Is regen ever really off?

[Halodde]

After reading some posts about different efficiency based off of different Regen settings in different driving styles either around town or on the highway, I started doing some unofficial research on my own car and how regen affects my overall efficiency in the different types of driving that I do. Obviously I know you can turn regen off in the settings. However, I challenge you guys to try this if you think regen is actually off at any given time. When it is safe to do so, get your car up to highway speed with regen in either standard or high setting and then lift your foot off the accelerator. This will give you a sense of how the regen feels in slowing the car down from highway speeds when it is in one of those two settings. Then, again only when it is safe to do so, get your car up to highway speed and turn regen off without moving your foot on the accelerator. The first thing you'll notice is the car speeds up when you turn off regen at speed. So that indicates that the regen is actually doing something even when the vehicle is in motion at speed if it is slowing the car down compared to when regen is turned off. Then after you stabilize your speed to the same level it was in the first scenario, take your foot off the accelerator again and you will feel the difference. But from my experience, the car slows significantly initially after lifting my foot off the accelerator as if regen is still being used. Then after a period of several seconds, it feels like the regen actually finally lets go and more like coasting in a regular gas powered vehicle. I'm very interested to know what you guys find and what you think the cause is of these strange behaviors.

 

[Truthlesshunter]

having owned a taycan, no, I can confidently say that regen is never fully off in the lucid. The taycan REALLY had a full regen off mode; it coasted like a manual car left in neutral which made it super efficient on roads with decent speed limits and few stops

but yeah, there is a bit of regen, it feels more like coasting in gear of an ICE vehicle

 

[tmichael]

i have experienced the same effects, however I think it is a calibration issue as opposed to regen being active while under power.

 

[Pragmatic]

I always figured regen off pushed no power into the battery. The car still slowed due to rolling/air drag plus the power used for HVAC, and other hotel loads.

 

[Halodde]

I always figured regen off pushed no power into the battery. The car still slowed due to rolling/air drag plus the power used for HVAC, and other hotel loads.

With regen set to off, there is a noticeable difference in the deceleration a few seconds after removing your foot from the pedal. I am simply thinking that there's still some regen in play for the first few seconds and then it releases more. If you haven't tried it, please do and share your thoughts.

 

[Halodde]

Any other thoughts on this? Hoping to get more data points.

 

[doubletwist]

Any other thoughts on this? Hoping to get more data points.

I tested it yesterday. To me it just feels like it uses a different throttle mapping when the regen is off.

Which , if true, is odd given how perfectly the throttle mapping matches between smooth/swift/sprint otherwise. Certainly better than the GV60 which lurches forward or slows suddenly if you switch modes without changing throttle position.

 

[L-Dude]

I tried this yesterday on my Air. With regen off, the car coasted just like my Audi, which only had regen when braking. The instrument panel also showed zero regen when coasting. So based on one minute of testing, I think when regen is off, it really is off.

 

[yek]

How do I permanently set the regen to off? I turned it off in the drive settings, but every time I start the car, it defaults to Smooth with Full regen, and I hate that Is there a way to set it to Swift and Regen off?

 

[Saksak]

With regen set to off, there is a noticeable difference in the deceleration a few seconds after removing your foot from the pedal. I am simply thinking that there's still some regen in play for the first few seconds and then it releases more. If you haven't tried it, please do and share your thoughts.

How soon are you lifting your foot off the pedal after turning off regen? It takes time for the system to fully disengage regen. In my experiments with regen fully off, it feels like it is really fully off.

Also, remember that air resistance is proportional to the square of the velocity. At high speed, you will initially feel more deceleration and that deceleration will taper off as your speed drops.

 

[Halodde]

How soon are you lifting your foot off the pedal after turning off regen? It takes time for the system to fully disengage regen. In my experiments with regen fully off, it feels like it is really fully off.

Also, remember that air resistance is proportional to the square of the velocity. At high speed, you will initially feel more deceleration and that deceleration will taper off as your speed drops.

Fair points. However, I was driving for a while with regen off. So it should have been fully off before that part of the experiment.

And the sensation of the the change in deceleration is abrupt a second or two after lifting my foot off the accelerator. Even given the physics of wind resistance, it should not cause an abrupt change like that. It seems like regen is on at least partially for the first second or two and then releases.

But who knows? Maybe it's a fluke with my car for some reason. With the way different cars were built with different components (2022-23 build), it's entirely possible I guess.