When will you own an electric car?
Discussion
The I-Pace concept is looking good from Jaguar, hopefully it won't turn into a Tesla like mega expensive SUV though.
Brochure below
https://www.jaguar.co.uk/Images/Jaguar-I-PACE-Conc...
Brochure below
https://www.jaguar.co.uk/Images/Jaguar-I-PACE-Conc...
Max_Torque said:
Plug Life said:
Watchman said:
Imagine a car without any gearing at all - more efficient, lower weight, and much quieter. All the projects I've seen on YouTube use the diff at the very least, and many still retain the gearbox. It seems a complete waste to me to try and keep all that complexity.
I guess some projects keep the complexity of the gearbox for the sake of simplicity and just put the electric motor in the place of the ICE. Can you even have regen braking with this method...? No idea, on the other hand with electric motors on axles/wheels you may need torque vectoring...? I guess complexity can escalate quickly 
Probably the best approach is to find a specialist firm with a proper portfolio and price list to avoid an electric nightmare.(Hub motors, ie motors IN the road wheels are even stupider idea for numerous reasons)
What you said about wheel-speed motors being no good... I understand why wheel-mounted motors are bad - unsprung weight - but it seems to me that replacing a differential with two separate (not linked) "wafers" of the type YASA produces would give you a decent combined power output with the mechanical separation that a diff provides. Their claims for power output per "wafer" are not inconsiderable - peak is about 268bhp, although expressed in KW.
What have I missed / misunderstood?
I'll own one soon, I think. We are having a kid and the majority of our driving is done in London. We have a driveway, so could easily install a (givernment subsidised) charger. Longest regular journey is 30 or so miles to see my mother in Surrey - where there is a car port and ability to charge the car.
Frankly, it seems silly not to have one.
Problem: they are just too uninspiring (Golf E etc) or small (Nissan Leaf), or expensive (Tesla Model X). The moment a reasonably priced, attractive, mid-priced one comes on the market, I'd probably lease it, and keep the Aston.
Recent thinking was to sell Aston and get an RS6/E63 - small miles also means that running a planet-killer is sort of feasible economically as fuel costs still won't be large (man maths!). The problem with using a V8 Turbo estate as a runaround is that short runs will probably mean problems for such an ICE setup: so it actually seems a silly idea. Also parking such big sods in London is not fun. I thought about a C63 but the old one has a terrible interior and the new one is a bit expensive still.
I'd probably lease an electric vehicle: I'd want all the mod cons, and also think that the tech will move fast, and anything bought could be obsolete quickly. Look at the new Leaf - you'd be gutted if you had just bought an E-Golf or similar.
Tesla can't do a mid size performance estate soon enough for me.
Frankly, it seems silly not to have one.
Problem: they are just too uninspiring (Golf E etc) or small (Nissan Leaf), or expensive (Tesla Model X). The moment a reasonably priced, attractive, mid-priced one comes on the market, I'd probably lease it, and keep the Aston.
Recent thinking was to sell Aston and get an RS6/E63 - small miles also means that running a planet-killer is sort of feasible economically as fuel costs still won't be large (man maths!). The problem with using a V8 Turbo estate as a runaround is that short runs will probably mean problems for such an ICE setup: so it actually seems a silly idea. Also parking such big sods in London is not fun. I thought about a C63 but the old one has a terrible interior and the new one is a bit expensive still.
I'd probably lease an electric vehicle: I'd want all the mod cons, and also think that the tech will move fast, and anything bought could be obsolete quickly. Look at the new Leaf - you'd be gutted if you had just bought an E-Golf or similar.
Tesla can't do a mid size performance estate soon enough for me.
Edited by Harry Flashman on Sunday 25th February 12:34
Watchman said:
Before I start - I recognise your expertise in motoring engineering so this isn't a challenge... I'm just seeking to learn.
What you said about wheel-speed motors being no good... I understand why wheel-mounted motors are bad - unsprung weight - but it seems to me that replacing a differential with two separate (not linked) "wafers" of the type YASA produces would give you a decent combined power output with the mechanical separation that a diff provides. Their claims for power output per "wafer" are not inconsiderable - peak is about 268bhp, although expressed in KW.
What have I missed / misunderstood?
Nothing really, other than the rotor of the motor should NOT spin at the same speed as the road wheels!!What you said about wheel-speed motors being no good... I understand why wheel-mounted motors are bad - unsprung weight - but it seems to me that replacing a differential with two separate (not linked) "wafers" of the type YASA produces would give you a decent combined power output with the mechanical separation that a diff provides. Their claims for power output per "wafer" are not inconsiderable - peak is about 268bhp, although expressed in KW.
What have I missed / misunderstood?
ie
two gear driven high perf motors linked to two separate output halfshafts, with electrical torque biasing
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