Sounds great. I opted for the 32a in the end so that's good to hear.

How long until the Nismo bits turn up btw and who are you getting to do the ECU swap?

You sir, are a true car nut (in a good way). Keep up the good work  .

Oh dear...

Guess what I just did. :wonder:

 

Container will be leaving Japan in a week or two.

Here we go again!!

How long until the Nismo bits turn up btw and who are you getting to do the ECU swap?

I'm expecting it to take a few months.

The kit isn't cheap so may be made to order.

I spoke to a vehicle/parts exporter in Japan and they haven't heard of a single LEAF on the road with this kit.

So it's not exactly common and it's the only country it's sold in!

Once it's available it's still got to be stuck in a container and shipped over.

I think I must like long waits...

My GT-R tech that went independent is also LEAF trained, so I'm covered there.

Handy he's 30 minutes from work.

Saw a leaf today kitted out in livery for a Dairy company.  I laughed at the irony

Handy he's 30 minutes from work.

Maybe in the GTR!

Here we go again!!

It could be worse...

I could have bought the reg number TES1A.

It could be worse...

I could have bought the reg number TES1A.

 

 

Busted. :peek:

Busted. :peek:

You said it was going on the Leaf at the last Maidstone meet.

You said it was going on the Leaf at the last Maidstone meet.

 

Ooops!

0-62mph in 9.02 seconds.

 

 

And the brakes are strong with the regen on.

 

70-0mph in 40m.  The GT-R when stock and Fabia VRS with the big brembos and semi-slicks were both about 32m.

^ Don't Nissan quote circa 11.5 seconds? I assume that's still the stock leaf as you can't have got your mods this quickly!

^ Don't Nissan quote circa 11.5 seconds? I assume that's still the stock leaf as you can't have got your mods this quickly!

 

Yes, they do quote 11.5 seconds.

But other tests have said it's 9 seconds so I guess Nissan don't want to make their petrol family cars look bad?

The Tesla nod...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_N52q2goeM

Great thread - very interesting and many thanks for sharing your experiences. 

 

I fly electric RC planes and use LiPo batteries (basically the same lithium ion technology used in recent hybrids and EVs). The technology is fascinating and has come down in cost (and up in safety) hugely over the past decade. In the early days folks would extract the battery cells from notebook batteries, although these tended to have low current draw rates.

 

The interesting thing is that these batteries need a lot of care to be designed in (during charging as well as discharging) - see the recent Boeing 787 battery fiasco for example. Definitely not something to be tinkered with (as opposed to the motor and its "speed controller" or control computer...).

 

But the technology (battery chemistry / controlling hardware and software) is also improving. Charging the Leaf battery with a Rapid Charger (to 80% capacity, in ~30 mins) implies they are charged at 2C (2x its nominal capacity: 1C is a charging for an hour at X amps, while 2C is half the time at 2 x X amps, for their given voltage, etc) albeit at the cost of an expected reduction in battery lifespan when charged at rates > 1C. The 80% limit is down to the charging regime for this battery chemistry: the last ~20% of the charge takes longer (basically as the battery approaches full, the charging amperage starts to decline to zero)... 

Interestingly those Rapid charging their LEAF seem to be experiencing minimal or no loss of capacity.

I know of one approaching 40,000 miles that gets Rapid Charged five days a week, once each day and it's still at over 95% battery capacity. (98% last time it was checked).

 

Nissan quite cleverly gave some LEAFs to taxi drivers in Japan who rapid charge them all day long to see the effect on the batteries.

 

You are right of course, the first 80% is Rapid, the last 20% takes about another 30 minutes if you want it fully charged.

 

The battery is warrantied to retain 85% capacity after 5 years or 60k miles  So it gives us a bit of hope.

Clever ad

...The battery is warrantied to retain 85% capacity after 5 years or 60k miles  So it gives us a bit of hope.

 

Yes, I guess Nissan are talking about worst case scenarios re battery capacity loss. I hear Prius batteries have been lasting well (although of course they are a different chemistry - but the point is they are lasting better than planned for many owners).

 

I can't see the case for renting rather than buying the battery though. Maybe for fleets that get rid of their cars in 12 or 18 months? 

I can't see the case for renting rather than buying the battery though. 

 

I think if I were to buy an EV for longer term ownership then renting the batteries would sit more comfortably with me than buying it outright. Sure it may cost me more cash, but I see it as an insurance policy against what is still at the end of the day conventional battery technology - well developed and much improved no doubt - but still conventional, and rechargeable batteries eventually fail, which would be obscenely expensive to replace.

 

I do believe a leap in technology for rechargeable batteries is coming, in both energy density and longevity, because frankly there's a real need for it and many people are now working on the problem, the only question is how long it will be before some extremely clever material scientist makes an economically viable breakthrough.

Clever ad

 

I like that advertising/marketing! The last loaner Leaf that I had, had this down the side which I thought was a bit clever too!

 

I think if I were to buy an EV for longer term ownership then renting the batteries would sit more comfortably with me than buying it outright. Sure it may cost me more cash, but I see it as an insurance policy against what is still at the end of the day conventional battery technology - well developed and much improved no doubt - but still conventional, and rechargeable batteries eventually fail, which would be obscenely expensive to replace.

 

I do believe a leap in technology for rechargeable batteries is coming, in both energy density and longevity, because frankly there's a real need for it and many people are now working on the problem, the only question is how long it will be before some extremely clever material scientist makes an economically viable breakthrough.

 

I very much doubt there will be battery technology upgrades to existing EVs. Maybe some small incremental improvements to their current battery packs, but I suspect the hardware / software is too dedicated to a particular technology.

 

In rent vs buy - I see your point. I guess it depends on the cost of a battery pack. Nissan's price list for Leafs has a £5K difference between leased and bought batteries, and battery lease is £93 per month (3 yr contract, 12K miles pa): ~4.5 years breakeven. Nissan are quoting a lease-only battery replacement scheme, so the question is whether your original battery pack will last 4.5 years or not...

 

It would be easier for purchasers if they paid per mile than per month, but I guess their target is still the fleet community (with fixed costs per month being more attractive to them...).

In rent vs buy - I see your point. I guess it depends on the cost of a battery pack. Nissan's price list for Leafs has a £5K difference between leased and bought batteries, and battery lease is £93 per month (3 yr contract, 12K miles pa): ~4.5 years breakeven. Nissan are quoting a lease-only battery replacement scheme, so the question is whether your original battery pack will last 4.5 years or not...

 

This is where it works for me because I was quoted around £200 per month as I do 20,000 miles per year.

So the break even point is around 2 years or 40k miles. (25 payments)

As it's got a 5 year or 60k mile warranty it seemed a no brainer on my milage.

 

Plus when I come to sell it, it should be worth more as the buyer gets the car as a whole and doesn't have to sign a battery lease with Nissan adding over £100 per month to the cost of the vehicle.

 

I wouldn't want to take on a three year old LEAF, only to find out I've then got to pay Nissan every month for the battery.

I could spend that money on petrol if I was a low milage user...

Drove the LEAF into work today, charged it up, drove it home.

Then went straight out to B&Q to get some sheets of MDF, came back with 42 miles of range.

Thought it a bit tight for the morning so plugged it into the 32A point for 40 minutes or so giving me a range of 60 for tomorrow, where I'll fully charge it again for free.

 

Total milage covered today: 96

Total cost: around 58p for my 40 minute 32A charge. (18 miles)

 

Getting the hang of this.

INTERLUDE:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu6MDdxBork