RE: Opel reveals all-electric Corsa-e Rally car

RE: Opel reveals all-electric Corsa-e Rally car

Author
Discussion

Addymk2

334 posts

171 months

Sunday 25th August 2019
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blearyeyedboy said:
I'm better at this sort of analysis than you give me credit for.

I'm aware. I'm aware of the media stories predicting the electrocution of anyone who is silly, and that many bodies including HSE issue (sensible) guidance to prevent people getting hurt by doing stupid things to EVs and hybrids.

But you know what? Despite trying, I can't find any verifiable report of DIY fanatics or mechanics getting killed by one so far, unless they were stupid enough to trust the Autopilot while driving in one. However, I can find many examples of people getting killed or seriously injured working on petrol cars.

I'm not saying electric cars are risk free, and guidance on safety is welcome. But threads like this grossly overestimate the risks of electric cars and downplay the risks of what we have.

In nearly a decade, 400,000 Nissan Leafs have been sold. Many have been DIYed or crashed, and I'm sure a few pushed back into the road by passers by. No one has been killed by being electrocuted by one. No one.

So when people shout about the risks of electrocution in Motorsport by EVs, I call BS on it. It's not zero risk, but we're going to replace a substantial fire risk with a much lower electrocution risk, and I'd take those odds if I were trying to (cautiously) approach a crashed one.


Edited by blearyeyedboy on Friday 23 August 20:38
The electrocution risk is probably as high as the battery pack going up in flames. Have you seen a pierced lithium ion battery? They combust at an alarming rate. Considering current electric cars are powered by thousands of small lithium ions soldered together I'd consider the fire hazard to be substantial. Take Hammonds Rimac for example, it spontaniously combusted days after the accident

blearyeyedboy

6,252 posts

178 months

Tuesday 27th August 2019
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Addymk2 said:
The electrocution risk is probably as high as the battery pack going up in flames. Have you seen a pierced lithium ion battery? They combust at an alarming rate. Considering current electric cars are powered by thousands of small lithium ions soldered together I'd consider the fire hazard to be substantial. Take Hammonds Rimac for example, it spontaniously combusted days after the accident
I take your point. But the plural of anecdote is not data.

This theoretical risk doesn't equate to what happens in the real world, where precisely zero DIYers or passers by have been electrocuted to death by a Leaf or Tesla, as far as I can determine, despite many hundreds of thousands being in use and many of those crashing.

If someone has data to prove otherwise that's more robust than "look at the scary electrickery" then I would reconsider my view. Until then, I would consider the risk to be at worst equivalent to an ICE car, and probably less than one.

craig_m67

949 posts

187 months

Tuesday 27th August 2019
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Straff99 said:
<snip>

Electric rally cars? I wouldn't go to watch them even if they were driven by Kylie covered in melted chocolate and giving away fifty pound notes...
Crikey.. really?
I’m in on that description alone, I’d even buy an eCorsa to seal the deal.

“I’m spinin around, spinin around ... “



There’s a forest full of wood joke in here somewhere too, anybody, anybody..

BFleming

3,589 posts

142 months

Tuesday 27th August 2019
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Nerdherder said:
Considering that this has license plates seems a fun contraption to rag around some local fields without attracting any unwanted attention. Competition rallying needs noise.
All rally cars need to have plates / be road legal. They drive to/from stages on public roads.

The test driver

1,168 posts

158 months

Tuesday 27th August 2019
quotequote all
blearyeyedboy said:
I'm better at this sort of analysis than you give me credit for.

I'm aware. I'm aware of the media stories predicting the electrocution of anyone who is silly, and that many bodies including HSE issue (sensible) guidance to prevent people getting hurt by doing stupid things to EVs and hybrids.

But you know what? Despite trying, I can't find any verifiable report of DIY fanatics or mechanics getting killed by one so far, unless they were stupid enough to trust the Autopilot while driving in one. However, I can find many examples of people getting killed or seriously injured working on petrol cars.

I'm not saying electric cars are risk free, and guidance on safety is welcome. But threads like this grossly overestimate the risks of electric cars and downplay the risks of what we have.

In nearly a decade, 400,000 Nissan Leafs have been sold. Many have been DIYed or crashed, and I'm sure a few pushed back into the road by passers by. No one has been killed by being electrocuted by one. No one.

So when people shout about the risks of electrocution in Motorsport by EVs, I call BS on it. It's not zero risk, but we're going to replace a substantial fire risk with a much lower electrocution risk, and I'd take those odds if I were trying to (cautiously) approach a crashed one.


Edited by blearyeyedboy on Friday 23 August 20:38
Pretty much spot. From my experience working HV systems ev's have isolation monitoring and disconnect shut offs, if the isolation of the HV component is compromised then the HV battery is disconnected from the rest of the powertrain automatically there's even fail safes to pyrotechnically blow the contactors if they fail to break. The disconnect shut off circuit monitors the HV connections so if you attempt to unplug one to shove something in then once again you'd have no HV present. I'm not saying you can't fry yourself with a modern EV just that it would take quite an effort and some know how.

As Addymk2 was saying I'd be more worried about fire, if your rallying an EV with the HV battery underfloor mounted then your going to need some serious under floor armor to protect it from the joys of rallying.

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Tuesday 27th August 2019
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NotNormal said:
blearyeyedboy said:
As opposed to doing so for a car full of flammable petrol?
You obviously don't understand the controls in place to go near electric cars that are damaged or needing to be serviced. ArnageWRC has a valid point imo.
Would the controls on the safe handling of crashed petrol cars allow untrained fans to manhandle them back onto the track?

thepawbroon

1,146 posts

183 months

Wednesday 4th November 2020
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Jack4688 said:
So long as electric rally cars don’t just have dreadful siren as their spectator warning system then I’m all for it. Hayden Paddon claims to have something interesting up his sleeve for his upcoming Hyundai Kona rally car...
You were right!!!!!

https://dirtfish.com/rally/paddon-unveils-complete...