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[vinceherman]

I took my SR/F out for an errand this weekend and got much less range that I expected.
Ambient temp was 45 degrees.
The evening before I rode the bike was at 38%.  I set the charge limit to 80% and it did charge up to that limit overnight.
My ride was to be 33 miles each way.  About 25 miles turnpike and interstate, with the rest city.
I rode slow, below the speed limit.  The limit on the turnpike is 70mph.  I did 2 miles at 65mph and the reported range dropped quickly.  I slowed down to 58 for the next 9 miles on the turnpike.
16 miles on the interstate at 55mph, then 30's and 20's the rest of the way on city streets.
33 miles took me from 80% SoC to 17%.
This is close to half the range I was expecting.
Rather than ride back the same route, I rode to my dad's house (12 miles away) which took me down to 4% and plugged in.  I let it get up to 28% and rode the remaining 22 miles home, getting home with 2% left.

Is 45 degrees cold enough to see this kind of range reduction?  I thought that the drop off point was colder than that.

[markearth]

My commute is 35miles each way on a mix of 30/40/60/70 MPH limit roads and temperature is typically 5 to 7 degrees C in UK.
I charge overnight to 90% and return with ~17%.
So I'm getting about 1% battery usage per mile.

[motorrad36]

I can only speak to my experience, and I've felt range reduced at any temp below 50F. not a whole lot, but it does start to drop quick. Pull the logs and lets have a look at that whole ride.

[alko]

I ride in 100+ degrees in summer and down to freezing winter time at speeds around 35-45 mph. I get my best range of 140+ miles when it's over 100 degrees. At temps around 50-60 degrees, my range drops to about 120 miles. At temps 40 and below, my range drops to about 100 miles.
To me, thats a big negative for electric vehicles.
I have a 2017 dsr zf13.

[vinceherman]

So I'm getting about 1% battery usage per mile.

That fits my warm weather experience.  But my 45 degree ride saw 33 miles consume 63% SoC.
And I was riding slower than my typical commute.
And by your experience, 45 is not a temp where we would expect a massive drop in range.

[vinceherman]

Pull the logs and lets have a look at that whole ride.

I should be able to when I get home tonight.

[vinceherman]

I ride in 100+ degrees in summer and down to freezing winter time at speeds around 35-45 mph. I get my best range of 140+ miles when it's over 100 degrees. At temps around 50-60 degrees, my range drops to about 120 miles. At temps 40 and below, my range drops to about 100 miles.
To me, thats a big negative for electric vehicles.
I have a 2017 dsr zf13.

So, some drop in range, but not half like I got.  :-/

[Crissa]

I find that I get the most drop in range when trying to go freeway speed in below 50F weather while at a low state of charge.  If I don't go below 50% charge while on the freeway section, I don't see the drop.

You guys have bigger batteries so you should be able to avoid that conundrum more easily.

-Crissa

[Hans2183]

Wind (and maybe rain) is also having a greater impact than I expected. That and higher speeds and cold weather are the most noticeable.

[Crissa]

Wind and rain things have the same exact impact to ICE vehicles, but they don't see it so acutely because they're already so wasteful.  Cold less so, since most of their waste is heat, but they're still less efficient in the cold.

My bike can hold the equivalent of 1/4 gallon of gasoline, while my spouse's bike hold 3 gallons... Twelve times more.  If my bike had that much energy, it'd go almost a thousand miles!

So always keep that in perspective.

-Crissa

[vinceherman]

I guess I should do some experimentation at different temperatures and see.
I WILL have that opportunity next week when I go down to Bike Week with a bunch of other Zero riders.  High 70's anyone?
Oh, for those interested, there are probably still beds at the AriBnB house available.  Go look at the Events on the FaceBook ZMOG page.
Edit:  the 10 day forecast has many of the days I will be there as    68°55°
Bummer.  ONLY 68 degrees!   

[flattetyre]

Range and performance starts dropping noticeably under 60* on my FXS. 45* is cold enough that range and performance are significantly impacted.

[Doug S]

Wind and rain things have the same exact impact to ICE vehicles, but they don't see it so acutely because they're already so wasteful.

Very true. I keep trying to explain to people that all vehicles are LESS aerodynamically efficient on the freeway, including their daily driver. The reason they get better mileage on the freeway is because their drivetrains become even more inefficient around town.

A 50% drop at 45 F does seem like a big drop. But one of the things we forget is that air gets denser as it gets colder. Any pilot will tell you that it's much harder to get a plane off the ground at 90 degrees than it is at 50 -- the "density altitude" can change as much as several thousand feet just based on temperature changes. And all that extra air density just increases drag. Pilots love a nice low density altitude, but us EV drivers love as much density altitude as we can get!

[Crissa]

Pilots love a nice low density altitude, but us EV drivers love as much density altitude as we can get!

I think your words got saladed.

You meant:  Pilots love a high density atmosphere, we like a low density atmosphere.  Right?  I mean, pilots don't really like low altitude since it has this big hard thing that keeps trying to grab them called 'the ground' with its 'gravity'.

-Crissa

[Doug S]

I think your words got saladed.

Nope, you missed my point entirely. Pilots love a low density altitude because it means high lift. They can take off (and land) easier, so they can carry more payload and/or fuel or use a shorter runway.

Us EV pilots just want thin air so we have less drag. Higher actual altitude, or just a higher density altitude.

Or perhaps you misunderstand the term "density altitude". A low "density altitude" means high-density air. It's the equivalent altitude of the air density being experienced, at standard temperature and barometric pressure. So if the temperature drops below normal, the air density goes up, and it's as if the airport was at a lower altitude than it's actually at --lower "density altitude". More drag, but more importantly for a pilot, more lift.