Regen question

[broosth]

I see a lot of owners prefer one pedal mode and seem to think it provides more regen. I can't stand the way the car drives in L, so keep it in drive and use the brake pedal as I always have. Since the brake pedal ALSO causes regen,, how can it be less effective than one pedal mode or the regen paddles? If I slow down with regen, how can it matter which way the car is told to regen? I suppose that if I were to brake hard enough to actually engage the brake pads that would be a difference.

[trevmar]

I too was skeptical about L, but have adapted to it and I now prefer the way I get "instant" slowdown with using one pedal. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there must be a time delay between "power on" and "braking" when using two pedals, unless you're a rally car driver and brake with your left foot - ?

[broosth]

There really is no delay. When my foot comes off the accelerator, the car starts slowing down rather like a car with an automatic tranny or my manual shift with the car still in gear. But the slowdown is not nearly as aggressive as L mode. i drove manual shift for most of the past 50 years and got very good at allowing the car to slow on its own approaching slower traffic or a light. So I tend to brake lightly as needed and I see regen working all the time.

[SeanNelson]

Since the brake pedal ALSO causes regen,, how can it be less effective than one pedal mode or the regen paddles? If I slow down with regen, how can it matter which way the car is told to regen? I suppose that if I were to brake hard enough to actually engage the brake pads that would be a difference.

I think that's the biggest issue - in "D" mode you don't know exactly where regen ends and hydraulic braking starts, so it's more likely that you'll waste momentum by slowing too fast. In "L" mode there's no doubt about what's going on - if you're not slowing fast enough and you need to use the brake then you know for sure you're stopping too quickly and you can adjust your driving habits to avoid that.

[broosth]

Certainly one way of looking at it. Some drivers insist on driving full speed until the last moment; some of us like to coast up to a red light. Coasting regen's all the way.

[BoltEV]

I like to drive on a freeway with Cruise Control set and in “L” especially if the terrain is hilly up and down.

On the downhill, the regen automatically keeps me from exceeding the cruising speed and hence waste energy, while returning energy to the battery.

I do not have to use the brake pedal.

[gpsman]

Cruise control works great in D also on hilly terrain.
I love it does not run away or accelerate in the least on downhill sections. I’m in N. Calif. and never had a hill too steep for D.

L is for lots of speed changes.
City with stop lights/signs, or bumper to bumper stop-N-go.

D is for highway when you want GRADUAL speed changes. Like coasting down an off ramp. L is too agressive for high speed use. You’ll piss off those behind you or get rear-ended with a pedal release in L at 65 mph.

And yes, you can regen the same amount in D or L.
It is only a program change in how the car behaves, how rapidly it automatically regens. A human foot can mimic D or L. It’s just another push button. Like “sport” mode.

[SeanNelson]

D is for highway when you want GRADUAL speed changes. Like coasting down an off ramp. L is too agressive for high speed use. You’ll piss off those behind you or get rear-ended with a pedal release in L at 65 mph.

I really don't understand comments like this. You can slow down as gradually as you want in "L" mode by just slowly and smoothly easing pressure from the accelerator pedal. There's nothing about "L" mode that makes the regen "all or nothing". If you can press on the brake pedal lightly for a gradual stop, then you can press on the accelerator pedal lightly and stop just as gradually. In fact I can stop even more gradually and smoothly in "L" mode than "D" because I don't have to shift my foot from one pedal to another as the car drops below creeping speed.

[iletric]

D is for highway when you want GRADUAL speed changes. Like coasting down an off ramp. L is too aggressive for high speed use.

I do exactly the same thing. And once in town, I switch to L to come to a stop. And if I miscalculated I switch between D and L to make a perfect stop behind the line without touching the brake.

[BoltEV]

D is for highway when you want GRADUAL speed changes. Like coasting down an off ramp. L is too agressive for high speed use. You’ll piss off those behind you or get rear-ended with a pedal release in L at 65 mph.

I really don't understand comments like this.

I agree!

I so enjoy one-pedal driving that I have to remember to use both pedals when driving my ICE car!