Topic: Electric cars

[MBL?]

Didn't know they were significantly heavier.
Battery weighs a fair bit and I don't suppose the the motor is light. But an engine block is pretty heavy.  I suspect quite a bit of metal in other parts of the powertrain that don't exist in EVs bring them closer together too.

They absolutely are heavier, some more so than others. The battery pack is what makes them so. My tesla 3 is around 1.8 tonne I believe and that is on the lighter size for the class and range it gets.

It's coming up to a year old so will rotate the tyres now at 22,000km on the clock. I should get the same again going by what I can feel in tread depth but it's still a guess. Also worth noting what tyres are fitted since they don't all wear the same.

One thing I would say to any car owner is please don't go with the cheapest tyre available when changing. Times are hard and needs must but investing in better tyres can reduce the risk of a crash by a significant amount. The only thing in contact with the road is that rubber so it matters very little how fancy your car is.

[PaulF]

New BMW iX is around 1500kg but the EV version is 2085kg. The i4 is 650kg heavier than the petrol 4 series. The q4 is around 700kg heavier than a q3.

Generally, you'd expect an EV to be at least 25-30% heavier than an equivalent ICE model.

Interesting. Thanks!

[Jake]

To be fair, if you had bought an MG ZS petrol it would also be shit. Buy a cheap shitbox and that's what it's going to be,  nothing to do with it being a BEV.

You're not wrong there mate.

Just would urge everyone to avoid MG like the plague.

[PaulF]

Drove to mk and back yesterday( train to London).
Car charged to 80 % as usual when we left.
Down to 43% when we got in for the return journey. Normally if top up just to be on safe side but wife had a migraine.
On the way out I was a little heavy footed. Nothing significant. No more than 63 in a 60, but didn't hang about getting to 63.
On way back to partly to conserve power , partly for nicer ride for the migraine was in eco mode and a lot lighter footed .Probably top speed 55 , mostly 50 on the 60 road, pulled over once to let a couple of cars pass , but it was quiet.  Anyway about 17% left in the tank. Just shows how much you can save with a little care.  Don't think there was a significant temperature difference, not mostly uphill one way.  I guess about 10 % left if we deduct allow for 3% either way.

[Graeme]

If the shift to electric cars is gonna fill the roads with cars doing 50 in a 60 then that’s gonna boil my piss on long A-road trip. It’s Ok when I’m the one behind and I can breeze past but when you’re like 5th+ car stuck behind that’s annoying.

[Henry Gale]

If the shift to electric cars is gonna fill the roads with cars doing 50 in a 60 then that’s gonna boil my piss on long A-road trip. It’s Ok when I’m the one behind and I can breeze past but when you’re like 5th+ car stuck behind that’s annoying.

There won't be a shift to electric cars don't worry 

[stewil007]

There won't be a shift to electric cars don't worry 

erm........

[PaulF]

If the shift to electric cars is gonna fill the roads with cars doing 50 in a 60 then that’s gonna boil my piss on long A-road trip. It’s Ok when I’m the one behind and I can breeze past but when you’re like 5th+ car stuck behind that’s annoying.

Mines an 15 plate leaf with a range of about 80 miles, 60 when 80% charged.  Modern ones do far more than that and I wouldn't normally saving 'fuel' in this way.

Anyone want to put a date on when ICE cars make up less than 25% of cars on the road?

[Graeme]

Mines an 15 plate leaf with a range of about 80 miles, 60 when 80% charged.  Modern ones do far more than that and I wouldn't normally saving 'fuel' in this way.

Anyone want to put a date on when ICE cars make up less than 25% of cars on the road?

Hard to say, but the 2030 target for stopping production of ICE cars is completely unrealistic in my opinion. The charging infrastructure isn’t there and it won’t be able to keep up with the shift.

[Henry Gale]

Hard to say, but the 2030 target for stopping production of ICE cars is completely unrealistic in my opinion. The charging infrastructure isn’t there and it won’t be able to keep up with the shift.

They will struggle to hit that target by 2050 never mind 2023.

[stewil007]

Stopping production of ICE cars is different to stopping availibility of ICE cars.

[PaulF]

Stopping production of ICE cars is different to stopping availibility of ICE cars.

I think car manufacturers are well set up for that.  It's in their interests now to either help build the infrastructure or apply pressure to get it done.

[[new username under construction]]

I think car manufacturers are well set up for that.  It's in their interests now to either help build the infrastructure or apply pressure to get it done.

I was at Hyundai yesterday and the lad was saying more people ask about electric and hybrid than ICE now

[stewil007]

I was at Hyundai yesterday and the lad was saying more people ask about electric and hybrid than ICE now

As we get closer to the 2030 cut off for ICE new car registrations, i can imagine there is going to be a firesale of all existing stock??

[PaulF]

As we get closer to the 2030 cut off for ICE new car registrations, i can imagine there is going to be a firesale of all existing stock??

Probably. But my guess is there's been sufficient lead time and they'll invest enough in analytics to have a very good feel for what demand will be as we approach that cut off and they'll reduce supply accordingly.  (Unless the govn't fucks up again and interest rates hit 30% or something....)

[thaddeus]

Not really an issue specific to electric cars but...

Elon Musk's Tesla recalls two million cars over Autopilot defect

Tesla is recalling more than two million cars after the US regulator found its driver assistance system, Autopilot, was partly defective.

It follows a two-year investigation into crashes at the firm owned by billionaire Elon Musk, which occurred when Autopilot was in use.

The recall applies to almost every Tesla sold in the US since the Autopilot feature was launched in 2015.

Tesla said it would send a software update "over the air" to fix the issue.

Having had quirky issues with driving assistants (in non-Tesla cars, admittedly) I'm fairly sceptical about automatic driving.  I'm sure we will get there eventually but at the moment it feels like we're living in an experiment.  Hopefully this judgment by the US regulator will encourage that balance between innovation and safety.

I've also found even the mundane driving assistants have made me a less competent driver.  Things like cruise control and parking cameras/sensors are good but when I occasionally drive a car without them I have to remind myself how mirrors work 

[rob1966]

If the shift to electric cars is gonna fill the roads with cars doing 50 in a 60 then that’s gonna boil my piss on long A-road trip. It’s Ok when I’m the one behind and I can breeze past but when you’re like 5th+ car stuck behind that’s annoying.

You wanna try driving an HGV and having to constantly overtake EV's on the motorway, as they sit in lane 1 doing 50mph, its annoying as fuck.