[Tyrelirwin]

Hi everyone, I just purchased a used 2017 Bolt Premier with 50k kms (31k miles) on it, and am struggling a bit with the winter range.

I have a long, fast highway commute in the frozen arctic tundra that is Canada, and I know these factors aren't ideal.

My trip is 95km each way (59 miles), with a highway speed limit of 110km/h (68mph), and it's been -20 to -30 C (-4 to -22 F) lately.

I have the stock 17 rims with Firestone Winterforce 2s filled to 244-248kpa (35-36 psi).

My main issue is that I can barely make it to and from work, with a total trip length of 190kms (118 miles) without resorting to level 1 charging at work or hitting a fast charger, neither of which are ideal.

The dealer told me my battery health was at 97.7% and that they had limited charging to 95% in light of the recall.

I have installed a level 2 charger at home, and start each day with a "full" 95% charge.

I've been doing my best limiting HVAC controls with temp set to as cold as I can tolerate at 19C (66F), fan speed on 1, heated seat on lowest, no rear defrost or heated steering wheel. Climate is still taking about 15% of my battery each trip, according to the pie chart.

I'm also sticking to the speed limit, usually using the cruise control. Lights are set to auto, cabin lights as dim as they go, and I do use the Apple car play.

As I said, I realize I have A LOT of factors against me here, but at least my terrain is relatively flat.

I've seen some other users experimenting with 800 watt space heaters, etc, and would love to know if there's any low hanging fruit I should be reaching for?

For example, am I better to turn the fan higher and the temp lower, or vice versa? Precondition the car while it's in my garage charging, or no? More tire pressure?

Thanks so much in advance for your help, and if there are any posts that cover this already, please feel free to point me there!

Ty

 

[ARob]

Precondition, certainly will help. At least for the first bit of the trip. It also gives the HVAC a little relief as it just has to maintain temps. At those temps, I would run 2 precondition cycles while plugged in.

It sounds like L1 at work is possible, presumably they have outlets for engine block heaters. While that won't get you full, it may get you an additional 50 miles of range while you work, and you can precondition before leaving work. On L1, preconditioning will use more than you can get from the grid, but at least it helps.

Speed may help if you can safely drive 5-10km slower. Heated steering and seats don't use much power, go ahead and use them. Cabin lights and CarPlay won't use much either.

A space heater plugged in to an inverter might save a little, but you are shifting energy use from HVAC to accessories. But it seems to be more efficient than HVAC from reports on this forum. Another possibility if you drive solo is a USB powered heated blanket wrapped around you. And by all means, warm gloves, hat, and clothes.

Finally, come spring, all of these worries melt away along with the snow.

 

[Redgrandam]

How much of your batter is going to battery conditioning?
also under energy details, what habits/climate/terrain does it say is taking up your range?
driving closer to 100kph or even 105 might help too.

 

[Dark-Fx]

While that won't get you full, it may get you an additional 50 miles of range while you work, and you can precondition before leaving work. On L1, preconditioning will use more than you can get from the grid, but at least it helps.

On the coldest days, I'd be lucky to get 20 miles of actual range increase from being on L1 for 9 hours. Doing 80mph on the freeway with the temp in the teens left me with 114 stated range the next day at a "full" charge earlier in the week. I'm not generally on the freeway and I'd rather get where I'm going a few minutes faster if I have the necessary range to.

One thing I do that helps to save a little bit of battery is to turn off the heater in the car when I'm 5-7 minutes away from my destination if I will be there for more than an hour. The car will just start getting cold by the time you arrive. I would probably try to put a few more PSI in your tires.The OEM configuration is for 38 psi cold. Run two 20 minute cycles of preconditioning before leaving while still plugged in to minimize the amount of energy you use out of the battery for heat on your drive.

 

[wonderbolt]

I second what @ARob suggested.

• Precondition while plugged in
• Drive slightly slower
• Although the tires are necessary for safety for you, they are definitely significantly negatively impacting your range
• More seat heaters, lower cabin temp
• Wish for Spring

Oh, and welcome to the Forum, congrats on the new to you 2017, hopefully you can put the stock tires back on soon!

 

[Tyrelirwin]

Thanks everyone for the quick replies. Great tips on the preconditioning- I'm almost certianly not utilizing this enough. I have a lot to learn about battery temperature!

Unfortunately driving slower is not a viable option, as this becomes a serious safety hazard. There is also not an alternate route.

On level 1 at work I gain about 3 miles per hour for the 7 hours I'm there, so it only adds 21 miles, and I have to pull into the warehouse to do it. (not convenient)

As for using the HVAC less, it is not just a matter of comfort, but of the windows frosting over. If that weren't an issue, heated seats/wheel would be adequate to keep me warm.

But shutting the HVAC all the way off for more than 5 minutes results in visibility concerns. Great tip, however, about shutting it off before arriving to my destination.

I'll fill my tires up to at least 38 psi promptly, and see how much difference that makes.


My "energy details" graph is pretty grim:

Habits: -2
Terrain: +1
Climate: -5
Ouside Temp: -5

 

[nsherman2006]

I think the preconditioning will make the car more comfortable and also allow the battery conditioning to happen while charging, so that’s probably your biggest benefit available.

Maxing out seat heaters and using the heated wheel should provide additional comfort without hurting range. What I like to do for HVAC is leave the defroster on continuously with a fan speed of 1 or 2 and just toggle the heat/ac button on/off. I think the continuous air circulation reduces the need to leave the heat/ac on, and I only need to turn it on sporadically if I keep the air moving.

Adding 2psi to the tires will definitely help too!

So basically...what they all said!

 

[ARob]

On level 1 at work I gain about 3 miles per hour for the 7 hours I'm there, so it only adds 21 miles, and I have to pull into the warehouse to do it. (not convenient)

Sounds like you may be leaving the default 8A setting untouched. If the circuit is dedicated, or 20A, you may be able to boost things by toggling the 12A setting. You may be able to add 3-4 more kWh on that setting.

 

[Tyrelirwin]

Sounds like you may be leaving the default 8A setting untouched. If the circuit is dedicated, or 20A, you may be able to boost things by toggling the 12A setting. You may be able to add 3-4 more kWh on that setting.

Unfortunately, as I said, work charging is not ideal. I only gain 5km/hr MAX with it toggled to 12 amps. Maybe it's the temperature, maybe it's the circuit, but that's what I get.

 

[ARob]

Unfortunately, as I said, work charging is not ideal. I only gain 5km/hr MAX with it toggled to 12 amps. Maybe it's the temperature, maybe it's the circuit, but that's what I get.

Probably the low efficiency from all of the above.

Too bad they don't have 240V outlets you can use.

 

[GJETSON]

I've been doing my best limiting HVAC controls with temp set to as cold as I can tolerate at 19C (66F), fan speed on 1, heated seat on lowest,

First off, run the heated seat on high/three dots, and the steering wheel too. There is a heater in the seat back, and another in the seat bottom. They each pull 35 watts at high. The steering wheel pulls 47 watts...knock yourself out.

Go into settings on the center screen and turn off the default defog. It will run the AC at 1500 watts, and the heater at 3000 watts simultaneously without anything turned on. It only pays attention to the heat and humidity sensors behind the rearview mirror. Same goes for making sure the Auto orange dot light is off on the temperature knob. There are two ways to get some control of your HVAC in a 2017 Bolt. One is to leave the temperature knob set to HI/90F. Set the fan on 2-4, and only turn on the windshield vent button. Leave chest and floor buttons off. When the car is warm enough for you, or the windshield is clear, turn off the HVAC button. Leave the outside air on, not recirculate. The other option is to again use only outside air on the windshield only. When the windshield starts to fog, hit MAX defrost button. This turns HVAC to high, and fan to high . When it is clear, hit the Max defrost button again, and it will go back to your previous settings.

 

[Pod]

Set the car to finish charging 45 minutes to an hour before you plan to leave in the morning and then run two preconditioning cycles. I always get better mileage in the morning when the car comes off a long charge.

 

[Rick CH]

Unfortunately, as I said, work charging is not ideal. I only gain 5km/hr MAX with it toggled to 12 amps. Maybe it's the temperature, maybe it's the circuit, but that's what I get.

That's about right with the stock 120v EVSE in the really cold temps you get in Alberta; I saw similar numbers in the depths of winter when I only had the level 1 EVSE at home (and I'm in S. Ontario).

The tips given are pretty much the best you can do to eke out a little more range, but it won't be a lot. Worst case, you may consider a small inline diesel heater that gets the coolant warmed up. A Quebec based member on the Canadian owner's group on Facebook posted about someone who absolutely needed the entire range and could not afford to stop for charging (used for work; a time sensitive transport escort role) and the diesel heater helped regain just enough range for his purposes.

 

[Tyrelirwin]

A Quebec based member on the Canadian owner's group on Facebook posted about someone who absolutely needed the entire range and could not afford to stop for charging (used for work; a time sensitive transport escort role) and the diesel heater helped regain just enough range for his purposes.

Since I was rewiring the garage for 240 anyway, I added a 4800 Watt heater. Would there be merit in heating the garage/car with it while I precondition so the battery pack/car is warmer?

 

[Tyrelirwin]

First off, run the heated seat on high/three dots, and the steering wheel too. There is a heater in the seat back, and another in the seat bottom. They each pull 35 watts at high. The steering wheel pulls 47 watts...knock yourself out.

Go into settings on the center screen and turn off the default defog. It will run the AC at 1500 watts, and the heater at 3000 watts simultaneously without anything turned on. It only pays attention to the heat and humidity sensors behind the rearview mirror. Same goes for making sure the Auto orange dot light is off on the temperature knob. There are two ways to get some control of your HVAC in a 2017 Bolt. One is to leave the temperature knob set to HI/90F. Set the fan on 2-4, and only turn on the windshield vent button. Leave chest and floor buttons off. When the car is warm enough for you, or the windshield is clear, turn off the HVAC button. Leave the outside air on, not recirculate. The other option is to again use only outside air on the windshield only. When the windshield starts to fog, hit MAX defrost button. This turns HVAC to high, and fan to high . When it is clear, hit the Max defrost button again, and it will go back to your previous settings.

Great tips, thanks! Defog was indeed set to "auto".

 

[MikeyBolt]

All the replies will give you some range. For me, the low hanging fruit is to use the HVAC as little as possible and instead, make up for it with seat and steering heat which draw far less power. Preconditioning is also an important one because when you first start your drive, the HVAC system will draw max power (like 6-7 kW) just trying to heat the cabin up quickly. After that, it draws maybe 2 kW. If it's safe to do so on the tires and conditions you have, I'd also go 40 PSI instead of 38 in the tires. To me, those things are the low hanging fruit that will make the most difference.

Edit: I have not tried but can you run the passenger seat heat without a passenger sitting in that seat? If so, that seat heat might throw enough ambient heat into the cabin to keep it comfortable with a lower HVAC setting. I mean: running both front seat heaters if only the driver is in the car?

Mike

 

[ARob]

Since I was rewiring the garage for 240 anyway, I added a 4800 Watt heater. Would there be merit in heating the garage/car with it while I precondition so the battery pack/car is warmer?

I doubt it. Preconditioning 2X before you leave will heat the batteries and cabin. Heating the garage will probably cost a lot more in electric use than conditioning as you are heating a much larger space. And since it is indirect, it will take longer to bring the batteries and cabin up to garage temps.

 

[Adventurebolt2019]

I'd recommend following the preconditioning everyone is talking about. I also keep my heater on auto set to 20c and let it runs it's course. As you can imagine leaving the heater on after it's preconditioned on the L2 doesn't draw much more energy to keep it going. Most of your range is being lost to drag from the tires and denser air. I also run both heated seats even if no one is sitting passenger. Lastly for those days when a heater isn't necessary I bundle up in a fleece jacket, gloves and wear a mask in my car to reduce condensation/ precipitation being shot directly at the windscreen. Keeping a perforated bag of charcoal in the car can help too. A heated blanket may also be a good idea.

 

[NewsCoulomb]

Can you post a picture of your Energy Used screen after a typical commute? My assumption is that the heater is likely using less than 5% of your overall energy consumed, so you're not likely to recoup much by using a second heater in the cabin. More than likely the biggest hits you're taking outside of the weather itself are battery conditioning and efficiency lost to your dedicated winter tires. At this point, even other low rolling resistance tires appear to be significantly less efficient than the stock Energy Savers, meaning the hit with winter tires could be quite bad.

 

[Tyrelirwin]

Can you post a picture of your Energy Used screen after a typical commute? My assumption is that the heater is likely using less than 5% of your overall energy consumed, so you're not likely to recoup much by using a second heater in the cabin. More than likely the biggest hits you're taking outside of the weather itself are battery conditioning and efficiency lost to your dedicated winter tires. At this point, even other low rolling resistance tires appear to be significantly less efficient than the stock Energy Savers, meaning the hit with winter tires could be quite bad.

15% of my pie goes to "climate", and as I stated previously, they are as low as can safely be tolerated. Turning them off and using only heated seats is simply not tolerable in this climate, nor safe.

I suspect winter tires and the density of the cold air itself are the biggest factors.