Is using brake regen more efficient?

[kort]

I am gonna leave the discussion here, but for others that may find this thread and trying to find knowledge:

The gass pedal release regen is not as powerfull as for instance the teslas. But it will brake your car,

sorry, but I dispute that comment, the gas pedal regen on the taycan will not bring the car to a stop from roadway speeds, maybe after a few miles of coasting, otherwise you must engage the brakes to bring the car to a stop.

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[SwissTaycan]

@nicks-taycan try turning on „auto-regen“ to see if you using like it as an alternative? That kind of gives you the best of both worlds as the car looks ahead and if it see you have another car in the distance of you will use regen and if the coast is clear will let you coast.

And in regards to the hitting the brakes — I though from previous posts — that as long as you are not decelerating by more than 0,3g the car is actually not using the brakes at all and on maximum regen. Only stronger braking > 0,3g triggers the real brakes.

 

[feye]

It seems that having brake regen on (I tend to prefer it regardless) would offer better battery efficiency. Does it depend on driving style?

I’m curious because Normal driving mode doesn’t have it on by default. If I’m on a road trip trying to optimize for distance, better to have it on or off? Thanks!

Off! Never regen, the more you use it, the less range you have!

If you need extra range, never even break into corners, rip them like a true Porsche driver...

 

[feye]

with regen off there is zero regen, with it on there is some regen going on.
IMHO a little regen is better than no regen, regardless of the efficiency of the regen.

The most efficient driving is without regen, accelerate and let the car coast until it stops by itself. Coasting is one of the best features on the Taycan, so switch off regen and let the car coast as much as possible. If you really need to break, you still get the full 265kW regen power on the break pedal.

 

[feye]

@nicks-taycan try turning on „auto-regen“ to see if you using like it as an alternative?

Tried it but useless. It engages way, way too early, therefore a total range killer!

 

[epirali]

in addition to braking to regen, when you coast, there is free coasting, regen off or there is coasting with a little bit of regen. watch the meter. I rarely use range mode, it retards some of the car's functions and offers minimal range gain.

Actually in my tests the regen mode makes a significant difference in the Taycan. I believe this is not just because of coasting, but unlike other EVs Taycan has a gearbox in the back with an actual neutral. So in regen mode it WILL release the rear wheels and disengage the motor. Motors when not driven have parasitic drag, so by doing this it become a truly front wheel drive EV. I have seen a good 20-25% improvement in range depending on driving style in Range. the GOM doesn’t seem to reflect that, my experience is from actual known longer drives (>30 miles).

So in other EVs I agree with you, my driving style is what determines the range. In my I-Pace and TeslaI can by in “dynamic” and get the same range based on how I drive. But this is not true of the Taycan. One of the many cool things about this car.

I always use Auto Regen, I wish I could keep it on. It works great for me. It coasts as it should when I don’t need to stop, and starts applying regen to slow down if needed. I am just that lazy, saves me SOME movement to the break pedal…

 

[JimBob]

Actually in my tests the regen mode makes a significant difference in the Taycan. I believe this is not just because of coasting, but unlike other EVs Taycan has a gearbox in the back with an actual neutral. So in regen mode it WILL release the rear wheels and disengage the motor. Motors when not driven have parasitic drag, so by doing this it become a truly front wheel drive EV. I have seen a good 20-25% improvement in range depending on driving style in Range. the GOM doesn’t seem to reflect that, my experience is from actual known longer drives (>30 miles).

So in other EVs I agree with you, my driving style is what determines the range. In my I-Pace and TeslaI can by in “dynamic” and get the same range based on how I drive. But this is not true of the Taycan. One of the many cool things about this car.

I always use Auto Regen, I wish I could keep it on. It works great for me. It coasts as it should when I don’t need to stop, and starts applying regen to slow down if needed. I am just that lazy, saves me SOME movement to the break pedal…

This is what Porsche says about Range mode.

Range: The Taycan performs particularly efficiently in Range mode. The top speed is limited to
between 90 and 140 km/h (adjustable) but can always be overridden by depressing the accelerator pedal.

Driving in this mode means driving with the most efficient all-wheel distribution possible. In
extreme cases, the Taycan will even drive exclusively on the front axle. Cooling air flaps, chassis height (-20 millimetres) and rear spoiler are set to the minimum drag. Air conditioning, hydraulic pumps, air suspension and headlights also operate in their most efficient configurations.


I don't really understand how it can be said there is little difference between Range and other modes. With just the turn of a dial, you can have the most efficient setup for long distance driving.

 

[kort]

Actually in my tests the regen mode makes a significant difference in the Taycan. I believe this is not just because of coasting, but unlike other EVs Taycan has a gearbox in the back with an actual neutral. So in regen mode it WILL release the rear wheels and disengage the motor. Motors when not driven have parasitic drag, so by doing this it become a truly front wheel drive EV. I have seen a good 20-25% improvement in range depending on driving style in Range. the GOM doesn’t seem to reflect that, my experience is from actual known longer drives (>30 miles).

So in other EVs I agree with you, my driving style is what determines the range. In my I-Pace and TeslaI can by in “dynamic” and get the same range based on how I drive. But this is not true of the Taycan. One of the many cool things about this car.

I always use Auto Regen, I wish I could keep it on. It works great for me. It coasts as it should when I don’t need to stop, and starts applying regen to slow down if needed. I am just that lazy, saves me SOME movement to the break pedal…

I must again disagree, that is not how regen or the gearing works. regen takes place when the accelerator is released and that causes the motor to run in reverse creating the regen, if the gearing disengaged the motor there would be no regen.

https://driving.ca/column/how-it-works/how-it-works-regenerative-braking
https://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts/brakes/brake-types/regenerative-braking.htm

 

[epirali]

I must again disagree, that is not how regen or the gearing works. regen takes place when the accelerator is released and that causes the motor to run in reverse creating the regen, if the gearing disengaged the motor there would be no regen.

https://driving.ca/column/how-it-works/how-it-works-regenerative-braking
https://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts/brakes/brake-types/regenerative-braking.htm

Not sure which part do you disagree with, the Range mode optimization or auto regen? Remember the regen may be from front motor, not reverse. And the rear gearbox does actually have a ”neutral,” this is not a guess on my part. Its in the Porsche technical docs.

 

[kort]

Not sure which part do you disagree with, the Range mode optimization or auto regen? Remember the regen may be from front motor, not reverse. And the rear gearbox does actually have a ”neutral,” this is not a guess on my part. Its in the Porsche technical docs.

the regen IS from the motor. I am not disputing the presence of neutral, I am disputing your view od how it is used in regen. if the motor is in neutral or disconnected how would the regen happen? since the only time that the rear motor is not used is when in range mode your scenario of how regen works makes little sense.

 

[JimBob]

Don't confuse the motor and the drive axel.

 

[epirali]

the regen IS from the motor. I am not disputing the presence of neutral, I am disputing your view od how it is used in regen. if the motor is in neutral or disconnected how would the regen happen? since the only time that the rear motor is not used is when in range mode your scenario of how regen works makes little sense.

Keep in mind there are two motors, front and rear. The read goes through the gearbox, the front does not. You can disconnect the rear by neutral while the front motor will reverse and regen when not driving the car. Why is this an issue?

 

[nicks-taycan]

Reporting back after about 6 hours of highway driving through the mountains in Colorado and New Mexico ... having regen off was far better for mileage/efficiency. I was blown away at how far I could go on windy mountain highways without touching the accelerator ... sometimes several miles.

I can see how regen is better for stop and go driving, but otherwise having it off worked better. Thanks for all the advice!

 

[benver]

Tried it but useless. It engages way, way too early, therefore a total range killer!

I am not 100% sure, but:
Automatic setting will activate recuperation at certain moments.
One of those moments is if a car in front of you is slower and you're not overtaken it.
The recuperation starts at a certain distance, and this distance depends on the desired distance ACC(not sure if you have this) setting, which has 5 possibilities ? Maybe yours is set at the highest distance which means soonest recuperation ?
Give it a try with the ACC display active and see if you can adjust the desired distance to your liking.

I like to keep the ACC display active to predict when I need to start overtaking when a car appears on the display. Of course I am seeing the car myself too, but don't like to drive in the left lane when not necessary. (Here in the Netherlands you'll be fined when doing that, we don't have keep your lane).

 

[XLR82XS]

Keep in mind there are two motors, front and rear. The read goes through the gearbox, the front does not. You can disconnect the rear by neutral while the front motor will reverse and regen when not driving the car. Why is this an issue?

I wonder how the system works with the single motor cars. (I have an incoming RWD)

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