New owner

[NORTON]

And then there's the exploding tires!
I saw and heard one about 200 feet in front of me once on an interstate in traffic.
BANG, dark cloud of black rubber dust and tire parts, cars swerving away, those rubber carcasses twirling in the air!
I'm glad I wan't close to it.

To this day, I'm passing quickly, or hanging back from semi tires.

Every time you see one of these Big Black Alligators [trucker nickname] think about the show you missed !!

[MrDRMorgan]

And then there's the exploding tires!
I saw and heard one about 200 feet in front of me once on an interstate in traffic.
BANG, dark cloud of black rubber dust and tire parts, cars swerving away, those rubber carcasses twirling in the air!
I'm glad I wan't close to it.

To this day, I'm passing quickly, or hanging back from semi tires.

Every time you see one of these Big Black Alligators [trucker nickname] think about the show you missed !!

"Road Alligators" can be really mean and pack a BIG BITE!

[Groonavy]

Yeah....Drive really slow

[SparkE]

Drafting semi trucks,,, just to save a few pennies in electrons......

And I thought I was cheap.....

In some cases this is the only way to "ensure" you make it to a distant charging location when your GOM says you will not make it. Sometimes, I do it for fun but you have to watch out for rocks flying off of the rear tires of the truck. The windshield is mighty expensive to replace - like $750 installed!! There is no after-market replacement available. You have to get it from GM!

^^^--- what MrDRMorgan said.

I generally only draft so I can make the trip in an EV, *or* I draft about 10 seconds back in the gasmobile when on long trips (to pollute less - I get about 40 mpg in a vehicle that was EPA certified for 32 or 34 {can't really remember} and it's not about the pennies, it's about the pollution).

[NORTON]

I generally only draft so I can make the trip in an EV,...... and it's not about the pennies, it's about the pollution).

What is better for range (and safety)?
Drafting a semi ( in the sand and rock zone, hoping a Road Alligator doesn't attack), or just driving slower?

Drafting at a distance only works in still air. If there is any cross wind there may be more drag in that wind buffet zone.

The few times I've had range anxiety I was able to see the results of slowing down and turning the heat down by
watching the 'Miles to Destination' on a Garmin and the GOM. In just a few miles I could see those numbers change in my favor.

[MechDork]

I disagree about L. When you’re in D you only get access to full regen when you hit the brake pedal we find it too hard to find the sweet spot on the brake pedal between when regen ends and when mechanical braking begins, causing us to waste energy on mechanical braking when we were hitting the brake pedal to get full regen. Using L solves this.

A big problem with driving in L around where I live (and I may be the only Spark EV owner in the state!) is that the brake lights come on every time I let off of the gas pedal. This shouldn't really be a problem because the car IS slowing down just as if I was using the brake pedal, however the drivers behind me get aggravated and start tailgating like crazy. I've even had a couple fly past me waving the middle finger while doing so.

Driving in D instead of L (mostly) solves this problem, but there are still a LOT of asshats here that I'm convinced are going to tailgate/honk/flip me off for no other reason than the fact that I'm driving an EV. And this happens while I'm doing 75 in a 60, and happens almost never while driving my wife's non-EV car in the same manner.

Plus I just find it easier to stay in D and coast more often, lightly using the brake pedal to maintain as much regen as possible without heating up the brake pads. I'm sure with enough discipline one could get the same results using either gear position, but meh.. whatever... I'm not THAT much of an MPG nazi!

[MrDRMorgan]

I disagree about L. When you’re in D you only get access to full regen when you hit the brake pedal we find it too hard to find the sweet spot on the brake pedal between when regen ends and when mechanical braking begins, causing us to waste energy on mechanical braking when we were hitting the brake pedal to get full regen. Using L solves this.

A big problem with driving in L around where I live (and I may be the only Spark EV owner in the state!) is that the brake lights come on every time I let off of the gas pedal. This shouldn't really be a problem because the car IS slowing down just as if I was using the brake pedal, however the drivers behind me get aggravated and start tailgating like crazy. I've even had a couple fly past me waving the middle finger while doing so.

Driving in D instead of L (mostly) solves this problem, but there are still a LOT of asshats here that I'm convinced are going to tailgate/honk/flip me off for no other reason than the fact that I'm driving an EV. And this happens while I'm doing 75 in a 60, and happens almost never while driving my wife's non-EV car in the same manner.

Plus I just find it easier to stay in D and coast more often, lightly using the brake pedal to maintain as much regen as possible without heating up the brake pads. I'm sure with enough discipline one could get the same results using either gear position, but meh.. whatever... I'm not THAT much of an MPG nazi!

You can control when the brake lights come on when driving in L. It takes a certain amount of deceleration g-force to activate the brake lights. I have been driving around town in L for almost 4 years. It works great. On the highway, coasting when driving in D seems to work better. There are some idiot drivers who will give you a bad time just because you are in front of them.

Originally, when driving in L, the brake lights would come on about 1.5 seconds after you took your foot off of the accelerator. A software update per a technical service bulletin fixed this. I like that the brake lights now come on immediately when I remove my foot from the accelerator. So far, I have not had any drivers showing me what his IQ is.