OT ICE engined cars to be banned in Netherlands?

[The Natural Philosopher]

Actually of course an electric motor does not necessarily have maximum torque at zero RPM. Not if you want to keep it from melting.

[NY]

I imagine that electric cars have a control unit which gradually applies power over a short period of time, following a well-defined profile, even if you suddenly floor the accelerator, so you don't spin the wheels and give the occupants of the car a tremendous kick in the back. You could even allow the driver to select from a number of different limiting accelerations, depending on whether he wanted smooth, sedate acceleration or brisk sporty acceleration (with the risk that takeup of power may be a bit more jerky if you accidentally press the accelerator slightly further than you intended).

It must be good to feel smooth, fairly constant acceleration, without pauses in acceleration while the transmission (auto or manual) changes gear.

No but I'm guessing that *in general* a car with a faster 0-60 time will also have faster times for accelerating from 0 to 10 or 20 mph.

Really? Gosh, it shows how technology has advanced since the days of the E Type Jag - what was once a rarity, only available on an expensive sports cars, is now commonplace.

It's interesting to see how different types of engine in the same car make such as difference to the acceleration profile. I used to have a Peugeot 306 with a 1.9 turbo diesel. It was fairly brisk but when I was loaned a 1.8 petrol version of the car while mine was being serviced, I noticed how the petrol one was much better at accelerating away from rest. No surprise there. However, on the motorway it was piss-poor: whereas my diesel had phenomenal 50-80 acceleration (good for overtaking) the petrol one had a much higher-revving engine (it screamed away at about 3500 rpm at 70, compared with about 2100 for the diesel) and ran out of puff if you tried to accelerate from 50-70 (either in 6th, 5th or 4th gear).

So the petrol was good at some things but lousy at others. Everyone talks about 0-60 time, but some times it's 40-70 time that is important in real-world driving, when you need to accelerate rapidly to get past a slow lorry on a country lane where there are only limited overtaking opportunities.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Very good reason they made a lightweight E-Type for racing. ;-)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

No reason to have a pause in acceleration while an auto changes gear.

[NY]

All the automatics I've driven have given a noticeable lurch (due to momentary disruption of power to wheels) when they change gear under hard acceleration, even if the change is undetectable under gentle acceleration.

There is also the problem that the rate of acceleration decreases with each upward change of gear (lower mechanical advantage of higher gear lead to lower torque at wheels). In a manual car you adjust for this: as you change up you apply slightly more accelerator pressure than you would in the lower gear, even allowing for the accelerator not needing to be pressed as far because the engine speed is lower - when you are learning to drive you learn to make the adjustment sub-consciously. But in an automatic further pressure on the accelerator to maintain the same acceleration can occasionally cause the gearbox to shift back down to the gear it used to be in: I always have this problem as I accelerate out of a roundabout and end up "see-sawing" between high acceleration in lower gear or less acceleration in next gear up. I end up thinking "you've changed up into third, now *stay* in third and let me accelerate in that gear".

[The Natural Philosopher]

I am daily impressed by the fact that my freelander can out accelerate out brake and out corner, and has a higher top speed and better fuel consumption, than the Midgets of my youth.

All that, a stereo and aircon too.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Spend more time working out the box's algorithms.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

But that lurch isn't due to power being interrupted. Quite the reverse. Many sophisticated autos will reduce the engine power (retard the ignition etc) on the actual gearchange to smooth things out. But if going for maximum acceleration, would just hammer through the gear changes. But of course they don't actually change gear as in a manual box. Each different gear ratio is selected by a clutch or clutches. If correctly timed any interruption in power flow is negligible.

Of course. But then I'm not sure any electric motor will have an absolutely linear torque output from rest to maximum speed either. My guess is not. There are always compromises.

That will only work when accelerating fairly gently. Decent gearing for economy says you'll not get much acceleration in the highest gear.

Obviously if you call for more acceleration than it can give in that gear it will change down.

[harry]

Electric cars have a control for different performances. Available power and regeneration can be preset. There is never any jerkiness. And the important acceleration times are 0-10 mph in traffic. Why do you conjecture about stuff you have no knowledge of? Go and test drivean electric car instead of futile babbling here.

[harry]

The motor is water cooled, melting is unlikely. All traction electric motors have independent cooling.

Page 5

[harry]

Page 5.

[Capitol]

In heavy traffic, acceleration times are unimportant. Rapid acceleration just increases fuel consumption for any fuel system.

[Capitol]

My auto Cresta did.

[Nightjar]

On 24-Aug-16 10:41 AM, NY wrote: ...

Plus, of course, very much better fuel consumption. The claimed figure for the 4.2 litre E type was 17 mpg. My car tells me it has averaged

37.3 mpg since new and I am not a particularly economical driver.

[charles]

[Snip]

not when you are trying to get past cyclists on a busy road.

[Nightjar]

On 24-Aug-16 4:46 PM, harry wrote: ...

So does my diesel automatic - economy or sport.

Why? Who, in their right mind floors the accelerator if they are in traffic so heavy that they won't be going faster than 10mph? The lowest relevant range for maximum acceleration would be 0-30, but I regularly use junctions and lights where I go to 40, 50, 60 and 70 from stop.

[Nightjar]

I would need to have the 3.5 litre diesel engine to get comparable acceleration to that.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Someone did a number on an E-type. Electronic ignition,. fuel injection electric water pumps and fans...IIRC got around 37mpg...

[Dave Plowman (News)]

But difficult to put a price on the fun of driving an E-Type. ;-)

[harry]

Far less in electric cars. The fuel is "put back".