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2nd Update: Autoxing the Bolt EV

4K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  Norton 
#1 ·
Sorry this report is a day late.

So, we left Fresno at about 4 AM, with 244 miles of range on the GOM, with only the seat and steering wheel heaters turned on, and after a quick fast food stop, hit the road up highway 99 and over to Los Banos on 152. We averaged pretty much 70 mph. The outside temp was about 46 degrees. About a half hour into the trip, we started to get fogging up on the windows, so I turned on the heater/air conditioning at about 70 degrees temp. to keep the windows cleared. The GOM immediately subtracted about 15 miles from the range, which seemed pretty reasonable to me. Just west of Los Banos, we switched drivers and Ric, who is a little bit of a "lead foot", took over. :)

AS we crested the top of the hills and started down the west side, the GOM had barely enough showing to reach our destination, so we turned the heater/air back off, just to be safe. we made it to the Holden charging station in Salinas with about 25 miles range left. As noted by otherS, when the range got to about 35 miles, the normally green battery bars turned orange. However, the the actual range numbers did not go away. So maybe in the enhanced display mode, they keep the range counting down, in case any of you prefer that.

Anyhow, we managed to figure out how to plug in the charging cable and swipe my Chargepoint card and the charging started right up. This was a DC SAE only unit, so Leaf drivers would be out of luck. Luckily, no one else was trying to use it at 6:30 on a Sunday morning. We cut the charging off at about 75 miles so wouldn't be late to the event, and hightailed it over to Marina. (about 10 miles)

As luck would have it, the HS class there had last year's National Champion there running against us, so no pressure, right? After all four runns were finished, mostly in drizzly rain, Ric was about 1.9 seconds back. The course they had set up was practically all circles and turning, hardly any straights to use our acceleration. We now realize the skinny 205/45 tires don't have enough cornering power on a 3600 pound car for what was nearly like a skid pad, especially against cars that are 1000 pounds lighter on the same tires. So, next time we will try some wider tires, even if we have to give up a little of the acceleration.

After the event, we went back to the DC charger in noth Salinas, but it had a BMW I3 using it when we got there, so we decided to investigate the one in South Salinas, which took a while because nearly every street in Salinas had downed palm trees from the huge rainstorm and wind that had come through the area. Once we finally gave up on city streets, and took the 101 freeway instead, we got to the other EVgo charger. This site had one charger for Chademo (Leafs) and another dual Chademo/SAE combo one, and although there was a Leaf at the first one, the combo one was empty so we parked there and swiped my EVgo card and verified that the car had started chargeing. This site, however, was not quite as high end as the one in northern Salinas, the only food place was a Weinerschnitsel. But we we starving by then so it was good enough.

We got back to the charger after about half an hour, and found that the charging had already added about 75 miles to the range, which was better than the Chargepoint one had done. I timed each, and the Chargepoint solo charger added one mile about every 30 seconds, while the dual EVgo one added about one mile every 23 seconds. That dual one had a label on it that said 50 kw. So I guess that is the brand/type to look for if you are in a hurry. There are not a lot of alternatives yet though. There is supposed to be a new one under construction right in Marina, which will hopefully be the quicker higher powered ones, and that would be a little more convenient.

We let that charger rund until it reached 80% of a full charge, and hit the road headed back to Fresno. This time we kept the speed down to 65 mph, since it was only 2 PM, and we had plenty of time to get home. But when we got to Los Banos, The range on the GOM pretty much was a match for the distance to Fresno, so we decided it would be smart to add a little extra charge in either Chowchilla or Madera, which both have combo chargers in Savemart pariking lots. We knew where the Savemart store was in Chowchilla, so we tried there first, and found the charger spaces empty, so we learned how to operate this different brand one, and waited to add another 40 miles of range. While sitting in the Bolt waiting I see one of those extended cab Ford pickups come rumbling in and ICE the other clearly marked EV Charging space next to me. I didn't bother to tell him how naughty he was, though. :)

We made it home by about 5:30, with about 25 miles left on the meter, except then I had to go pick up take out for us and some company, so by the time I got back and plugged in the Bolt it was down to 20 mile range left, and I didn't have too many more miles left in me either.
 
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#2 ·
Nice. I think the ChargePoint in Salinas is only 24 kW, so it should be considerably slower. Was the EVgo a 100 A? That would account for the relatively small improvement in charging speed.

Other than the tires, how would you rate the suspension, body roll, turn-in, etc.?
 
#3 · (Edited)
The one in South Salinas had labels that said 50 kw. I didn't see anything that gave amperage.

The addition of the rear anti sway bar seemed to help reduce body roll slightly, and helped turn in also, but we probably need a little bit bigger one than this to get it well balanced. Once I get the next one built, and tested, and have a few minutes of spare time, I will try to post up a description and pictures of how we made and mounted the sway bar, for those that might want to get their own made.
 
#4 ·
The one in South Salinas had labels that said 50 kw. I didn't see anything that gave amperage.
It would usually say on the tower where the receptacle fits. In my experience, if it doesn't list the volts and amps, it's a 100 A station.

The addition of the rear anti sway bar seemed to help reduce body roll slightly, and helped turn in also, but we probably need a little bit bigger one than this to get it well balanced. Once I get the next one built, and tested, and have a few minutes of spare time, I will try to post up a description and pictures of how we made and mounted the sway bar, for those that might want to get their own made.
That would be great. What mm diameter were you using?
 
#5 ·
The first one is using a 3/4" X .120" hollow steel chrome moly tube (4130) welded through a hole in a flat bar at each end. I have a 1" tube ordered, and will make that one as soon as the stuff shows up.
 
#8 ·
..... found the charger spaces empty, so we .... waited to add another 40 miles of range. While sitting in the Bolt waiting I see one of those extended cab Ford pickups come rumbling in and ICE the other clearly marked EV Charging space next to me. I didn't bother to tell him how naughty he was, though. :)...
Yep, I have seen this.
These guys have a chip on their shoulder. They don't like that there 'Clean Energy Future'.
It's best to look away.
Guess which 'News' network is their one and only?
 
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