How to Drive an EV Efficiently | 12 years of experience talking
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 มิ.ย. 2024
- I've been driving EVs for 12 years, these are some of things I've learnt about how to get the most range out of your electric vehicle.
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Great to see one of your videos pop up again. I started following you many years ago. For some reason TH-cam didn't show me your videos.
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"get behind a truck" Absolutely. This goes for all vehicles, not just EVs.
I regularly use the motorway that connects Girona and Barcelona. Both have airports, and both have shuttle coaches to take passengers to the cities. Coaches are speed restricted, but to 100kph, not the 90kph of trucks. Getting behind a coah increases the speed, but hardly influences consumption at all. Even a decent sized van can have a significant impact on consumption. So, even if you're in a hurry and can't tag along behind a truck or bus, getting behind a VW Crafter or M-B. Sprinter, even a Trannie, doing the limit is going to have a significant impact on your efficiency.
Hah! Cool to see that someone else has worked out the same. If you see a red Model S doing the same as you one day, that’s probably me! 😊
Good tips. Didn't realise poor weather made quite that much difference.
Interesting you also feather the throttle - used to do this on our old Zoe. Now I have a car with regen paddles but I can get a smoother result by feathering the throttle.
And FINALLY someone who doesn't say "max regen for max efficiency" 🙈.
Most tips also apply to ICE's. Totally agree on using higher power than eco mode and high regen.
Thank you! Good information for EV drivers. I had a conversation with a fellow Tesla owner. He was telling me about coasting. I explained the fact that you can control coasting with the pedal. The small regen bar also shows the power consumption. If no green or grey is displayed you are coasting. There is really no neutral like an ice car. The neutral is just no power or regen to the motor. I agree with you in learning to control the pedal for efficiency. I also owned a leaf first. What a fun challenge to make it to your destination and back.
2nd week of having my model 3. Ive already picked up on this, you need to be very careful lifting off a tiny bit to slow/maintain speed and it will regen down to the desired speed. If you lift off too much then you will have to accelerate again. Ive been in chill mode on the week (seeing how efficient I can get it) then standard at the weekend and putting my foot down haha.
It’s a good point about maximising coasting. Coasting is always more efficient than regen as you point out, so the best strategy is to coast as much as possible and use regen braking when you have to slow down more quickly than coasting allows. In other words, don’t use one pedal drive modes which reduce coasting, but instead swap it for less efficient regen.
I'm an ex international HGV1 driver, who now owns a Mini Cooper Electric,
to get maximum efficiency out of it, I drive the Mini the same way I drove the truck,
which is second nature to me, so far, I've managed to get a range of 170 miles out of it,
without even thinking about it, the manufacturers stated range is 145 miles,
so that's quite a few extra miles of range.
I recon I could get a 200 mile range out of it on a special route under unique circumstance, like this,
start point Buxton, which is about 1,000 feet above sea level, destination Lowestoft,
which is obviously at sea level, distance 192 miles, on a warm day with a decent West to East wind,
so that route, is basically downhill all the way, with the wind behind you, LOL,
and is probably as much fun as doing the Red Bull Soapbox Challenge,
as just getting across the finishing line (192 miles later), would be an achievement,
then I would have to, drive around the block of an EV charger there, a few times,
to get to 200 miles and still have 5 miles of range left of course.
As for getting a safe distance behind a truck, there is another reason to do that,
especially on quieter dual carriageways at night, in rural areas, DEER,
hit one of those at 70 mph and that's yer Jalopy written off, NO PROBLEM,
and deer have a habit of popping up on roads, that don't even have the wild animals warning signs too,
(up to about 20 UK drivers/passengers per year, are killed in accidents involving deer,
a lot more drivers/passengers are injured too), I've seen dead deer, on the M25/A22 roundabout,
which isn't exactly right out in the sticks either, I recently did a London-Lands End-London trip,
and left Lands End at midnight and the A30, is basically a 70 mph limit dual carriageway from Penzance to Exeter,
and its All out in the sticks too, so instead of blasting along at 70 mph when there were no vehicles in front of me,
I just pottered along at about 50 mph, waiting for the next vehicle to overtake me, be it a truck, van or car,
then sped up, to get a safe distance behind it, "thinking" IF a deer gets in their way, THEY might hit it and I won't,
and a deer wouldn't step into my path, as it wouldn't try crossing the road behind them and in front of me,
go on, do 75 mph, as thats as fast as I'm prepared to go, as I'm in a rush to get home too,
the person in front of me, was literally "driving blind", to this issue, that could cost them their life,
SOME people went flying past me and the vehicle in front, doing at least 90 mph too,
probably "thinking????" great stuff, there's NO TRAFFIC or speed cameras on the road so I can floor it,
Fallow Deer have a habit of, crossing roads in numbers, one behind the other,
so IF yer see ONE that has crossed the road 100 meters in front of you, WATCH OUT,
as the other 3 or 4 or 9 of that herd, will probably blindly follow that leader some way behind it,
so I just tucked in, a safe enough distance from the vehicle ahead of me, doing a sane speed,
all the way, from Lands End on the A30 to Exeter and all the way up the A303 from Exeter to the M3.
(when I used to drive a 40 ton articulated truck around Europe, the main objective
when going from A to B was, "arrive at B alive" and on average ONCE per yer,
that was in serious doubt too, after 4 years and 4 near death experiences at the behest of others,
I had "had enough of that game", some of the "stuff" I saw on Europe's roads, was truly unbelievable,
a pedestrian crossing 6 lanes of an Italian motorway, while pushing a wheelbarrow, had me in tears,
"IF it had been full of bricks, he wouldn't have made it", (it was only half full)
to an Italian, "ONE journey across a motorway, with a FULL wheelbarrow is insane,
BUT, 2 journeys across a motorway with a HALF FULL wheelbarrow, instead, makes sense" LOL
that's some sort of "sublime???" Italian style "time, speed and distance" risk assessment
Yep, your comment quite neatly summarises my own personal strategy. I've had my fair share of wildlife related incidents, thank god when I hit a deer on a very busy dual carriage way I was only doing about 50mph. Still cost £9k for the repairs!
James, that was simply a delightful video, from the beginning to the lack of Starlink ending! I am so sorry to hear about your mom losing an important connection to her past with your father. I think that’s what that means at least. What year are those encyclopedias? I remember how much fun I used to have with seeing how outdated our 1963 World Book Encyclopedias were in the early 1980’s! We had Astronauts in the Gemini program and computers the size of a small room, which was compact!
In Kia and Hyundai EV's you can quickly and easily adjust the regen using the paddles behind the steering wheel. You can therefore have the car in "coasting" mode and increase regen as you enter an area where you are likely going to need to slow down more.
Hi James, Flimwell is our go to charging spot when visiting Eastbourne. The south East is a bit of a charging desert at Present.
Hi James , nice to see you vlogging again .
Hi James really enjoyed this one mate very informative and interesting really glad your back vlogging again all the best
Hi James it's always good to tune into your vlog, which doesn't seem like so many these days! You spoiled us with your daily vlogs!
I thought your Tesla would do 260 on a new battery, your range is only as good as my 52kw Zoe! Such is progress!
One important thing an EV driver can do is to pick the right replacement tyres. Tesla and every other manufacturer fits low rolling-resistance tires on new cars. One can gain or lose a lot of range depending on tire selection when replacing worn-out tires. Tyre manufacturers are finally paying attention to rolling resistance, and are making great progress.
Efficiency is a game for me - always fighting for the most distance per wh. Clawing those miles.
I need a better hobby, haha
I have the same hobby as you: it make me think, saves money and frustration and is good for the planet. Sounds like a win to me.
James,
No chargers in Hastings? There are three Osprey 75kW chargers about halfway between St Helen’s Down and the Conquest hospital just off The Ridge, just off to the right (on a left bend, as I recall). Only about half a mile, or so after exiting Pilot road onto The Ridge (next to the Conqueror’s March pub?)? Only used it once for about 20kWh - just enough added to get back to Lincolnshire.
A good alternative, if staying overnight, with off-road parking, would be a ‘granny charger’ on a decent extension lead.🙂 Done that twice, but not at Hastings. Dunno about Superchargers, mind. I planned to stop at Cambridge for the ‘open to all’ Superchargers but didn’t need to …. home with 4% was good enough for me.
Next month we will hit the end of warranty. But, the car is working better than when we first bought it. Looking forward to the next 8 years. We were looking forward to your videos with much anticipation when we were waiting months for our car. It's been a fun journey and appreciate you being there and sharing your experience. Thank you. #CarLife #ProgressiveJourney 🚗💨🔧
Might want to have a service tech run diag on it and make sure everything is tip top before the warranty runs out.
It’s wild that I remember watching you before I even had a car, or at most I had my first car which was a scion. Had a Kia soul EV for a couple years and just bought a Tesla model Y a few months ago. One thing I noticed is FSD drives far LESS efficient than I do. I have to put it in chill to get 285 where with basic autopilot I get somewhere around 270-275
🤔 I wonder if you can save energy on cold days by joining a motorway at 55mph, and waiting for the battery to come up to temperature before increasing to cruising speed?
I suppose there's probably a tradeoff - although the battery is less efficient when cold, going straight to 70 will heat up the battery more quickly, so you'll do a shorter distance with a cold battery.
Maybe opting to join the motorway one junction later would help and be safer?
In New Zealand with a Nov 2021 Model 3 with 68,000km on the clock at an Avg of 129Wh/km
Myth Busters disproved efficiency of traveling behind a truck. It only made a difference if you were within a car's length. They determined that it was not worth the danger of being that close.
Mythbusters only drove for a few miles with wind from the same direction in an ICE that was only 18% efficient. If you have a wind speed of 12mph and the truck is driving 55mph following it at 4 car lengths in an EV that is 97% efficient makes a bigger difference.
A 2022 TM3LR only holds the energy of 2.433 gallons of gas when at 100% charge.
Thanks for disagreeing with reality. Always fun.
@@davidbeppler3032 science doesn't change. It's not worth the little gain. It's also illegal and dangerous.
Then, I beg to bust Myth Busters. They only proved that you need the proper tools to do a proper job!
An EV energy consumption is so much more dependent on, and sensitive to, these kind of things. Even driving in the other lane, next and to the rear of a truck, in it 7-o'clock position (5-o'clock for the Brits), brings sizable benefits. But I would not recommend this strategy if there is any faster traffic.... it might make you quite unpopular!
I think , the main benefit to following a truck is the fact you are driving slower ... Which then gives you the increase in efficiency.. there's often a lot of buffetting unless you are really close ... That's my two penny worth anyway! .. Personally I get bored after about 10 mins 😂
Main lesson is if you need to extend your range ... Slow down ....
@@rico4229 How is 60 behind a truck slower than 60 in front of a truck?
Maxing out the range is a good thing to do, but I’m not driving behind a truck thank you very much
Use adaptive cruise control?
yeah, following a truck will cut down on fuel consumption. back in germany, i had a small motorbike with a normal top speed of 50 mph. one day, on a long ride down the motorway, i ws behind a big truck, and i managed to get the bike up to 60 mph. but then i had to slow down because i was getting too close.
then, years later, when i had a car, i went on a trip with a group. most of them were in a coach, and i followed the coach in my car. my fuel consumption went down by at least 10% due to the aerodynamics, and i didn't even get dangerously close.
another factor is tire pressure. at higher pressures the ride may be slightly less pleasant, but the rolling resistance will be reduced.
yep, open windows will ruin the aerodynamics and drive consumption up, especially at high speeds.
BTW, can you name the 4 types of aerodynamic drag, and which ones don't apply to cars?
Hey James just a quick question, I want to follow in your footsteps, I have 100 shares of Tesla stock and I want to buy a M3LR w/FSD for about $42k cash US (prob slightly used) I think this will be a slightly down year til the Model 2 ramp up (gangbusters) do you think this is a wise strategy, I have 6 yrs til retirement, it will be my forever car
There were a lot of early investors that regret selling the shares in order to buy a decreasing asset such as a Tesla. If James had held his shares, he'd probably have a couple of hundred thousand dollars (or GBP) by now.
@@tony_25or6to4 Paying $40k in gas over 15 years to drive ICE seems worse to me than paying $10k in electricity over the same time to drive Tesla. Saving $30k over 15 year seems like a good idea to me, even if the car costs $10k more. Also an ICE only lasts about 300k miles before maintenance becomes expensive. A Tesla built after 2019 should last more than 750k miles saving you the cost of a replacement car, another $20-30k. Total savings from buying a Tesla is about $40-50k in 25-30 years. Math. :)
True he could have bought a house as well as the Tesla timing is everything, however I have 6yrs til I retire sooo I have to make that work 4 me…but his ex would have taken half of his profits had he waited…peace
2:50 - I disagree, weight makes a big difference in my 2023 Model 3 RWD - it's at least 15%-20% less efficient with 3-4 people in the car v a solo driver, I have noticed this many times driving the 50+miles from my house into town, I get a consistent 145-155 wh/mi (90-96wh/km) as a solo driver in summer when I do this trip 3 times a week - I cannot get below 175-185 wh/mi (109-115 wh/km) with 2 to 3 more passengers on the odd occasion I need to take passengers in the car on the same trip.
I can also see the impact of weight + hills - I can drive my daughter and freinds to school up a 500m / 1650ft high hill from my house in the morning vs picking up the same in the afternoon, same temperature, same conditions, a single person up and 4 down the hill is 20% more efficient than 4 up and 1 down.
All said mild weather & dry roads are the biggest factors (e.g driver from Sydney Australia) - I averaged around 190 wh/mi in winter (-5C mornings but +5 to +8C by mid afternoon) now average around 164-165wh/mi (102-103wh/km) in summer and my lifetime is down to 175wh/mi (109wh/km) and continues to go lower.
I have been into the high 140's wh/mi (low 90's wh/km) on my drive to work in ideal conditions relatively flat roads 50% freeway at 65-70mph and 50% city start/stop (sunny 25C)
i.imgur.com/ihRQNA3.jpg
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I’ll be honest I love driving my EV . It is amazing but the range. My vauxhall vivaro e is outrageous to the point. I can’t wait for the lease to be up and give them the keys back. I’ve never got more than 80 miles and that’s an Eco and speed limit on so I don’t go over but still I only get 80 miles and it tells me I get 130 I lose roughly 50 miles per charge and I have not got a clue y it doesn’t matter if I’m doing city driving a motorway . I still get the same garbage. And that’s without having the heating on if I did, I’ll probably get about 65 to 70 that is Nissan range back in a day that’s why I see a lot of my vehicles up for sale, couple months old not the future for vans and eight seater vauxhall cannot put a bigger battery in mine because it’s an eight seater and it will take you over the driving license requirements gross weight so they would have to do something to make the range better or they will not be selling them
you only need to tug the pedal a little with an ev and it rolls on for miles, no need to continuous press the acceleration, if you want to go 70mph just press the aceleration to 60mph and it will reach 70mph thus you get free miles
Ah no 25 to 30% from rain. No it’s cold and speed which reduces range. Rain affects range by about a 10% range.
When there is standing water, such as during heavy rain, then the range reduction is much greater. Ever driven through a large puddle, you can actually feel the sudden increase on rolling resistance.
@@JamesCookeVlogs Agree 100% but still dont think its actually contributing 25 to 30% of range reduction. And I have some experience living in the west of Ireland!! The best test would be to check range on a rainy day in Summer so the temperature is less of an impact.
There are some misconceptions about range based on "hypermiling" ICE vehicles that are incorrect when applied to EVs. One of these is regarding coasting. Yes, coasting is better with ICE because the best possible outcome for ICE is to use no fuel at all while traveling some distance. However, this is *NOT* the case with EVs. With EVs, regenerative braking is ALWAYS better than coasting, because it is always better to have *more* energy in your battery after traveling a distance than it is to only have the same amount of energy.
There are many myths regarding hypermiling in general, but the fact is that if you want to get the most range out of an EV you pretty much have to forget everything you think you know about getting more range out of an ICE vehicle. Everything about them is different, and the same issues have very different outcomes between the two different propulsion systems.
Gee, yeah, now if the automakers would only discover this secret and leave regen on all the time so we could get infinite range! Too bad their engineers took those pesky physics classes.
Don't forget, you'll travel further coasting than regen braking. You can use that recouped energy to drive the extra distance, but you'll end up using more power than if you just coasted the distance. Where coasting doesn't make sense, is if you coast for a while and then have to use physical breaks, because you've run out of space and need to stop quicker. In those cases, yes regen is better than coast plus brakes.
Please stop saying 'power', when you actually mean 'energy'. It's the equvalent of saying 'how speed is you garage, will it fit two cars?'
Efficiently? Mate they so cheap to run you can drive it like you stole it. Here for a good time not a long time.
How to drive a ev efficiently, sell it and buy a proper car, 😁👍
YAWN
One way is to not waste your money buying one.
You are all about to get screwed by the government.
Why are you on here we don’t need you
Haha LOl .. ... So do you think big oil is not screwing you? .... The fact is they are screwing us all ....