New leaf owner

[maz]

Hi all, I have just bought a Leaf from Blackburn nissan. I will need to travel 125kms to get home and 80kms of that will be at 110kmph. Will I make it home?

[Phoebe]

It will be tight!  I had to do 156km, from Artarmon in Sydney to Maitland in the Hunter Valley, most of that was on the Freeway, but I travelled on the inside lane, mostly about 75kph.  I made it with 17km to spare but going back for my first service, I wasn't going to make it. Fortunately, Jim, our Forum Admin. let me charge up at his place to make the last 11 kms.  These days I can get my LEAF serviced in Newcastle so that takes the pressure off!  Good Luck!  Welcome to the Forum and enjoy your LEAF when you have slightly shorter trips

[lesmando24]

Fill to 100% and cruise about 90km/h ish on the freeway. Use fresh air with the fan off it possible to stop the heater turning on. Wind and hills will affect your range. What suburb are you travelling to? Can put it into carwings to check.

[maz]

I will be travelling from Blackburn to Seymour.

[quaternary]

Congratulations on your purchase!

If the route was flat, I'd say it'd be ok, but you've got a bit of a hill to climb, although the terrain will vary depending on your chosen route. (The lower graph is the terrain via B300/B340).



I'd be picking up one of those convertors from jaycar: www.jaycar.com.au/p/MS4044

in case you need to stop somewhere to charge-up on the way home.

[maz]

Will taking a slower speed and stop start route be better than the freeway. I could go via moreland council for top up, but it still leaves about 95kms of 110kmph freeway.

[Deleted]

Perhaps you could travel at 91 kmh
In perth on freeways one has to travel at most 19kmh below the speed limit

[Feng]

Hi Maz, congrats on your purchase! If you check out www.plugshare.com there's a list of places you can charge. There's one that's along the way at Fawkner Leisure Centre. That'll bring the distance down to about 89km. Unless there are long uphill stretches, you should be able to handle that at highway speeds. If you press the Zero Emissions button on the dashboard there's an Energy Info menu. It's like a tacho you can keep an eye on to see how much power is being used. I find that handy when driving efficiently. I'd be varying from 90-110km/h depending on if you're going uphills or downhills. It's the uphill parts at speed which burn the most power.

That Jaycar adapter is definitely worth getting, it opens up a lot more options. Driving in slow stop/start won't necessarily be an improvement. Depends on how flat the freeway is, head/tailwind, etc.

[jeffjl]

Yes you will make it home. Don't forget that Nissan has a few years of roadside assistance. Oh, you wanted to get home under your own steam.

Don't use cruse control it is less efficient. As mentioned don't use the climate control (including the fan).

Personally I would do a recon of the route and look for somewhere you can stop for an hour or so for a break, coffee and relax. Find a 15A outlet and see if you can use it. Offer to pay. The 2.4kWh will cost the business less than $1. This should give you an extra 20km. It will be a good safety net and you will get some good coffee.

Back when they were first coming out Nissan apparently conducted an interview with prospective owners to ensure they had the right stuff (i.e. appropriate charging infrastructure) to purchase. Sorry to say but I would think if you lived over 100km from a certified Nissan service place your ownership should be seriously questioned. The LEAF is not for all people.

So saying, congratulations on your purchase. It is a great car and if you can solve the distance to the service center problem you will enjoy the vehicle.

[lesmando24]

Carwings says you will make it with 2 bars spare if you don't use the highway.



Also, you will make it if you charge at the Moreland City Council Charger at Coburg (1 bar remaining).


The map only filled you to 9 bars, not 12. But with 12, you will make it.

[maz]

Thanks everyone, was starting to think I might be buying the wrong car. Have a friend at Beveridge and will stop and top up for a couple of hours. Do the headlights run on the 12 volt system?

[Feng]

Do you think you'll be driving from Seymour into Melbourne CBD regularly? You might need some practice to know the car's limits and where to charge in case it's needed, that's about it. Other than that you'll love every drive!

You should only need around 2-3 hours in Beveridge since it's 40km from Northern Nissan.

[maz]

Do they regen the battery while you drive on the freeway on big down hill runs or does it just equalize out. Meaning use more up hill and regain down hill. I absolutely loved it when I test drove the car, had me sold instantly. I am a mechanic of 25 year's and I am totally over fuel powered car's, this is definitely the future in motoring as long as the recharge station's start to multiply. It would be great if McDonald's would get on board.

[lesmando24]

You will get a bit back on regen, but at 100km/h it won't be much as the drag is high. The carwings graphs are based on my car, which has lost 3 capacity bars, so you should make it easy. The more you drive, the better you get at estimating how far you can go.

[jennie]

Hi maz. Great to see someone in Seymour getting an EV. I live in Violet Town and I bought my Leaf at Seymour Nissan, although the car came from Werribee Nissan (same franchise, apparently) as Seymour isn't an authorised Leaf dealer. In order to get it serviced, I drive to Seymour Nissan, and they arrange for it to be trucked down to Werribee Nissan and back, as the distance is too great for one charge. One way from Seymour to Werribee is 125kms.

I agree with what everyone else here is saying: I think you can make it if you travel at a MUCH slower speed. I drive from Violet Town to Benalla regularly, round trip of 70kms. When I first got the Leaf, I drove at 80kph all the time, and I found I could do 2 round trips on one charge, with the battery gauge going right down to the last red bar if I charge to 100%.

However, I got sick of all the cars and trucks riding on my arse before overtaking on the highway, so I now travel at 110kph, and one 70km round trip takes 10 bars of charge, so that is a huge difference. I might add I never use the aircon or heating.

So my 2 cents' worth is that you can make it from Blackburn to Seymour if you drive at about 80kph.

Have you asked Blackburn Nissan if they will deliver the Leaf to Seymour? Seymour/Werribee Nissan brought up my Leaf to Seymour on a truck at no cost to me. I notice on some of the dealer ads for Leafs on carsales.com.au, they say something like "we will deliver anywhere in Victoria" or something like that.

Jennie

[Feng]

To answer your earlier question, yes the headlights run off the 12V battery. The car automatically tops up the 12V from the traction battery when it needs it.

You only get about 60% of your energy back with regen so if you're going down a hill you might be better off regenerating near the start but back off near the bottom so you can build up speed and not need to accelerate after the hill. I'm not sure if that's the best way to do it but that's how I've been doing it. Maybe others here can suggest their techniques. I've drafted a truck from a safe distance and noticed an improvement in efficiency but after a few stone chips on my bumper I figure it's not worth it.

[jacky]

Increase the tire pressure to 40 psi will also improve efficiencies.

[monturek]

The dealer really has no idea. You should shit it in he says. Luck I don't believe a word a car salesman says. Stopped and topped up for 2 hours at a friends house made it home will the last 2 bars driving at 100kmph not a/c or heater at night. Will be interesting for services. Seymour dealer is changing hands so hopefully they take on servicing for Leafs they are the local Holden and Mitsubishi dealer. They have sold hybrid cars before. Fingers crossed

[southernvolt]

Remember that there's always a jit more range left once you get a low battery warning and a very low battery warning after that. I used to stress when I got the low battery warning but now I don't worry at all. You get to know the car and get more confident. Watch the Ian Sampson YouTube where he pushes his leaf to the limit and runs completely out in his driveway. Even when you have no bars left you still have range.
The first time I drove to work I reckon I would've run out at about 70kms but now I've learnt how to drive it I have done better than 130, and we've got serious hills where I live.

[maz]

How do you the phone app working?

[jacky]

Also remind your dealer to charge it to 100% before delivering.
I asked my dealer to fully charge it but they only charged it to 11 bars.

[lesmando24]

You will need the Carwings login and password. The dealer should give you those when you pick up the car. They should also enter them into the head unit.

[caroline]

How cool is the route planner on carwings website!! And you can send the route to your car?!

Thanks Les - discovering new things all the time