Regenerative Braking, How Much Does it Actually Do?

[brainhouston]

You can coast without regen by not lifting your foot as far. Just lift enough to get the speed where it would have been when coasting. You can see in your display when it is and isn’t regenerating. You can also feel it in the deceleration that clearly accompanies regen. Don’t lift your foot enough to give that feeling.

i wonder though, is it truly coasting with partial depress (ie no current flowing to motors) or is it just matched to speed/pedal so it feels like coasting but motors still producing low power...

 

[israndy]

There is no actual coasting wherein the car is using momentum only to overcome resistance to travel, since there is no way to disconnect the drive train like you could if the car had a clutch. If you go downhill like I do leaving our mountain cabin you can go miles w/o using any power, in fact we have MORE battery power as we approach 1000 ft in elevation and start to level off than when we left the 4000 ft. high cabin, but that wasn't coasting, that was all regen.

 

[brainhouston]

well... how about when its cold n regen is off? isn't car then truly coasting, ie just spinning rotors?
although i wonder now where does all that current go on permanent magnet drives...

 

[israndy]

It goes into making heat

 

[GtiMart]

...to some extent, but it's limited to 7kW on a dual motor, plus whatever energy you are spending in climate etc. It's much less than normal regen.

I don't remember the motor technology names but the front can "free spin" I believe. The rear motor however requires energy to spin at the car's speed, it doesn't spin freely.

 

[brainhouston]

...to some extent, but it's limited to 7kW on a dual motor, plus whatever energy you are spending in climate etc. It's much less than normal regen.

I don't remember the motor technology names but the front can "free spin" I believe. The rear motor however requires energy to spin at the car's speed, it doesn't spin freely.

Sounds like maybe Permanent Magnet vs AC induction difference? not sure which one is which tho...
From Google searching sounds like PM will always produce current when free spun (ie creating resistance) but AC won't... not 100% positive...

 

[israndy]

Yeah, I only have the one PM. I hear that people who only have the free spin AC induction motors also cannot tow their car behind their RV, so it's gotta be sorta the same issue, that's all I know, wish I knew more about the subject