How much does "spirited driving" affect ideal range?

[benji4]

I just got my car 2 days ago, and I have driven it about 100km so far all over Tokyo in those two days. When I picked it up it had just been charged in range mode and had around 320km ideal km left... Anyway, although I never drove the car faster than 120km/h or so, I did accelerate pretty fast a lot of the time. After 100km, I was down to 90 ideal km! Basically 230 ideal km was subtracted from the range after just 100km of driving. Does "spirited driving" really drain the battery that much?

[zack]

It's the same with any car. The amazing Aston Martin V-12 Vantage RS will drain it's entire gas tank in just over 10 minutes if you push it hard enough.

[Doug_G]

Yes, if you do spirited driving with lots of hard acceleration you might get only 200 km of range.

[Jaff]

The short answer is YES! (Glad you didn't buy a Leaf, eh Benji! )

[ChadS]

Watch the amp meter as you try various things: cruise slowly, cruise faster, sit still with accessories turned on, accelerate sedately, accelerate quickly. Nothing draws power like accelerating quickly!

I still find that almost every day, driving around town, I can accelerate quickly all the time and still ignore the battery--it's way more than I need. I only drive sedately on that occassional road trip.

[Eberhard]

I changed the tire-pressure from comfort to range - it saved around 10-15%. Highway with 90km = 135Wh/km with 120km/h = 200Wh/km, 160km/h = 300Wh/km, country-road 130-160Wh/km city 150-200Wh/km. It depends also on having tailwind or being on wet roads. The car is registering any change in driving conditions very well. climbing up for 1000m = 4kWh use.

[benji4]

I changed the tire-pressure from comfort to range - it saved around 10-15%.

Eberhard, Just to confirm this, you mean I'll really extend my range by 10-15% by just changing the default tire pressure (I assume comfort must be the default...)? Have other people expercienced that? Yes, am very glad I did not get a LEAF as I'd have been stranded over the weekend I think! I just can't stop myself from exploding off the line at every stop... it's just too addictive!

[Jaff]

It's a character flaw Benji...one I'm not looking to correct anytime soon...

Eberhard, Just to confirm this, you mean I'll really extend my range by 10-15% by just changing the default tire pressure (I assume comfort must be the default...)? Have other people expercienced that? Yes, am very glad I did not get a LEAF as I'd have been stranded over the weekend I think! I just can't stop myself from exploding off the line at every stop... it's just too addictive!

[SByer]

I, too, find it necessary to verify 0-{30,35,40,65} mph times at every opportunity - but I find that I can still get pretty good Wh/mi figures if I avoid touching the friction brakes. Doing that just throws energy away. Oh, and keeping the speed on the highway under 65. I keep the VDS on the nanny graph (set at 5mi) and it's pretty good at training you how to be an asymmetric hypermiler like me.

[zack]

I normally drive less than 3000 miles per year anyway, so unless I'm on a long trip, I'm going to be throwing care and mileage to the wind while enjoying my Roadster. #1204 arrives in my driveway in about a week. It's in Chicago getting the aftermarket audio/nav system installed, then they tow it up to Minneapolis, where our snowbanks are easily 5 feet tall in places right now. 4 above-freezing days between now and the delivery may solve that, but... probably not. 8^D