Now that those of us that have lived with the Z1 for awhile just checking in to see if anyone else is not all that satisfied with the battery performance? I was reluctant actually to go here with this but after reaching out to LUNA about it felt that going forward they weren't going to be much help.
I've got over 300 miles now on the bike and done several modifications along the way. Unfortunately still not able to get JonA's frey tune onboard but I really don't think it will have much bearing on what I am most concerned with.
I have been doing rides around the hood mostly using levels 1-3 in the 5 level mode. Basically 1 in the woods and tight sections, 2 on level and logging roads and 3 on the ups but not always. Ride lengths have been a bit under 20 miles of varied terrain with 2k vert average gain. I have been cutting out @ 45.5v even using mode 1 and active pedaling. I can squeeze another V out of it by off/onning the display but basically from the first cut out it is lights out from there and you had better be close to home. Hooking up to the charger I get a reading of 44.5v on the charger readout. Upon charging from there the Ah returned into the battery is around 14ah which translates into 672wh. BTW to determine this I use a Grin Satiator charger which is very accurate in regards to reading voltage at time of charge and how many Ah's it charges. From that I determined awhile ago that my display reads .5v low also and allow for that while riding.
LVC as per LUNA is 42v and I do realize that voltage sag is a thing and have been living with it and managing it for a long time now but I feel that it is more noticeable with the Z1 than other bikes I have had including 1000w hub motors. Cutting out 4 volts above the LVC even using low mode assist just is not the performance I am looking for. Maybe when I finally get the tune installed it will help some but I don't see how it will affect the cut out from happening as it stands?
So I guess my question is to the other Z1 owners on here is am I alone in my findings or is this a standard feature?
This is a real issue. I performed JonA's Frey tune and it does dramatically reduce the cadence assist (pedal assist) in favor or torque assist, and feels much more natural. It also lowers the LVC to 38V. so you get a bit more range out of the battery. However Once the battery gets to about 45 volts it goes into "limp" mode capping power to 400 watts or so, so the sag stops happening; power output is so anemic that it barely overcomes the weight of the bike.
Even with the improved efficiency and lowered LVC, I still only managed 18.6 miles and 2200 vertical feet before the power output was so low I had to terminate the ride. . My friend with a Levo running it continuously in Turbo assist still had 40% battery remaining when I was at 41v dipping into 40.
So either the Bafang is much less efficient, or the battery is not delivering rated power or I suspect a bit of both. A second battery, 48v 15A same configuration for the Dengfu E10 is available from AliExpress for 360 (+ tax) including shipping. I have ordered one to carry in a back pack for longer rides.
I must say I am disappointed in the lack of range of the Z1. With all the software adjustments, Ive been able to increase range about 40%, but still fall short of 20 miles.
