Electric cars a step nearer mainstream?

Modern diesels do have catalytic converters.

Reply to
Mastuna
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Bit better than that atually with LIPO.Probably in the low 90's

The

Less with regenerative braking and efficient tyre and aerodynamic design.

Cost yes, lifetime no. The car environment is not harsh rate wise: they should do 500+ cycles which at 200 miles would be 100K mile. Recharge time is the one the customer may baulk at.

There is a chicken and egg situation here until cheap volume batteries are available the cars wont be built: without the cars there is no incentive to develop the batteries in the volume to get the price down.

We (the model community) started on cellphone and laptop batteries, became a significant market, and now we get batteries tailored to our needs (light and high discharge rate)

The T-zero uses IIRC some sort of laptop battery in vast numbers.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Exactly. But its still inefficient, and still rare.

Its true. It is POSSIBLE. Its just very expensive and very prototype.

Its a lot more environmentally friendly than a traditional car,with lead starter batteries, high energy iron and aluminum castings, etc etc.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

It makes a great deal of difference in a racing or rally car, but its not teh be all and end all of car performance. Ona smooth road it makes almost NO difference. Anyway the motors in the wheels are very light, scarceley more than the swing axle on a traditional design , and of course the statement that it needs heavier duty suspension is more or less bollocks: that is function of the car SPRUNG weight, by and large.

the starter motor, the alternator, the regulator,the starter battery, the fuel injection system, the distributor, the fuel pump, the oil filters, the gearbox..its perfectly possible to get to - apart from probably an electric cooling fan or two - only four moving parts - the wheels/motors themselves. Plus a few suspension and steering joints.

..

They almost certainly will. Like nuclear power stations, they are teh only technology sufficiently mature and economical to have a hope of doing the job.

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Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

SOME modern diesels.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Alloys are there for looks - they're not necessarily lighter than steels.

Reply to
Clive George

well I have got one 15 mile tank (lawnmoer) one 150 miel tank (series III) one 175 mile tank (Trumph Spitfire) one 200 mile tank (camper) and one 400 mile tank (freelander)

So I cant say that you 600 mile tank is normal.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Close alloy is lighter per unit volume than steel but isn't as strong so you need much more of it to get the strength. Overall result is that an alloy rim weighs much the same as the same size steel one.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

The battery car fills up nightly though.

So you're always starting the day with a "full tank". And how often do you drive further than 500 km in a day? (sorry, I meant 2500 furlongs

- forgot we're using quaint units now ;-))

Reply to
Mastuna

Mastuna gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

If you have access to electricity.

Not infrequently. Even more often, I drive more than that across a couple of days with no access to electricity overnight.

Reply to
Adrian

The Natural Philosopher gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Rapidly becoming less rare. And how is it "inefficient"?

That's a highly optimistic maximum possible 300 miles? Or a real world

300 miles?

Easily recyclable, though.

Reply to
Adrian

This statement is not true!

Without a gearbox you are talking massively high currents.

We have a calculator for this:

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Motor Current Calculator

Indeed some cars do have motors in wheels, but performance on steep hills if excessively poor. It really does not work for an electric only car.

Furthermore, to maximise efficiency, the motor's brushes are offset. This may mean the motor cannot be reversed (depending on the amount of offset).

Reply to
Richard Torrens

I keep seeing "LIPO" in posts - and my mind immediately assumes it is what is extracted by liposuction.

But just perhaps that would be a good fuel these days?

Reply to
Rod

Mastuna gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

So that's 43% efficient.

Why "compared to"? The normal wheel is still fitted, as is a normal brake. It's purely extra weight.

Oh, and the Colt electric weighs 200kg more than the equivalent diesel.

Marketing... Most OEM alloys are at least the same weight as factory steels - they have to be thick for reliability. On the XM I used to have, I replaced the factory steels with OEM alloys. Same size rim. The alloy was noticably heavier.

Yes, dear. That's all part of the drivetrain. But anyway, the Colt EV, with in-wheel motors, is 200kg heavier (1150kg) than the equivalent diesel (960kg). The battery pack in it is 22 modules, each 325v 40Ah. You can probably calculate the weight from that, since Mitsu seem reluctant in the articles I've read.

Then there's the Li-Ion laptop battery recalls (and subsequent supply problems) of the other year...

Reply to
Adrian

The Natural Philosopher gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Meanwhile, here in the UK...

Reply to
Adrian

So that's about 43% before you factor in minor things like, lights, wipers, heaters, AC, etc. and you are being optimistic.

Reply to
dennis

In message , at

00:13:29 on Wed, 4 Jun 2008, Dave Liquorice remarked:

I'm sceptical of the 310 miles of course.

My current petrol car manages 650 miles between refills on long runs, which is very handy. Years ago I had a car that did 22mpg and needed filling up every 180 miles. It was a COMPLETE pita. One's life was dominated by where you might be able to refuel - although this was before there were as many 24hr filling stations.

Reply to
Roland Perry

Roland Perry gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Heh. I just sold a car that managed 17mpg, and had a 17 litre tank... I kept a 20l jerry can in it...

Reply to
Adrian

According to: the Diesel is 1050Kg. So there appears to be only 100Kg difference between the two, which is quite impressive considering this was done taking a production car built for an ICE rather than building the car up around the electric drive system, which would allow you to engineer it to a lower weight.

Reply to
Espen Koht

Espen Koht gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Yes, you appear to be right, the diesel is a little bucket of lard. The petrol can be as low as 930kg, though.

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So there appears to be only 100Kg difference between the two, which is

Sorry, but I fail to see how and why. Impact regulations are the same. Occupant expectations are the same. The only inherent difference is the drivetrain, which is bulkier and heavier in the electric than the ICE vehicles.

Reply to
Adrian

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