[Nebula]

I felt like seeing how many kWh I could use before absolutely needing to charge.
here are the results:

I ended up traveling 256.2 miles and used 61.8 kWh. Using an EngineLink I could see I had (rounding) 2 percent battery life left. Assuming I started with 66 kWh, useable. (

I bought the car with 17 miles on it, it now has 14,177) I now only have access to 63.12 kWh. Looks like I’ve lost 4.4 percent of my battery capacity. I believe that’s about the average.

 

[Xyrus]

I felt like seeing how many kWh I could use before absolutely needing to charge.
here are the results:
I ended up traveling 256.2 miles and used 61.8 kWh. Using an EngineLink I could see I had (rounding) 2 percent battery life left. Assuming I started with 66 kWh, useable. ( I bought the car with 17 miles on it, it now has 14,177) I now only have access to 63.12 kWh. Looks like I’ve lost 4.4 percent of my battery capacity. I believe that’s about the average.

Not quite. There are people who have driven Bolts in excess of 100,000 miles that have done battery tests on youtube. Watch what they did and how they got their results.

 

[Nebula]

Not quite. There are people who have driven Bolts in excess of 100,000 miles that have done battery tests on youtube. Watch what they did and how they got their results.

If I have a usable range of 63.12 kWh out of 66kWh, is a 4.4 percent difference. Not sure what you’re talking about.

 

[Xyrus]

If I have a usable range of 63.12 kWh out of 66kWh, is a 4.4 percent difference. Not sure what you’re talking about.

I'm saying your methodology isn't quite correct. That's why I referred you to the people who have done more extensive degradation tests on YouTube. People who have driven the Bolt for 100K miles have measured an overall degradation in the 5%-7% range.

 

[GJETSON]

I'm saying your methodology isn't quite correct. That's why I referred you to the people who have done more extensive degradation tests on YouTube. People who have driven the Bolt for 100K miles have measured an overall degradation in the 5%-7% range.

How is the OPs method not correct?

This is not rocket surgery. You charge to full 100%, and drive down to one bar or less, and look at how many kWh you used. The closer you get to 0% SoC at the end, the less extrapolation needed.

The OP did it exactly right.

 

[MichBolt]

How is the OPs method not correct?

This is not rocket surgery. You charge to full 100%, and drive down to one bar or less, and look at how many kWh you used. The closer you get to 0% SoC at the end, the less extrapolation needed.

The OP did it exactly right.

My only critique is the assumption that battery capacity started at 66 kWh from the factory. That's a label on the battery pack in isolation, not necessarily a technical measurement integrated in the vehicle with zero variance.

Theoretically, there are also measurement issues (how kWh used is measured, and how SOC is measured), in that you could perform the same test twice and get two different results. You'd have to test multiple times to measure that variance, while assuming the underlying item being tested (battery capacity) hasn't changed between tests. You might also get different results if you drive to depletion in one session or over multiple days (different ambient temperatures and different battery temperatures). Ironically, driving from 100% to depletion in one session over and over again might actually harm your battery.

Overall, these tests are reasonable estimates, but they're not definitive proof of a precise battery pack label.

 

[GJETSON]

Overall, these tests are reasonable estimates, but they're not definitive proof of a precise battery pack label.

True. But our 12/16 build Bolt, at least briefly, had more usable capacity than the label usable 57 kWh.

The new Bolts are not looking good by comparison. Most don't have the 64 kWh usable of the label.

 

[Xyrus]

My only critique is the assumption that battery capacity started at 66 kWh from the factory. That's a label on the battery pack in isolation, not necessarily a technical measurement integrated in the vehicle with zero variance.

Theoretically, there are also measurement issues (how kWh used is measured, and how SOC is measured), in that you could perform the same test twice and get two different results. You'd have to test multiple times to measure that variance, while assuming the underlying item being tested (battery capacity) hasn't changed between tests. You might also get different results if you drive to depletion in one session or over multiple days (different ambient temperatures and different battery temperatures). Ironically, driving from 100% to depletion in one session over and over again might actually harm your battery.

Overall, these tests are reasonable estimates, but they're not definitive proof of a precise battery pack label.

Exactly.