Left Paddle vs Brake Pedal

D

DamnIHateThat

Member
With the Niro, does using the brake pedal firmly mean maximum regenerative plus some friction braking? Does holding the left paddle mean maximum regenerative braking?

Thanks
 
DamnIHateThat said:
With the Niro, does using the brake pedal firmly mean maximum regenerative plus some friction braking? Does holding the left paddle mean maximum regenerative braking?

Thanks
Click to expand...
If u open the power meters and observe regen levels the break will regen max before using breaks. I set regen to level one, it's more efficient.
 
This is a great question - thanks for asking!
I don't know the answer to your question, but the left paddle doesn't stop the car soon enough sometimes, so I must use the footbrake. In those cases, the regen display shows the footbrake as being about the same. This observation may be meaningless as there are no units provided for the regen display - I think it's just a general guide.
 
In all cases, using the brake pedal uses regenerative braking FIRST, and only uses mechanical brakes after you push the brake pedal beyond the regen maximum. So, the benefit of using only regen levels 1,2,or 3? You don’t have to use the brake pedal (usually). The benefit of minimal or no regen via paddles? It may be more efficient, as coasting often means not braking if you don’t need to. But it’s all good, because we’re in an EV!


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
 
EVDog beat me to the punch... he is correct. Kia and Hyundai EV products use a hybrid braking system where the car will use regen even when pressing the brake pedal, but if you need more braking power the friction brakes engage.
Regarding holding the paddle vs braking with the pedal, from what I have observed in the power monitor, holding the left paddle is very high regen, more than level 3, but pressing the brake pedal can offer even more regen. This requires not pressing too hard as to engage the friction brakes, but it is not possible for me to determine the tipping point in force needed to go from regen to friction when driving at speed.
 
Exactly, no way to know how much friction you are using with the brake pedal, but the paddle is 100% regen... even the "hold function" after you come to a stop is not friction, but that is actually not good, you are burning energy holding it in place.

I use paddles to stop, but after stop often use the pedal.

Greg
 
Greg Elmassian said:
...even the "hold function" after you come to a stop is not friction, but that is actually not good, you are burning energy holding it in place.

I use paddles to stop, but after stop often use the pedal.

Greg
Click to expand...

I never thought about what keeps the car stationary. I think I'll also try to make a habit of using the brake pedal after the stop.
 
You know something is different, bring the car to a full stop with the paddle, and then let go (don't touch the brake), if you are on a slight uphill grade the car will roll back a bit before stopping again... scared me the first time until I proved it held the car stationary with constant power.

If you can read the motor power with one of the apps and dongles you can see the power being used.

Greg
 
I'm trying to figure what level of regen is the most efficient for everyday driving. I don't feel that auto regen is that efficient. I started with auto regen but it didn't seem particularly smart. I switched to manual control but have determined that I'm not any smarter than auto regen (perhaps, even dumber ). Manual control is fun when descending a curvy mountain road because it's as close to driving a manual transmission as I'll get in an EV although I'm not sure about efficiency.

I currently drive on max regen level with auto hold and use the left paddle to come to a complete stop which mimics one pedal driving as much as possible. I can get 4.8 miles per kW around town. On the highway, I get 3.6 to 4 miles per kW depending on speed.
 
There is autoregen and then there are regen settings for each drive mode. Which are you talking about?
 
One advantage to using the brake pedal is that your brake lights will come on. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think brake lights get activated using the paddle method of stopping. I'd rather not get rear ended in an attempt to save a little juice.
 
When you hold the right paddle for several seconds you activate the autoregen mode. I think that enables the front distance sensor so even if you are in a low or no regen setting if traffic slows in front of you the regen braking kicks in automatically. To disable the autoregen, hold the right paddle a couple seconds and it turns off. I find it nice to leave autoregen on and then you can still adjust regen level for your driving conditions but that safety factor is enabled.
Notice also that for the various regen settings the power meter adjust - the higher the regen the wider the standard power space is for a given speed.
 
For the longest time, I had been using the paddles to control the car slowing and stopping. But after discovering the Auto Regen, I only use the brakes to actually make the complete stop, when necessary. I do actuate my brake peddle when a fart smelling driver is riding up my rear, though.
 
EVDog said:
In all cases, using the brake pedal uses regenerative braking FIRST, and only uses mechanical brakes after you push the brake pedal beyond the regen maximum. So, the benefit of using only regen levels 1,2,or 3? You don’t have to use the brake pedal (usually). The benefit of minimal or no regen via paddles? It may be more efficient, as coasting often means not braking if you don’t need to. But it’s all good, because we’re in an EV!


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

while we are on the subject, do you recommend highway driving without auto regen using the paddles? It seems like you could get more miles on the highway if you have it in full coasting mode when letting off the go peddle.
 
Mike Althaus said:
One advantage to using the brake pedal is that your brake lights will come on. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think brake lights get activated using the paddle method of stopping. I'd rather not get rear ended in an attempt to save a little juice.
Click to expand...
The brake lights do come up when the paddle is used. My brother and I tested it, he with his Kia, me with my Hyundai.
 
Dominica81 said:
while we are on the subject, do you recommend highway driving without auto regen using the paddles? It seems like you could get more miles on the highway if you have it in full coasting mode when letting off the go peddle.
Click to expand...
When on the highway using cruise control (ACC), Auto Regen is deactivated, as the ACC will take over that function.
 
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