White Lightning (Nissan Leaf) Build Thread

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by Flakbadger

The side skirts have been on for around 3,000 miles now. I slapped them on as a proof of concept, but I'm not sure they're the "definitive" version. So, while I work today on making a better side skirt assembly, I took the old ones off.

I noticed that there is much more dirt and grime on the front (leading) end of the skirt than on the back (trailing) end.

Why?

Is it because the tire rotating forward throws more debris to the front, like riding a bike and having the tire send a stripe of water up your back---or is it due to pressure differences inside the wheel well?

If I'm glimpsing the brake caliper to the front, then the explanation may have to do with airflow biased by NISSAN towards the front of the wheel for cooling, using some deflector under the LEAF, forcing jetsam to deposit on the inner, forwards portion of the skirt.
Just a guess. It's complex flow under there!

[Flakbadger]

Originally Posted by blownb310

Did you ever get a Bolt EV? Would love an update to see what EV you are driving today.

Never did; still driving the Leaf.

As a brief update in general; since my last post my wife and I purchased our first house. I got a plug installed in my garage for level 2 charging, and my work commute put me at about 50 miles per day of driving, which was and is well inside of my car's range.

Still want a newer, better EV, but for now I'm going to keep driving the Leaf. I've put about 20,000 miles on it and it's still got 10 bars of battery capacity, giving me around 80ish miles of usable range on average.

Both the Leaf and my wife's Honda Fit are fully paid off, so there's really no incentive for me to get anything newer or better just yet.

But yeah since buying a house (and having a background in apartment and building maintenance), my life has pretty much been a neverending cycle of painting things, fixing stuff, or painting stuff I've just fixed. Ecomodding is thus effectively dead at the moment. Might get back into it once I get just a few more huge projects out of the way.

If folks are interested I might do a write-up on my home improvement escapades. It's been quite a journey over 7ish months!

[oil pan 4]

With near record high vehicle prices and rising interest rates now is not the time to be buying a car, especially if you have a perfectly good car.
We are going to see a flood of new vehicles hit the market over the next 2 years because every auto manufacturer is working to solve the problem. A lot of used cars will hit the market about that time too.

[Flakbadger]

Just a brief update; I've reserved a new Chevy Bolt, though they wouldn't let me put any money down for the reservation, which makes me wonder if they're aiming for an ol' switcheroo with the price. If they do I'll walk away, I'm not desperate.

Outside of that, I've been landscaping my front yard and buying plants. I'm going mostly-native and drought resistant (in theory once established, I should only have to water 2-3 times a month in summer) with my plant selection so that's been a little painful financially. Plus having three tons of rocks, boulders, and dirt delivered. Ah the joys of living in car-dependent suburbia.

Maybe I should be like everyone else around here and buy a giant pickup? Of course then I'd still have to have my stuff delivered because none of those pickups have ever seen a day of work in their life. The beds are pristine and the cabs are all leather.

Anyway just figured I'd say, the Leaf project is effectively dead. I was really excited about it but the list of household projects is just too extensive right now, and the benefit is pointless since I basically only use the Leaf as a grocery getter and a commuter to and from work. It lacks the range do to the longer-distance stuff so for that I just use my wife's Fit instead (40-44 MPG).

Stay cool everyone.

[Flakbadger]

Well, the Leaf modding project is officially dead. I did the Bolt mod instead.



250-odd miles of range with some fantastic features. This is the smoothest-driving car I've ever owned by far and I LOVE the color.

So while I had lofty goals for the Leaf, things never really worked out. Life got too busy and, honestly with it only being used for commuting and grocery runs, I never really needed the extra range I could've gotten with ecomods. What could I have gained, 5 miles?

Selling the old Leaf back to the electric car dealer I bought it from, hoping to get $6,000-$7,000 for it. It's lost 3 bars on the battery and can only manage 60ish miles of usable range.

The thing I'm most excited about with the new car is being able to reach my parents' house on a charge. And more than that, be able to come home too.

I've been having to drive my wife's Honda Fit instead.

Anyway thanks for coming to my TED talk. We'll see if the future holds any Bolt mods... But I don't know that they're even necessary.

Stay awesome!