Wednesday, December 9, 2009

I have had my Triac for almost three weeks and it is such a treat to drive over my ZENN. It is such a difference having Lithium over Lead Acid batteries. I have gone on several round trips of about 50 miles, with the lights on, and heater running full bore. The temps have been in the low 40’s, and the range was good. I think the range of 100 miles looks to be accurate at 45 MPH with out the heater, although the heater does not seem to affect it much. I have not done a full range test yet.
I am having a little difficulty with the state of charge meter though. Green vehicles is working the issue. They have been WONDERFULL to deal with as far as support. If I had a problem with my ZENN it would be a minimum of 1 month to get it fixed, and on average probably 6 weeks. At times It felt like the ZENN was down about 50% of the time I had it in the first year.

The head room in the Triac is fine. I had originally thought there would be a problem, but I was wrong. Driving an electric stick shift is very different though. Not in a bad way, just different. You have to use the clutch to change gears when you are moving unlike what people have been telling me. You do not have to put in the clutch when stopping. You simply come to a stop in what ever gear you are in, and then shift it into 1st or 2nd. I usually start in 2nd if it is on level ground. If there is a hill I will start in 1st. Because the motor is so quiet you do not know exactly when to shift. That took some getting used to. I use the speedometer to give me an idea of when to shift. Following is my general rule of when to shift. This is based on trying to keep my amps down to increase range.

I found that I stay in 1st gear until I get to 10MPH, then I shift to 2nd. I stay in 2nd until I get to 20MPH, then I shift to 3rd. I stay in 3rd until I get to 30MPH, then I shift to 4th. I stay in 4th until I get to 40MPH, then I shift to 5th. I use 5th for above 40.

The fastest I have gone is about 65MPH, and I was pleasantly surprised. I was thinking there would be a lot more vibration, and it might wander a little. I was surprised to find that it road the same as if I was going 25MPH. I felt no difference. I can let go of the steering wheel, and it goes perfectly straight, no wandering.
The charge time with 110 is a bit lengthy though. A 50 mile trip usually takes me about 10-12 hours to charge. I just got my 220 cord and am looking forward to charging in much less time. I am told that if the batteries are down all the way it will only take about 5 hours to charge with 220
Everyone seams to really like the look of it though. I was thinking people would find it to be odd looking.

1 comment:

  1. I guess I should have stuck with the pre-order! Although it is hard to trust someone you do not know to come though. I hope Ehab makes a killing with this car and he can 1. Ramp up production to make it a national hit 2 sell it to a major producer and speed up the EV market.
    Kudos to Ehab!

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