There's no gears, "L" is all electronic and basically gives the Volt maximum slowing power without using the brakes, i.e. maximum regen. I love how they mapped the gas pedal too; in this mode, if you're only slightly on the gas pedal, it equates to less regen, but not acceleration. Makes for a very smooth ride once you get used to it.

For the most part I've been using "L" around the city with a lot of stop and go, and "D" on the highways, unless I see somewhere ahead that I'll need to slow down more than normal.

The "L" feeling at any speed is defintely cool. With Sport mode and "L", the Volt feels like a very sporty vehicle.

 

I just got a 2018 Volt with only 22k miles. I LOVE THIS CAR!! I could give numerous reasons, but y'all know already. Lol.
This thread made me even happier. I'll be trying Low gear driving today. So darn cool. Love it.
This is probably the smartest purchase I've made in my 50 years.
Btw, gas today, in my town, is $5.29! Ughhh

 

You are right. I drive mostly in Normal-L to maximixe my E-range. I learned quiclky how to feather the throttle when slowing so as not to "jerk" my passengers.

As I understand the transmission, the traction motor only shifts gears when running at speeds over 70mph. So if driving at speeds under 70, there is no shifting gears and any combination of Normal, Sport, Mountain, D or L can safely be used.

I like Sport-L when driving local roads and I'm not concerned for E-Range. For maximum E-Range, I drive in Normal-L to cushion my starts and regen as much as possible. On the highway, I use Normal-D. GM has done a great job giving us all these options. The Volt is a blast to drive and folks keep stopping me to ask about it. How cool is that?

VIN63

 

I'm using L almost exclusively as well.

 

Same here. Mostly Normal-L for local driving. Sport-L for a few minutes of fun here and there. Normal-D only on long open stretches at highway speeds.

MC

 

I only drive in L.

 

Many thanks to all responders. Low is amazing! And of course thanks to GM. A marvelous result of American enginuity.

Marv

 

90-95% L use, but I still get a weird feeling I am going to blow out the transmission driving in L. After driving regular transmissions for 35 years, it is hard to reprogram your brain. Now if I could only stop trying to remove a non-existent key out of the steering column when I get out of the Volt

 

I had been driving around town in Normal - D, but after reading this will see what difference going to Normal - L does in around town...that sweet SPORT mode is the best for showing off "BSD", but definitely culls a bit off the range. Have you guys noticed a difference between the - D and - L in Normal driving? I'll test it out myself as well....had been getting about 39 MPC with the Normal - D with downshifting to L when stopping (did this all the time with my Escape Hybrid).

 

Reading previous topics about "L" before driving the Volt encouraged me to try it. I was overjoyed at how well it works. It's as if you have carefully downshifted so you only have to press the brake for a short distance. Watch the car ahead, because you still need the friction brake. The brake travel requires a bit more distance to activate the friction brake, be careful and make sure you have fully pressed the brake pedal to stop the Volt.

It reminds me of the single pedal Disney Autopia cars. The announcer says, "To make your car go, push down on the pedal. To stop, take your foot off the pedal." One big difference, the friction brake is NOT applied in the Volt when you take your foot off the (accelerator) pedal.

http://www.themeparkaudioarchives.com/members/disneyland_tomorrowland.html - Autopia Safety Spiel

What I appreciate about "L" is how it takes the guess work out of regenerative braking. You know that when you lift your foot off the accelerator, maximum regeneration occurs. It helps you stop faster too, because in that split second to get your foot on the brake, the Volt is slowing down. Where it doesn't work is when you want the Volt to act like an ICE vehicle when you stop accelerating. That is why "D" is perfect for those open roads.

Pure perfection in motion equals award winning performance.

(Limitations of regenerative braking with EV-1 reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regenerative_brake#Limitations )

 

Where it doesn't work is when you want the Volt to act like an ICE vehicle when you stop accelerating.

I'd add "if you want the volt to feel like an ICE vehicle with an automatic transmission when you stop accelerating. Take a stick shift car, get up to 6000RPM in 1st gear and suddenly let go of the gas; you'll be slowing down real quick

The Volt in L will be similar to how I drive my current manual transmission car when coming down an offramp of similar situation, downshifting through the gears to slow down and only using the brakes once I'm down to 10-15 mph.

 

In my Prius, the regenerative braking triggers the brake lights at a certain points. Under heavy "L" regenerative deceleration does the volt trigger the brake lights? I would think all of this heavy deceleration might lead to some issues there. Also, if you hit a bump, pothole, or slick spot when just regenerative braking with the front two wheels, is there a brake-loss sensation? I am used to it from priuses dating back to 02, but I know it made a huge uproar on the prius forums. I compared it to downshifting in my bmw. You get the same braking loss sensation if your relying on engine braking over 4-wheel friction brakes.

I cannot wait to get my volt and find all this out first hand!

 

Maximum regen is about 60kW. Do you guys really think it's recovering that much power? I would expect L to be calibrated to a "moderate engine braking deceleration" level, but not necessarily the full 60kW. Do we have any official answers?

By my (very rough) calculations, 60kW would decelerate the Volt from 60mph to 10mph in about 6.3 seconds. This assumes a frictionless plane, with no energy loss to capture the power. But while the aero and friction losses would actually increase the deceleration rate, the inefficiency of capturing the energy through the motor would offset that. So how close to my estimate does the Volt decelerate in L?

 

By my (very rough) calculations, 60kW would decelerate the Volt from 60mph to 10mph in about 6.3 seconds. This assumes a frictionless plane, with no energy loss to capture the power. But while the aero and friction losses would actually increase the deceleration rate, the inefficiency of capturing the energy through the motor would offset that. So how close to my estimate does the Volt decelerate in L?

I re-did my calculations more precisely and I came up with the same number. The approximate deceleration rate from regenerating 60kW for a 3800lb Volt will be 7.94 mph per second. Anyone up for an experiment? I recommend keeping the ending speed well above 0 since we know regen becomes inefficient there.

 

I love "L" mode. I live on top of a mountain, so I leave my house fully charged (indicator shows 40 miles battery range available). I ride down the mountain in "L", never really needing to hit the brakes the way I do in my truck. By the time I get to the bottom of the mountain, it shows about 47 miles avilable in the battery!

 

That's really good! Just a guess but that means that you store away about 2.1 KW into the battery!

 

That's why the battery only charges to 80% (or whatever the number is now, since they opened up the battery usage to 65%). So that people could do what chemdawg did, the "head room" is for additional charge from regen.

 

The headroom is actually mainly for battery longevity. These types of batteries degrade when you charge or discharge them all the way. I suspect they opened up the amount we can use because they weren't hitting the mpc rating they wanted.

My LenovoT60 laptop has a similar feature that can be enabled to not charge the battery all the way to 100%. Instead it charges to about 97-98% for battery longevity.

 

I think it's both. Not charging to 100% and leaving headroom for regen, so you don't achieve 100% from regen.

 

Speaking of driving modes, has anybody used cruise control yet? Is that a silly question, like WHY? Still, it DOES have it doesn't it?

 

Several new owners have commented and say "the cruise works just fine," or "smooth."

 

I've put a few hundred miles on cruise control and it does work fine. It's too bad that cruise control doesn't work with the regen to maintain your speed going down a hill.

 

Are you saying that the Cruise does not maintain your speed when going downhill. I thought that in an earlier thread someone said the cruise held the speed within a small band both uphill and downhill. Does it let the speed increase to the point you have to brake to keep from exceeding the speed limit like on my present car? What about running in "L" and Cruise?

The Owners Manual must have used a generic definition. It says you may have to shift down to a lower gear to maintain downhill speed while in Cruise.

 

Cruise control is absolutely necessary when entering the Interstate in Sport mode! You cannot sense the speed in the Volt like in an ICE car from engine noise and vibrations since there are none! In seconds you are up to 80 mph. Making an effort to apply the CC means you watch your speed and set it at an appropriate legal mph. The CC is on the left spoke of the steering wheel. It is activated by a little switch with the icon of a tachometer, very clever, with the left thumb setting it and doing the accel/decel. Very fun! I use Low a lot as well.

-Book

 

Great! Sounds like the best of all worlds. Holds speed on long downhill grades by using "L" and regen and will allow the speed to increase on short dips to use the momentum to go up the otherside of the dip while in "D". Can't wait to try it out.

 

From my experience in a regular car L is supposed to help you when pulling loads or going slowly up a very steep hill etc.
So what then is the real purpose of the L setting on the Volt?

Bob T
http://MyPerfectAutomobile.com

 

http://MyPerfectAutomobile.com

Bob, just checked out your site and taking-delivery video. Very nice!!

 

"So what then is the real purpose of the L setting on the Volt?"

Good question. As far as I know, noone from GM has really answered this question head on. Instead the question is addressed with examples.
1>Brake free driving in traffic at low speeds.
2>Less wear on brake pads.
3>For use when going downhill in city driving conditions (San Francisco).

When asked if L should simply be used all of the time. The answer is that it doesn't matter. D provides a longer coast and L a shorter coast. My driving will be 95% in L shift position. And 80% in Normal mode (not Sport). My goal is a crazy high MPG number.

 

I think L is still confusing people. The Volt will always engage maximum regen before electro-hydraulically engaging the main service brakes. The difference in L is that you can "learn" the rate of deceleration and anticipate a stop in advance, letting off the gas to coast which guarantees a regen decel. But pressing the brake pedal does not necessarily mean the service brakes engage. I suppose the main problem is it's not clear where regen maxes out and the service brakes apply, when using the brake pedal. I was trying to clear up whether coasting in L puts regen into its max energy capture mode, because some people are under this impression.
It certainly has NOTHING to do with gearing.

 

I keep reading there is a way to engage both the motor and the gas engine at the same time. This then should give 220hp combined. How do I set it so that they are both engaged at the same time? is it real to be able to have 220hp?

Bob T.
http://MyPerfectAutomobile.com

 

The Volt was designed to provide a consistent driving experience in both electric and range extended mode. So, the maximum power delivered is about 150 horsepower.

The reason that engine power is mechanically mixed with electric motor power at higher speeds in extended range mode is that it yields a 10 to 15% improvement in cruise fuel economy.

 

I haven't heard back on my question if it is realistic to engage both the engine and motor at the same time to get their combined hp of around 220hp.

Bob T
http://MyPerfectAutomobile.com

 

I have seen both battery and engine showing as driving the wheels on the energy flow display in CS mode after going downhill to gather some regen and then accelerating.

I would think that this is the intended mode of powering the vehicle going up a mountain after engaging mountain mode prior to the climb.

 

I have been driving in "L" for a week. I haven't had a chance to take it on the expressway yet.
My experience with my former hybrids is that while driving at freeway speeds and on a less than flat road (soft, long hills), the regen braking is too much when taking your foot off the accelerator on long declines. You are "forced" to give it some gas to maintain your speed. This is for gentle declines only.
I suspect that I'll find the same with my Volt when I decide to go somewhere other than work.

 

You are "forced" to give it some gas to maintain your speed. This is for gentle declines only.

That was my experience with it today, driving in the mountains. I had to feather the pedal to keep from having too strong a regeneration. But the energy transfer display said it was still regenerating, so the pedal isn't a binary switch when it comes to that.