Sunday, January 17, 2010

Efficiency Testing

I have been running a particular test route for breaking in my batteries and testing out my EV. It's about 3.3 miles long and includes everything I usually see during my commute. It also happens to be a little more aggressive than my standard commute because there is a fair amount of stop and go. I have been collecting lots of data over the past five or so months and this is what I have found:

Kelly Controller -> 333 WH/Mi
Zilla Z1K-LV -> 312 WH/Mi
Zilla w/Skunk2 -> 270 WH/Mi

What these numbers mean it how much power it takes to go 1 mile of driving. Less power required = more range. I also did not baby it during any of these tests as the roads were quite populated with travelers.

My new suspension has done A LOT for efficiency, more than I had expected. My rear wheels were bent in quite a bit due to the weight and stock struts.

I did the route a few times just to make sure, but it seems my EV has dropped it's WH/Mi requirement a good chunk from last time I drove it to school back in October. It's looking like a 19% improvement in efficiency, which is amazing. And for comparison, it was around 55F back in October to this past weeks high of 42 F when I drove it.

I am going to have to collect a lot more data this week just to verify, but these past few runs have been great. Not to mention the suspension itself feels a lot better, although stiffer.

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