[Tata_pilote]

Today we drove 203 miles roundtrip from Camano Island, WA, up to Artist Point on Mt Baker, altitude gain 5,050 ft, and Regen’d SIXTY MILES back into our battery going back downhill, with 54 miles left over when we got home. Charged fully the night before, (without using hilltop reserve mode), and left with 270 miles in the “tank”. So great to be able to take a formidable trip like that and end up with a good reserve in the battery afterwards.

 

[Sean Nelson]

Today we drove 203 miles roundtrip from Camano Island, WA, up to Artist Point on Mt Baker, altitude gain 5,050 ft, and Regen’d SIXTY MILES back into our battery going back downhill...

I recently drove up to Artist Point myself. You forgot to mention how much the range drops when you're going up...

All in all, though, I was pleased that I was able to drive from Vancouver (BC) to Artists Point and back on a single charge with no real worries about range.

 

[redpoint5]

I don't have a Bolt, but the relevant data is how many kWh were gained coming down, because as I understand it, the gained range assumes you're going to continue utilizing very little power for the distance traveled (low Wh per mile). Anyhow, that's one of my favorite things about an EV; that it doesn't just waste your excess momentum like an ICE.

Once I fully recharged my Prius plug-in from empty coming down from Yosemite. It's only 3.3 kWh, but I was surprised to see the elevation loss was enough to exceed that capacity. Similar situation coming down from Crater Lake. One downside with the Prius is the engine comes on after long periods of regen. I've yet to find out why that is. It also comes on anytime the battery becomes fully charged.

 

[Oleg Orel]

When I am driving, usually on D, my energy usage between 3.5 and 4.8 mpkw. I make a ROUNDTRIP yesterday to local hiltop around 2500 ft high. At the top there my usage was 2 mpkw, when I come down to the house, it was 5.6 mpkw. Which I never saw driving on flat rounds. While going was my remain mailes changes from 126 to 148.

Question for me, if I started at home and came back home, same road there and back, why effeciency so much better than on flat?

 

[redpoint5]

When I am driving, usually on D, my energy usage between 3.5 and 4.8 mpkw. I make a ROUNDTRIP yesterday to local hiltop around 2500 ft high. At the top there my usage was 2 mpkw, when I come down to the house, it was 5.6 mpkw. Which I never saw driving on flat rounds. While going was my remain mailes changes from 126 to 148.

Question for me, if I started at home and came back home, same road there and back, why effeciency so much better than on flat?

Your overall efficiency for the trip up the hill sounds similar to what you get when driving flat. You can't use miles remaining as an accurate gauge of overall efficiency since that changes based on changing driving conditions over some period of time.

On a tangent, ICE vehicles can often get better fuel economy driving hilly terrain because engines are much more efficient when operating at near full load (different than full throttle, but related). If brakes have to be used on the downhill, that's when ICE loses some of that efficiency.

EVs have a relatively flat efficiency range compared to an ICE, so I wouldn't expect much difference in overall efficiency driving hilly terrain compared with flat. Average speed is the biggest concern regarding EV efficiency.

 

[Oleg Orel]

What is "some period of time", I forget to mention that when I departed from home, I hit reset to measure ony this trip.

What is ICE?

 

[GJETSON]

Two Sundays ago, I saw that the cafe at Big Meadows was closing the next day, for the season. I had been on the Skyline Drive on my electric assist cargo bike, and in the Bolt this year, but the cafe was closed for remodeling until the end of August. I figured this was an excuse to use my lifetime seniors pass. I drove the speed limit up Rt 250 to the south entrance to the Drive. It was 50 miles, and 1444 feet of net climbing to this point. The mile/kWh was just under 4. I headed up the Drive with cruise control set to 35 mph...the speed limit on this beautiful road. I had to drop out of cruise twice for deer in the road. Only two cars passed me in the 55 miles to the cafe. The second was a Mustang that downshifted and roared up each climb, and rode the brakes down each decent, but never got out of view until I reached the cafe. I never touched the brake pedal on my entire drive. At the cafe, the miles/kWh had climbed to 4.8, despite a 1680 feet net elevation gain. After looking around at several Teslas at the cafe, and buying a cup of coffee, I headed for home. I drove 14.5 miles back south to the Rt 33 crossing, and then Rt 33 east, another 46 miles to home. The net decent from Big Meadows to home was 3117 feet, and my miles/kWh was over 6.

 

[XJ12]

What is ICE?

Apparently it's the term used by electric vehicle (EV) or battery electric vehicle (BEV) enthusiast for referencing a vehicle that uses an internal combustion engine (ICE).

So some people might say ICEV instead of ICE. I try to use the term ICE vehicle. In my former life, we referenced our generators as RICE for reciprocating internal combustion engine.

 

[stanwagon]

I don't have a Bolt, but the relevant data is how many kWh were gained coming down, because as I understand it, the gained range assumes you're going to continue utilizing very little power for the distance traveled (low Wh per mile). Anyhow, that's one of my favorite things about an EV; that it doesn't just waste your excess momentum like an ICE.

Once I fully recharged my Prius plug-in from empty coming down from Yosemite. It's only 3.3 kWh, but I was surprised to see the elevation loss was enough to exceed that capacity. Similar situation coming down from Crater Lake. One downside with the Prius is the engine comes on after long periods of regen. I've yet to find out why that is. It also comes on anytime the battery becomes fully charged.

Yes on the gained range interpretation. I often start at my house many thousands of feet above Denver with, say, 210 estimated miles. When I reach Denver having driven 60 miles the mile estimate can be 300. It is really a useless estimate. Keeping track of the kWh used, and understanding how many it will take to reverse the trip and get home is the key thing.

 

[GJETSON]

It is really a useless estimate. Keeping track of the kWh used, and understanding how many it will take to reverse the trip and get home is the key thing.

Yup. Went 15 miles downhill and the algorithm went crazy.