took them apart, lubricated them a bit, put them back together. Efficiency returned to baseline.

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[Maquis]

just did a 40 mil roundtrip. all freeway and never went over 69mph. 58f outside temp no wind and mostly flat. HVAC was off entire time. reset trip on departure. averaged 1.8m/kwh. is something wrong ?

What did the energy distribution on the trip app look like?

 

[Firn]

just did a 40 mil roundtrip. all freeway and never went over 69mph. 58f outside temp no wind and mostly flat. HVAC was off entire time. reset trip on departure. averaged 1.8m/kwh. is something wrong ?

That's only the lower side but imo within spitting distance of normal.

Tire pressure is in the green but you can likely increase efficiency a bit by going higher. I would expect by increasing tire pressure you should get close to 2.0 which is what I would expect.

Being slightly out of alignment can affect efficiency as well.

 

[Cvh8601]

whats the total elevation gain/loss for that trip? Even a little net gain shows up as poorer (or greater) efficiency for a leg.

additionally, ‘no wind’ is pretty rare. even if its < 5mph but its a headwind you were riding up that exponential drag curve more.

finally, 58F is still low enough for it to run the battery heater at 1-2 kW.

summary: seems well within the bounds of normal to me!

 

[electricpig]

I have 2.7 m/kwh lifetime average for 17K miles and 16 months.. Most suburban driving 55 mph or less. I get 1.8-2.0 Interstate driving at 70 mph. But alsor get 3.2-3.6 during summer/warm weather on my 13 mile each way commute to work and back.

 

[Henry Ford]

I have 2.7 m/kwh lifetime average for 17K miles and 16 months.. Most suburban driving 55 mph or less. I get 1.8-2.0 Interstate driving at 70 mph. But after get 3.2-3.6 during summer/warm weather on my 13 mile each way commute to work and back.

This is basically hypermiling. What psi do you run your tires? HVAC off?

 

[Cvh8601]

I have 2.7 m/kwh lifetime average for 17K miles and 16 months.. Most suburban driving 55 mph or less. I get 1.8-2.0 Interstate driving at 70 mph. But after get 3.2-3.6 during summer/warm weather on my 13 mile each way commute to work and back.

Yours matches my experience for suburban driving. Very efficient at grocery, sports, Home Depot, etc runs. Anything faster and the aerodynamics govern.

 

[Legacy23]

just did a 40 mil roundtrip. all freeway and never went over 69mph. 58f outside temp no wind and mostly flat. HVAC was off entire time. reset trip on departure. averaged 1.8m/kwh. is something wrong ?

Still no pictures...

I'm calling bs until I see proof.

 

[electricpig]

This is basically hypermiling. What psi do you run your tires? HVAC off?

I run 42 psi. Rec is 30 something, but I read about uneven wear so upped the pressure some. Doesn't seem to bother the ride and tire wear seems fine so far. As far as HVAC, use as need. Cabin set to around 68 in winter and use seat warmers as needed. I do warm and precondition in colder weather on house power and rarely start heating and cooling ahead of time not on external power. Summer can temp set to around 74 and use once temps get to upper 80s when by myself (I like open windows) or speeds above about 35 (too noisy). I don't draft other vehicles, and follow further back than most people, as I prefer the visibility and using actual brake as little as possible. Yea 1PD driving, not to start that thing again. Lots of hills in Northwest Arkansas, elevation varies by about 350-400' along my route to work.

This is basically hypermiling. What psi do you run your tires? HVAC off?

This is basically hypermiling. What psi do you run your tires? HVAC off?

I run 42 psi. Rec is 30 something, but I read about uneven wear so upped the pressure some. Doesn't seem to bother the ride and tire wear seems fine so far. As far as HVAC, use as need. Cabin set to around 68 in winter and use seat warmers as needed. I do warm and precondition in colder weather on house power and rarely start heating and cooling ahead of time not on external power. Summer can temp set to around 74 and use once temps get to upper 80s when by myself (I like open windows) or speeds above about 35 (too noisy). Don't use the Auto function. I don't draft other vehicles, and follow further back than most people, as I prefer the visibility and using actual brake as little as possible. Yea 1PD driving, not to start that thing again. Lots of hills in Northwest Arkansas, elevation varies by about 350-400' along my route to work. And because air density matters, elevation is mostly 1200' to 1600', but occasionally as low as 400' to 2200' elevation.

Overall, I'm a "somewhat quick" driver. Can be a bit aggressive at times, will use the hard.acceleration at times to maintain visibility and distance, or keep from getting caught in a crunch where possible. IMHO allot of my efficiency has to do with being able to drive at 50+/-mph allot. I think most aerodynamics are "tuned" to this speed range as a hold over from the 1970s-1980s 55mph speed limits and pressure for higher mpg. Combine that with good general habits.

 

[Henry Ford]

Overall, I'm a "somewhat quick" driver. Can be a bit aggressive at times, will use the hard.acceleration at times to maintain visibility and distance, or keep from getting caught in a crunch where possible. IMHO allot of my efficiency has to do with being able to drive at 50+/-mph allot. I think most aerodynamics are "tuned" to this speed range as a hold over from the 1970s-1980s 55mph speed limits and pressure for higher mpg. Combine that with good general habits.

Accelerating quickly doesn't really hurt efficiency in an EV like it does in a gas vehicle. There are all kinds of inefficiencies in a gas vehicle between the engine and transmission that I can't really speak intelligently about so I won't. Needless to say, these don't exist on an electric motor without a transmission.

There's no sweet spot for aero. Slower is better because drag increases exponentially with speed. 50mph is a sweet spot because it gets you where you need to be in the time frame you desire. The fact you are being efficient is a nice bonus!

Here's the thing. If you are driving around at 50mph you don't care what your efficiency is outside of what it costs you to operate your truck. 2.7m/kWh is about 350 miles of range or seven hours of driving at 50mph. Very few people have a need to go 300 miles in six hours with reserves. Efficiency only matters to people who want to cover a great distance quickly, which is why we frequently see threads from new truck owners who are disappointed they can go 300 miles in four hours.

I think EPA range should be measured at highway speed. It's the only thing people care about.

 

[electricpig]

Accelerating quickly doesn't really hurt efficiency in an EV like it does in a gas vehicle. There are all kinds of inefficiencies in a gas vehicle between the engine and transmission that I can't really speak intelligently about so I won't. Needless to say, these don't exist on an electric motor without a transmission.

There's no sweet spot for aero. Slower is better because drag increases exponentially with speed. 50mph is a sweet spot because it gets you where you need to be in the time frame you desire. The fact you are being efficient is a nice bonus!

Here's the thing. If you are driving around at 50mph you don't care what your efficiency is outside of what it costs you to operate your truck. 2.7m/kWh is about 350 miles of range or seven hours of driving at 50mph. Very few people have a need to go 300 miles in six hours with reserves. Efficiency only matters to people who want to cover a great distance quickly, which is why we frequently see threads from new truck owners who are disappointed they can go 300 miles in four hours.

I think EPA range should be measured at highway speed. It's the only thing people care about.

It was asked, and I replied in as complete a way as possible. Just what I'm doing . No claims made otherwise. Take it or leave it, IDC. Nothing to do with you Most of your post is opinion stated as if it were fact. The Lightning shape is the same of the gas F150 which IS gas and transmission and subject to "tuning" of aerodynamics for best highway mpg for the sticker. Go argue with someone else.

These are my results, and similar to my gas trucks before the Lightning in that I was better than EPA mpg. FTR, the SO is getting better than EPA in her EV, and gas cars before that as well. She drive somewhat less aggressive but similar speeds in the same areas.

 

[Henry Ford]

It was asked, and I replied in as complete a way as possible. Just what I'm doing . No claims made otherwise. Take it or leave it, IDC. Nothing to do with you Most of your post is opinion stated as if it were fact. The Lightning shape is the same of the gas F150 which IS gas and transmission and subject to "tuning" of aerodynamics for best highway mpg for the sticker. Go argue with someone else.

These are my results, and similar to my gas trucks before the Lightning in that I was better than EPA mpg. FTR, the SO is getting better than EPA in her EV, and gas cars before that as well. She drive somewhat less aggressive but similar speeds in the same areas.

I'm not disagreeing with you at all. Forgive me if I left that impression. I tend to type stream of consciousness at times.

The way you drive your truck is super efficient. It makes perfect sense.

 

[RickLightning]

I have 2.7 m/kwh lifetime average for 17K miles and 16 months.. Most suburban driving 55 mph or less. I get 1.8-2.0 Interstate driving at 70 mph. But alsor get 3.2-3.6 during summer/warm weather on my 13 mile each way commute to work and back.

2.7 for slow driving
1.8 - 2.0 for 70mph.
3.2 - 3.6 for an unknown commute.

All make sense.

 

[electricpig]

2.7 for slow driving
1.8 - 2.0 for 70mph.
3.2 - 3.6 for an unknown commute.

All make sense.

3.2-3.6 during summer and warm weather, oh and light wind. Yeah, makes sense. Sorry if your not doing as well.

 

[electricpig]

I'm not disagreeing with you at all. Forgive me if I left that impression. I tend to type stream of consciousness at times.

The way you drive your truck is super efficient. It makes perfect sense.

Thanks for clarification. Guess I'm a little primed for defense.

My apologies.

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