A few questions on EV's
Discussion
Hi all,
I have a course next week on learning about electric vehicles so that i can deliver eco/electric driving lessons for a council.
I will be learning with a Nissan leaf, and I understand the council will have a fleet of them.
I was fortunate about 2/3 years ago to drive a Tesla for about 40 minutes, and was blown away by it's performance and comfort. I liked the way it accelerated on the "go" pedal, and was very surprised how quickly it decelerated when you eased off the "go " pedal.....I liked it. However seeing that it was way out of my price range I didn't ask the questions I would normally. I just enjoyed the experience offered to me.
I have had a read of a few of the threads in this area and have the following questions
7KW of charging appears to be the normal, so how long does the average EV take to recharge?
When you talk of having the heater on, do the cars have variable temperatures like my mini does with "climate control"? (I would have thought you do) I have seen in one of the threads that the range is reduced by a considerable amount by having a heater on....is it the same when you have A/C on to keep you cool in the summer?
When you talk of "preconditioning" and "Climate" are you talking about setting a timer so that you can warm the battery and car up before setting off?
If this is the case why does it not do so automatically if it is on a trickle charge as I would imagine that the process of charging/trickle charge would already be keeping the batteries to a decent working temperature?
What is "ICE", "BEV", IMHO"?
I have seen comments on adjusting "regeneration" and "recirculation" what are these? and what is the difference?
Most of you are already converts as I have seen,but, these are very expensive vehicles for a limited range. All cars have compromises, and we buy what will suit us for our daily requirements. I use my current car a Mini 1 diesel which has an 8 gallon tank which i get about 400 miles out of every 3 days, and I tend to fill it up when the reserve light comes on at about 109 miles,(500 if i ran it to empty) so a great range (considering that is every 3 or 4 days or so driven hard doing mostly town work with novice drivers) this equates to about £70 a week in fuel giving me a range of 800-1000 miles
If an electric car did those miles how much time would I be having to wait whilst it charged up during the day? and what in electricity would it cost me?
I am not sure in my line of work I could afford to buy such an expensive car, off setting the cost of fuel....however I am willing to be persuaded.
I believe that with the war against motor vehicles about to get bloody that in the next 5 to 10 years more than half the vehicles sold new will be hybrid/EV.
In my line of work that will mean many more/most new drivers in that time frame will be learning in these vehicles and we will have a new generation of people only holding "auto" licences.
This is going to cause a problem in that many EV's have a warranty on batteries that is about 8 years or 100k miles which ever comes first. Since most learners buy second hand cars which may be over 8 to 10 years old this is going to be a lottery for them buying a car with a shagged battery pack....how expensive are they to replace?
If an EV has a shunt, does it take much to damage the battery pack, and therefore making these cars very very expensive to repair?
I am looking forward to some answers, and the pros and cons of the EV "Gangzoom" appears to be honest in his take on these cars. a couple of others have also said they have a second car for "longer" journeys as lets face it, if someone came to visit me and said "where do i plug my car in?" i would not be over impressed, because on going back to visit them they wouldn't be over impressed if I said "I have just spent £10 in diesel coming here" and held my hand out.
I have a course next week on learning about electric vehicles so that i can deliver eco/electric driving lessons for a council.
I will be learning with a Nissan leaf, and I understand the council will have a fleet of them.
I was fortunate about 2/3 years ago to drive a Tesla for about 40 minutes, and was blown away by it's performance and comfort. I liked the way it accelerated on the "go" pedal, and was very surprised how quickly it decelerated when you eased off the "go " pedal.....I liked it. However seeing that it was way out of my price range I didn't ask the questions I would normally. I just enjoyed the experience offered to me.
I have had a read of a few of the threads in this area and have the following questions
7KW of charging appears to be the normal, so how long does the average EV take to recharge?
When you talk of having the heater on, do the cars have variable temperatures like my mini does with "climate control"? (I would have thought you do) I have seen in one of the threads that the range is reduced by a considerable amount by having a heater on....is it the same when you have A/C on to keep you cool in the summer?
When you talk of "preconditioning" and "Climate" are you talking about setting a timer so that you can warm the battery and car up before setting off?
If this is the case why does it not do so automatically if it is on a trickle charge as I would imagine that the process of charging/trickle charge would already be keeping the batteries to a decent working temperature?
What is "ICE", "BEV", IMHO"?
I have seen comments on adjusting "regeneration" and "recirculation" what are these? and what is the difference?
Most of you are already converts as I have seen,but, these are very expensive vehicles for a limited range. All cars have compromises, and we buy what will suit us for our daily requirements. I use my current car a Mini 1 diesel which has an 8 gallon tank which i get about 400 miles out of every 3 days, and I tend to fill it up when the reserve light comes on at about 109 miles,(500 if i ran it to empty) so a great range (considering that is every 3 or 4 days or so driven hard doing mostly town work with novice drivers) this equates to about £70 a week in fuel giving me a range of 800-1000 miles
If an electric car did those miles how much time would I be having to wait whilst it charged up during the day? and what in electricity would it cost me?
I am not sure in my line of work I could afford to buy such an expensive car, off setting the cost of fuel....however I am willing to be persuaded.
I believe that with the war against motor vehicles about to get bloody that in the next 5 to 10 years more than half the vehicles sold new will be hybrid/EV.
In my line of work that will mean many more/most new drivers in that time frame will be learning in these vehicles and we will have a new generation of people only holding "auto" licences.
This is going to cause a problem in that many EV's have a warranty on batteries that is about 8 years or 100k miles which ever comes first. Since most learners buy second hand cars which may be over 8 to 10 years old this is going to be a lottery for them buying a car with a shagged battery pack....how expensive are they to replace?
If an EV has a shunt, does it take much to damage the battery pack, and therefore making these cars very very expensive to repair?
I am looking forward to some answers, and the pros and cons of the EV "Gangzoom" appears to be honest in his take on these cars. a couple of others have also said they have a second car for "longer" journeys as lets face it, if someone came to visit me and said "where do i plug my car in?" i would not be over impressed, because on going back to visit them they wouldn't be over impressed if I said "I have just spent £10 in diesel coming here" and held my hand out.
Many thanks for taking the time to reply "Here's Johnny" 
cheers
Thanks for the link MR B
Jamoor..... It's that kind of attitude that earns me a living. I have been delivering driver training for a few years, and when employed to deliver "ECO" driving training often get the attitude "I have been driving for 10, 20, 30, 40 years....WTF can you tell me?" comments ....well surprisingly a fair bit
Most of my "eco" sessions on average after some "coaching" save about 22% on their fuel economy. That is just for an hour of their time, running around a short route of between 4 to 6 miles depending on the area where for the first run I just watch what they are doing. then a debrief which many find uncomfortable as their poor driving skills are diplomatically pointed out to them. We then run the same route with me "guiding" them around.
The car computer is reset, we record the time taken to get around, average speed, and fuel consumption. on doing hundreds of these on just about every single occasion they have got around the route in less time, at a higher average speed and saved fuel . Result
There have been so many, i forget most, but one taxi driver i took out in Portsmouth couldn't believe that if he drove the way I suggested not only was he getting about quicker, he was more relaxed, aware, safer (for him and other road users), causing less wear and tear on his vehicle and could save about £2600 a year on fuel. the guy was almost in tears saying that on those savings he could afford to take his family on holiday later in the year.
I see no reason why "eco safe" driving skills can not be used in "EV"'s to extend battery life as well.
cheers James
cheersThanks for the link MR B
Jamoor..... It's that kind of attitude that earns me a living. I have been delivering driver training for a few years, and when employed to deliver "ECO" driving training often get the attitude "I have been driving for 10, 20, 30, 40 years....WTF can you tell me?" comments ....well surprisingly a fair bit
Most of my "eco" sessions on average after some "coaching" save about 22% on their fuel economy. That is just for an hour of their time, running around a short route of between 4 to 6 miles depending on the area where for the first run I just watch what they are doing. then a debrief which many find uncomfortable as their poor driving skills are diplomatically pointed out to them. We then run the same route with me "guiding" them around.
The car computer is reset, we record the time taken to get around, average speed, and fuel consumption. on doing hundreds of these on just about every single occasion they have got around the route in less time, at a higher average speed and saved fuel . Result
There have been so many, i forget most, but one taxi driver i took out in Portsmouth couldn't believe that if he drove the way I suggested not only was he getting about quicker, he was more relaxed, aware, safer (for him and other road users), causing less wear and tear on his vehicle and could save about £2600 a year on fuel. the guy was almost in tears saying that on those savings he could afford to take his family on holiday later in the year.
I see no reason why "eco safe" driving skills can not be used in "EV"'s to extend battery life as well.
cheers James
I came onto this area to find out a bit about Ev's BEFORE i go on my course, where I expect I shall be given the training to become a "trainer".
That is how we all get on in whatever field we work in. I have extensive experience as first a driving instructor, and in the last few years as a "fleet" registered driving instructor delivering advanced/eco safe/assessed drives for people at work who will be thrown the keys to a car/van for a living. Some of the "assessed" drives I have conducted over the years are also to check the standard of drivers who wish to become Taxi drivers under the umbrella of their local councils
I find it rather sad that when I came on here to ask those that have and use these cars are so unwilling to help someone gain a little knowledge. If you don't want to give some of your vast experience on driving these sorts of cars, then fine. But slagging me off for asking a few questions makes you look ignorant. If you can't think of constructive helpful things to say, then don't bother saying anything, it makes people not want to share and ask "stuff"
Just because most of us passed a basic driving test years ago, does not make you a "good" driver now. Continuous learning does, some times from people like me, sometimes info gained from forums like this. Shame some didn't read what I first said in that I want to learn a little "BEFORE" i went into training. I expect those are also some of the people that don't actually read the cars' manual before driving it away?
Many thanks for the useful answers I have had, much appreciated for your time. Cheers
That is how we all get on in whatever field we work in. I have extensive experience as first a driving instructor, and in the last few years as a "fleet" registered driving instructor delivering advanced/eco safe/assessed drives for people at work who will be thrown the keys to a car/van for a living. Some of the "assessed" drives I have conducted over the years are also to check the standard of drivers who wish to become Taxi drivers under the umbrella of their local councils
I find it rather sad that when I came on here to ask those that have and use these cars are so unwilling to help someone gain a little knowledge. If you don't want to give some of your vast experience on driving these sorts of cars, then fine. But slagging me off for asking a few questions makes you look ignorant. If you can't think of constructive helpful things to say, then don't bother saying anything, it makes people not want to share and ask "stuff"
Just because most of us passed a basic driving test years ago, does not make you a "good" driver now. Continuous learning does, some times from people like me, sometimes info gained from forums like this. Shame some didn't read what I first said in that I want to learn a little "BEFORE" i went into training. I expect those are also some of the people that don't actually read the cars' manual before driving it away?
Many thanks for the useful answers I have had, much appreciated for your time. Cheers
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