GM Volt Forum banner

Bolt EV usable capacity >= 60 kWh?

6K views 8 replies 8 participants last post by  canehdian 
#1 ·
During my mini-roadtrip to PA this weekend, I took a photo of the energy display in the car (car charged fully to 100% prior to departing home).
I then updated my remotelink app to get a SOC% remaining figure.


43.1 kWh used / (1 - 0.31) = projected kWh used to full depletion = 62.5 kWh!

Now we know the kWh used estimator in the car is just that, an estimate. However, we've seen the Volt and Spark EV GOMs to be pretty accurate, so the Bolt's GOM should be just as accurate.

I did a computation earlier that day, and I got a 61.4 kWh used projection to 0%.

Seems that the usable capacity is definitely at least 60 kWh, that's for sure.
 
See less See more
1
#2 ·
Interesting. Sometimes fresh batteries "overperform" specs. IIRC this was the case with the Leaf. Might also be the case with the Bolt EV.

FYI I can't see your avatar or call up threads you've started from the Front Page. Any ideas on what that might be or is it just a problem I'm encountering?
 
#4 · (Edited)
I collected about 125 data points using the same method in my Spark EV. The results varied by +5 and -8%. I was never able to isolate the cause. YMMV
Cool chart! Looking on line I see people saying the 2014 Spark has a 21kWh battery, other places it says the 2016 Spark has a 19kWh capacity! <edit> looking at wiki I see they changed battery supplier</edit> Did GM officially announce the capacity of the battery or did they just put out the EPA range data and car reviewers guessed at battery capacity based on range? Looks like with one month exception you had between 17.5KW and 18KW of usable capacity.

Keith
 
#8 ·
Interesting numbers bro1999. This is akin to car companies saying the gas tank holds 20 gal, but you can only use 17... Maybe the bolt has a use able KWH of 60, but the pack is actually bigger? Really all I care about is how much can I use vs. how big it is. If the the 1st Gen Volt was allowed to use more KWH out of the pack, we would have seen a higher rated EV range from the beginning. Of course, we don't know how that would have affected battery life.
 
#9 ·
Too large a margin for error without multiple data points, I would think.

However, you can reasonably say it is 60+ usable as opposed to volt "16-18.4" which is really 10-14.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top