Heard somewhere along the line that areas of consistent high humidity create enough drag to effect mileage. If true, could mean higher values for Evvie here in the High Desert where humidity levels are pretty darn scant. I remember the days when crossing the Sierra I'd have to get out of my bright red 1964 Plymouth Valiant slant six, pull out a screwdriver and open up the carburetor valve as it (and I) gasped for more air. Big technology in that car: push-button transmission.
Humid air is actually less dense than dry air. MW of water = 18 g/mol MW of nitrogen (mostly) molecules displaced by water vapor = 28 g/mol Thus, as relative humidity goes up, the average molecular weight of gaseous air goes down.
Well, that's the answer to a conundrum puzzling me for 40 years now. I was an actor in the Paul Masson Mountain Winery Shakespeare Festival; some nights with 1200 people in the audience. When the Pacific fog rolled in, you could speak your lines in a regular voice and they could hear you in the back, contrasted with having to shout your lines like an opera singer on clear nights. Always wondered about that. Was told the H2O molecules acted as amplifiers. Now I know the air was less dense. Maybe a combo. Was hoping my mileage would be higher than average. Sounds as if—if air density does affect mileage—I might be under the average now.
In the same vein as airplane takeoff performance data, the four Hs are bad for flying: hot, high, humid, and heavy. The first three are good for cars' mileage. I, too, am old enough to remember having to adjust carbs' jets, especially after coming down from altitude, lest the mixture leaned out and you cook a cylinder.
I should be in good shape in hot and humid SC, then. I look forward to doing some range tests one day!
I think you and I should compare a ton of notes. I'm in a very moderate climate, never too hot, never too cold. We'll have our cars around the same time!
Assuming I get a production number not too long after yours, the only advantage I MIGHT have is delivery to Georgia is typically one week faster than to Cali. But hopefully we will get ours around the same time.
Data point from today: 65 to 70 degrees F High humidity No wind Flat elevation Green+ mode Daytime (no headlights) Driver only 50 lbs. gear in the hatch 4,800 odometer miles Near constant 54 MPH indicated, 52 GPS 63 miles driven from 100% to 60% SoC. 63/(1-.6)= 157.5 miles of range
Another range data point from a dealer test drive. 40 degrees F 75% highway, 25% city Daytime Just driver Warm battery Got up to 80 on highway, hammered it for some entrance ramps I think I was in sport mode 59 miles driven with 63 to 21 miles on GOM. 140ish range?
You really need to know what the starting and ending battery percentages were. Remember to never trust, or even look at the GOM. For example, you traveled 59 miles and dropped 42 miles of range meaning that the 63 should be at least 88. On top of this, when the GOM reads 0 (or low single digits), you can eek out almost 20 miles more. If the car started with the usual 110 miles indicated on the GOM and you got it with only 63 miles left, and the economy was consistent throughout the charge, then the total range would be something like: 110 = 154 miles (63-21)/59 which is consistent with F14Scott above (and me for that matter). This is of course all guess work
@vader is totally right. I left a post with my average GOM readout, but it's moot. The only way to do find your range is to clock the miles, ideally against a full battery cycle (100-0%).
Another datum point (and deserved kicking for the GOM). We have a local 50kW fast charger that is free, so I would normally charge on a Saturday morning unless I am already quite full. So my figures are: 156.6km (97 miles) with 40% battery left. This gives: 156.6/(1-0.4) = 261km full range. Now this past week has been a somewhat chilly 25C due to the cyclone to our north bringing clouds/rain. My aircon is still set to 23C, but it is working a lot less than the normal 35C. I was also in Sport mode most of the time as this is more fun and really uses about the same as mid for normal follow the car in front driving. Now for the kicking. Upon disconnecting the charger, then GOM reported (drumroll) 160km range. So even though it knew we just used 60% to go 156.6, it still estimates a full charge to be 160km. Wow, that last 4km must have been *fun*
Something just struck me - maybe there is a programming error and the GOM is giving range in miles. 160miles = 257km which is pretty much spot on. Ok, so I am joking but it is a funny coincidence.
Since I've had the car for a lot longer, I thought it would be time for an update. My efficiency is anywhere between 3.8 m/kWh (near freezing weather), and 5 kWH. Mostly it's between 4.1-4.5 m/kWh in our typical hot weather. That includes a lot of hard acceleration and mixed city/highway driving in Mid mode. Multiplied by the usable battery (28.9 kWh) that translates roughly to 110-150 real world miles. The most I have ever driven at one time is 100 miles and it had about 25% SoC remaining. For me the EPA range is literally the worst case scenario, but for many other cars it's virtually unachievable except under ideal conditions.
Yup - here it's been 90-100 degrees and with full AC, not running green mode, I'm routinely getting 140-150 miles of range.
I went to the beach over the weekend and put on 118 miles. If I hadn't had a chance to drive the SE for a couple of weeks before that, I would have been nervous, but with the type of efficiency I was getting, I was sure we could do it. On the way there, I drove in Green+ for about half an hour (about half of that at about 45mph, and the other half with traffic lights but without too much traffic) before it got too hot, and then put it in Green (rest of the way was between 45 and 55 mph). 59 miles, about 5.4 mi/kWh, and arrived with 65% of the battery left! On the way back it was hotter (about 95F), so the AC was working harder, but I still got 5.1 mi/kWh, and arrived home with 26% battery left. So, that's a range of 159 miles! On calculating range: I'm assuming it's more accurate to calculate range based on % of battery used, but I get a different figure using the mi/kWh readout in the car. If I use that (5.25 mi/kWh x 28.9kWh battery), I get a range of 152 miles. It's close, so the car's readout is fairly accurate, but maybe it's just an estimate rather than an exact figure?
I've found you are always better off doing the math yourself. The GOM is a bit low. And for longer road trips I'm finding that my range goes up a solid 20 miles (mixed driving) if I remove the crossbars.
Here's a new road trip video from The EV Puzzle channel. 128 miles travelled, 24% SoC left Average speed: 36.6 mph (likely includes all time the car was on)
