New to the forum & new I-miev

Post by **acmotor** » Tue, 30 Jul 2013, 03:53

The wiring is in the rear doors for speakers if you want to fit them.
Wiring is also there for DRLs in the front bumper (they weren't fitted in Oz)

Yeah, the regen and the user options D,B,C are great ! The brake pads should last the life of the vehicle !

I do find that the heated driver's seat switch is easy to leave on. You soon find out it is on though as things warm up.

Post by **offgridQLD** » Tue, 30 Jul 2013, 14:03

Post by **g4qber** » Tue, 30 Jul 2013, 15:03

http://www.recargo.com/sites/9741

Mandurah cara park charge $1 per hour
Northam cp also does the same after I mentioned to them what mandurah was doing.
Guilderton cp were going to charge $28 but when I got there and quoted mandurah the bloke also agreed to $1 per hour

Somehow the further out from Perth city the more open they are to ev charging.

I've noticed other CPs charge $2 per hour in the eastern states.

Many want to charge powered pad fee ie $30

Post by **g4qber** » Tue, 30 Jul 2013, 15:09

http://www.recargo.com/sites/10369

Check out the northam adventure
Ran out of power at 106.5 km
Was travelling up greenmount hill at 30kmh and also had easterly headwind.
Could also be the cold

Made it previous week 115km to northam but by satnav plotted shorter route of 107 km which blew out to the 115 due to mayo rd not being completed yet and road works on Mitchell ave northam
This was into turtle mode and I was nana driving. 80kmh and 50/60 kmh through twisty wundowie/gidgegannup

Post by **g4qber** » Tue, 30 Jul 2013, 15:13

More passengers might mean more weight and less range

Post by **g4qber** » Tue, 30 Jul 2013, 15:16

B mode is serious regen especially compared with insipid leaf
It even slows the car down on 45 deg declines.

Post by **Johny** » Tue, 30 Jul 2013, 15:34

g4qber wrote: B mode is serious regen especially compared with insipid leaf
It even slows the car down on 45 deg declines.

The "insipid leaf" uses the first few mm of brake pedal for regen increase removing the need for a whole lot of modes. I can understand the decision not to have the driving feel of the car change to much. I kind of liked the LEAF's approach.

Post by **offgridQLD** » Tue, 30 Jul 2013, 16:34

Post by **Johny** » Tue, 30 Jul 2013, 16:49

offgridQLD wrote: I will say one thing digital speedo readouts are not as good as the analog dial speedo.The analog dial gives you feedback all the time and you can relate the speed of the needle swinging motion to acceleration or a drop in speed. I found it more difficult to maintain a steady speed of say 80kmh using numbers I found myself jumping from 75 - 85.
Kurt

Give it a couple of weeks - you get used to it. I initially didn't like my wife's late-model Civic but then copied the font for my EV. I'm now so used to digital that I don't like driving my daughter's car (regular analogue) for any distance that involves watching my speed.

I also REALLY notice driving cars with no regen as well. Wait until that one hits you.

I think humans are very adaptable but take time...

Post by **Johny** » Tue, 30 Jul 2013, 16:54

offgridQLD wrote:I do do remember being told when I purchased my last new car fitted with fog lights that they were actually illegal to use on QLD roads. I used them all the time though when needed.

Kurt

It's the same rules as Victoria - not illegal but monitored (in theory):

Section 217 Using fog lights

The driver of a vehicle fitted with a front fog light or rear fog light must not operate the fog light unless the driver is driving in fog or other hazardous weather conditions causing reduced visibility.

Maximum penalty—20 penalty units.*

There are so many vehicle now with over-bright driving lights that I can't see how Police can possibily enforce it.

Post by **acmotor** » Tue, 30 Jul 2013, 16:57

The front bumper bar lights are DRLs (daytime running lights) not fog lights on at least the Oz and UK issue iMiEVs. So the technical manual says.
They are corectly wired and swiched to come on in the day and switch off if the headlights (not side lights) are switched on.

This is actually in keeping with the ADR requirement that the headlights are the only (and white) lights that are to be illuminated facing forward on the front of a vehicle. This has been the case for many years, probably since ADRs started.

In all of Oz and I expect the whole world, use of fog lights at the same time as headlights is both illegal and downright dangerous for oncomming traffic due to the glare and non dipping nature of fog lights.
For example a WRX with fog lights on is a bad case !
The police are slack on such issues.

DRLs are DRLs and require no further explanation !

edit: when driving in fog, normal headlights are best turned off to reduce the glare from the fog back to you. Just use the fog lights. I think even the road traffic handbooks say that. Kinda makes you wonder then why some vehicles have wired fog and headlights to come on a the same time ?

Post by **acmotor** » Tue, 30 Jul 2013, 17:49

ADRs form part of road traffic law so ignoring a 'must not' statement is illegal. Just like using a hand held mobile phone while driving is illegal and you will be fined.
It is unfortunate though that we have to have laws to state the obvious !

Post by **offgridQLD** » Tue, 30 Jul 2013, 18:31

Post by **acmotor** » Tue, 30 Jul 2013, 23:59

Kurt, maybe think 3kWh not 3 bars. It is all about energy and kWh is the typical unit of measurement for an EV. Also just happens (or was engineered) to be 16 divisions = 16kWh for iMiEV battery. IMHO

Interesting, the digital speedo helps me with speeds like 50 or 70 or 90 or 110km/h as these numbers don't actually appear on the number scale of most analogue speedos.
Does anyone know the most common driver speed errors ? I guess perhaps 60k zone but I wonder how much the speedo labels have to do with people doing 80 in a 70k zone. Just wondering.

It is a great feeling to be driving around on a rechargeable battery powering an electric motor isn't it ?

And man those ICEs STINK !

What sort of log book are you keeping ? No obligation, I just hope to find something happening with battery capacity and keep getting a feel for practical trips.

Log book columns I use....
Date, Finish km, Finish kWh, kWh added, new kWh, trip desc, Heater, Aircond, Lights, temperature edit:and more recently... headwind

Oh, and can you measure your tyre tread depth for us...
tread wear

Post by **offgridQLD** » Wed, 31 Jul 2013, 00:19

Post by **acmotor** » Wed, 31 Jul 2013, 04:18

I find the energy meter counts kWh accurately rather than volts or Ampere hours alone. Not a surprise since it is an energy meter !
Watching externally measured kWh on recharge shows the divisions are uniform. In all, I find the energy meter far more useful than the guessometer.

What brand/type of PV did you buy ?

Post by **g4qber** » Wed, 31 Jul 2013, 05:55

i like using just one pedal.
the future 2014? volkswagen golf - blu e-motion and tesla roadster/model S allegedly can have regen set so strong that it is becomes 1 pedal driving.

that may teach tailgaters the art of efficient driving.

the good thing about nissan is that they listen to their customers.
the next gen leaf will have stronger regen.
also will have heavier steering; Ben Collins - "the Stig" will like this.

Post by **g4qber** » Wed, 31 Jul 2013, 06:10

plugshare
random data $2 per hour locations.

Ausgrid Demo Display Unit Smart City
http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/12860

Melbourne Tullamarine Airport
http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/11409

VicRoads Camberwell
http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/12857

Post by **offgridQLD** » Wed, 31 Jul 2013, 13:47

Post by **acmotor** » Wed, 31 Jul 2013, 17:28

All good.
The lithium recharge efficiency will be up to 99%. Very different to say lead acid ! Balancing can use some power though less is done with regular use as the cells are top balanced.
The charger is around 95% eff. with pf.99. I think a lot of work went into that little beauty.

So your first 100km was 143.7Wh/km plug to wheel. Not bad in the hills !
My average (in the flatter Perth area !) including freeway and country is 135.3Wh/km for the first 30,000km.

You can see how the iMiEV energy meter and the external energy meter together are very valuable information to the health of the EV. I found that the iMiEV energy meter was information to be bottled !
The guessometer already is showing its character. 16,000/147.3 = 108.6km, the 137km represents your wife's superior driving over the last 25km.

Don't worry we have the same issue. I feel compelled to enjoy the emotor torque.

In a way the 16 divisions on the energy meter are appropriate not only to read 1kWh blocks but to acknowledge the +- tollerance in making such a reading. If it were displayed to 200 divisions it would need to be a digital display and folk would complain about trying to use the information and wheather the 2nd decimal place was correct.

Having said that, a fine indication of energy use may be useful ? TIC Oh that's what the analogue power meter is for.

I guess you 63kWh battery bank is deepcycle lead acid ? wet ? or VRLA etc. Do you have a feel for the recharge efficiency ?

Post by **offgridQLD** » Wed, 31 Jul 2013, 20:25

Post by **g4qber** » Wed, 31 Jul 2013, 20:32

Acmotor

How do you work out
135kWh per km?

Is that through an energy meter and distance travelled?

Post by **g4qber** » Wed, 31 Jul 2013, 20:35

Do you charge to 100% or calculate a time that correlates to 80% charge

The leaf and roadster have long life mode
Ie charge to 80%

Post by **offgridQLD** » Wed, 31 Jul 2013, 20:37