[SoCalGuy]

This is more of a hack/trick but I figured this out today to boost my Stealth range on the fly. I noticed that in Sport mode, it would sometimes overcharge the battery temporarily, if for example, you were going down a steep hill and doing a lot of regeneration. So let's say I clocked it into Sport mode at 18 mile battery range and went down a hill in Hill 2 mode and riding the brake a little. In Sport, the regen increases the battery charge temporarily to 19 or even 20 miles (and then subsequently allows the battery to discharge down back to the 18 mile 'maintain' level). The Sport mode is set to 'maintain' at least 18 miles of battery range, ie the range on the battery at the time Sport mode was engaged. Well, since the Sport mode does momentarily overcharge the battery (and you'll see it creep up to 19 or maybe even 20 miles if its an extended descent down a hill), you can switch out of Sport into Stealth and then switch it back into Sport. All of a sudden now, the Sport mode is set to maintain the slightly higher range (e.g. the 19 or 20 miles that had previously been overcharged). If you repeat these steps, you can quite easily add several miles to your battery range! Granted, you'll probably need to be in a hilly area or something that will allow you to generate enough regeneration through braking.

I did this successfully and managed to walk up the battery range from 18 miles to 24 miles!

 

[ffcars]

But once you get to 26 miles, that's it. The sport mod won't charge past 26 miles; but it will keep it there.

 

[kabalah70]

Nice find.

 

[Karma31]

Thanks guys for the tip. It's the stuff like this that makes this car so much more entertaining than just another Bimmer or Benz!

 

[siliconkiwi]

Great tip, thanks!

 

[SoCalGuy]

No prob... I feel as though if this software were better thought out, this 'trick' I figured out wouldn't work because the test engineers would have written the appropriate code to prevent that. So the day I figured it out actually, it started out as something I noticed accidentally. So then I went to the hilliest part of where I live and drove all the way up in Sport, and used Hill 2 + brakes all the way down. Twice. Now, I wouldn't recommend doing that as your primary means of charging the battery since its not very fuel efficient or eco-friendly =)

 

[Karma31]

But once you get to 26 miles, that's it. The sport mod won't charge past 26 miles; but it will keep it there.

It seems that even from a full charge my car lets the battery run down to 26 miles and then maintains that level. I thought it was a fault but maybe it's part of the software to boost gas mileage?

 

[kabalah70]

My car does it too as most everyone elses. Thats the way they have it for the moment.

 

[matrix]

To clarify, if you start out fully charged and drive exclusively in Sport mode, is the battery still allowed to discharge down to the 26 mile range? Or does the battery only discharge if you're driving in Stealth?

Another soon-to-be owner question... is it necessary to always apply the parking brake when shutting off the car, or is it optional (like on a traditional automatic transmission when placed in P)?

 

[siliconkiwi]

It's optional, there is a button by your left knee (On left hand drive cars) to engage the parking brake. Shifting into P doesn't engage it automatically.

 

[ct-fiskerbuzz]

It's optional, there is a button by your left knee (On left hand drive cars) to engage the parking brake. Shifting into P doesn't engage it automatically.

They're all left hand drive. If you want to drive one in the UK, Australia, or NZ, you have to sit on the "wrong" side

 

[kabalah70]

Matrix,

In answer to your first question, yes, Sport Mode allows the battery to deplete to 26 miles even when it starts at 50. Which is why I don't drive Sport until it hits 26 or below, normally. I think I mentioned this next things elsewhere too, but the Energy Flow screen shows the battery consumption/generation from what I can make out, so that when you floor it you see -180+/-1 kW. In Sport mode when floored, it flucuates a lot more, but bounces around the -130 +/- kW range, which would lead me to believe that the generator is giving about 170kW to offset and make the 300kW max out of the motors.

 

[matrix]

Matrix,

In answer to your first question, yes, Sport Mode allows the battery to deplete to 26 miles even when it starts at 50. Which is why I don't drive Sport until it hits 26 or below, normally. I think I mentioned this next things elsewhere too, but the Energy Flow screen shows the battery consumption/generation from what I can make out, so that when you floor it you see -180+/-1 kW. In Sport mode when floored, it flucuates a lot more, but bounces around the -130 +/- kW range, which would lead me to believe that the generator is giving about 170kW to offset and make the 300kW max out of the motors.

Okay, thanks. That makes sense... it uses the power from the ICE & battery for max power in Sport, so naturally the battery will be depleted until the magic 26.

 

[bigdaddyo811]

If the incline uphill kills the battery (which it does on mine too) anyone tried or would it work to flip into Sport mode for all uphills and then put back into stealth on downhill or flat driving?

 

[SoCalGuy]

If the incline uphill kills the battery (which it does on mine too) anyone tried or would it work to flip into Sport mode for all uphills and then put back into stealth on downhill or flat driving?

Uphill in my book is always Sport mode. It drains battery range way too fast otherwise.