The powers of EV's
Discussion
I have diddly squat interest in EVs, but the power outputs 'worry' me. Any PH knows a Lambo Aventador with circa 700bhp is bloody fast, and even with TC, needs some respect, caution, and I dare I say, skill. Yet anyone can pop into a Tesla showroom, and come out with a model X with 1000bhp, with a 0-60 time of 2.5 secs (1g). I hope its got some bloody impressive CT preventing Sharon, in a late dash take taking kids to school, doesn't floor it on a wet greasy road, and ends up inverted somewhere. Why not limit the power output to extend the range? I'm also puzzled about how the insurance companies are handling this. Henry is lurking in my garage with 400 supercharged bhp, he can be a bit naughty if you get a bit too enthusiastic. Don't ask me how I know.
The same crap is spouted about bikes.
"Ooh don't get the litre bike straight after you've passed your test, you'll kill yourself".
The great thing about throttles is they're not binary switches.
Scariest vehicle I've ever owned was a 50cc scooter with about 10hp that had a tendency to ice its carbs at around 1-3 degrees. Throttle would stick wide open, was okay controlling it on the brakes until they overheated and faded, then had to control speed via the ignition switch.
Was 16 and I never crashed it. First bike after passing my proper test had 1200cc and a sub 4s 0 to 60, never crashed that either.
"Ooh don't get the litre bike straight after you've passed your test, you'll kill yourself".
The great thing about throttles is they're not binary switches.
Scariest vehicle I've ever owned was a 50cc scooter with about 10hp that had a tendency to ice its carbs at around 1-3 degrees. Throttle would stick wide open, was okay controlling it on the brakes until they overheated and faded, then had to control speed via the ignition switch.
Was 16 and I never crashed it. First bike after passing my proper test had 1200cc and a sub 4s 0 to 60, never crashed that either.
ChocolateFrog said:
The same crap is spouted about bikes.
"Ooh don't get the litre bike straight after you've passed your test, you'll kill yourself".
The great thing about throttles is they're not binary switches.
Scariest vehicle I've ever owned was a 50cc scooter with about 10hp that had a tendency to ice its carbs at around 1-3 degrees. Throttle would stick wide open, was okay controlling it on the brakes until they overheated and faded, then had to control speed via the ignition switch.
Was 16 and I never crashed it. First bike after passing my proper test had 1200cc and a sub 4s 0 to 60, never crashed that either.
As an ex-biker myself, I put motorcyclists in a different category, as we all know, get it wrong and you are history. Observing drivers in my locality with large 4x4s, I doubt their driving ability is much more than they needed to pass the driving test."Ooh don't get the litre bike straight after you've passed your test, you'll kill yourself".
The great thing about throttles is they're not binary switches.
Scariest vehicle I've ever owned was a 50cc scooter with about 10hp that had a tendency to ice its carbs at around 1-3 degrees. Throttle would stick wide open, was okay controlling it on the brakes until they overheated and faded, then had to control speed via the ignition switch.
Was 16 and I never crashed it. First bike after passing my proper test had 1200cc and a sub 4s 0 to 60, never crashed that either.
Faster cars tend to be safer IMO. Your time exposed to danger on overtakes is drastically reduced.
A 60hp Fiesta would still do a 100ish but it would take 20 seconds to overtake.
Atleast an EV will only do about 20 miles at WOT, after the novelty has worn off I think you're more likely to see a 17yo drafting a lorry than doing 120.
A 60hp Fiesta would still do a 100ish but it would take 20 seconds to overtake.
Atleast an EV will only do about 20 miles at WOT, after the novelty has worn off I think you're more likely to see a 17yo drafting a lorry than doing 120.
smn159 said:
Anyone with the cash can buy an Aventador / 911 / Ferrari / whatever too. Are you worried about the power levels of those?
Are you arguing that all powerful cars should be limited in some way?
You've totally missed the point. I presume that most who buy an, acknowledged, high-performance sports car know what it's capable of and how to respect it. No problem with that. But EVs seem to be more of a transport device to take me where I want to go, and many I suspect who get to drive one has no idea of the power output, and what can go wrong.Are you arguing that all powerful cars should be limited in some way?
robinessex said:
I have diddly squat interest in EVs, but the power outputs 'worry' me. Any PH knows a Lambo Aventador with circa 700bhp is bloody fast, and even with TC, needs some respect, caution, and I dare I say, skill. Yet anyone can pop into a Tesla showroom, and come out with a model X with 1000bhp, with a 0-60 time of 2.5 secs (1g). I hope its got some bloody impressive CT preventing Sharon, in a late dash take taking kids to school, doesn't floor it on a wet greasy road, and ends up inverted somewhere. Why not limit the power output to extend the range? I'm also puzzled about how the insurance companies are handling this. Henry is lurking in my garage with 400 supercharged bhp, he can be a bit naughty if you get a bit too enthusiastic. Don't ask me how I know.
A nissan leaf and majority of ordinary low power EVs are probably quicker from 0-15mph on a wet greasy road than your 400bhp supercharged ICE car, yet how come people aren't crashing nissan leafs and low powered EVs all day long? I really don't get your "worry" Have you actually driven any EVs?
robinessex said:
My local Sainsbury car park on a Saturday is regularly populated by +£100,000 vehicles. All the way up to 2 Lambo Urus last Saturday.
That's very useful to know. Although I am curious, if they are wealthy enough to afford really high end cars, why are they shopping at Sainsburys?robinessex said:
smn159 said:
Anyone with the cash can buy an Aventador / 911 / Ferrari / whatever too. Are you worried about the power levels of those?
Are you arguing that all powerful cars should be limited in some way?
You've totally missed the point. I presume that most who buy an, acknowledged, high-performance sports car know what it's capable of and how to respect it. No problem with that. But EVs seem to be more of a transport device to take me where I want to go, and many I suspect who get to drive one has no idea of the power output, and what can go wrong.Are you arguing that all powerful cars should be limited in some way?
smn159 said:
robinessex said:
smn159 said:
Anyone with the cash can buy an Aventador / 911 / Ferrari / whatever too. Are you worried about the power levels of those?
Are you arguing that all powerful cars should be limited in some way?
You've totally missed the point. I presume that most who buy an, acknowledged, high-performance sports car know what it's capable of and how to respect it. No problem with that. But EVs seem to be more of a transport device to take me where I want to go, and many I suspect who get to drive one has no idea of the power output, and what can go wrong.Are you arguing that all powerful cars should be limited in some way?
raspy said:
robinessex said:
My local Sainsbury car park on a Saturday is regularly populated by +£100,000 vehicles. All the way up to 2 Lambo Urus last Saturday.
That's very useful to know. Although I am curious, if they are wealthy enough to afford really high end cars, why are they shopping at Sainsburys?robinessex said:
Why not limit the power output to extend the range?
It doesn't work like that with EVs. As petrol engines get more powerful they get less efficient - more capacity, heavier parts moving, more heat loss. The motors Tesla use are over 90% efficient (ie more than 90% of the energy in gets turned into motion) and it doesn't matter how fast or slow you're going to get that.The biggest reason the performance models get less rated range is bigger wheels and stickier tyres.
sjg said:
robinessex said:
Why not limit the power output to extend the range?
It doesn't work like that with EVs. As petrol engines get more powerful they get less efficient - more capacity, heavier parts moving, more heat loss. The motors Tesla use are over 90% efficient (ie more than 90% of the energy in gets turned into motion) and it doesn't matter how fast or slow you're going to get that.The biggest reason the performance models get less rated range is bigger wheels and stickier tyres.
robinessex said:
Good question. From the clips on youtube, seems as if quite a few aren't. But Lambos, and others, do project speed and power, so I assume potential buyers are well aware of what they've got. However, if Sharon jumps into hubby's 1000bhp, 1g acceleration EV, to pop down to Tesco for some milk, I'm wonder what an inadvertent prod of the right pedal would result in?
I don't know about Teslas but my partially electric driven car has various modes including those for normal, round town driving, off road, and "sport". Those massively affect throttle response, steering feel,driven wheels, and similar. That's with a third of the power of the Tesla you mention but I imagine it isn't beyond the wit of their engineers to build a similar system for drivability in a range of scenarios. aizvara said:
robinessex said:
Good question. From the clips on youtube, seems as if quite a few aren't. But Lambos, and others, do project speed and power, so I assume potential buyers are well aware of what they've got. However, if Sharon jumps into hubby's 1000bhp, 1g acceleration EV, to pop down to Tesco for some milk, I'm wonder what an inadvertent prod of the right pedal would result in?
I don't know about Teslas but my partially electric driven car has various modes including those for normal, round town driving, off road, and "sport". Those massively affect throttle response, steering feel,driven wheels, and similar. That's with a third of the power of the Tesla you mention but I imagine it isn't beyond the wit of their engineers to build a similar system for drivability in a range of scenarios. Gassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff