Help for a prospective owner...?

SparkE said:

SparkevBlogspot said:

...So long as heat isn't needed, and speed isn't an issue, there shouldn't be any real problem if the battery capacity is at least 15 kWh.
And, in case of an issue, driver is good at begging ......concept of begging.

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If the DCFC stations are up and running,,, this will be just another road trip,, ,
except for the 15-20 minute walk-arounds when your car is sucking up clean, and possible free, electrons !!!

Don't listen to this guy. He is beat down, and not by his EV...

NORTON said:

SparkE said:

...So long as heat isn't needed, and speed isn't an issue, there shouldn't be any real problem if the battery capacity is at least 15 kWh.

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If the DCFC stations are up and running,,, this will be just another road trip,, ,
except for the 15-20 minute walk-arounds when your car is sucking up clean, and possible free, electrons !!!

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The distance between the DCFC stations (Colfax & Truckee) is 51 miles - UPHILL. The elevation gain is about 6000 feet. If one counts 4 miles/kWh, and 1.5 kWh per 1000 feet of elevation gain, that is an estimated consumption of 13+9 = 21. The trip is NOT possible without a stop elsewhere. It *is* doable with a stop at the Chevron station.

I can't wait for the DCFC stations to start popping up on this route. The CEC (Cal Energy Comm) has grants out for building out the "electric highway" concept, and ChargePoint is supposed to be adding additional DCFCs at both Colfax (and parking lot) and Truckee (at/near the same store) *and* adding new DCFCs at Cisco Grove/Soda Springs (same Chevron), and Dutch Flat - so there will be DCFCs about every 15-20 miles on I-80 to the top of the mountain. I'll be able to drive my Spark-EV to Reno from San Jose, no problem (just a stop every hour for electrons).

The distance between the DCFC stations (Colfax & Truckee) is 51 miles - UPHILL. The elevation gain is about 6000 feet. If one counts 4 miles/kWh, and 1.5 kWh per 1000 feet of elevation gain, that is an estimated consumption of 13+9 = 21. The trip is NOT possible without a stop elsewhere. It *is* doable with a stop at the Chevron station.

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If one counts 4 miles/KWh, it's not possible to go 120 miles in a single charge, which I have done several times. Its definitely safer to stop at the Chevron station, but driving carefully it would be possible to do 51 miles uphill. Find a truck going 40-45 and get behind it. Don't get up on the truck's bumper - follow at a respectful distance. You'll still get a bit of a draft, but the important thing is to keep the speed down, and by pacing the truck you'll stay in the right lane and not create a traffic jam.

OK, so unfortunately I wasn't able to go on Sunday as I planned, since my daughter was sick. When we went on Monday (yesterday) the car I wanted to buy in Auburn was SOLD.....and I didn't find out until I got to Auburn. So I drove further down to Roseville and got another Spark EV. We left at about 4:00 from Roseville. She did the driving in the Spark and I drove behind her in our 2007 Odyssey Minivan.

We drove from Roseville (elevation 160') with a full battery and drove to Colfax (elevation 2500'). Stayed in the right lane and kept it at 55. It was about 35 miles or so.....and we got to Colfax with 40% left on the battery! I was quite impressed. From there we went to Cisco Grove (5500', 31 miles) with no problem, same driving conditions. We charged for about 1.5 hours at the Chevron and proceeded to Truckee (5800', about 20 miles) - no problems. We filled up there - took about 17 minutes, and drove home. It was about 35-40 miles to our house in Reno (4500'), and she had almost a full battery when we got home - at 9:00.

Ultimately, the drive was no problem. What we really need is another DCFC charger in Cisco Grove. That was the longest wait - I took my wife and kids, left the car, we ate in truckee, then came back to get the car later. I think a DCFC charger in Cisco Grove would make all the difference. Suddenly, charging up takes 60 minutes from Sac to Reno. IF you made the charging stations free, too, that'd be even better. Or cheaper. Oh well.

I will say that conditions were quite ideal (70 degrees, no climate control, no stereo). There was a bit of rain near the summit, but we arrived after it rained.

But yes, the trip was not a problem! very easy to do and I might say that going the other way (Reno to Sac) would be very easy - might need to stop in Truckee, and might even be able to go directly to Roseville from there.....but only one way to find out!

Congrats on your new Spark EV and for having a great adventure. Pity those poor saps in gasoline cars, for whom a 130-mile trip is no more of an adventure than a stroll in their own back yard. No days of planning and consulting with friends. No excitement, no adventure, nothing. Just a two-hour drive. They don't know what they are missing.

TRPackman said:

... From {Colfax} we went to Cisco Grove (5500', 31 miles) with no problem, same driving conditions. We charged for about 1.5 hours at the Chevron and proceeded to Truckee (5800', about 20 miles) - no problems.

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Out of curiosity ...

- you left Colfax with a full battery, yes?

- what range was left when you got to Cisco Grove? (and what % of battery?)

- what speed did you drive from Colfax to CG ??

Thanks SparkSS - I will say the drive wasn't quite as fun, lol....because we left Reno at 7 AM to buy the car and didn't leave the dealership until 4 - with two kids (6 and 4)....they were exhausted and so were we. But I imagine future trips will be a lot more fun!

SparkE - We left Colfax with a full battery. We drove about 55 up the hill. Approximately 3000' elevation climb, 31.2 miles. My wife was driving, myself following behind her. She had everything off (no radio, no climate control) and the outside temperature was 74. I think the battery was 35-40% and it said about 27 miles I think.