Electric cars

Betty_Kenny

DELETED USER wrote:

Bit of heating and heated steering wheel. Pre-heating helps. Never have to scrape ice off the windows.

The car is rated for 150, I get 130 driving normally.



30kWh. Just upgraded from the 24 actually.

Just out of interest what typical journeys did you manage in the 24kwh we are looking at whether we would need the 30kwh - or any other factors you've found in the upgrade? Its quite hard to get definite info about range as it is so variable as I understand with weather/driving styles etc.
thanks:)

Gavin_Hansen

Go for it. It's the way forward. My Dad has one. He won't go back now!

Gloomendoom

NigeWick wrote: »

You're saying that your electric racing car has as many breakable moving parts (cam shafts, pistons, piston rings, Connecting rods, crank shafts, gear boxes, exhaust systems for instance) as an ICE racing car?

Complexity comes in many forms. Not all of it mechanical.

That said, electric cars do need gear reduction and final drive systems. Cooling and lubrication has also been a challenge.

zeupater

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Complexity comes in many forms. Not all of it mechanical.

That said, electric cars do need gear reduction and final drive systems. Cooling and lubrication has also been a challenge.

Hi

Maybe complexity is in the eye of the beholder .... to an electronics engineer mechanical solutions may be considered complex and to a mechanical engineer, the design of electronic circuitry can be utterly baffling.

For many the term 'complexity' is simply a condition related to familiarity, for example, MrsZ's car can effectively be described as semi-'drive by wire' using CVT ... to some this is a complex solution to remove familiar mechanical engineering whilst to others it's the simple solution to overcome engineering complexity and weight issues, however, the vehicle would not be what it is if it hadn't been designed as a complete solution, after-all, how do you recover and store kinetic energy for long-term use with a mechanical braking solution ( note 'long term' excludes mechanical fly-wheels ... )

Maybe it really is not as complex .... just different and therefore unfamiliar ...
Z

janninew

NigeWick wrote: »

It's a personal thing but I just don't trust their build quality and I don't think they are 200+ miles range. Yes, quite a bit more than the Leaf but not what Renault quote.

I've got a Zoe and a full charge gives me a range of 219 miles, with sensible driving in current conditions around 200 miles is very accurate. Looked at the Leaf, apart from finding it butt ugly the range is just to low. Plus the Zoe consistently takes the top spot for electric cars with most car publications, I did a lot of research and I'm a bit stumped why people buy the Leaf!

almillar

I did a lot of research and I'm a bit stumped why people buy the Leaf!

It's bigger, and currently, cheaper.
As discussed in this thread, range is a grey area, and Betty Kenny you won't be getting any definite info - there isn't any, as you acknowledge, there are just too many variables.
People quote their own ranges and then are surprised when others differ. It depends on your driving, and where you go.
I can be pretty sure, for example, that janninew doesn't drive on motorways at 70 much, otherwise she wouldn't be getting 200 miles out of her Zoe (41kWh).
What I can say is that I have quite a good general rule, that I will go two thirds as far in winter, as I will in Summer. That means 60 miles winter, 90 miles summer, as the very roughest range calculation for my Zoe (22kWh).
Nobody seems to talk about how far they can go in the latest 1.4 Golf (300 miles? 400?) nor what size its fuel tank is, but I guess in a few years it'll be the same for electrics...

Car_54

In today's Times it is pointed out that, as well as 1.7 million cars, the UK produces 2.5 million engines per annum.

The government's announcement has serious implications for UK jobs and exports, unless they can ensure we get a large share of future electric motor and/or battery production.

zeupater

Car_54 wrote: »

In today's Times it is pointed out that, as well as 1.7 million cars, the UK produces 2.5 million engines per annum.

The government's announcement has serious implications for UK jobs and exports, unless they can ensure we get a large share of future electric motor and/or battery production.

... Logically then - the difference, almost 1million engines, are exported and therefore the issue for those is not related to the UK government's announcement at all .... I'd expect that it's motivated by more brexit related negativity than anything else ....

Anyway, if people still want to buy cars then they'll buy cars and by definition they'll be expected to go and stop as necessary ... the technologies to make that happen (motor, braking, power source etc) may be different, but they'll still be required so I can't see the problem being raised ... the only issue really revolves around whether UK customers in the UK will buy UK produced vehicles in preference to those assembled overseas ... so, in effect it's down to you and everyone else to take account of the following unavoidable truth ... simply buy British or don't moan about production & jobs going overseas ....

HTH
Z

Car_54

zeupater wrote: »

... Logically then - the difference, almost 1million engines, are exported and therefore the issue for those is not related to the UK government's announcement at all .... I'd expect that it's motivated by more brexit related negativity than anything else ....

Anyway, if people still want to buy cars then they'll buy cars and by definition they'll be expected to go and stop as necessary ... the technologies to make that happen (motor, braking, power source etc) may be different, but they'll still be required so I can't see the problem being raised ... the only issue really revolves around whether UK customers in the UK will buy UK produced vehicles in preference to those assembled overseas ... so, in effect it's down to you and everyone else to take account of the following unavoidable truth ... simply buy British or don't moan about production & jobs going overseas ....

HTH
Z

Not moaning - simply pointing out, probably not very effectively, the government's lack of strategy.

The article also pointed out that at the same time as the governement's left hand was announcing the electric car deadline, its right hand was abandoning much of the programme of railway electrification.

Apart from the mixed message on the environment, the latter threatens what is left of our railway rolling stock industy, which has been encouraged to concentrate on electric trains and abandon Diesel.

[Just for the record, I don't imagine Labour would be any better.]

As for buying British, I'm old enough to remember the "Buy British" campaigns in the 60s. In parallel, we were told we must "Export or Die". The two were, and remain, contradictory.

zeupater

Car_54 wrote: »

... As for buying British, I'm old enough to remember the "Buy British" campaigns in the 60s. In parallel, we were told we must "Export or Die". The two were, and remain, contradictory.

Hi

But they're not mutually exclusive .... not all countries maintain the ability to manufacture all products - it's simply a case of identifying markets and satisfying demand with a competitive product (desirability, quality, price - the old QCD pyramid!).

Unfortunately, there's a perceived need to moan about the state of British industry & jobs which isn't backed by the required levels of government or general public intelligence needed to de-compartmentalise argument. The most relevant example of this lack of joined-up-thinking is our national inability to do anything to seriously protect the environment on a long-term basis because so many vested interest groups have myopic view of environmentalism ... cut off a finger to save the hand, cut off the hand to save the arm, cut off the ... the longer the issue is ignored, the more serious the solution needs to be - so if a newt needs to be moved or stomped on today, well, unfortunately, that may be what we need to do to prevent something really serious happening in the future .....

HTH
Z