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Is there a way to adjust the regen amount in Low driving mode?

19K views 28 replies 23 participants last post by  JuneBug 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
It is not aggressive enough to use for one pedal driving. Would be nice to adjust to a more ideal level, even though I’m sure The engineers were smarter than me.


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#2 ·
No but for the 2019 Volt Chevrolet engineers have calibrated the Volt's regen levels using L and/or the paddle to be more like the Bolt. This will still not bring true one pedal driving to the Volt. This may be more to your liking.
 
#4 ·
Driving the Bolt in low, you can feather the regen using the accelerator peddle. The Bolt in low is one peddle driving. And if you want to increase the regen, hit the steering wheel paddle. Low + paddle = most aggressive. Low = control via accelerator. Drive is basically like a traditional car. I use Low.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Driving the Bolt in low, you can feather the regen using the accelerator peddle. The Bolt in low is one peddle driving. And if you want to increase the regen, hit the steering wheel paddle. Low + paddle = most aggressive. Low = control via accelerator. Drive is basically like a traditional car. I use Low.
Grammar police... peddle is to try to sell something, pedal is what you meant (as opposed to petal, piddle, paddle, puddle, poodle, and PRNDL)
 
#6 ·
The Mitsubishi Outlander as it was explained to me had a paddle on the right that started at 1 and every time you flicked it, it went one notch higher regen up to +5. The paddle on the left started at 3 and went up. Not sure how this would work on a real world driving as I didn't take a test drive but they sure wanted me to.
 
#7 ·
You can always press the brake pedal for variably adjustable regen from D or L. Don’t worry about the friction brakes, after 105k miles of not using L and using the brake pedal 99.9% of the time, there is hardly any wear in the front pads. The friction brakes only kick in on panic stops and the last 5 mph to 0 mph in a normal stop.

In my eyes, L is for coasting down mountains, the brake pedal is your friend (minimizing regen actually gets you better EV range and MPG, unless you can go downhill, both ways), and the regen paddle is a gimmick.
 
#9 ·
All Volts have a variable regen paddle - it's operated by moving your right foot slightly left from throttle and pressing. Press harder to create more regen, press softer for less regen. I believe the Bolt has the same regen paddle.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Maybe if they renamed it the regen foot paddle (or should that be pedal?), people would make better use of it.

I really want a coast like crazy button or paddle to temporarily put the car in neutral until you either hit the brake or the accelerator. Or an ECO mode where there is no regen when you lift, only coast. Then everyone would be getting ARi_C-like range.
 
#10 ·
I find I rarely have to use the brake pedal, except at very low speeds, as in coasting to a stop with a vehicle in front, and when stopping on a hill.
I look forward to observe traffic and adjust my speed accordingly. So, mostly one pedal driving.

What I would really like is the ability to adjust how many KW get used by a light press of the foot feed and then if say over 1/4 way, it would then act normally. Would help me in getting better mileage I think.
 
#14 ·
It is not aggressive enough to use for one pedal driving. Would be nice to adjust to a more ideal level
Then as others have suggested, use the brake pedal. It's a misconception that L mode is somehow better - the only difference is that L mode will of course not ever activate the friction brakes, but any normal braking done via the pedal will also activate regen as a priority before friction (with friction only coming into play under VERY heavy or emergency braking). L mode tops out around 25-30KW of regen, but the pedal can achieve 50KW of regen and a significantly better rate of deceleration, exactly what you want.

If you want insight on when you're using solely regen or if you've gone into friction, get a quality bluetooth OBD dongle and check out the MyGreenVolt app.
 
#15 ·
That might be true, but the L driving mode is far better for stop and go traffic in the city, which in my case is 80% use of the car. I like the slowdown control that I can achieve just by depressing the accelerator.

I personally only use D mode when doing long haul highway driving.
 
#18 ·
Anyone get used to driving in low and then forget they are in low until 10 miles down the road with cruise set at 65? I do it all the time, I don’t think there is any gear reduction, and I notice my Kw stay the same pulling a grade between drive and low, so is low just for more regen, and closer to one pedal driving?

I thought I read some where that under some circumstances the small electric motor is used to rotate the housing of the larger electric motor, thus making the larger motor spin more slowly. Is that what is happening in low, and why you get more regen?
 
#20 ·
Anyone get used to driving in low and then forget they are in low until 10 miles down the road with cruise set at 65? I do it all the time, I don’t think there is any gear reduction, and I notice my Kw stay the same pulling a grade between drive and low, so is low just for more regen, and closer to one pedal driving?
That's perfectly okay. It'll even keep your car from picking up speed going down hills, and instead you'll just use less power.

I thought I read some where that under some circumstances the small electric motor is used to rotate the housing of the larger electric motor, thus making the larger motor spin more slowly. Is that what is happening in low, and why you get more regen?
Nope, that's not what's happening. Or well, it may be happening, but that's not the bit that matters. What's actually happening is that the big motor (Motor-Generator B, or MGB), instead of having power go into it to make it spin, is being spun by the connection with the wheels, and MGB is being slowed down, by the electronics pulling power away from it and either using it for other things or putting it in the battery. It's true that MGB's speed can be lowered by spinning MGA (the other one, closer to the internal combustion engine (ICE) in the drive train), but that happening is basically independent of whether one MG is being used or two.
 
#19 ·
I own a 2016 Volt, but spent almost a week driving a 2017 Bolt. I agree that unlike the Volt, driving the Bolt is truly 1 pedal driving, and was really easy - let off the gas and it unquestionably stops. touch it a little and then let off, and it stops flawlessly. Drove around Los Angeles (in traffic) and still rarely used the brake pedal. Returned back to my rural town to my Volt, and while not ready to give up the Volt, I do wish the Low on the Volt worked as well as the Bolt.
 
#25 ·
I've said this many times, variable regen (using the brake pedal) is far superior to paddle regen.
 
#27 ·
I've been using L in stop-n-go, D when crusing longer distances, L when going downhill for a long ways. L + cruise control will hold the cruise control speed quite well even downhill. On highways where everyone is speeding anyways, coastish on small downhill stretches are fine. If you aren't going to get a ticket, it is always more efficient to coast rather than regen. My foot gets tired trying to play the feather game with the pedal for a long time.

If you're big on the regen to stop, like I am, I recommend you occasionally get friction braking in to keep the grime off the friction brakes.
 
#28 ·
No need to remember friction braking, the last bit from 5mph to 0mph is enough to clean the brake rotors.

As for all the gear shifting and regen gymnastics, I found though years of trial and error, I get the best range by minimizing regen, not maximizing it. So I wholeheartedly agree, it is more efficient to coast rather than regen. I've stopped driving in L and just use the brake pedal. It does all the gymnastics for me without me having to think about it too much.
 
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