Regenerative Braking and RWD...

[danielt1263]

As the OP, I have to say I appreciate all the assurances I've gotten on this thread.

My concerns basically came from a time where I had a vehicle that only had rear wheel breaks, and despite it being rear engine, those wheels lost traction rather easily and once they did, the entire vehicle would fishtail.

So, my assumption is that even in a moderate breaking situation, more than 50% of the stopping power will come from the front breaks than the rear regen system, thus most of the stopping energy will generate heat rather than recharge the battery. Several of you have backed up this assumption as well.

That said, I expect there will still be regen. As Kopsis' napkin math shows, there will be some apparently 5 kN (across both back tires) or so of regen in a typical stop. But I expect they would also have to agree that if the regen was on the front wheels rather than the rear, the regen capability of the vehicle would be far better. Based on their numbers, it would likely be some 27% higher or well over 6 kN, and if regen was on all four wheels then all the better.

But yea, 5 kN is better than nothing, right?

 

[Revenant89]

Ford EVs have both 1PD and 2PD choices. Both choices give you another level of regen/performance using the drive modes (Whisper, Engaged, Unbridled).

Total of 6 different drive modes depending on what the driver selects.

1PD in Unbridled mode has the most harsh regen but best performance (acceleration).

2PD in Whisper mode is the least regen but has ICE coasting feel when you pull your foot off the accelerator.

I drive 2PD in Engaged mode for moderate regen, but lots of coasting if I take my foot off the accelerator.

Tesla feels more like a 1PD in unbridled mode.
It's very harsh and unforgiving if you jump off the accelerator and jump onto the brakes as it's common here in So Calif driving.
Tesla no longer allows adjusting regen (current software) and is downright harsh.

While I don't like pure 1PD that seems more like driver error than anything.

I'm worried nothing will compare to my EV6 which can automatically adjust regen based on vehicles in front of you.

 

[metroshot]

While I don't like pure 1PD that seems more like driver error than anything.

I'm worried nothing will compare to my EV6 which can automatically adjust regen based on vehicles in front of you.

Not driver error; traffic - having to jump on the brakes in heavy Los Angeles traffic.

Traffic congested driving with many people cutting you off, driving like morons, and downright disregard for traffic laws are the reasons I hate the harsh 1PD.

If I lived in rural or less congested suburban area of town, 1PD would be fine.

 

[pdxmotorhead]

I had a Tesla Model 3 for 4 years, (2020) it was RWD and the brakes went 50K and looked like I had never used them, the benefits of the regen still increase brake life a ton even with RWD. I had 2 FWD EV's and the manners on long steep downhill grades were a bit odd.. For EV I prefer the RWD regen. I traded the model 3 for a AWD model Y, dont miss hte model 3 much for anything but handling, it definately cornered better than the Y by a bit.. (Higher center of gravity in the Y by a bit.)