My Christmas Day DCQC Trip

[pbui19]

On Christmas Day, thinking it would be a low-traffic situation, I decided to try out my new used i-MiEV on a long trip to the Sierra foothills for a family gathering

hi JoeS and others,

I don't have yet the experience of hill climbing with the iMiev, do you think it can make this leg:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Goleta,+CA/Santa+Ynez,+CA/@34.521937,-120.1357151,35857m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m19!4m18!1m10!1m1!1s0x80e94079098948e3:0x93ca44c500884d58!2m2!1d-119.8276389!2d34.4358294!3m4!1m2!1d-119.7963352!2d34.4883901!3s0x80e941d3d6d6c3d7:0x12612d67ef80b976!1m5!1m1!1s0x80e9540f456b012b:0x9b2373c7ebd3ae2c!2m2!1d-120.079868!2d34.6144313!3e1

basically from Goleta, CA to Santa Ynez, CA on hwy 154, 28 miles, with an initial ~3300 ft climb. I discovered by accident that google maps now show elevation is you click on the bicycle option, wish it would show elevation as well on highway. I am thinking of getting a DCQC in Goleta then climb to Santa Ynez, may be I need to top off with L2 to 16 bars first. The back up plan is that if I run low, i can just turn around and go back down.

Thanks, Paul

 

[JoeS]

I don't have yet the experience of hill climbing with the iMiev, do you think it can make this leg...

I've done that drive many times in an ICE vehicle, and it is quite a climb. No problem IMO if you start early in the morning (when it is cool), take your time going up the hill, and, yes, fully charge on L2 before the trip, just in case... Once at the top, it's a piece of cake to roll down to Santa Ynez and you will recharge quite a lot on the way down.

So, Paul, you're planning on driving up to the Bay Area or are you just treating this as a day trip? From Santa Ynez northwards all you have is L2 and no DCQC, so plan on a lot of reading and camping. Do you have all your adapters? (I can loan you a bunch if you need them)

 

[pbui19]

So, Paul, you're planning on driving up to the Bay Area or are you just treating this as a day trip? From Santa Ynez northwards all you have is L2 and no DCQC, so plan on a lot of reading and camping. Do you have all your adapters? (I can loan you a bunch if you need them)

thanks for the info JoeS, I figured the iMiev would make it but it helps to hear from an experienced iMiev driver.

Last week, I was on my way north to SJ, made to Goleta, with plan to have AAA tow the 200-mile doldrums between Goleta to Soledad; but AAA refused, stating that it was not an emergency. I think I was too "honest".

It's another 280 miles from Goleta to Los Gatos, and I estimate about 5hrs/50-mile, charging & driving, which totals almost 30 hrs. I plan to just sleep during the charging time, may be bring a bike. Thanks for the offer with the adapters, but plugshare shows sufficient L2 scattered along the way. Really wish iMiev has 6.6kw charger. The longest legs are between Paso Robles to King City at 53-mile then to Salinas at 54-mile. Fortunately these legs are flat and I can take the "bike" route at slower speed. It's just time. The mp3 CD player is just awesome for audio books.

It's doable and would be an adventure. It would be the cheapest and least CO2 emission option....hm....