Driving Modes and Impact on Battery

Yes, but the graph plots out that brisk acceleration is more efficient up to around 54 km/h, which is what we’re discussing just above. So setting it to say, 60, is the best of both worlds because the limiter doesn’t allow the car to just slam to 60 — it ramps the power down smoothly starting around 50.

 

That graph was actually a speed vs range graph. The optimal speed is around 15m/s. This was using my own figures for accessory load etc. The idea is that at slower speeds, more energy is lost to hotel load (ie. accessories etc). The higher the current, the higher the losses (i^2.r) - so it is less efficient to accelerate hard ...... however...... there is a point where hard acceleration to the sweet spot (15m/s) can in fact use less power than slowly getting up to speed. It seems wrong, however most people don't take into account the 2kW the car needs just to stay still (onboard systems, HVAC etc). If there is any difference between granny mode (ie minimal acceleration) and Fangio mode (foot flat till the speed limit) it is minimal. I know which is more fun

EDIT: Here is one way to think about it. If you draw 2kW with the car on (stereo, HVAC etc), then the car runs out of battery in 14.5 hours. If you travel 1kph, you use 2/10 of bugger all actually moving, but will run out of power in about 14.5 hours. Total driven distance - 14.5km. If you accelerate foot flat to 15m/s (that is metres per second, or about 54kph), then stay at 15m/s, you may well go over 270km. If you accelerate at 1kph/h (1 km per hour per hour), you will actually do a grand total of (drum roll) 105km (0.5 * a * t * t) assuming negligible power lost to the motor). This is of course an extreme case, but it shows the idea.

 

Green and Green Plus modes are only worth using if you know you need the extra range or you're trying to minimize your electric bill. I completely agree with the other comments on the Mid and Sport modes and the accelerator mapping. There's a good reason why Mini made Mid mode the default.

 

Which is?

I’m convinced that this is one of the few mistakes that MINI made with the SE.

They could have easily made an electric MINI that was totally focused on efficiency, comfort, and range, but they wanted to make a Sport Electric model instead.

If it is going to be called an “S” then the default should have been Sport mode.




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For some of us, Sport is the default mode.

 

I finally figured out why people might not like mid or sport mode throttle mapping because of their foot placement. Coming from three pedal driving, my heel is always lined up with the middle pedal (brake) and I just turn my right foot to the 1 o'clock position. Found some random YouTube screenshot:

 

Brisk acceleration cannot and will not save you energy, the time factor has nothing to do with it.
The more amps you pull the more energy is wasted to heat in the battery, cables, inverter and motor.
Saving “time” to save HVAC energy is a drop in the ocean by comparison.
I know people want brisk acceleration to be beneficial but it isn’t.
It’s fun, but it’s less efficient.
It’s basic physics.

ICE cars do better with “brisk” (but not hard) acceleration as you want to get up into the higher efficient of a higher gear. The same does
not apply to EV drivetrains. For us it’s all about reducing losses.

 

Only guessing here, but for the purposes of @vader ’s specific exercise, with the SE’s excessively soft launch map and the very-quickly-reached ramp-down to the limiter at 54 km/h (33 mph), the losses to heat in the drivetrain must be even more negligible than those of the amusingly-retro-named “hotel load.” Their 270 km calculated range per charge would appear to provide empirical evidence that this method is very efficient. I have no doubt, however, that a matted pedal from a stop to US freeway speeds on every drive would yield the least efficient results.

 

This conversation is the electric car version of an ICE forum's Best Motor Oil Change Practices chat, in which I am also guilty of participating.

 

150km/h around town? You have bigger balls than I do, and less traffic!
I use the cruise control a lot on the highway. My left thumb gets a good workout. Need to retrofit ACC.

 

My 2015 Cooper S Hardtop defaulted to mid mode as well.

 

To make an electric MINI focused on efficiency, comfort and range, they would have had to have used a sewing-machine motor to stretch its tiny battery to match the range of, say, a Chevy Bolt. No one would buy that car.

But what a bore the SE would be if Sport was the only mode!

Making Mid mode the factory default, gives me the thrill of occassionally choosing a higher-than-standard level of performance. Of course, the SE can get to 60 just as quickly in Mid mode; Sport mode is really just a slighty different user interface.

I can appreciate that drivers might prefer Sport mode with its more aggressive accelerator, stiffer steering, and reduced coasting zone. It's great that those who hate Mid mode can use Bimmercode to make Sport mode the default. Obviously, they don't miss the ability to step it up once in a while. For them, Mid mode becomes just an inconvenient extra press of the Mode switch when one of the Green modes is called for.

 

We are generally no more than 20 miles from our home, and tend to have at least an hour or so between trips, facilitating top up charging if needed during the day, so milage isn't an issue. I don't think my wife has really tried (or has any interest in trying) any modes besides Mid. I quickly settled into exclusively driving in Sport mode, as I feel more in control of the car with the tighter throttle response (I do wish the regen braking had a more consistent feel, as precise as the throttle). I recently added toggling to low regen braking for limited access highway driving with medium to light traffic, as it can be advantageous to be able to coast/slow down less rapidly. I tried Green mode a few weeks ago on a trip to Boston and just couldn't stand it. So I'm sticking with sport unless I get in a pinch where I have to eek out an extra 10 miles. 4.1 m/kWh is fine by me!

 

I just swapped to my winter set (Loop spoke with 195/55R16 210 Pirelli Snowcontrol 3 Run Flats). This week a mix of city and freeway driving is about 5mi/kWh in mid mode.

Sport mode is a little too red for me with the 2022+ ambient lights.

 

My 2023 will save the setting when I change it. Currently I have yellow set for sport mode, because I don’t always want to feel like a Sith Lord.



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I had it set to “disco” for a while, and I honestly don’t know when it happened, but now it’s mysteriously back to mode-dependent… which means red most of the time.

 

You have three lighting modes to choose from under:

• System Settings
• Displays
• Color Scheme

1) Lounge: The default light blue lighting on the instrument cluster. Changing the ambient light with the overhead switch should remember your last selection

2) Sport: The default red lighting on the instrument cluster. Changing the ambient light with the overhead switch should remember your last selection.

3) Depending on driving mode: The ambient lighting changes depending on driving mode selected

Also- holding the overhead ambient light button for several seconds (maybe 5 to 10) activates the disco mode where the colors cycle.

 

When I go mid->sport->mid the disco mode disappears.

 

That must be it. I’ve coded mine to default to start in sport, but I frequently switch to green for longer drives.

 

I've read other similar comments to this before but still don't understand: do people typically fully release the throttle anytime they want to slow down?

All the low regen mode does is limit the maximum, you can slow down less rapidly in both modes just as easily by just pressing the throttle slightly less