On 09/12/2021 at 09:12, roottoot said:

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....

 

Wonder if they'll have a wrap around electric heater for the coolant tank as an option soon.

trace wire down the pipes and a general heater on the main tank should do the job.

It is the windscreen wash not coolant.   

Only works if the pipes and nozzles are heated and not sitting frozen when you start the car if not pre-heated. 

17 hours ago, roottoot said:

It is the windscreen wash not coolant.   

Only works if the pipes and nozzles are heated and not sitting frozen when you start the car if not pre-heated. 

 

Right and I meant screenwash not coolant, so my error.

 

However you used to be able to buy  (admittedly for frozen north american market) a heater wrap, and tracer wires pipes which when combined with the heated jets allowed things to work at -20*C and beyond.

Not saying it's perfect, but you'd hope EV manufacturers would thing of this. That or put a heater coil inside the tank so that the heat pump can dump heat in there if needed.

Sounds like the EV manufacturers need to do more winter testing in northern Sweden at one of the many testing sites already used by ICE car manufacturers.

There is a Czech Manufacturer (Not Hyundai) that have not yet managed after over a century of building cars to have ones that the fuel flap does not freeze shut.

There is a German Manufacturer that has still to be able to procure or manufacture door seals that keep H20 out of vehicles.

 

As the decades go on there is more issues of VW Group cars that steam up in just normal western European weather. 

 

But Skoda are now all about testing, refining, checking quality control.

Things can only get better.  Once they get the hang of Software and not getting it in-house. 

 

No idea what went wrong last year or with Plug in Hybrids that have 12 volt batteries going flat. 

Even Enyaqs with Flat 12 volt batteries.

 

Going into shut down / Sherpa mode should not leave a vehicle dangerous to the occupants or other road users,

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/501382-enyaq-warnings-and-information-unavailable-drive-carefully

 

 

Maybe several times is less than a driver wants to be able to stop and start a car.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 25 January, 20224 yr by roottoot

@cheezemonkhai There have for decades been heater systems / elements for washers and used in Motorsport or on road, also offroad.

There were some like me that used a pipe wrapped around a manifold on Offroaders and that then provided a source of heat to the washer bottle and hoses right up to the nozzles that did not freeze.

Heated nipples have been around a long time.  There is an issue though spraying liquid even if still fluid into very cold ambient temps and on to a cold screen like you had in Land Rovers or other vehicles.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/445874-screen-washer-frozen

 

Taking the Fluid container into the cabin and maybe just in a door pocket area and the pipes going from behind the dash to spray makes sense with EV's and the washer bottle can be part of the cars heating system. 

 

Edited 25 January, 20224 yr by roottoot

Cold weather testing the car that has been getting spun by VW for years now.

So as long as Norway is between cold, warm and freezing while testing it might be a bot UK ish.  

When they just test in dry cold that is very in-UK like.

 

They certainly parked where the car will get more Social Media cover than if they were doing their own leaks using VW Factory Insiders.

 

 

 

 

Only 30 miles driven since last Sunday in several short drives each day & charging each morning to 99%.

So that takes about 4 kW each 24 hours.   

The last 2 cold nights and days with frosts so just a bit more electric needed.

 

On a 7kWh charger it is 1kWh in about 10 minutes to charge and it is only slower putting in the last kW to have the battery @ 100%

So not worth doing that as easy enough to get the battery up to full if regening after leaving the charger.

 

Free Tesco charging

At home @ 21 pence a kWh that 25kWH would be £5.25

  & Local Council charging is 23 pence so £5.75,

but that could be on a 50 kWh charger and the 25 kWh could be in the car within 50 minutes rather than about 40 minutes each day on the free charger.

(The 50 kWh chargers council provided locally will sometimes not add 33 kWh in 60 minutes.)

 

Edited 5 February, 20224 yr by roottoot

@lol-lolBetter efficiency on 60 mph coastal roads in windy conditions but the temp getting towards the teens.

Still with a hot battery it takes 80 minutes to get in near 32 kWh to take the battery to 99%.

 

 

Edited 28 February, 20224 yr by roottoot

On 25/01/2022 at 12:23, roottoot said:

@cheezemonkhai There have for decades been heater systems / elements for washers and used in Motorsport or on road, also offroad.

There were some like me that used a pipe wrapped around a manifold on Offroaders and that then provided a source of heat to the washer bottle and hoses right up to the nozzles that did not freeze.

 

That's a blast from the past.

Back in the 1960s I used a length of plastic tube wrapped around the top hose on my Ford Anglia 105E. 

 

tom

@lol-lolBetter efficiency on 60 mph coastal roads in windy conditions but the temp getting towards the teens.

Still with a hot battery it takes 80 minutes to get in near 32 kWh to take the battery to 99%.

 

 

My charging finished at 94% and know how the Zoe, and most other EVs charge at over the 80 or even 90% mark I will not bother to top it off tonight but leave it charge later in the week.  Only showing 164 miles range for that 94% but oddly I think it would show more like 180 miles if I left it charge to 100% which on the Zoe both charges and discharges for many minutes when showing 100% as the true finish of charge is more like 103%.

 

But I will not get proper Reg, which can give me spikes of 30 kW when I harvesting down some big hills on the M40 so happy with around 90%, that will comfortably get me to my Heathrow office on Thursday where I will get the free charge on the works chargers, hopefully not ripping the face off another one of the rather lightweight ROLEC charger.

 

Might order another charger lead ie a 7.2 kW single phase one as a would not want my 22 kW 3 phase one captured by a non-serviced EV posts. 

Aiming for 4 miles per kWh, hope the temp is above 10C which will help.

 

-2*oC, not a breath of wind.

car pre-heated, roads totally dry apart from black-ice in shaded bits.   

Heating @ 20*oC but A/C off, heated seat on and heated steering wheel on.

Roof bars and bike rack off the roof, Michelin Alpin6's at 40 psi

& after a few miles getting an indicated 3.1 miles / kWh.     EDIT, temperature up above 10•oC and efficiency right up above 4 miles per kWh, and will be better later heading downhill more than up.  Even empty the bars and bike carrier had been greatly reducing range, much more even than passengers carried.  

Edited 6 March, 20224 yr by roottoot

If it can go 200 miles in winter (Around 0*oC) 2 up with the cabin at 18*oC and with winter tyres i would have one in a heartbeat.

If it struggles to get 100 miles then not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 24 March, 20224 yr by roottoot

New tyres on the front of my Corsa for this winter.

The Michelin Alpin 6 on the front were down to 2 mm after 35,000 miles / 25 months. They were due a change.

And this week they got a bulge in a sidewall & cuts from a big pothole and ironworks.

 

The rears are fine and still have 5mm of tread.

 

New Riken have 9mm from new. 

I will see how well these perform in the dry, wet once they have the newness off them and soon in the snow.

Riken is a Michelin owned manufacturer.

 

Edited 31 October, 20223 yr by roottoot

 

 

These below are 'The Media'  and quote WLTP range.

What we need is the 'Range they achieved in Summer clearly stated and then the Winter comparison.

But they are going around and around, not stopping square wheels every now and again, going no place then setting off as you might well do in winter on UK roads because you are trucking about, just a driver, just as many many cars are when going places.

Fill the car seats with people and the Heating / Air Conditioning / anti steaming up requires different setting.

 

@7 mins 40 seconds their figures.

3-6*oC really is not that wintry / cold.   -3 to 0*oC will be quite a bit different.

 

All these will be on OE Factory Summer / ECO / All Seasons as you get them tyres.   

Nice if they could do a test with them all on All Weather / All Seasons / Winter suited tyres for Winters or All UK Seasons. 

 

 

 

Edited 22 November, 20223 yr by toot

Real test would be driving to 55% in the morning, let the car sit for ~8 hours, drive again in the evening and see total distance it was able to cover.

 

Agree with tyres, I'll be getting all-season next time changing tyres. Leaf is already having difficulty in the cold + wet last couple of weeks. It really struggles getting traction at particular exit from my local supermarket. It's 4mm so should last another year, but its traction is definitely worse than last winter.

I’m really interested to understand how an RWD EVbehaves in snow/ice and rain/mud conditions.

 

Looking at them again and AWD options are all on long lead times bar a stock model Y or model 3 AWD.

 

Otherwise it’s all RWD. I’d either run All weather or winter, but I do drive all over so avoided RWD ice and stuck with FWD/AWD. Tyres more important than drive but a RWD on winters was still a bit of a handful in compacted snow.

 

Thoughts appreciated.

People will just have to drive with a light foot.

Plenty BMW i3's & other RWD EV's have been getting about on winter roads on OE tyres. 

 

We will see how they are getting about on snow this week in the North East of Scotland just like any other RWD, FWD or even AWD with the tyres they leave the factory wearing.

Lots of EV's seem to be driving about with pretty worn out tyres.  eg older Nissan Leafs.

 

Or maybe give BMW i3's you see out in the snow / ice a wide berth...

 

 

 

Edited 4 December, 20223 yr by toot

Sounds like they can be tail happy, particularly if regen is too aggressive.

I have to admit, its the regen that would worry me in the ID.4. Driving in 'B' mode will most likely be a no-no in icey or snowy conditions.

In the next 24 hours i will find out if the drop in the cars range with my very aggressive snow tyres on the front are worth it.

Still last years Michelin Alpin 6 on the rears of the FWD EV.

They were fine on ice last night just using the normal regen and no need to use the brakes, but then i hardly ever do.

 

The snow might just reach north of Dundee, but if there is snow in Dundee that can be a bit of a joke with cars on inappropriate tyres.

 

For me the biggest thing is getting into Public EV Chargers that have not been cleared of snow.

The Snow / Winter tyres ensure that i can just roll back and fore even in the biggest of snow built up to get to the charger as i have had to do the last 2 winters.

Also being able to move even when others cars including 4x4's are getting no place.

 

Then an EV is pretty good in a thaw / flooding on roads just as long as manhole covers have not lifted.

 

Being able to de-ice the car by just turning it on is great, heated seats and steering wheel.

PITA is Wipers and how they might be designed when parked or the De-mist / Heating / Air Intake below screen wipers that clogs with snow / ice and then no heat to de-ice the bonnet.  

That needs paying attention to as far as brush off snow etc.  

 

I am interested to see how some of the EV's that i have seen recently on tyres unsuitable for winter let alone snow on the ground are getting on this week and the next few.

I think there will be plenty Winter Tyres getting fitted if people can get them for their nearly new car.

 

Edited 6 December, 20223 yr by toot

Not had an opportunity to get on snow as none about locally.  Not that cold either so heated seat working fine and heated steering wheel happy that the 12 volt battery is charged enough in the morning to actually work.   Not using that much energy sitting at around zero C but I will see over the next few days if the same as last winter as I had a software update that has had an affect on how much I can charge of faster.   Last year sometimes I was as low as getting 2 miles per kWh short few mile runs.  

Edited 9 December, 20223 yr by toot

Well 24 hours and 8 times driving 1 mile required 6 kWh of electric.    Which is pretty crap really and real world.   Temps from just bellow freezing to just above.    But heated seat and steering wheel is hot as soon as started and on for the 3-5 mins the 1 mile takes which is lovely.  And I am charging for free.   If I was paying 30 pence a kWh that would be £1.80.  or on my local council chargers £1.38.      that is ok I suppose and would be fine with someone charging off peak.      It is not anything WLTP or any manufacturer shows as efficiency or lack of.    I could run my 2006 Kia Picanto doing the same 1 mile cold start winter trips and still get 40 mpg really world economy.  That was no heated seat or steering wheel though. 

 

.........

The car likes to be optimistic since the software update & show it could do 4 miles to the kWh and it could if it was 15*oC warmer and i drove at 50 mph or less on a road with some regen available.

Maybe even 2.7-3 miles if i set off now on a longer run at 60 MPH max.  Even at 2*oC.

 

But i have come off the charger and driven 1 mile up hill slightly to get home. 

I will see how the percentage is in 24 hours and 8 miles or so later tomorrow.

 

Edited 10 December, 20223 yr by toot

The ideal vehicle really for that sort of journey profile, it would beat the hell out of an ICE and its particulate filters, maybe discharge the battery (no difference there) and you would not see any heat from the heater.

 

I am about to do one of those journeys myself but will extend it by going on to do some food shopping.

It is nice with ice on paths and sleet / rain falling and no way am i cycling. 

The energy goes but as long as free to cheap it matters not much. 

 

This is a further 2 miles done.      The thing is that it is 45 kWh Usable of a battery.    1 hour on a 7kW battery puts in 6.6 kWh up until 98% now, then it really does not want to take more. It used to though before the update.