Can I make it home?

[lucycan]

Finalizing a deal with BMW of DesMoines for a new '15 REX. I was thinking of saving on shipping costs and drive it home. Its 248 miles to my house and 130 miles to a Nissan dealer in Mason City, IA and they have a J1772 plug. This appears to be about the half way point and the only place around with this plug.

Questions:

1) Think I could make it? What if its 10 degrees out?
2) How long will it take to recharge once I get to Mason City?

Any tips or thoughts are welcome! Thank you!

 

[I33t]

It's a REX, of course you can make it home.

 

[jadnashuanh]

If the battery is nearly exhausted, it can take 3.5-4 hours to recharge it IF the EVSE they have is capable of outputting the full amount the i3 can use. Not all of them can, and if that's the case, it will be longer. For example, since power=volts*amps, at home, you may have 240vac available and with a 30A EVSE, you'd be close to maxing out the i3's on board charging circuit (max 7400W). Many commercial units may still put out 30A, but their input voltage may tend to be 208vac, or about 13% less energy than your theoretical home unit. My EVSE can output 30A, and my normal input voltage is 245vac, which comes to 30*245=7350W, or essentially all the i3 can take (especially since my voltage is sometimes even higher). Your results may differ.

The small gas tank may mean you have to stop about once an hour depending on how fast you are driving and the roads (hills, etc.). Depending on the speed and load, the REx is a 34Hp max engine, and the i3 has a 170Hp electric motor...it is possible that the REx won't be able to keep up if you're on a long, steep grade at high speed with the heater on max and the lights on listening to your new stereo with the seat heaters on! Cut some energy users, and that may be your speed, and it will just keep trudging along, but get the battery capacity down to a few percent, and the car will start shutting down things on its own, with the last one, how fast you can go. Watch the battery capacity readout, and if it starts dropping too low, slow down and/or shut things off, and you could keep going by filling up the gas tank regularly (way to often for me, but that's personal).

 

[lucycan]

Good responses here! Honestly I had not thought about just stopping once an hour and filling up the tank. Can you tell this is my first EV?

 

[alohart]

it is possible that the REx won't be able to keep up if you're on a long, steep grade at high speed with the heater on max and the lights on listening to your new stereo with the seat heaters on!

I'm guessing that there aren't too many long, steep grades in Iowa

 

[lucycan]

So help me with the logistics on this. I drive until the battery is at X percentage and then I engage the engine to create additional range. Then when I get down to 10 miles or so I find a gas station, fill up, and re start the process?

 

[redbarn]

We do a 500 mile each way journey every month.
Before some CCS Fast Chargers appeared, the procedure was to drive on battery till the battery is down to 6% charge.
The Rex then starts up automatically.
Drive till the range is 15 miles or so.
Fill up with gas (1.9 galls maximum fill).
Drive for 60 miles or so or until the range is 10-15 miles.
Fill up with gas and repeat this cycle till you are home.

You arrive home with a battery at 6% charge but just plug it it and let it recharge.

Level 2 chargers take too long to charge (circa 3 hours) and so unless you are visiting a place near the Nissan dealer for 3 hours, using a Level 2 is just a waste of time.
My wife is now starting to begrudge the 20 min charges at Level 3 CCS fast chargers !

 

[jadnashuanh]

The i3 is one of the most efficient cars on the road, the reason why they used CFRP, have those narrow, tall tires, and other aspects, but once you're low on battery, IF you're stressing things, you may need more than 34hp to continue without issues. Speed is maybe the biggest one as the drag goes up with the cube of the speed (with some other factors thrown in). Trying to climb a long grade also takes work, and thus power as does nearly anything else in the vehicle. Drive 'reasonably', and the REx can keep up. Try to haul ass with no concern for your power use, and you may get disappointed! You won't have to stop unless you've exhausted the battery and the gas, but you might have to slow down