2022 Bolt EUV Initial impressions

Crazy how states consider solar and HOAs/POAs. I've seen everything from HOA has no vote, to HOA can argue for where it goes, to HOA can not even delay it. All depends on the state laws and courts and your covenants.

I explored solar last month and the only place it made economic sense would have been the front and non-symmetrical and thus ugly and detract from the value of the house. Since I will sell in a few years, just couldn't make it happen. Disappointed.

Chevrolet just announced a whole series of EVs for mid '23 delivery.

 

Guess I might just be blocking mine. It does help when working with AC.

 

Did you beat the EPA by such margins with the Prime?

 

Can I rain on this parade a bit?
My Bolt has an 'Avg Speed' display. If this were reset before that 26.5 mile trip displayed above I'm sure it's going to show 'Slow'.
It's just the nature of using power to push through the air.
Slow uses little power. Fast uses a lot. And it's not linear.
And you always have to factor in elevation changes, temps and winds on these tests.

I'm just jealous...
I get no where near these numbers. But almost all my driving involves a blast on the interstate for part of it.
And I don't have the stock LRR tires on the front.
And I enjoy the silent acceleration! It is not wasteful to flog an EV!
0-60 mph in 10 seconds or 60 seconds. Same same. Physics!

You want to hear a tidbit that has me shaking my head about the current Bolts?
They deleted the coolant loop going to the drive unit.
Look at this Munro video around the 5 minute mark:

I guess gm knows what they're doing. The synthetic ATF must handle the heat fine and not need the cooling.

 

The Prius went three generations without cooling the ATF, and it's been fine.

Not sitting next to an ICE does a lot in keeping components and fluids cool on a BEV.

 

Maybe the Gen 4 thing is a more traditional-looking transmission fluid cooler?

The earlier generations definitely had the coolant in the inverter loop pass through passages in the transaxle case to carry heat away from the oil, which is just on the other side of the aluminum in that same case.

This pic of a Gen 3 or Prius v transaxle shows both the green area used for coolant heat exchange in both, and the purple area that is additionally used in the Prius v.

 

Yeah, I knew you knew all this stuff.

I'm just that guy when someone posts their GOM displaying 300 miles range,
and others chime in to praise them for that display and ask for techniques,,,

I'm the one that will post:
"That's easily attainable by anyone!
Just drive 5 -10 MPH slower each day until you see the numbers that you want!"

Sometimes it's a race for the slowest, like with the Prius and its 'Go Slow' display.
Only with an EV there's no reason to accelerate at Prius rates to save electrons.
Oh, I just got back from Iceland and had a Yaris Hybrid for 10 days! In place of the tach there was a power needle.
It's not a go slow like display
And this engine seems to like to keep the RPM low and throttle open more compared to what I hear with my Gen3.
Much less 'sing songy' from the engine.
I'm sure it's not a Gen2 system like the Prius C was here for a while.

 

People that did transmission fluid changes, even early ones, were reporting the fluid being burnt smelling.

The above being adequate for heat intolerant automatic transmission fluid likely wouldn't have require Toyota announcing a transmission cooler added the the gen4.

Update on the mystery noise:
I took The Bolt From the Blue to the Chevy dealer yesterday. They have ordered a "Kent Automotive Adhesive Backed Shim Stock (5/16 thickness, 1 width)." It's due in about 10 days. The service writer said there was a TSB on it. So my theory that something was loose and bouncing was right except that it wan't a fastener but a loose or missing foam spacer. I'm guessing it was there but the adhesive let go since the noise didn't show up till almost three weeks after I got the car.
[/QUOTE]Probably just an aero shield.

 

Sorry, Off Topic...

Smelling the ATF that is removed is not a scientific measurement.
And what about owners that followed the maintenance schedule and never changed the fluid?
Even with the coolant passages in the transaxle?
Keep in mind Toyota does not mention ever changing the ATF in the Prius Gen3 transaxle. Has that changed with later models?
Similar to EGR system cleaning.....

Check out this thread with many oil analyses posted: ATF fluid changes ARE Required. | PriusChat
I started it when I was appalled at what came out of a used Gen3 I had just bought with 112k miles. It was so dark that the 'Particle Count' test could not be performed. I sent a second sample in when I changed it again ~400 miles later and that time it still showed particles of varying sizes.


At least with the Bolt there is a maintenance schedule that includes Drive Unit Fluid change intervals.
Only time will tell how important that deleted coolant loop is to the life of the Drive Unit.
I suspect the worst case is: Arizona, 120°F, Road Racing on a track or climbing long mountain passes with your 'large' In-Laws loaded in the back and the full 200 HP is being used for extended times.

 

First off, regarding maintenance items that have a 'lifetime' interval from the manufacturer, that lifetime is probably 150k miles, but can be 100k.

To illustrate how mechanically simple the transaxle of the HSD is, it has been compared to a one speed manual with no clutch. Actual manuals use a gear oil for lubrication; some examples literally call for motor oil. These are fluids that can withstand high temperatures, and even some use cases require an oil cooler for the transmission.

Gear oil should have been used in the transaxle, but the Prius was designed to minimize emissions and maximize efficiency. Lower viscosity fluid in the transmission will help with that. ATF is that and readily available. The latter means it is cheaper than working with an oil company to develop a new fluid for the application. The downside to ATF is that for a traditional automatic it does more than lubricate, and those needs results in the fluid being heat intolerant. The synthetic ATF Toyota uses should do better than the 200F breakdown point of dino-ATF, but it is still lower than what most gear oils can handle.

I've hear car cooling systems are designed for towing through Death Valley during the summer. Which is why most of us can put in a partial grill block.

According to this, https://gm-techlink.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GM_TechLink_14_Mid-July_2021.pdf, the EUV retains that cooling loop. The cars' weights are under a hundred pounds in difference, but the EUV has a one ton tow rating.

I'm not concerned with the removal of the loop on the Bolt EV; I'll still consider one. The gen1 Volt called for premium fuel. Part of the reason was because high octane has a longer shelf life. The data for in use cars showed that the tighter sealed gas tank worked as well as intended in real world conditions, so the engineers and accountants felt safe going with regular gas.

This is likely the same situation. The data from all the cars being driven has shown that the drive unit doesn't need that cooling. Another possibility is that the internal components or fluid are better at withstanding the heat. This is just the removal of the cooling branch to the motor. The cost savings are low, and would need to be balanced with increased warranty claims if it was the sole purpose.

 

If you are driving an EV to minimize wasting energy, then you DO want to drive slower to save electrons. Faster acceleration decreases range, which means fewer miles per kWh or charge. If you don't care about that,, then the only downside to playing speed demon is the diminished life of the cells.

This link has a nice explanation about the use of batteries designed for discharging over long periods of time VS cells made to discharge at high power rates. BU-501a: Discharge Characteristics of Li-ion - Battery University

 

Yes, slower cruising speeds save electrons. Wind resistance increase by the square of the speed...
But I respectfully disagree:
Slower or faster acceleration rates have very minimal differences to 'range'.
It's just math and it's different than flogging a gasser.
Show us your references.
I'll show mine.

 

Higher acceleration rates in an EV entail higher current. I²R losses throughout the drivetrain, including across the internal resistance of the battery itself, increase by the square of I, the current. As you say, it's just math.

Yes, please do.

 

I included a reference in the above post. Clearly shows that the capacity in kWh drop as the drain (in amps) increases. Check it out.