Leaf Cost Comparison & Break Even Time

Wow, I cant recall a single person who hasn't asked me this and I cant recall ever giving anything more than a ballpark. This spreadsheet is long overdue and took me a long time to make (Excel is NOT like riding a bicycle, only a year and I had forgotten how to build in formulas and what not). All the values vary off of the Cost of Gas, Cost of Electricity, Annual Km fields so you can use it so simulate any scenario (eg when we are paying UK gas prices). You can also compare any other vehicle by changing the fields in grey such as Maintinence Cost per Km, L/100Km and for EREV's Km/kWh which is by default set to blend 50/50 with gas usage. Fire me an email at gsylte@regencyauto.com and I can send you the Excel version of it. All of the maintenance costs are pulled from yahoo autos "first 5 years of ownership" averaged out at 20k/year and converted into per-km. For the leaf I got a quote directly from our service department.

Bear in mind the Leaf blows ALL of these cars away both in ride quality and amount of features. Interesting highlights include break even with a Honda Civic around 4 years, first year against Prius, and the only two plug ins (Prius and Volt) being of absolutely no competition whatsoever to the Leaf.

Lifting the Leaf On a Shop Jack & Installing Winter Tires

                No special concerns lifting the vehicle, find hard points in the frame like anything else, as long as you are not pinching a wire or lifting from the battery pack. Here is a picture of a Leaf in our shop while our tech practices swapping out its modular components.

               As you see the Leaf is lifted via the outer unibody frame like any other vehicle. Under that skid plate at the back is the battery pack. The armored shell around it is built to withstand a highway collision and actually gives the frame of the leaf the majority of its rigidity. So in theory it looks like you probably could lift or brace it from the battery pack but at the same time let’s not try it.

               The one thing of note is that the all season tires currently on the Leaf are specialty “Economy” tires targeted at taking rolling resistance out of the equation. Winter tires are the polar opposite as their main trait is a softer "stickier" compound so at below zero temperatures it wont be rock solid. Depending on the specific tire this will affect your range accordingly just like with a gasoline vehicle. Just be ready for this and closely monitor the impact on your range and Km/kWh. After three days of use the “Guess-O-Meter” will more accurately reflect the real world range with them installed. Only other thoughts on that note are to put off installing the winter tires until the average temperature is around 8-10 degrees when their compound won’t be as “sticky”. This will both prolong the life of the tires and not waste range as running tires above their recommended temperature will have a similar effect to having them severely under-inflated.

Level 1 Charging With An Extension Cable.

First off 12 Gauge should be adequate up to 50ft and 14 up to 15ft. Now in reality there are a few more factors at work here compared to your average appliance. In my honest opinion no have no impact on performance and no risk of malfunction I would recommend 14 Gauge at 10-15ft, 12 Gauge at 30ft and 10 Gauge at 50-75ft. This also gives you wiggle room as the copper oxidises and in-line impedance increases. Package amperage ratings are very inconsistent so you should base your choice only off of gauge and length.

Here are my recommendations:

16ft/14g - $24 – This will get the job done but may run into challenges 3-5years down the road  due to oxidization and wear

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/6/Tools/2/Electrical/OutdoorPowerCords/PRDOVR~0522303P/Outdoor+Lock+Cord%2C+14%2B3%2C+Red.jsp?locale=en

25ft/12g - $40 – More so I would recommend something like this, you will unlikely be affected by oxidization and wear and I am 99% certain the speed charging with this will be identical to plugging the stock charger directly into the wall. Also of note it is a bright yellow color which if you are in a public place will ensure visibility so nobody is tripping over it and what not.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/6/Tools/2/Electrical/OutdoorPowerCords/PRDOVR~0522319P/Contractor+Grade+Extension+Cord+12%2B3.jsp?locale=en

If you want to get real specific it looks like this company makes custom adaptors up to 200ft that hook directly into your charger.
http://www.stayonline.com/custom_power_cords.aspx

At the end of the day the bigger the better. It would also be good practice to check the temperature of the extension cord and its connections at 5min, 30min, 1hour, 2hour and 4hour intervals the first time in case there are manufacturer defects in the cord generating excessive impedance.

The biggest benefit of a suitable extension cable is actually the ability to charge in a completely public place with no risk of your charger being stolen. Take a look at the pictures below for how to properly secure your level 1 charger: