Winter roads, ice, snow and wet or dry driving in an EV..

[Ootohere]

 

 

[Ootohere]

I have minus 20 *c windscreen wash in and it was minus 4 or lower earlier on.  Driven 30 miles and outside temp between 0 and 1*c but still no windscreen wash available.    Without a heated coolant container / pipes and nozzles this is just how it can be with the coolant bottle in an unheated bonnet area with an EV.  I knew this from last winter which is why I have good coolant in.    Sitting charging now with heater on and dead cozy and now getting a squirt....

Edited 9 December, 2021 by roottoot

[wyx087]

Yeah, I've changed to adding concentrated directly into the washer res a few weeks ago. No engine heating in that area is problematic this time of the year.

[Ootohere]

My brake discs are Reed we roost today.     VW were right fitting rear drums to their EV,s.   My type of PSA car is said to not have one pedal driving.  Well true you need to touch the brake pedal to come to a complete halt.  But that is not cleaning cosmetic rust off the discs and other than braking where the slowing is done by the pads on the discs to skoor the rust off the regen slowing is not cleaning them.    As to the e-brake that is not usable to clean the rears.    So it looks like I will need to go driving and actually skooring the roosty discs.  But then that is going to be totally against the way I drive.  At least not icy just now so I can actually go hit the anchors a bit.     I expect the discs to get scored with me doing that.  

 

 

 

Edited 13 December, 2021 by roottoot

[wyx087]

Every time I drive, before leaving the residential area. I get up to safe speed and put the car into N, then brake to a complete stop. Do this at least twice.

 

In N, it doesn't use re-gen braking, only good ol' friction brakes.

[Ootohere]

@wyx087

With ICE Automatics i have never been able to do that that very well for the past 45 years as i only have one foot and even light pressure on the brake pedal stops the vehicle without cleaning the discs.

I can not use the accelerator and brake to keep a car running long enough so need to go to a long steep hill.   Winter long steep hills in my area are not good for using brakes on people tend to use gears.

Not that many vehicles i have ever had really get rusty discs other than VW Group cars.

 

As it is with my Corsa-e it takes quite a lot of braking to clean the discs and you need to be getting a shift on and as i know the car near stands on its nose if the Rusty Brakes are applied.

 

The roads oop north and in the countryside anywhere are rather different as far salt / grit, freezing / wet and slick roads quite regularly from those in other parts / cities. 

 

Rear Drums are a bit of a saving grace on EV's as long as they are well designed and manufactured and main dealership servicing will mean wheels are removed and drums removed and cleaned / serviced.

 

 

Edited 13 December, 2021 by roottoot

[lol-lol]

1 hour ago, wyx087 said:

Every time I drive, before leaving the residential area. I get up to safe speed and put the car into N, then brake to a complete stop. Do this at least twice.

 

In N, it doesn't use re-gen braking, only good ol' friction brakes.

 

Top tip, hope it works similarly on the Zoe, probably will.  I have been getting up to my old DSG trick in hyper-miling by putting Zoe in to neutral on some long slopes as I think it might still be the most efficient travelling under gravitational pull.

 

 

[lol-lol]

 

Putting on winter tyres does one then ignore the tyre pressure sensor shouting it cannot find the pressure valves to talk to or get a second set (pricey ?) or what ?

[Ootohere]

I have only ever had Valve Sensors with BMW's that showed actual pressures and they were used on the rims with the winters on. 

 

Only the simple 'TPMS 'warning' comes up on the Corsa and it did last week and once before that and the pressures were as they had been set cold and when checked out.

Maybe there is some caliper binding and a rim was hot at some point.  I must check the wheel centre heat next time i get a warning.

Edited 13 December, 2021 by roottoot

[lol-lol]

Put my lad on the Zoe insurance as I am just not using the car as much as I thought I might but he can use it daily for his 11 miles to work and 1 miles back.

 

Think we likes it, compared to the 90 hp diesel Fabia, but he had only been getting 2.9 miles per kWh and therefore range of getting down to 150 miles, far cry from the near 250 miles the Zoe's WLTP range is published and advertised.

 

Still much better than the 55 to 60 mpg he was getting out of the diesel Fabia at nearly £7 a gallon ie nearly £3 a day on fuel compared to about 50p of electricity.

 

The car demisting so quickly he really likes and it frees up the diesel so I can do the long run down to Plymouth where it will hopefully get close to its 80 mpg and is what best at.  Going to need a Tesla-like car to do those long journeys I am presuming.    

 

Edited 23 December, 2021 by lol-lol

[Ootohere]

I put diesel in my Shogun yesterday. 

Been taking it out once a day as long as it was not iced up,

& because last year it did under 600 miles between MOT's and suffered because that.

35 miles done since last brimmed and it took 18.5 litres of diesel, which was £27. 

(it will go on a battery charger and maybe go out once a week or if there is really bad roads, but actually the Corsa is better in the snow as long as not deep unplowed.)

 

If i plug in at home and 120 miles of electric costs me £8.00 that is rather nice. 

The Council chargers are pretty dead now that it is 23pence a kWh to charge but i see a few that used to park up for hours charging for free are plugged in again for a while but not hours and even when they have a full charge.

 

My EV charging at Tesco will probably be tonight as the car park is chocka.

A Nissan Leaf has been on a charger for a day and the others seem to be Hybrids that get parked and left for 'Long time mister' 'we have much fun'. 

 

Boxing Day.

Edited 27 December, 2021 by roottoot

[Ootohere]

Charging up before cold and snowy weather arrives tomorrow.  I will be charging fully at home before setting off anyplace when there is the chance of blocked roads or diversions.  The charger network in Scotland is really hit or miss currently.  Lots of chargers being flagged as not giving good charging speeds and that is 50 kW ones. Not just free 50 kW chargers.    I am heading South on Wednesday and might miss any snowy roads but have to eek out the battery as best I can.  I would rather sit on a charger working if available to be near full rather than the lottery of the next hub / charger being OOO ( out of order) or blocked by the greedy that abandon cars for many hours.   The real PITA is the Screen wash that fails to spray for a long time even after the temp rises above freezing.  Also how much snow gets swept below the wipers and even when cleared before setting off still builds.up.  that means fresh air / demisting is hopeless or non existent.    The joys of no heat under the bonnet . 

Edited 3 January, 2022 by roottoot

[Ootohere]

The washer nozzles are really hopeless where they are on the back edge of the bonnet and with the pipe running up by the hinge and under the insulation on the bonnet of a car with no heat in the engine compartment.

[Luckypants]

On 03/01/2022 at 11:08, roottoot said:

The joys of no heat under the bonnet . 

Legacy car makers probably haven't even thought of this, just using a standard design paradigm that worked in the past. I suspect my ID.4 will have similar issues despite heated nozzles, if it ever gets cold in tropical Wales. I've already taken a leaf out of your book to put in -20C screen wash.

[Ootohere]

-20 concentrate in and it only went to minus 2 last night and still it would not spray for an hour after the temp was above freezing.

Luckily the roads are lovely and dry and no slush and salt coming off other vehicles.

 

The rear washer works fine and actually sprays a bit too long and uses too much washer fluid. 

 

EDIT.

Sitting with the 99 miles showing at 89% before sitting parked over a cold night.

Not going to pre-heat as not charger available, 

So an early start at below zero degrees and 70 miles until on a 50 kWh charger to get enough, so about an hour, then 100 miles to the next, about 70 mins charging.

A further 100 miles and onto a 100 kWh charger & home on Thursday.  

Best laid plans of man and beast and EV drivers in cold weather.  

(Alternate chargers checked already within 10 mile or so of each planned stop,  various other chargers near these are showing as possibly OOO.)

 

Edited 4 January, 2022 by roottoot

[Ootohere]

Larry.  Still showed 99 miles at 5am, 

and 60 miles later was showing 45 miles range and 40%.   Displaying 2.7 miles kWh. 

 Right onto a 50kWh charger and charging quickly for free and should only need 30 to 40 minutes on here.   3 degree C so not too cold. Dry and salted roads.

 

EDIT.

Charging speed about 33 kWh on 50 kW chargers when taking the battery up to near full.. 

 

 

 

Edited 7 January, 2022 by roottoot

[lol-lol]

 

Apparently cars powered by these internal combustion engines, except the few that have heated windscreens, have to wait until the great big lump of engine gets it jacket water up to 50 or 60 degrees C or more so that the air in the passenger cabin can start using that heat to defrost the windscreen.

How onerous...... 

 

[Ootohere]

It takes me a few minutes as well to get an EV de-iced ,  & if not plugged in then it can decide like this morning that i do not need the heated rear screen on  so no heated mirrors, 

or maybe no heated steering wheel.

The heated seat will stay on but if i switch it off still the heated screen will switch on but then switch right off.  

 

Thank goodness PSA did have as standard a Heat Pump, not that it is obvious that it does anything, certainly not a help with range.

 

 

Edited 10 January, 2022 by roottoot

[lol-lol]

2 hours ago, roottoot said:

It takes me a few minutes as well to get an EV de-iced ,  & if not plugged in then it can decide like this morning that i do not need the heated rear screen on  so no heated mirrors, 

or maybe no heated steering wheel.

The heated seat will stay on but if i switch it off still the heated screen will switch on but then switch right off.  

 

Thank goodness PSA did have as standard a Heat Pump, not that it is obvious that it does anything, certainly not a help with range.

 

As I understand it cars with Heat Pumps also have substantial heating elements just like those EVs without HEAT pumps but what Heat Pump fitted vehicles can do is when the heating element has worked flat out for a few minutes then their is a temperature delta ie difference that the Heat Pump can start working with and then after that first few minutes the Heat pump can start doing its magic and take heat from the intermediate level zone in the heating matrix and dumping it in to the cabin that has already started to warm but give it a substantial boost turning mild heat in to proper really warm air.

 

Hence it is so important that initial warm up is done as a pre-condition with the charging cable still fitted so one does not lose a kWh or two from the battery before one has even moved off the drive.  

 

Zoe cold weather test that was confidential but was later released..... 

 https://www.renaultgroup.com/en/news-on-air/news/renault-zoe-confidential-3-cold-weather-tests/

 

More noticeable in cold conditions is reduced range, but Renault ZOE remains one of the best mass-produced electric vehicles in this respect, thanks in particular to its reversible heat pump, which reduces heating consumption in cold weather and generates approximately 2kW of cooling or 3kW of heat with just 1kW of electricity.

 

 

[Ootohere]

@RichRposted earlier in the Enyaq in reply to something i posted and it interested me.

 

The thing with cars is that sometimes they need parked and no place near electricity or chargers and you want them to function well in low temps.

Heated rear screens that will not stay on while you try to demist or deice windows / windscreen or a heated steering wheel that can not stay on because of the 12 volt battery having sat a few hours or a 20% full EV battery is basically crap pure and simply. 

No if buts or excuses.  Totally not fit for purpose really. 

 

 

[AnnoyingPentium]

5 hours ago, lol-lol said:

Apparently cars powered by these internal combustion engines, except the few that have heated windscreens, have to wait until the great big lump of engine gets it jacket water up to 50 or 60 degrees C or more so that the air in the passenger cabin can start using that heat to defrost the windscreen.

 

Don't remind me.

 

Edited 10 January, 2022 by AnnoyingPentium

[wyx087]

Wait, why is the ice on the inside!?

[AnnoyingPentium]

19 minutes ago, wyx087 said:

Wait, why is the ice on the inside!?

 

 

[Ootohere]

Even the flap on the PodPoint chargers at Tesco was frozen closed this morning.   Car was frozen white and again the choice was heated rear screen including heated mirrors or heated steering wheel but not both. 

[Helipilot]

Just put on my winter wheels, bought with tyres from Mytyres and shipped from Germany.

 

Edited 13 January, 2022 by Helipilot