Does rain reduce range?

[Jim Hare]

Anyone know if the drag created by very wet roads has a measurable effect on range?

[duncan]

Very topical question around Sydney ATM.

I'll bet effective range is increased simply because we are all driving slower Also the batteries are likely to charge better in cold weather in the first place.

Any impact of wet vs dry is surely too small to see?

[Phoebe]

Topical in Maitland too. But I'm just not going anywhere in this weather

[leafboi]

I would say rain does decrease range, I see it first hand here in Melbourne. Not only are your lights on but also your wipers and yes water over the roads does cause increase resistance on the tyres so it uses more power to drive. Hardly noticeable in an ICE car but very noticeable in an EV.

[Jim Hare]

Yeah, guessing you wouldn't notice in an ICE because people refuel less frequently and generally don't track their milage tank to tank.

Feels like we got the worst range yet during the recent rains. Will see if it improves now that it's sunny for the moment.

[lesmando24]

I find a 10km loss is normal. I have lost up to 20km in very heavy rain (probably due to needing the aircon to defog the windscreen). The lights and wipers don't use much electricity as they are fed from the 12V battery, but it adds some drain (you can see the usage in the power monitor display screen).

[Deleted]

YES!!!!!

Rain is a HUGE drain on the battery. The extra effort needed to travel at 100km/h is large.y normal 110km range during winter (100% charge) was reduced to a tiny 60km while it was cold wet and raining.

[Phoebe]

Welcome to the Forum, Phil I expected you here ages ago ;D