M3 equivalent "Econ" or Regenerative Braking modes?

[CHG-ON]

I find the regen to be flawless and very intuitive. I leave mine in the standard setting. I think I have used low maybe twice just to check it out. I have read that it can be great to use low on long highway trips when you really won't be regenerating a lot. Apparently smoother. I drive on roads that are busy enough, such as on a long empty interstate drive, that I have not had a chance to try that. I have gotten in the habit of using it to come to just about a complete stop in most situations on my regular drives. The way to save energy is simply to drive gently, don't stomp the go pedal (which is really hard to do!) and lift off early for regen. Works like a charm!

 

[jerjozwik]

...quotes not working.

"The difference is that there is much more power covered in the mapping so the acceleration feels a lot more brisk.That is, the kW levels represented by the position of the pedal are much closer together. This gives spirited performance that also allows very precise speed control. This is on a plain vanilla S. It might be different on a performance model."

it is possible on the p90d. though you have to have some seriously fine motor skills on your right foot. managed a meager 278wh/mi on tonight's drive home!

 

[cwave1]

If you really want a low power mode, the current Model S also has a valet mode which really kills the power.

I haven't tried it enough to monitor how it affects range but it could be similar to the ECO mode you are referring to.

 

[ediot]

If you really want a low power mode, the current Model S also has a valet mode which really kills the power.

The Valet mode limits the car to a top speed of 80mph (i think) along with only 25% acceleration power. It would indeed reduce the power consumption of the car as it limits your start/stops to a very gentle one, regardless of how you mash the pedals.

how much energy it saves, however, would really depend upon how fast you USUALLY accelerate and cruise without using valet mode. the more aggressive your daily driving, the more energy Valet Mode would save you, purely by limiting power delivery. Personally i think it would work alright, along with turning on Range Mode etc.

 

[syosh]

If I had to quantify the regen on the leaf vs S, I'd say the standard regen setting on the S is about 3x more aggressive than the leaf.

The first thing I do when I drive my wife's leaf is disable Eco mode. I agree, it seems to take away my "evasion" ability should I need it unexpectedly.

 

[ngnphoto]

The way to save energy is simply to drive gently, don't stomp the go pedal (which is really hard to do!) and lift off early for regen. Works like a charm!

Yeah I love one pedal driving. Kind of a little game to play while in traffic. Thanks everyone for the feedback and responses! And so the M3 wait continues.

 

[ngnphoto]

Thanks everyone for the feedback and responses! Definitely some good info.

 

[plankeye]

It's fun to drive behind someone who obviously just picked up their first Model S. It's like they're driving with their foot on the brake and accelerator at the same time .

Doesn't take long before you change habits and "ease" of the accelerator instead.

I hope I like this technique more than I did on my 250cc scooter. That thing would slow down super fast just by letting off the throttle (due to the CVT). If I didn't gauge it right, I'd have to get back on the throttle a bit to get to the light. It drove me crazy.

I just don't love the idea of having to keep my foot partially on the throttle all, or some, of the way to each stop. I'd rather use the brake for regen, like in our Prius C. It just seems easier to me to progressively press the brake harder up to a stop than progressively pressing the accelerator less, and then having to switch to the brake at the very end.

I'm afraid I'll be thinking about the Prius C and end up rear-ending someone because I pressed harder on the accelerator, coming up to a stop in the M3. In that scenario, would the safety autopilot save me and brake before I hit the person in front of me?

 

[dgpcolorado]

If I had to quantify the regen on the leaf vs S, I'd say the standard regen setting on the S is about 3x more aggressive than the leaf...

That sounds about right. A problem I had was that the degraded battery plus cold weather reduced the LEAF regen on the go pedal considerably, from the rather weak amount the car originally had. There was no way to descend my steep hairpin turns without using the brake pedal, unlike when driving the Model S.

The first thing I do when I drive my wife's leaf is disable Eco mode. I agree, it seems to take away my "evasion" ability should I need it unexpectedly.

I pretty much always drove in Eco except when in cruise. All of the LEAF acceleration is present in Eco so if one gets used to the power mapped pedal versus the acceleration mapped D setting, it works fine for accelerating. But coming from a Model S to a LEAF? That would be a huge difference in acceleration performance!

 

[dgpcolorado]

I hope I like this technique more than I did on my 250cc scooter. That thing would slow down super fast just by letting off the throttle (due to the CVT). If I didn't gauge it right, I'd have to get back on the throttle a bit to get to the light. It drove me crazy.

I just don't love the idea of having to keep my foot partially on the throttle all, or some, of the way to each stop. I'd rather use the brake for regen, like in our Prius C. It just seems easier to me to progressively press the brake harder up to a stop than progressively pressing the accelerator less, and then having to switch to the brake at the very end.

I'm afraid I'll be thinking about the Prius C and end up rear-ending someone because I pressed harder on the accelerator, coming up to a stop in the M3. In that scenario, would the safety autopilot save me and brake before I hit the person in front of me?

Single pedal driving in a Tesla is really quite intuitive and easy to learn. It is really easy to fine tune one's speed with single pedal driving. Furthermore, once one gets used to it, it is a major step down to go back to a conventional car.

You might want to take a test drive and see for yourself.

 

[plankeye]

You might want to take a test drive and see for yourself.

Hopefully I will in the next two months. It will give me something to do while I'm waiting. Of course, that will make me want my M3 even more!

 

[Jason Bourne]

I'm not sure I would use the more aggressive regen setting. I think my wife/passengers would complain that the car is jerking around too much.

 

[plankeye]

I think you just have to learn to ease-off the accelerator very gently, as opposed to lifting off entirely, which is the norm for most ICE drivers. So there will be a learning curve for sure.

 

[eisbock]

This is all very interesting! I didn't know the brake lights came on during regen.

I figured single pedal driving meant you cruise around all the time without any brake lights. I guess it does make sense as far as safety is concerned. Brake lights exist for a reason.

I was just looking forward to pissing off people behind me when they have to brake but I don't (or at least it will appear that way). I guess reducing the chances I get rear-ended is probably better in the long run...

 

[Az_Rael]

Once I learned that Tesla uses the one-pedal driving philosophy, I have been practicing in "L" mode on my Volt. I don't think it is as strong as Tesla's "standard" regen, but it is a good test.

Its pretty easy to get used to it driving around town, once you get the stopping distance under control. What's hard to remember is coming off of cruise control on the highway. If you normally tap the brake to disable cruise control, that habit will lead to some non-smooth driving as the heavy regen kicks in at freeway speeds. I have to remember to put my foot on the gas pedal and press it down, THEN turn off cruise with the button.


Overall from what I have seen on the S forums, you either love one-pedal driving right away, or you manage to get used to one-pedal driving, but never fully enjoy it.

 

[Booga]

Once I learned that Tesla uses the one-pedal driving philosophy, I have been practicing in "L" mode on my Volt. I don't think it is as strong as Tesla's "standard" regen, but it is a good test.

Its pretty easy to get used to it driving around town, once you get the stopping distance under control. What's hard to remember is coming off of cruise control on the highway. If you normally tap the brake to disable cruise control, that habit will lead to some non-smooth driving as the heavy regen kicks in at freeway speeds. I have to remember to put my foot on the gas pedal and press it down, THEN turn off cruise with the button.


Overall from what I have seen on the S forums, you either love one-pedal driving right away, or you manage to get used to one-pedal driving, but never fully enjoy it.

In my test drive of the Model S, I had to begin learning about stopping distance. I'm used to an ICE where you can coast for quite a while before hitting the brakes and so it's a little more flexible in that regard. I'm sure I'll get used to it over time, though wouldn't mind a feature that helped me determine where I should let off the gas early on.

 

[eisbock]

Its pretty easy to get used to it driving around town, once you get the stopping distance under control. What's hard to remember is coming off of cruise control on the highway. If you normally tap the brake to disable cruise control, that habit will lead to some non-smooth driving as the heavy regen kicks in at freeway speeds. I have to remember to put my foot on the gas pedal and press it down, THEN turn off cruise with the button.

I do this with a regular ICE now. Granted it's a 1998-mobile, but when coming off cruise control, if I simply hit the button, the car kinda abruptly jerks and starts coasting, since it drops the revs immediately. So, I always hit the gas a tiny bit for a smoother transition. I'm ready for single pedal driving!

 

[hoang51]

I do this with a regular ICE now. Granted it's a 1998-mobile, but when coming off cruise control, if I simply hit the button, the car kinda abruptly jerks and starts coasting, since it drops the revs immediately. So, I always hit the gas a tiny bit for a smoother transition. I'm ready for single pedal driving!

In my car - Acura RSX, when cruise control is activated, the acceleration pedal will be loose up to the point where it's depressed for the cruise speed. So I can basically tap the pedal and not apply so much pressure and have it right where it's positioned for throttling. For an example for better understanding: If the cruise control is using about 50% throttle (OBD2 monitoring can tell you this), and the pedal is at maybe 30-50%, I would have my foot pressed up to the 50% position, turn off the cruise, and there will be a smooth transition where there's no jerk from disabling cruise control.

 

[gregincal]

I'm not sure I would use the more aggressive regen setting. I think my wife/passengers would complain that the car is jerking around too much.

It doesn't jerk around at all. People in my car are surprised how smoothly it drives, and are amazed that I never use the brake. It's allows much smoother adjustments to speed than having to move your foot back and forth between the accelerator and brake.

 

[gregincal]

In my test drive of the Model S, I had to begin learning about stopping distance. I'm used to an ICE where you can coast for quite a while before hitting the brakes and so it's a little more flexible in that regard. I'm sure I'll get used to it over time, though wouldn't mind a feature that helped me determine where I should let off the gas early on.

Coasting is always best for efficiency. I generally coast most of the way coming to a stop and then slowly apply more regen near the end. I don't know why people think they can't coast in a Tesla, it's easy.