Tips on how to get good range from your Ather 450X

[saranyam.13891 (Saranya M)]

I have heard many people complain about the range they get in different modes (Eco/Ride/Sports).

I have a fair understanding on how the battery is utilized based on my riding styles and my observations. I have achieved ~100kms in SPORTS / RIDE modes and not in ECO mode on my Ather 450 and I will explain how.

As per the above image, Ather has provided us the numbers for each mode. These ranges are not the maximum that you can achieve.

1. ECO mode: 75 kms range with 100% battery, with a top speed of 50km/hr.
2. RIDE mode: 65 kms range with 100% battery, with a top speed of 60km/hr.
3. SPORTS mode: 55 kms range with 100% battery, with a top speed of 80km/hr.

With these ranges and top speeds, how do I actually achieve ~100kms with my every ride?

The answer is simple, but you need to understand how the battery is utilized in each mode.

Battery utilization: According to what I have observed, the battery charge will be utilized differently with each of the modes based on different factors, mainly the speed you try to achieve, the riding style and the load on the vehicle (i.e. with/without pillion rider, weight in the bike storage etc - The more weight the bike has to pull, the more battery charge it utilizes) among other factors like tyre pressure (make sure you check tyre pressure frequently and keep it as per the suggested units) etc.

There is this main logic that I figured out based on my rides - The more speed you try to achieve in each mode, the more the battery charge is used. For example, if you ride at ~45-50km/hr in Eco mode (remember that the top speed is 50km/hr for Eco mode?), more battery charge is used as you are trying to use the maximum speed for that particular mode you are on. But if you try to ride at the same speed in other modes - Ride/Sports - the battery charge will not be used as much as that of Eco mode. This is how I achieve more range with different riding modes.

More examples to understand and improve the range on your Ather 450 based on the speed you prefer to ride on.

1. Sports mode - I always prefer this mode, because as I said, riding at 50-60km/hr in this mode does not use much battery charge (because top speed is 80km/hr in this mode) as compared to Eco/Ride modes. I always ride 40-60km/hr in this mode and get ~100 kms range.
2. Ride mode - I prefer this mode second. Riding at ~40km/hr in this mode does not use much battery charge (because top speed is 60km/hr in this mode) as compared to Eco mode. But riding at 50-60km/hr in this mode uses more battery charge as compared to Sports mode.
3. Eco mode - I do not prefer this mode as I ride usually at ~40-60hm/hr. Riding at even 40km/hr in this mode uses more battery charge (because top speed is 50km/hr in this mode) as compared to Ride/Sports mode.

Another factor is Rash riding. Do not increase the ride speed drastically, increase the speed very gradually and slowly. This uses more battery charge. You can literally see this factor on the screen when you ride. The screen turns RED when you ride rash (i.e. either suddenly increasing the speed, or when going uphill with a higher speed etc). You can always try to keep the screen from going RED and keep it GREEN as always as possible. Sometimes the screen goes from GREEN to BROWNish color when you gradually increase the speed towards the top speed, do not worry as this is the right way to increase and if you get BROWNish instead of RED, you are good. When you get RED on the screen, slowly decrease the speed until RED vanishes and try to maintain constant speed wherever possible.

My office is 27-28 kms away from my home. After reaching office, I shutdown my bike. I travel for a total of 55-56kms a day to and fro in Sports mode at ~40-65km/hr. After all this, I am still left with ~50% of the battery (usually 45-50%) when I get back home. This shows that the speed does not matter as far as you do not ride at max/top speed (Mentioning again that riding at max/top speed uses more battery for a particular mode).

Another example is I went for a ride in Sports mode with 100% battery covering 86kms in total at 50-70km/hr and I was left with 14% of the battery after.

To conclude use the different available modes according to the speed you prefer to ride at. Use either Ride/Sports mode If you usually ride at ~40km/hr, use Sports mode if you usually ride at >50km/hr. You can use Eco mode if you usually ride at ~20km/hr. Do not try to achieve the maximum speed in any mode as this reduces the battery percentage hugely. Try to change your riding style to get GREEN or sometimes BROWNish color on the screen. Always shutdown your bike when you know for sure you wouldn’t use your bike for the day or for another 4 hours.

Hope this helps.

Here is the blog I created - https://saranya-blogs.blogspot.com/2021/01/tips-to-get-good-range-from-electric-vehicles.html

Please share it with others so that more and more switches happen from fuel vehicles to EVs.

[ranganathsb (Ranganath S)]

You need to create a blog on this! Would help general public using EVs as this applies to more or less all EVs!

[dhawalmistry]

A very elaborating explanation. Great work. I am also experiencing similar performance. I drive btwn 60 -70km/hr in sports mode.

In ride statistics for eco and ride mode the projected range of 77km and for sports mode is 79km.

There is one more factor to this. One should avoid changing modes frequently. Riding in one Mode will fetch better range

[saranyam.13891 (Saranya M)]

Yes true, thanks for the idea, I will create one.

[kumar.uppaluri2 (NMPK)]

Yeah what @ranganathsb said was true many of us here explained about range here in forum but this was so simple crystal clear and very easy to understand. You should definitely write a blog or an article.

Such writings should reach many not just the ather community, so that range anxiety will reduce and more people will be attracted towards EV. For many people range is the major concern to purchase an EV. Be it any brand, it is good to own an EV.

[saranyam.13891 (Saranya M)]

Thank you. Yes true, I agree on the range anxiety. I am definitely creating a blog on this.

[juzeeweb (Juzer Mustansir Chhedawala)]

@saranyam.13891. Thank you for this. This is what I want to explain most of them. U clearly have simpler and more approachable way in ur writing style.

Question: In ur last paragraph about turn your bike off is it referring to Shutdown or normal off? As most of us are turning off normally.

[saranyam.13891 (Saranya M)]

@juzeeweb

@saranyam.13891. Thank you for this. This is what I want to explain most of them. U clearly have simpler and more approachable way in ur writing style.

Question: In ur last paragraph about turn your bike off is it referring to Shutdown or normal off? As most of us are turning off normally.

Thank you. I meant shutdown so that the battery charge is not reduced further. I have updated the post.

Here is the blog I created - https://saranya-blogs.blogspot.com/2021/01/tips-to-get-good-range-from-electric-vehicles.html

Please share it with others so that more and more switches happen from fuel vehicles to EVs.

[raviks (Ravikumar Nair)]

Thanks, this is a great explanation. Helped me to understand the battery consumpion concepts better.

I have read elsewhere in the forums that frequently shutting down the scooter is not good overall. Ather team also recommends shutting down only if you are not using it for 3-4 days.

[saranyam.13891 (Saranya M)]

Thank you.

Ather team suggested me to shutdown if I am not using it for the day anymore, I will check with them again.

[raghav.srinivasan]

Edit : This is only applicable for 450. NOT 450X/Plus

Frequent shutdowns at higher SoC levels( >50%) is not recommended in vehicles that were delivered prior to Oct-Nov 2019. All of these vehicles have a hardware bug in the BMS that may result in total failure.

An OTA was provided to mitigate this issue, however the advice still holds good.

[harshj913]

So am getting by bike by March-April so that shutdown bug won’t affect me. Right??

[arvind_nair (Arvind)]

Doesnt apply to the 450X or Plus as Raghav’s edit indicates.

[lvineeth98 (Vineeth Linga)]

Achieved this efficiency following your tips. Thanks.

[saranyam.13891 (Saranya M)]

@lvineeth98

Achieved this efficiency following your tips. Thanks.

Great to hear this, happy that my tips were useful.

[wmayuresh (Space Grey Shuttle 🚀)]

This is good guidance. I have queries about best way to ride back downhill. For IC engine vehicle, there is guidance to use engine breaking. For Ather, Is it safe to ride downhill with kill switch off and control using brakes? if not, what mode we should use to maximize range? We know regen is just 4% level. We need to apply brakes anyway. So, will turned off motor will give more range? Consider this for more than 2-3 kms downhill road and not short slopes.

[raghav.srinivasan]

@wmayuresh

For Ather, Is it safe to ride downhill with kill switch off and control using brakes?

Absolutely NOT!. Irrespective of the vehicle type, riding with motor off is dangerous - especially downhill. You need to have throttle control at all times to avoid obstacles, oncoming traffic and anything else Indian rods throw at you.

In 450 series, use the regen - twist the throttle in the reverse direction of acceleration- and you will feel the motor “braking”… if it’s too steep and you feel the regen isn’t slowing you down sufficiently then use the brakes.

[raviks (Ravikumar Nair)]

Regarding the safety aspects of shutting down the bike frequently, found this post from Abhishek Balaji.

Is it safe to shutdown the vehicle on a daily basis?

For the Ather 450, the shut-down or vacation mode was designed for prolonged periods of non-usage. However, some of our initial owners were using the feature frequently and at high charge levels, which increased the risk of a particular electronic component in the battery failing, and the vehicle not waking up in a few cases. Here’s what we did once we found out about this usage: We have communicated the expected usage of the feature and recommend that you use shutdown mode as a vacation mode,…

So looks as @raghav.srinivasan mentioned, they have fixed the issue in hardware after Oct 2019 and all 450x and 450 plus do not have this issue anymore.

[abhishek.balaji]

This is a lovely thread! Adding my 2 paise to this:

While speed is a good way to get more range, what you need to really watch out for is efficiency.

For example: Assuming you start riding at 100% charge level, considering that the usable capacity of the battery in the 450X is 2.6 kWh = 2600 Wh. Expected efficiency is simply battery capacity / True Range

You have your true range:

Eco: 85 km Ride: 70 km Sport: 60 km Warp: 50km

	True Range	Expected efficiency (Wh/km)
Eco	85	30.59
Ride	70	37.14
Sport	60	43.33
Warp	50	52.00

The true range is calculated based on the riding data of users of the 450 and the 450X. It is entirely possible to ride in Warp mode and get < 30 Wh/km efficiency if you take it easy on the throttle, avoid harsh braking and acceleration, and maintain good tyre pressure.

Now, when you switch modes, your battery capacity still remains the same, just the torque and power given out by the motor is limited and as a result the top speed. You can also ride in Eco mode at 52 Wh/km efficiency, and you’ll get only 50kms of range.

Some scenarios you can explore to get familiar:

1. Going uphill in Eco mode, at max throttle, you’ll be least efficient and hence get lower range
2. Costing downhill in Warp mode, light on the throttle, more braking and regen, you’ll get a really high range in warp mode

The red halo around range displayed while riding is an indication of this. Avoid the red halo showing up (after you enable real-time efficiency in the settings ofc) and you’re going good on your riding style. It will pop up sometimes as your overtake or go uphill, but it’s easy to bring it back down.

[cyberboysumanjay (Sumanjay .)]

@abhishek.balaji

It is entirely possible to ride in Warp mode and get < 30 Wh/km efficiency

Yes it’s entirely possible!