[Charged in The OC]

On Friday, I knew I would be driving over 100 miles and at the end of the day, I wanted some charge left in the battery to demonstrate for a friend of mine how quiet the car is in Stealth mode. So, I put the car in sport mode with 44 miles still showing on the battery range meter.

I always thought that sport mode would hold the battery charge and range and run the ICE enough to hold that. But, on this drive, the battery range slowly dropped to 22 miles and then it held there.

Could it be that the software maximizes mileage in sport mode when there's more than a 50% charge in the battery but holds the charge below that?

 

[dennis]

Could it be that the software maximizes mileage in sport mode when there's more than a 50% charge in the battery but holds the charge below that?

Exactly.

 

[bigdaddyo811]

The magic number is apparently 26 miles where it goes down to.

But, if you look at this official video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYHPNGOS78o&list=UUf3IW0IEEEwK8-JC2B6hq7Q&index=14&feature=plcp) ... it says its supposed to hold wherever you enter sport mode...

Could it be that the software maximizes mileage in sport mode when there's more than a 50% charge in the battery but holds the charge below that?

Exactly.

 

[LonePalmBJ]

Fisker did a road-show with the almost-production-ready car in the summer of last year. The biggest, and most common complaint about the car from the participants and the press was that the ICE engine was extremely loud and discordant, and was not in keeping with a six-figure car. I drove one of these cars (you can find my post about it if you search) and I agree. The car was very loud.

To counter this, Fisker made a number of changes to the cars before production release. The most notable was the re-engineering of the muffler and sound-supression system, and the installation of the "pizza box" pre-muffler. They also made changes to how the ICE operated, including changing the correlation between throttle position and how frequently and hard the ICE operates. This last item is what's relevant here. The ICE in sport mode now lets the battery deplete to 50% (about 26 miles range) and recharges the battery only sufficient to then maintain this level. In the pre-prod cars, the ICE would actually increase your stealth-only range, but in the interest of having the ICE work less hard (and more quietly) this approach was changed.
Edit: As mentioned below, this also reduces the amount of emissions the car produces.

The car now effectively has three driving modes (ignoring the various Hill mode multipliers):

1) Stealth (battery only)
2) "Battery Depleting" Sport Mode (The ICE runs and the battery is discharged until it's level of charge is approximately 26 miles. Full power is available to the electric traction motors)
3) "Battery Sustaining" Sport Mode (The ICE runs and the level of charge of the battery is maintained, but does not increase. Vehicle is propelled only by electricity generated by the ICE)

Note that if you run your car in Stealth mode and the battery runs out, the car will automatically kick on the ICE and you'll essentially be in "Stage 3" above, even though the car still indicates "Stealth" on the dashboard.

I think the video above describes the pre-production behavior.

BTW, if you poke around the forum you'll find some tricks for how to use Hill mode to actually increase your battery range from less than 26 to 26 while you drive.


Brent

 

[flying dutchman]

The draw back of the new settings is that you can not save battery power to drive full speed for a long time.
I takes me 1 1/2 hour to reach the German border. In Germany there is no speed limit. I can only get there with an half empty battery. :-(

 

[kabalah70]

Yes, it is unfortunate. Many of us have stated on this forum that we would like more control over Sport Mode in choosing if it is charge-depleting or sustaining. If we are to have no choice, I would like it to return to a charge-sustaining mode. Obviously, even if it is charge-sustaining, demand on the system for over 175kW would draw and deplete the battery, but seeing as 35kW cruises at 70mph on flat terrain, I would find it hard not to have Sport Mode always be sustaining except during accelerative demands or at cruising speeds above what is allowed in the US.

 

[Fabulist]

The draw back of the new settings is that you can not save battery power to drive full speed for a long time.
I takes me 1 1/2 hour to reach the German border. In Germany there is no speed limit. I can only get there with an half empty battery. :-(

I agree, and I hope at some point Fisker will add a Sport+ mode that would keep the car moving and also maintain, or even increase, the battery charge for when you need it. It will increase the car's emissions, which I think was the other reason for making Sport mode work the way it does now, but it would have a lot more utility. [hr]

Yes, it is unfortunate. Many of us have stated on this forum that we would like more control over Sport Mode in choosing if it is charge-depleting or sustaining. If we are to have no choice, I would like it to return to a charge-sustaining mode. Obviously, even if it is charge-sustaining, demand on the system for over 175kW would draw and deplete the battery, but seeing as 35kW cruises at 70mph on flat terrain, I would find it hard not to have Sport Mode always be sustaining except during accelerative demands or at cruising speeds above what is allowed in the US.

And the on-board generator is probably the fastest way of charging the battery since it is not really practical to draw 150KW from a grid connection in a standard home or office whereas the on-board generator can provide that.

 

[Bert Yetman]

My Karma was delivered 5 days ago. In a driving rain, I drove home, 33 miles, completely in Sport mode, as the car was delivered with only 8 miles of charge (unfathomable). The charge went to zero on the way home, and would not charge overnight. I returned the next day. They got the battery to charge and said the car was ready. I drove home again (still raining) with a starting charge of 45 miles, and again stayed in Sport mode all the way home. The charge continually dropped to 26 miles by the time I got home. The battery charged overnight this time. The latest postings helps explain the 26 miles.

 

[Harleyguy]

Fisker engineering is working on this concern to raise the 26 Mile drain of the battery .

 

[kabalah70]

I am a firm believer that if we do not get to choose options via paddles or Command Center input, that Sport mode should be charge-sustaining all the time, when demand allows it. Furthermore, that sustain level should be locked at the battery range when Sport mode was engaged, so that if a temporary high demand causes the battery range to decrease, that Sport mode would actually charge the battery back to the original battery state. This would allow for Sport mode to always give the full power of the car (300kW) when demanded, but also give the driver Full control over when he/she wishes to deplete the battery.