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EV Newbie Efficiency Starting Low

Bmitch

Bmitch

Member
Verified Owner
Joined
Dec 30, 2023
Messages
25
Location
San Antonio
Cars
Pure, Aviator, Lexus
DE Number
0
First EV ever so I’m definitely “green” on the topic. I’ve got the pure with 20 inch aero wheels. Temp is hovering above freezing consistently. Charged last night after significant drain during PPF. I don’t consider myself a speed demon nor do I drive anything close to slow. Running heater mid-low 70’s mix of highway and city driving. All that said as I’ve searched through efficiency topics this appears to me low to me. Is there a “break in” period, are there background things running I should be looking for. At this sort of efficiency confidence in any sort of decent roadtrip is pretty low at this point. I start my commute to work for the first time Monday so we’ll see how that goes. I rented aTesla Y in the past and don’t remember seeing % drop at such at steady pace while driving. Driving the car is a VERY enjoyable experience, just curious if I should expect this sort efficiency as a norm (is the cold weather greatly impacting?) or if I should consult lucid. All tips and pointers welcome!
IMG_8545.jpeg
 
There is a break in period of about 1500-2500 miles where the internal resistance of the motors loosens just a little and efficiency will improve some.
However here’s some key points:
1. Tire pressure! Cold PSI is crucial, get a battery powered inflator like the Ryobi or Milwaukee one and match the PSI numbers on the door jam.
2. Best efficiency is at 80F, steady highway speeds of like 65mph. I’ve gotten 4.4 mi/kwh in those conditions, and got 2.7 mi/kwh on the same route at 20F outside just yesterday! Colder temps and stop/go traffic KILL efficiency. Also the Lucid does an amazing job of getting to any target speed you want quickly…but that uses a LOT of power. Slow gradual acceleration combined with slowing down long and slow using max regen will yield much better efficiency. Highway on ramps also kill efficiency as it takes a LOT of kW to get this heavy car up to speed quickly.
3. Elevation! Check flattestroute.com and you’ll see what elevation changes are happening on a chosen route, obviously the flatter the better for this car.
 
Bunnylebowski said:
There is a break in period of about 1500-2500 miles where the internal resistance of the motors loosens just a little and efficiency will improve some.
However here’s some key points:
1. Tire pressure! Cold PSI is crucial, get a battery powered inflator like the Ryobi or Milwaukee one and match the PSI numbers on the door jam.
2. Best efficiency is at 80F, steady highway speeds of like 65mph. I’ve gotten 4.4 mi/kwh in those conditions, and got 2.7 mi/kwh on the same route at 20F outside just yesterday! Colder temps and stop/go traffic KILL efficiency. Also the Lucid does an amazing job of getting to any target speed you want quickly…but that uses a LOT of power. Slow gradual acceleration combined with slowing down long and slow using max regen will yield much better efficiency. Highway on ramps also kill efficiency as it takes a LOT of kW to get this heavy car up to speed quickly.
3. Elevation! Check flattestroute.com and you’ll see what elevation changes are happening on a chosen route, obviously the flatter the better for this car.
Click to expand...
Awesome feedback, thanks!
 
Sid432 said:
As Bunny pointed out, there is a break in period. Please ready this for a good explanation on what affects the efficiency. All EVs take hit in cold weather.

Thread 'Bad Efficiency? Read this first before creating another of the same topic.'
https://lucidowners.com/threads/bad...fore-creating-another-of-the-same-topic.7730/
Click to expand...
Thanks, I indeed read that first and understand the content but was curious on further feedback on if my specific readings were concerning and how much car being new mattered. Great feedback so far!
 
Also, be very careful driving summer tires in temps under 45F. There are many discussions about this topic, but essentially the rubber can develop micro fractures and have a failure with cold temps. Traction is also greatly reduced. If you live in a cold climate, I highly recommend getting a set of all season or winter tires.
 
Neurio said:
Also, be very careful driving summer tires in temps under 45F. There are many discussions about this topic, but essentially the rubber can develop micro fractures and have a failure with cold temps. Traction is also greatly reduced. If you live in a cold climate, I highly recommend getting a set of all season or winter tires.
Click to expand...
Interesting, thanks for the insight. I’m in San Antonio, Texas. This is our two weeks of real winter a year we get, lol. I’m not sure if my tires are summer tires or not, will check out in the AM.
 
Bmitch said:
Interesting, thanks for the insight. I’m in San Antonio, Texas. This is our two weeks of real winter a year we get, lol. I’m not sure if my tires are summer tires or not, will check out in the AM.
Click to expand...
The stock 20s come with Michelin Pilot Sport EV tires, which are summer tires. Only the 19s come stock with all season tires.
 
Bmitch said:
Interesting, thanks for the insight. I’m in San Antonio, Texas. This is our two weeks of real winter a year we get, lol. I’m not sure if my tires are summer tires or not, will check out in the AM.
Click to expand...
I think you'll be fine...if you have 2 weeks a year of real low temps, try not to drive on the summer tires too much, but you'll be fine for the rest of the year. No point changing to crappy all seasons on this fine performance machine 💪

Anyway, your efficiency looks fine. In CA winter of around ~50F i'm getting 2.9 with normal mixed city/highway and heater set to 70F.
 
Bmitch said:
Interesting, thanks for the insight. I’m in San Antonio, Texas. This is our two weeks of real winter a year we get, lol. I’m not sure if my tires are summer tires or not, will check out in the AM.
Click to expand...
I have been going back and forth between summer tires (e.g., Michelin Pilot Sport 4S) or All Season performance tires (e.g., Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3). I was planning on summer tires as I live in Scottsdale but last week the outside temp when I woke up was at 31 a couple of times and I have read that the performance fall off from the former to the latter is fairly small. So now I am leaning toward the Pilot Sport A/S.
 
Ordered a 2006 Volvo V70R that came with Pirelli P-Zero Rosso summer performance tires.

On the window was a large warning, in bold type, all caps. I don't recall the exact phrasing, but it went something like:

THIS CAR IS EQUIPPED WITH HIGH PERFORMANCE SUMMER TIRES.
DO NOT DRIVE ON THESE TIRES WHEN TEMPS. ARE BELOW 40 DEGREES F.
SERIOUS DAMAGE AND INJURY ...etc.

All the cars with summer performance rubber had the window placard. I don't know why this has stopped. Perhaps the modern summer compound is more resistant to cold cracking, and the insurance industry doesn't care if you spin off the exit ramp. My observation as an alpine skier since 60's: Snow tires when cold, summer tires when hot. All-season tires do nothing well, but might save your ass and you won't even know it. Since it has stopped snowing altogether here in Philadelphia I've stopped using proper snow tires. There is about 3 cm of rock salt on the roads --all of them, and it's headed to 65 degrees F and two inches of rain. I think they used all the salt they didn't need in 2021 & 2022 on this one day.
No wonder the ocean is so salty....and all the freshwater streams in PA.

Food for thought: A hockey puck is made entirely of summer performance tire compound.
 
Steveinarizona said:
I have been going back and forth between summer tires (e.g., Michelin Pilot Sport 4S) or All Season performance tires (e.g., Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3). I was planning on summer tires as I live in Scottsdale but last week the outside temp when I woke up was at 31 a couple of times and I have read that the performance fall off from the former to the latter is fairly small. So now I am leaning toward the Pilot Sport A/S.
Click to expand...
If you keep your car in the garage at night, summer tires here are not a problem. They start warm from the garage and stay warm while driving. The outside temperature will warm up by the time you get to where you are going and the tires start to cool down.
 
momo3605 said:
I think you'll be fine...if you have 2 weeks a year of real low temps, try not to drive on the summer tires too much, but you'll be fine for the rest of the year. No point changing to crappy all seasons on this fine performance machine 💪

Anyway, your efficiency looks fine. In CA winter of around ~50F i'm getting 2.9 with normal mixed city/highway and heater set to 70F.
Click to expand...
Sounds like momo has some stock in tire companies with this kind of advice.
 
momo3605 said:
he lives in arizona with 2 weeks of freezing winter. Why would you buy all season tires for 2 weeks out of the year??
Click to expand...
Same reason I bought all season for 2 weeks out of the year. So you don't have to worry about those 2 weeks freezing your summer tires and having to replace them =)
 
hydbob said:
Same reason I bought all season for 2 weeks out of the year. So you don't have to worry about those 2 weeks freezing your summer tires and having to replace them =)
Click to expand...
i mean you do you...but you're not going to ruin your summer tires by driving them a couple times under 40F. I'd rather just drive a different car for those 2 weeks or WFH for those 2 weeks. The Air handles so well, i think it's a waste to ruin the cornering performance unless you live somewhere that has real seasons. If you go slowly around corners, then of course, maybe you don't need summer tires :)
 
momo3605 said:
i mean you do you...but you're not going to ruin your summer tires by driving them a couple times under 40F. I'd rather just drive a different car for those 2 weeks or WFH for those 2 weeks. The Air handles so well, i think it's a waste to ruin the cornering performance unless you live somewhere that has real seasons. If you go slowly around corners, then of course, maybe you don't need summer tires :)
Click to expand...
Well, I took my car on a trip and had to park outside. The weather dropped to 30 degrees. Presumably, the tires froze. Considering that you aren't supposed to operate the summer tires below 45, I'd rather not risk it. You can buy all means, just my reasoning for the swap
 
hydbob said:
Well, I took my car on a trip and had to park outside. The weather dropped to 30 degrees. Presumably, the tires froze. Considering that you aren't supposed to operate the summer tires below 45, I'd rather not risk it. You can buy all means, just my reasoning for the swap
Click to expand...
The tires can be damaged if you DRIVE them in freezing weather. If you leave it parked, they won't be damaged.
 
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