Sweet spot for charging battery?

[swingdj]

Maybe I'm crazy, but it seems the battery charge bar rises quicker from the 20 to 60 percent area than it does from the 60 to 90 percent area. Does it charge quicker when there is more "space" in the battery? If so, would it make sense to drive so that you're using EV once you hit 70 percent then engage the ICE to recharge? In other words, try to avoid charging past 70 percent or so?

[larryh]

The ICE supplies more power (by burning more fuel) to charge the HVB when the charge is low vs. when it is high.

[hybridbear]

And, in addition to what larryh said, the battery icon on the dash is a bit deceptive in how it displays the charge. It will never get below about 1/5 full, but it will go all the way to 100% full. This makes our brain think that it isn't linear. I have tracked it with Torque Pro and have found that it is linear in behavior even though it doesn't look that way.

[acdii]

What I have found is that when you reach a certain percentage the ICE switches to propelling instead of charging. Basically the energy produced by the ICE/Generator is powering the traction motor instead of charging the pack. On my morning drive the speed is 55-60 and the first 10 miles or so is on roads that dont bode well with EV, so I keep it on ICE, with the battery nearly full charged, When stopping it gets to full but goes down to 80% as the ICE/EV is mixed to propel the car, when it reaches about 80% on the battery it maintains that level of charge as long as I stay on ICE, and the instant is above 40 MPG.

[Waldo]

Think of it this way, the computer doesn't want to charge the battery to 100% because then there is no room left to recapture energy when you're braking or going downhill. So it will try to avoid charging beyond ~70-80% if it doesn't have to.

[swingdj]

Food for thought. Thank you all! I've been getting 55 mpg on many of my 17-mile drives to work now that the temp is 60-80. Just looking for a way to get to 60!

[expresspotato]

I've noticed you're able to charge for a bit after visually 100%. Roll down your windows and you can still hear the inverter whine and feel it in your brakes for a while. I notice for sure when my car switches from regenerative to conventional braking.

 

You can drive for a few tens or low hundreds of meters before it drops down, when it typically would have dropped easily

Edited June 23, 2014 by expresspotato