RE: Silent SLS gives us the creeps
Discussion
kambites said:
Paul_M3 said:
kambites said:
Oz83 said:
... As we depend on fossil fuels for 90% of our energy,...
No we don't, if by "energy" you mean "electricity". At this precise moment:
Closed Cycle Gas Turbine 30.9%
Coal Station 46.0%
Nuclear 17.2%
Wind 1%
The rest is made of various other sources AND imported electricty which may or may not be fossil fuel related.
Paul_M3 said:
It's not quite that low.
At this precise moment:
Closed Cycle Gas Turbine 30.9%
Coal Station 46.0%
Nuclear 17.2%
Wind 1%
The rest is made of various other sources AND imported electricty which may or may not be fossil fuel related.
Are you sure they aren't the 2011 figures, or even 2010? At this precise moment:
Closed Cycle Gas Turbine 30.9%
Coal Station 46.0%
Nuclear 17.2%
Wind 1%
The rest is made of various other sources AND imported electricty which may or may not be fossil fuel related.
Wikipedia reckons: "Renewable energy sources provided for 9.4% of the electricity generated in the United Kingdom in 2011" although I have no idea of their source.
bass2rez said:
In that case, I agree we need electric cars, but I fail to see why we need electric versions of low-volume high performance cars. The cars that need to be electrically powered are the cars currently being sold with 1.9 TDI engines and the like, the city runabouts.
There are so few high performance cars sold that making them electric will make virtually no difference to overall pollution and ecological problems. All it achieves is ruining performance cars for those that choose to drive them for recreational purposes.
We see further by standing on the shoulders of giants! Surely this will lead to more research, better production, better packaging etc...?There are so few high performance cars sold that making them electric will make virtually no difference to overall pollution and ecological problems. All it achieves is ruining performance cars for those that choose to drive them for recreational purposes.
Cars used to be once a play thing for the rich, now they're cheap and chips and for everyone. Why shouldn't any future tech follow the same path? It will trickle down, hopefully a lot faster than the first generation of motoring!
And yes, the batteries are the problem, but who know's what's around the corner, and if we have the motors and drivetrain set - then to change the power source is relatively trivial.
kambites said:
Paul_M3 said:
It's not quite that low.
At this precise moment:
Closed Cycle Gas Turbine 30.9%
Coal Station 46.0%
Nuclear 17.2%
Wind 1%
The rest is made of various other sources AND imported electricty which may or may not be fossil fuel related.
Are you sure they aren't the 2011 figures, or even 2010? At this precise moment:
Closed Cycle Gas Turbine 30.9%
Coal Station 46.0%
Nuclear 17.2%
Wind 1%
The rest is made of various other sources AND imported electricty which may or may not be fossil fuel related.
Wikipedia reckons: "Renewable energy sources provided for 9.4% of the electricity generated in the United Kingdom in 2011" although I have no idea of their source.
The data for the last 24 hours shows an extra couple of % from Nuclear
Currently electric cars are just an expensive flawed answer to the problem of how to replace combustion engines. Too expensive, the eco credentials are flawed especially here in the UK and the problem remains of what to do with the old batteries and the expense of replacing them.
It is so short sighted.
Regards,
MyCC.
It is so short sighted.
Regards,
MyCC.
One day in the not too distant future a kid will ask his/her dad "what was a V8 then dad?"
You then break out the very old DVD and Top Gear DVDs just to let him/her know what was still seen as the end of the golden age of motoring!!!
The AMG is ALL about the bloody sound as much as anything.
Maybe they will give it a sound track - ho hum.
Yes we have to seriously look at becoming much more "Eco" friendly but that includes INDIA, CHINA, RUSSIA and the USA. Without that little lot we are just p
in the proverbial wind.
You then break out the very old DVD and Top Gear DVDs just to let him/her know what was still seen as the end of the golden age of motoring!!!
The AMG is ALL about the bloody sound as much as anything.
Maybe they will give it a sound track - ho hum.
Yes we have to seriously look at becoming much more "Eco" friendly but that includes INDIA, CHINA, RUSSIA and the USA. Without that little lot we are just p
in the proverbial wind.
Electric cars are a bloody shame!
If they wouldn't have to drag a 300kg battery pack everywhere they go, they would only be as polluting as any other car. But in reality things are a bit different.
Now they DO drag that battery pack with them --->more weight= more energy required = more energy consumption.
As for the 'environmental' issue, there isn't much worse than electric cars. Apart from having to drag that battery pack evrywhere with them, it also has to be replaced every few years, which results in an enormous pile of utterly dangerous waste.
Then, there is the obvious fact that energy still has to be generated elsewhere. Electricity is nothing but a medium to transport the energy. A very inefficient, expensive and 'dirty' way to transport and store the energy.
If wind turbines wouldn't have electric generators, but would compress air instead, we could use conventional piston/wankel/etc. layouts with compressed air, which would make the entire car even lighter and simpler than the cars we drive today. Everything would become so much more reasonable. And we would still have wonderful V8 engine notes. And in Europe, we could also have sidepipes on the RH side of the car.
Every part of the 'electric cycle' is just extremely polluting and extremely inefficient. Think of the amounts of Cadmium, Lithium, etc. in dynamo's, converters, batteries, electric motors, etc.
Not to mention the huge losses of every step in the cycle.
If they wouldn't have to drag a 300kg battery pack everywhere they go, they would only be as polluting as any other car. But in reality things are a bit different.
Now they DO drag that battery pack with them --->more weight= more energy required = more energy consumption.
As for the 'environmental' issue, there isn't much worse than electric cars. Apart from having to drag that battery pack evrywhere with them, it also has to be replaced every few years, which results in an enormous pile of utterly dangerous waste.
Then, there is the obvious fact that energy still has to be generated elsewhere. Electricity is nothing but a medium to transport the energy. A very inefficient, expensive and 'dirty' way to transport and store the energy.
If wind turbines wouldn't have electric generators, but would compress air instead, we could use conventional piston/wankel/etc. layouts with compressed air, which would make the entire car even lighter and simpler than the cars we drive today. Everything would become so much more reasonable. And we would still have wonderful V8 engine notes. And in Europe, we could also have sidepipes on the RH side of the car.
Every part of the 'electric cycle' is just extremely polluting and extremely inefficient. Think of the amounts of Cadmium, Lithium, etc. in dynamo's, converters, batteries, electric motors, etc.
Not to mention the huge losses of every step in the cycle.
Having just watched the video, I think that petrol cars are now doomed. As I sit in my flat in London, hearing cars streets away droning by, I can easily see how (once this has trickled down) cars will be sold on how quiet they are. Once they hit a large enough proportion of total vehicles on the road, petrol & diesel will be driven from city centres on noise and air pollution grounds, and cars as we know them will be the preserve of men in sheds in the North.
dapearson said:
Twincam16 said:
I don't understand why silence is seen as a virtue in electric cars. It makes a mockery of the Green Cross Code for starters - Stop and Look, yes, but if you can't hear it coming, surely it's dangerous?
I'm all for electric cars sounding like electric cars. Why can't they put out a Scalextric-style whizz and whine? If I was driving a car like that, I'd want it to sound like an electric jet engine.
Rubbish. With the exception of very, very low speed, most of the noise generated by road cars is tyre noise. You stand and listen to a car approaching and try to guess whether it's petrol or diesel. You can't.I'm all for electric cars sounding like electric cars. Why can't they put out a Scalextric-style whizz and whine? If I was driving a car like that, I'd want it to sound like an electric jet engine.
The tyre noise is only drowned out by engine noise on certain cars, normally accompanied by a big exhaust or dump valve.
Clarkson's argument that electric cars are a danger to pedestrians is (surprisingly) utter b
ks.I agree with Leno, we need electric cars (or something similar) to preserve resources that could otherwise be used to fuel exciting cars!
dapearson said:
Rubbish. With the exception of very, very low speed, most of the noise generated by road cars is tyre noise. You stand and listen to a car approaching and try to guess whether it's petrol or diesel. You can't.
The tyre noise is only drowned out by engine noise on certain cars, normally accompanied by a big exhaust or dump valve.
Clarkson's argument that electric cars are a danger to pedestrians is (surprisingly) utter bks.
I agree with Leno, we need electric cars (or something similar) to preserve resources that could otherwise be used to fuel exciting cars!
Good point! Tyre noise even drowns out my Chimaera The tyre noise is only drowned out by engine noise on certain cars, normally accompanied by a big exhaust or dump valve.
Clarkson's argument that electric cars are a danger to pedestrians is (surprisingly) utter b
ks.I agree with Leno, we need electric cars (or something similar) to preserve resources that could otherwise be used to fuel exciting cars!
Trap said:
What was this filmed from? Where is the noise from that? It all sounds rather edited.
It doesnt look like a real video to me. Isn't it computer generated like video game?It shows how much vehicle noise is from tyres - as anyone who's stood next to or over a motorway knows.
dapearson said:
Twincam16 said:
I don't understand why silence is seen as a virtue in electric cars. It makes a mockery of the Green Cross Code for starters - Stop and Look, yes, but if you can't hear it coming, surely it's dangerous?
I'm all for electric cars sounding like electric cars. Why can't they put out a Scalextric-style whizz and whine? If I was driving a car like that, I'd want it to sound like an electric jet engine.
Rubbish. With the exception of very, very low speed, most of the noise generated by road cars is tyre noise. You stand and listen to a car approaching and try to guess whether it's petrol or diesel. You can't.I'm all for electric cars sounding like electric cars. Why can't they put out a Scalextric-style whizz and whine? If I was driving a car like that, I'd want it to sound like an electric jet engine.
The tyre noise is only drowned out by engine noise on certain cars, normally accompanied by a big exhaust or dump valve.
Clarkson's argument that electric cars are a danger to pedestrians is (surprisingly) utter b
ks.I agree with Leno, we need electric cars (or something similar) to preserve resources that could otherwise be used to fuel exciting cars!
You stand and listen to a car approaching and try to guess whether it's petrol or diesel. You can't.
You can't tell the difference between petrol and diesel ? Shame, increasingly difficult from the front at speed but far from impossible.
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