2022 Mini SE - In Focus: Power Gauge & Regenerative Brakes

  • Thread starter Thread starter GvilleGuy
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GvilleGuy

GvilleGuy

Well-Known Member
A busy video week for me. I would suggest headphones for this one for the complete sonic experience. If nothing else, check the first 15 seconds to hear that solid door closing sound! What a solid cabin.

Topics covered:
— Performance Display gauge (The Power needle)
— Radio-ready state
— Drive-ready state
— Regenerative braking

@insightman, you are credited in the video description.

@Puppethead, you are credited in the description and the video. I used your photo of cold weather battery power state - hope that's okay.

 
Glad my provided photo was useful!

I enjoyed the attention to detail, another great video. But now I'm curious, how do the brake lights and regen behave when driving in reverse?
 
Nice video, really enjoyed this one!

I remember reading @insightman's post on the brake light, but actually seeing it in action is disappointing. There was a point where you hardly slowed the car at all (33 - 32 mph) and it illuminated. This is going to make me a little paranoid. It would be better if they illuminated the light when the stopping force reached a certain threshold in Gs, like Audi and Porsche do. I have driven behind those cars with the brake light in mind and found them to be normal.

106 miles!? My GOM is so pessimistic that 106 would equal 150 real miles.
 
Puppethead said:
Glad my provided photo was useful!

I enjoyed the attention to detail, another great video. But now I'm curious, how do the brake lights and regen behave when driving in reverse?
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I tested last night to make sure that the car would stop itself from moving forward in reverse after regen brings it to a top (it does), but I did not think to look at the brake lights! I'll do that tonight if I think of it. My driveway is sloped, so it's an easy test.
 
polyphonic said:
Nice video, really enjoyed this one!

106 miles!? My GOM is so pessimistic that 106 would equal 150 real miles.
Click to expand...

Speaking of GOM: Today my wife and I have been married 28 years, and this morning we took a long drive in the Mini to some state parks in the mountains above Greenville, SC. All back roads, mostly under 50 mph. 99.1 miles, 24% battery remaining, GOM 25 miles remaining. I calculate we could have gone 145 miles total! 5.04 mi/khw.

The steep, winding mountain road was great driving. On the 7 mile stretch back down, the battery went from 49% to 52%.
 
insightman said:
Another great video! Your dual-phone-video technique worked well (even the shaky camera and your thumb didn't impair the demonstration). I lol'd when I saw the photo you used to depict the joy of one-pedal driving!
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Thanks! I think I would have to go with a tri-suction mount to fix the vibration problem. But I need to experiment a little more with the dual mount first to make sure I can’t make it work. So far it’s not been smooth unless then road is pristine.
 
Great video series, sure to be helpful to everyone!

Thank you for your time & hard work to prepare these & for sharing with us & everyone via YouTube!


Sent from my iPad using Inside EVs
 
Texas22Step said:
Great video series, sure to be helpful to everyone!

Thank you for your time & hard work to prepare these & for sharing with us & everyone via YouTube!


Sent from my iPad using Inside EVs
Click to expand...

Thanks! I enjoy the creative process. So it's fun for me.
 
GvilleGuy said:
A busy video week for me. I would suggest headphones for this one for the complete sonic experience. If nothing else, check the first 15 seconds to hear that solid door closing sound! What a solid cabin.

Topics covered:
— Performance Display gauge (The Power needle)
— Radio-ready state
— Drive-ready state
— Regenerative braking
Click to expand...

Hey GvilleGuy, sure love your videos and explanations. You do a great job. Our car may show up this week, might have to wait to pick it up to wait for more videos from you. I will understand the car so much better from watching your videos. Now need to get the wife to watch. Afraid we are going to be fighting over who gets to drive :-)
 
I did a high-speed reverse driving test today (about 15 mph) and when I took my foot off the accelerator the regenerative braking did indeed kick in. The power meter reflected both the energy use from accelerating in reverse and the regenerative braking. I was unable to see the brake lights, however.
 
Puppethead said:
I did a high-speed reverse driving test today (about 15 mph) and when I took my foot off the accelerator the regenerative braking did indeed kick in. The power meter reflected both the energy use from accelerating in reverse and the regenerative braking. I was unable to see the brake lights, however.
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With my specially equipped MINI Cooper SE, I was able to verify the brake lights come on when the needle touches the first regen block on the power gauge (just as they do when regen braking while driving forwards).
 
insightman said:
With my specially equipped MINI Cooper SE, I was able to verify the brake lights come on when the needle touches the first regen block on the power gauge (just as they do when regen braking while driving forwards).
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Thanks for verifying. I was going to do it yesterday but had a long drive lined up and did not want to waste any battery testing the brake lights! (Trip results: 93 miles, 3.94 mi/kWh, 62% interstate, 114 miles total estimated range)
 
Did anyone else get fooled into thinking the digital dash was completely digital? I hadn't paid much attention to the power needle other than noticing how smooth it was but today the sun hit it just right and there was a shadow... Turns out it's an analog gauge! I guess I never really looked that closely at it before.

20210618_155704.webp
 
I thought it was at first, too. But then I saw the outlines of the rectangular digital display in the middle and was somewhat disappointed to realize the outer gauges are not. Although the angle of your photo makes the needle look pretty neat.
 
The early road-tests noted it's a mechanical needle. Only the center panel of the instrument cluster can display high-res text and graphics. The outside sections are just LED arcs and that mechanical needle, which never looks pixelated at any angle. I still wish MINI had popped for a full 10-LED battery-charge gauge instead of just 8 LEDs.
 
insightman said:
The early road-tests noted it's a mechanical needle. Only the center panel of the instrument cluster can display high-res text and graphics. The outside sections are just LED arcs and that mechanical needle, which never looks pixelated at any angle. I still wish MINI had popped for a full 10-LED battery-charge gauge instead of just 8 LEDs.
Click to expand...
Yep, this! I also wish 50% looked halfway, but it doesn't thanks to the regen.
 
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