Sunday, May 7, 2017

Tires!

Bridgestone Ecopias on my Leaf
The winter studded snow tires came off in late March and wow what a difference.  I replaced the old Mastercraft all-seasons with some Bridgestone Ecopia ep422 pluses.  I've added maybe 5-10 miles of range just by getting low rolling resistance tires.

I bought them from Costco and asked them to inflate to 41psi.  They reluctantly did so, explaining that I was violating the recommended psi.

I was reading a post from last summer when I went to Canyon Ferry Lake (a 42 mile round trip) on a full charge.  I returned home with the LBW (low battery warning) and something like 2-4 miles on the guess-o-meter.  Same trip three weeks ago with a lower temperature, but only 80% charge to begin the trip.  I came back with two solid bars (just lost the third) and 9-10 miles on the guess-o-meter.  

The moral of the story: tires and inflation pressure make a big difference.