Would Like Advice About Driving in "L"

I am a new Spark owner and would like to hear from others about driving in "L." My wife and I are going to use ours just for toodling around town (Salem, OR — not a big town). Should we be using "L" at all?

Personal preference. Though typically "L" is better suited to driving around town. You might notice a slightly better range as it will tend to use less of the friction brakes to stop (and hence more of the regenerative brakes).

If you get used to driving in "L" then you may notice that the brake feel in your gas cars seems off. Whenever I get back in a gas car, I always get the sensation that the brakes are not engaging enough and have to recalibrate myself to the old way of using the pedals.

One way I've heard it described is that D is more like the sensation of driving an automatic and L is more like the sensation of driving a manual in terms of engine braking.

Personally, I drive in L all the time.

I drive in D, just like a normal car. I can take my foot off the Go pedal anytime I want to and I get 'coast' without thinking about it.
There is no difference in regen rates between D and L. Watch the display. Friction brakes are used only when you ask for heavy braking.
Just like in the Volt, these brake pads and specially treated brake discs are going to last a very long time.

Be glad you have a D mode. Some new EV's demand you adopt this new '1 Foot Driving' method.

L does give you a '2 mode Cruise Control'. In L it maintains the set speed more aggressively on downhills.

Initially I would "downshift" into L to trigger regenerative braking, but that seems completely unnecessary as hitting the brakes in D will also do that. Now I basically use L for city driving and D for highway driving. I generally prefer driving in L (and I think my passengers probably prefer it too, as I have a bit of a lead foot), but I am glad we have the option of either depending on circumstances/preferences.

There is a fair amount of discussion on this thread.

NORTON said:

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Just like in the Volt, these brake pads and specially treated brake discs are going to last a very long time.
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My Volt rotors do not rust the way my Spark does. Despite being told that ALL Chevrolet vehicles have the coated rotors starting in 2013, it seems like we got forgot!

Otherwise, yep, regen will make your pads and rotors last a good long time.

Yah, it actually rained in California in July and
boo, I can now confirm that with less than 24 hours idle, my 2014 2LT Spark rotors started rusting.

I drove in L for a while, but eventually realized D was more efficient, as it was easier to coast in D.

D in theory would get better range if you coast more. This is due to efficiency losses when you regen into the pack and pull power back out. However, I think D and L can yield the same efficiency if you don't let up all the way on the pedal when coasting.

I personally like the "one pedal" orientated driving in L. There is, however, a slight dead spot at initial tip-in when driving in L.

Personally, I don't like the feel of L at all. To me, it makes a fun, sporty car feel sluggish. I also like the coasting I can do in D. L starts slowing the car down as soon as I take my foot off the accelerator which means I have to then accelerate to keep the car going at an even speed.

Yeah, be glad you have a D mode.
The BMW i3 and the Tesla demand you keep you foot on that Go Pedal the entire time. "No coast for you".
Their brake pedal is just a simple friction brake pedal, straight out of the past.

(although, the Tesla lets you select a 'less regen mode', but still,,, this is lazy engineering to not have the brake pedal work with regen)

A lot depends on how you drive, your past experience, and congestion. Some people are oscillators with the accelerator, depressing until they attain the desired speed and then coasting until they slow enough for more acceleration. Kind of a see-saw effect. Others have cruise control built into their right foot and can be more subtle in their application. D for the former and L for the latter.

If you've never driven a stick, D will seem more natural. Manual transmission drivers will feel right at home with L's regenerative braking as it's similar to compression braking. Then there's congestion. Stop and go, light-to-light driving in L will save tons on brake wear once you get used to it.

I've found there's a narrow sweet spot in L where you can essentially coast without triggering regenerative braking. This is very handy when traffic can't find a steady speed. Try it, you might like it. You just need to pay attention to your gauges and leave some room between you and the next guy, otherwise he'll be determining your accelerator position, not you.

As to efficiency, the jury is still out for me personally, with maybe a slight edge towards L, but I'm in traffic nearly all the time and rarely get Li'l Sparky on the open road.

Dusty

Dusty said:

A lot depends on how you drive, ....driving in L will save tons on brake wear once you get used to it.

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I'm not sure if brake wear is going to be any different. When you step on the brake pedal it is all regen braking up to the same regen amount you can get from L driving.
Watch the display that shows the amount of kW used for power and regen.
When you come to a stop in D the last 5-0 mph is when the friction brakes start to work. You can feel the bump at the transition. This transition is not as smooth as in the Volt but it is still miles ahead of BMW and Tesla.
You could measure you brake disc temps after driving one way versus the other. I came down Pikes Peak in a Volt using just the brake pedal and the discs were only 10* warmer than air temp at the safety stop ranger station.

You have to be braking hard to get 'tons of brake wear' on this sporty little car. Besides, brake pads are very inexpensive.

But again, to each, his own. If you like the new '1 Foot Driving' go for it. Just be considerate of those behind you. That brake lights do work automatically but only at a certain deceleration rate.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that if you don't use the brake peddle, what you call "1 Foot Driving", then you can't put wear on your brakes. Exactly when regeneration is supplanted by friction, while in D mode, might not be as plain to some, but you know it for sure when driving in L.

On a side note, someone ran a stop sign on me the other day and I was sure Li'l Sparky was going to t-bone him. Didn't happen. Stomped on the brakes, the ABS kicked in evenly on all four wheels, and I experienced the most perfect stop in any vehicle ever. Missed him by at least 2 feet. Nice job GM.

Dusty

Dusty said:

If you've never driven a stick, D will seem more natural. Manual transmission drivers will feel right at home with L's regenerative braking as it's similar to compression braking.
Dusty

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Just one data point...

I'm a stick-shifter (my DD) and I cannot cannot cannot stand L mode .

siata94 said:

Dusty said:

If you've never driven a stick, D will seem more natural. Manual transmission drivers will feel right at home with L's regenerative braking as it's similar to compression braking.
Dusty

Click to expand...

Just one data point...

I'm a stick-shifter (my DD) and I cannot cannot cannot stand L mode .

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I pretty much agree. I've driven sticks most of my life and I've never seen compression braking anywhere near what the Spark gives just by lifting one's foot off of the "gas". Although useful on long, steep downgrades in other situations it makes my driving too herky-jerky - and I'm enough of a jerk already :mrgreen: .

Also remember, the stop lights don't come on as quickly in L as they do when you press the brake pedal. And from personal experience I can assure you that the only good thing about being read-ended is that its not as bad as being hit head on.

Only having had my 2015 for couple of months now, I personally like 'L' for my commute. I live a few hundred feet in elevation above the freeway and in the morning it is easy to balance my speed/regeneration. Same on my way home, slight hill and 25 mph limit. I always pick up a couple of miles on the guess-o-meter. When on freeway and traffic is moving along well, it is back to 'D'. Return trip is always through traffic and lifting my big steel toe boots off the gas and applying brakes is none too comfortable at end of the day.
The regeneration is more complex than just letting off the pedal. The difference between 'D' & 'L' is rate of change in accelerator position and amount of regeneration. Some electric motorcycles actually have an "app" to set the rates at which regeneration is applied versus speed. We only get two curves, 'D' & 'L'. This is the kind of thing that would be nice to adjust to suit ones personal taste and is all done in software.
The tail lights are the thing I worry about. Regeneration in 'L' slows me down, but do I look like some fool with foot on brake to him? Is it the amount of back current or G-forces that causes tail lights to come on?

I believe it is the amount of force that triggers the brake light.


BMW i3 has selectable reg maps, via moving the selector from side to side. Kinda cool.