[gahbouch]

Greetings,

I have an X5 45e on order. Does anyone know if regenerative braking intensity can be customized?

I asked the dealer but they are clueless.

I know the regen can be alternated between on and off by switching between eco and other modes. I was hoping I could program the shift paddles to act as regen paddles, similarly to how mercedes does it. Unfortunately in the X5, hitting a paddle turns on the engine.

On another note, can the car be programmed so that the engine recharges the battery to more than 54%

Any input is appreciated.

cheers

[biterror]

When I test drove the 45e, I just used the gas and brake pedals to adjust the "regen level". I liked it better than driving a Hyundai Kona Electric where regen is never correct.

You can set the car to charge the battery to 100% while driving. You'll be surprised by the fuel consumption, though ;-)

[gahbouch]

Originally Posted by biterror

When I test drove the 45e, I just used the gas and brake pedals to adjust the "regen level". I liked it better than driving a Hyundai Kona Electric where regen is never correct.

You can set the car to charge the battery to 100% while driving. You'll be surprised by the fuel consumption, though ;-)

I love the way the car drives. I currently own a 40e, significantly inferior to the 45e, so I am very familiar with how to use the car.

I live in a very hilly area and the regen is often too weak to hold the car back. I don't like riding the brakes for regen either. You never really know at what point the mechanical brakes start helping (my dealer has no clue). I'm under the impression that the mech brakes jump in before regen is maxed out.

[jwtw20]

The regen braking on the 45e will bring you to a stop. I often just use it to slow me down going down big hills and I end up having to accelerate as the car slows down too much.

[jwtw20]

Originally Posted by biterror

When I test drove the 45e, I just used the gas and brake pedals to adjust the "regen level". I liked it better than driving a Hyundai Kona Electric where regen is never correct.

You can set the car to charge the battery to 100% while driving. You'll be surprised by the fuel consumption, though ;-)

If you use the battery control mode to charge the battery to 100% expect about 15-17mpg

[gahbouch]

Originally Posted by jwtw20

If you use the battery control mode to charge the battery to 100% expect about 15-17mpg

I have always wondered if charging in this manner was more or less efficient.

I have noticed from motorway driving using the ICE only at around 70mph that I see ~32mpg. When I let the ICE recharge the battery in those same driving conditions, I see ~25mpg

In city driving conditions with no charge I can get ~30mpg and The car maintains a charge of around 5%

I don't have the data, but if the car in those motorway conditions can recharge 1 mile of electric range for each mile travelled, then it is definetly worth letting the ICE recharge the battery and use that range for the city segment of your trip. Obviously you want to hit it just right so that you run out of charge just as you arrive at your destination where you can charge from a socket.

[X5 45e]

Originally Posted by gahbouch

I have always wondered if charging in this manner was more or less efficient.

I have noticed from motorway driving using the ICE only at around 70mph that I see ~32mpg. When I let the ICE recharge the battery in those same driving conditions, I see ~25mpg

In city driving conditions with no charge I can get ~30mpg and The car maintains a charge of around 5%

I don't have the data, but if the car in those motorway conditions can recharge 1 mile of electric range for each mile travelled, then it is definetly worth letting the ICE recharge the battery and use that range for the city segment of your trip. Obviously you want to hit it just right so that you run out of charge just as you arrive at your destination where you can charge from a socket.

I think in my experience it was 2 or 3 km driven for 1 km range gained. Fuel economy went from 10 to 15-16 l/100km.

For me charging with the ICE only makes sense if you need the charge for pre heating or cooling or you want to drive electric in the city centre. It is not economic it takes more energy than you gain in charge.

For your other question: highest regen braking for me was going downhill was in sport mode. It would be a good idea to be able to regulate regenerative braking with the paddles. I only use the paddles when driving in the mountains but I could do it with the stick too.

[biterror]

By the way, can you charge the battery when the gasoline engine is idling? Or only when you're driving?

If the efficiency of the gasoline engine is 30% (probably not that high) and the efficiency of charging the battery is 90%, every 9 kWh of chemical energy (roughly one liter of gas) produces 9 * 0.3 * 0.9 = 2.43 kWh into the battery. Charging 20 kWh would then consume about 8.2 liters of gas.

[X5 45e]

Originally Posted by biterror

By the way, can you charge the battery when the gasoline engine is idling? Or only when you're driving?

If the efficiency of the gasoline engine is 30% (probably not that high) and the efficiency of charging the battery is 90%, every 9 kWh of chemical energy (roughly one liter of gas) produces 9 * 0.3 * 0.9 = 2.43 kWh into the battery. Charging 20 kWh would then consume about 8.2 liters of gas.

I don't know if your assumptions are correct. At home it takes more energy than what is stored.

8,2 l 95 E10 wil cost around 11 euro.

Fully charging the battery at home takes 24 kWh x 22 cents = 5,3 euro.

So it is twice as expensive?

[jwtw20]

Originally Posted by gahbouch

I have always wondered if charging in this manner was more or less efficient.

I have noticed from motorway driving using the ICE only at around 70mph that I see ~32mpg. When I let the ICE recharge the battery in those same driving conditions, I see ~25mpg

In city driving conditions with no charge I can get ~30mpg and The car maintains a charge of around 5%

I don't have the data, but if the car in those motorway conditions can recharge 1 mile of electric range for each mile travelled, then it is definetly worth letting the ICE recharge the battery and use that range for the city segment of your trip. Obviously you want to hit it just right so that you run out of charge just as you arrive at your destination where you can charge from a socket.

It doesn't charge 1m for every 1m driven. I very rarely plug mine in and always use sport mode and battery control as I'm not bothered about the mpg. You are looking at about 1 mile of charge for every 2 or 3 driven. Full tank of fuel gets me about 300/350 miles maybe more if it's a slow drive to work.

[biterror]

Originally Posted by X5 45e

I don't know if your assumptions are correct. At home it takes more energy than what is stored.

8,2 l 95 E10 wil cost around 11 euro.

Fully charging the battery at home takes 24 kWh x 22 cents = 5,3 euro.

So it is twice as expensive?

I don't think it ever charges 24 kWh - it never charges to 100% or discharges to 0%, I have read that the usable capacity of the battery is about 20 kWh. This extends the service life of the battery and leaves some room for regen.

It's even "worse" here, 11,6 eur vs. 2,12 eur (for 20 kWh, in the night time).

[X5 45e]

Originally Posted by biterror

I don't think it ever charges 24 kWh - it never charges to 100% or discharges to 0%, I have read that the usable capacity of the battery is about 20 kWh. This extends the service life of the battery and leaves some room for regen.

It's even "worse" here, 11,6 eur vs. 2,12 eur (for 20 kWh, in the night time).

It takes 22-24 kWh to give the battery a full charge of 100% which is around 21 kWh usable. Some energy is lost on the prices.

I have added a screenshot charging from 2 to 100% took 23 kWh. The 2% is usable battery capacity for driving I don't think it includes the buffer you mentioned.

[xigolle]

Originally Posted by X5 45e

I don't know if your assumptions are correct. At home it takes more energy than what is stored.

8,2 l 95 E10 wil cost around 11 euro.

Fully charging the battery at home takes 24 kWh x 22 cents = 5,3 euro.

So it is twice as expensive?

Wondering if this is the "better" option than using a public charging station. For the moment I don't have the option to charge at home.
So a public charging station will be the best option for me.
Or charging it up with the ICE

[X5 45e]

Originally Posted by xigolle

Wondering if this is the "better" option than using a public charging station. For the moment I don't have the option to charge at home.
So a public charging station will be the best option for me.
Or charging it up with the ICE

Can't you just use the home charger?

I would only charge the battery while driving if you need it for pre heating or cooling. Or if you want to drive into city centres on electric.

For me it can't be economic to charge the battery with the ICE. Otherwise we have found a way to make free energy. It will always use more energy than can be stored.

One thing that could make a difference that is it regenerates more when is sport so you would be doing more one foot driving.

If you can use a public charger I would try to use it as much as possible.

If for some reason you want a full battery you can charge it while driving but your mpg wil go down seriously. It would be interesting if you could show us how may Km you can drive on a single tank if you do this. So charging to 100%, driving electric and then charging again to 100% while driving. I think that your total driven km will be less than if you drive on gas only. Interesting trial and ideal for you because you can't charge anyway.

[xigolle]

Originally Posted by X5 45e

Can't you just use the home charger?

I would only charge the battery while driving if you need it for pre heating or cooling. Or if you want to drive into city centres on electric.

For me it can't be economic to charge the battery with the ICE. Otherwise we have found a way to make free energy. It will always use more energy than can be stored.

One thing that could make a difference that is it regenerates more when is sport so you would be doing more one foot driving.

If you can use a public charger I would try to use it as much as possible.

If for some reason you want a full battery you can charge it while driving but your mpg wil go down seriously. It would be interesting if you could show us how may Km you can drive on a single tank if you do this. So charging to 100%, driving electric and then charging again to 100% while driving. I think that your total driven km will be less than if you drive on gas only. Interesting trial and ideal for you because you can't charge anyway.

Not possible unfortunately because the garage is not close to the appartment and the appartment is on the fourth floor

Was also planning on using a public charger as much as possbile.
There is one around the corner but it costs 0.433 per kwh.
And because you said in one of your posts it cost roughly 11 euro to charge on the ICE (at least that is how I read it) it didn't look like much of a difference.

When I get the car (hopefully a few weeks from now) I will sure try this. And you mean with using the battery control to charge it back up to 100?
I am pretty sure it will drain more than it gains.

[X5 45e]

Originally Posted by xigolle

Not possible unfortunately because the garage is not close to the appartment and the appartment is on the fourth floor

Was also planning on using a public charger as much as possbile.
There is one around the corner but it costs 0.433 per kwh.
And because you said in one of your posts it cost roughly 11 euro to charge on the ICE (at least that is how I read it) it didn't look like much of a difference.

When I get the car (hopefully a few weeks from now) I will sure try this. And you mean with using the battery control to charge it back up to 100?
I am pretty sure it will drain more than it gains.

Public chargers can be quite expensive. Checking the price before charging is a good idea like you did.

The calculations that are made are quite hypothetical based on the idea of the earlier post. I don't know if the numbers are correct.

Anyway from an ecological point of view it would be better to use the public charger. But you would have te leave the car on the street in stead of the safety of your garage.

If your car is inside you don't need cooling and heating. It will keep some charge for accelerating anyway.

Can't you charge at the office?

Ps are you planning on installing a charger in your garage? Often the meters are in the basement. Maybe the electricians can connect it there? Would be the best option.

[xigolle]

Originally Posted by X5 45e

Public chargers can be quite expensive. Checking the price before charging is a good idea like you did.

The calculations that are made are quite hypothetical based on the idea of the earlier post. I don't know if the numbers are correct.

Anyway from an ecological point of view it would be better to use the public charger. But you would have te leave the car on the street in stead of the safety of your garage.

If your car is inside you don't need cooling and heating. It will keep some charge for accelerating anyway.

Can't you charge at the office?

Ps are you planning on installing a charger in your garage? Often the meters are in the basement. Maybe the electricians can connect it there? Would be the best option.

Yeah just looked it up some more and used some numbers to calculate the difference.
Based on your numbers which seems doable I got the following:
0.34 per kwh
30kw per 100km
average 10L/100km
fuel price 1.25
Fuel cost: 12.50
Charge cost: 10.20

So it is fairly cheaper to use public charger.
2 Euro will add up after a time.

Yeah the idea is to only charge when needed outside (hopefully 1 or 2 time) and the rest in the garage where it is safe

And no charger at the office unfortunately we are already lucky we sometimes get paved parking.
You really need an SUV for some parts of the parking

Not planning on adding a charger the next few years.
Both the apartment and garage are rentals so not really handy to make that cost.