Charge to 70% or 80% ?

[emoore]

Hi,
I keep my max SOC at 70% and probably use 10-15% a day. Should I wait till it hits 50% to recahrge, too low, too high? Or set it max SOC to say60%, then the same questions, at what level should I recharge as I'll still have more than enough at even 40%SOC? I'm confused as some say to charge frequently, some seem to let it discharge quite a bit. Thanks for the advice.

Do whatever you want within reason. Probably won't make much of a difference.

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[WestCoastGuy]

I have a gen2 and they told me to charge to 100% - when I picked up the vehicle. I was told the gen2 is not the same as the older battery and you're SUPPOSED to charge to 100%

 

[Dave Cundiff]

I have a gen2 and they told me to charge to 100% - when I picked up the vehicle. I was told the gen2 is not the same as the older battery and you're SUPPOSED to charge to 100%

Standard, Large, or Max?

My understanding is that Standard is LFP, doesn't mind being charged to 100% or discharged to 20% frequently, and likes to be charged to 100% at least once a month for calibration purposes.

My understanding is that Large and Max are still NMC, prefer staying somewhere close to 50%, and should be charged to 100% every 3-6 months for calibration purposes.

Our vehicles exist to serve us, though. Knowing the battery's parameters (roughly stated above, I hope), charge your vehicle in the way that you get the best use and convenience.

Very best wishes, @WestCoastGuy!

 

[WestCoastGuy]

I have a dual performance max r1s, the range is 410 in economy and 371 in sport

 

[NY_Rob]

I have a dual performance max r1s, the range is 410 in economy and 371 in sport

That's very impressive!

Would be nice to see someone actually test that...

 

[White Shadow]

Purchase or lease? Lease= 100% always, babaaaay!

LOL, just one more reason to never buy an off-lease EV.

 

[mkg3]

I have a dual performance max r1s, the range is 410 in economy and 371 in sport

...and at what speed?

LA freeways, when they move, averages about 80 mph so very curious as to how one gets such a high/outside the norm range.

 

[White Shadow]

....Same reason I have always put regular unleaded in my leased Audis. Car drives & performs fine. I’m not paying an extra $0.50-0.75 per gallon for some other driver’s future use. Not my issue.

Interesting....but how do you equate what you do now with what future owners use/issue? Your Audi will run just fine on regular unleaded forever because the car has sensors to detect knock. As long as those knock sensors are working, then zero damage will occur to the engine. However, you're not going to get full performance of the engine using lower-than-required octane fuel. If that doesn't matter to you, then it's all good. Nobody is going to care and it's not going to do any damage to the engine.

The other issue is that your fuel economy is likely to be down using lower octane fuel compared to the required (or recommended) octane fuel. This is because ignition timing can be adjusted when using the lower octane fuel. So you may not be saving as much as you think by putting low octane in your Audi. But either way, you aren't going to damage anything or cause issues for future owners. Audi (like all manufacturers) know that there will always be cheapskates who refuse to pay the extra cost of high octane fuel and since they have to provide a warranty, they make the cars so that they will not get damaged by low octane fuel.

 

[McLovin]

The other issue is that your fuel economy is likely to be down using lower octane fuel compared to the required (or recommended) octane fuel. This is because ignition timing can be adjusted when using the lower octane fuel. So you may not be saving as much as you think by putting low octane in your Audi.

I'm going to call BS on that. 10 years ago I did a little test in my Volvo XC70: On a long trip from DC to Rochester, NY to Burlington, VT, I used 92 or 93 (the highest available to me) on my way there, and simply regular unleaded on my way back. 730 miles each direction. I got a whole 1MPG better.

And to be sure there wasn't any contamination, I filled the tank up w/ 93 a full week before we left, and put 87 in it while driving around Vermont. Sorry...the MPH improvement just isn't there. And I've been doing this in every leased vehicle for over 12 years, and not once have I heard any knocking.

But, the bottom line is...it's not my problem. Do you think rental car companies service & treat their vehicles with kid gloves? How about corporate leases? Do you think any executive really gives a crap how he/she treats the vehicle? The answer is no. So why should I care?

Now, am I going to abuse it just to spite the next user? No. But I certainly am not going to have the next owner in my thoughts while I'm driving it.

 

[DonkeyKong]

As an owner of 3 EV’s for over 5 years now - I charge to 85 on a normal basis, 100 right before a long trip.

I expect to keep my cars for around 6 years at a time and the batteries are warrantied to a little bit more than that so no worries.

the life of the batteries have never degraded to the point that I had to think or worry about it.

Another vote for this!

 

[misterturbo]

LOL, just one more reason to never buy an off-lease EV.

Never buy off lease anything. EV or not

Maybe the only exception to that is commercial airplanes?

 

[Zoidz]

The other issue is that your fuel economy is likely to be down using lower octane fuel compared to the required (or recommended) octane fuel. This is because ignition timing can be adjusted when using the lower octane fuel. So you may not be saving as much as you think by putting low octane in your Audi. But either way, you aren't going to damage anything or cause issues for future owners. Audi (like all manufacturers) know that there will always be cheapskates who refuse to pay the extra cost of high octane fuel and since they have to provide a warranty, they make the cars so that they will not get damaged by low octane fuel.

I'm going to call BS on that. 10 years ago I did a little test in my Volvo XC70: On a long trip from DC to Rochester, NY to Burlington, VT, I used 92 or 93 (the highest available to me) on my way there, and simply regular unleaded on my way back. 730 miles each direction. I got a whole 1MPG better.

And to be sure there wasn't any contamination, I filled the tank up w/ 93 a full week before we left, and put 87 in it while driving around Vermont. Sorry...the MPH improvement just isn't there. And I've been doing this in every leased vehicle for over 12 years, and not once have I heard any knocking.

Why are you calling BS on it? He's correct, it's well known, and has been for years, that using the recommended octane will allow the ECU to optimize the timing based on knock, which is a function of octane rating.

Your extremely unscientific experiment of NY to VT and back is surprisingly close to what has been found in controlled tests such as Car & Driver, along with improved performance which you may not have noticed. You won't hear knocking, the ECU detects it before you even hear it and adjust the timing accordingly. @White Shadow is correct, not BS.

 

[freeheeler17]

Hi all, new to EV ownership (picked up my R1T Max less than 24 hours ago).
I’ve read here and elsewhere that charging to 80% regularly is best practice for extending battery life.
My Rivian Guide yesterday at pickup of vehicle was recommending 70%
Curious as to thoughts here?
Thanks!
Oh, and loving my new Rivian!

slightly nerdy but very informative video on this topic here:


I take Rivian advice and charge to 70% on regular days but often go to 85% (big day of driving planned) or 100% (starting long road trip) based on what I’m planning next day.

feel good that basic rule is fill it up to 70% for day to day, but definitely fill it up more whenever you think you might need it.

My biggest project right now is working to get friends to put in level 2 charges as ski homes / lake houses where I visit!!

 

[Treebeard]

Why should we keep it plugged in even when not charging? I have a short commute and only charge/plug in after several days (charging to 70%) or before a longer trip as needed, but otherwise don’t plug it in- I could but didn’t see the need.

It is better to maintain a battery by leaving it plugged in. Plus when you use the cabin pre conditioning it will pull from the charger and not the battery. Maintaining the battery really only matters when not used for long periods of time. After 2 years and 40,000 miles, always left plugged in, my range has not changed. I only fast charge on long trips which I have done four times with maybe 20 fast charges.

 

[Arvada Mike]

Hi all, new to EV ownership (picked up my R1T Max less than 24 hours ago).
I’ve read here and elsewhere that charging to 80% regularly is best practice for extending battery life.
My Rivian Guide yesterday at pickup of vehicle was recommending 70%
Curious as to thoughts here?
Thanks!
Oh, and loving my new Rivian!

I go to 85% when I charge. I only charge when I get below 60% or less. I save 95-98% charges for days before I know I’ll be driving a lot. I’m really not too worried about range loss. There’s plenty there.

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