# Mahindra e2o - Regenerative Braking saves us!



## Kamleshgk (May 24, 2012)

Who says the Mahindra E2O is a city car??
Which OIL based car takes u 110km and can gets it done by using 92km worth of energy??
Does Regenerative Braking really work?

Find out more by watching our video blog - We drove the e2o from Pune,India to Lavasa,India a distance of 110km and we got it done by using 92km worth of energy!






The magic of Regen was experienced and we felt so thankful!


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## Siwastaja (Aug 1, 2012)

Thanks for the nice video. Beautiful landscapes there.

All OEMs implement regen braking as it comes with practically no extra effort with an AC motor, in fact it would need to be specially disabled if not wanted.

Some DIYers don't feel like they need regen, but they mostly live within flat regions. While regen is always referred as a good city feature, it is often forgotten how important it is in the mountainous regions, being #1 efficiency improvement over a simple non-regenerating series DC setup. (Reducing weight would be even more efficient, but there's always a limit; and regen comes without weight penalty so it's kind of free.)

To see the _real_ effect, you would need some special instrumentation. 30% if often cited as some kind of maximum possible range improvement in optimum (for regen, that is) conditions. On a flat highway, the improvement is naturally zero.

So what regen does is that it makes especially inefficient conditions a bit less inefficient, making it more straightforward to talk about electric "mileage". Your mileage would vary more if there was no regen. After a long climb that eats your range counter more quickly than it "should", you get part of the lost kilometers back on the downhill to make up for it.


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## Kamleshgk (May 24, 2012)

Siwastaja said:


> After a long climb that eats your range counter more quickly than it "should", you get part of the lost kilometers back on the downhill to make up for it.


Exactly what happened. At the top of the hill we had around 40km worth of energy. And by the time we rolled down, we got 10km worth of energy for free! So at the bottom of the hill, our range counter was 50km. 

Regen saved us from range anxiety - Totally recommend this energy saving feature!


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## miller3408 (Sep 12, 2013)

Kamleshgk said:


> Exactly what happened. At the top of the hill we had around 40km worth of energy. And by the time we rolled down, we got 10km worth of energy for free! So at the bottom of the hill, our range counter was 50km.
> 
> Regen saved us from range anxiety - Totally recommend this energy saving feature!


Not to mention that in most cases brakes will last forever. Most Prius owners will never have to pay to have brakes replaced during their lifetime. In fact, some dealers will warranty brakes forever. This is the advantage of AC over DC for sure.


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## kennybobby (Aug 10, 2012)

That was an amazing trip and feat of skill to use the regen to extend range. Beautiful country also. Lucky motorcycle rider to not get taken out by the car passing going uphill (Rambo scene after about 5:30)...


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## Kamleshgk (May 24, 2012)

kennybobby said:


> That was an amazing trip and feat of skill to use the regen to extend range. Beautiful country also. Lucky motorcycle rider to not get taken out by the car passing going uphill (Rambo scene after about 5:30)...


LOL
never noticed that motorcycle rider!

Yeah, indeed driving and electric to make it go further and further is a skill !
I can totally vouch for that!


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## kennybobby (Aug 10, 2012)

i'm driving a little Mitsubishi i-miev now that has very similar size and performance to your e2o--16kWh pack and 100 km range. But i've been able to stretch the range by driving slower and using regen for braking.

Basically i'll start with a full tank and drive fast until it is down to half, then look to see how many miles i went and start back toward home. By slowing down i can make it back with about 1/8th left on the 'fuel' gauge (at least 10 km of range).

cheers, kenny


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## Kamleshgk (May 24, 2012)

kennybobby said:


> i'm driving a little Mitsubishi i-miev now that has very similar size and performance to your e2o--16kWh pack and 100 km range. But i've been able to stretch the range by driving slower and using regen for braking.
> 
> Basically i'll start with a full tank and drive fast until it is down to half, then look to see how many miles i went and start back toward home. By slowing down i can make it back with about 1/8th left on the 'fuel' gauge (at least 10 km of range).
> 
> cheers, kenny


The iMiev is a cute car!

How many years, miles you completed on it?

What i have noticed is the complete lack of maintenance on my e2o.
www.pluginindia.com/blogs/why-i-got-the-mahindra-e2o

Its been 2 years and the car has not gone to the service center even once. 
Well i had to go to change my headlamp, that is it.

I have to go to a mandatory service check this year. But i guess even that is a formality.

Love the fact that EV's take the term 'servicing' out of our vacabulary.

How has your iMiev been regarding service?


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