Battery based vehicles of today and tomorrow pt 2

[ultrarunner]

That's the rub... The SF Bay Area is EV LAND and heavily Democratic...

But, since Elon bought Twitter many have publicly said they now can't stand him...

 

[Grumpycat]

I did, but also said I have no long range trips taken beyond just over 200 miles and I was thinking about winter which is a current condition in the US which does impact range in a negative way.

Grumpy has FAR more EV experience than me. I would trust his evaluation of long distance supercharging experience over what was my educated guess.

Is good to guess that things will take longer than expected. However the EV Trip Planner site I cited works exceptionally hard to provide accurate estimates using specific vehicles, elevation changes along the route, whether one is driving faster or slower than the speed limits, how much one is carrying, and even allows for adjustments in temperature.

That said, most humans are not Formula-1 pit crew. Our pit stops take longer than expected.

 

[Grumpycat]

In any case, EV's are heavy, and the weight distribution is at the discretion of the engineer, not hampered by a transmission, driveshaft angles, etc. Slam the battery into that floor pan wherever it yields the best performance compromise under desired conditions. I suspect there's opportunity for EV's to be way better than the average ICE, WRT snow performance.

As always, ditch the nice wide performance tires for best traction in snow. You don't want to float, PSI is the name of the game.

This purchase was several firsts for me.

1) I didn't ask my insurance agent how much to insure before buying. Did that in the past and was surprised a few times, then bought something else.

2) Had no idea what size tires it came with. Knew I would rather have a conservative 60 series tire like any reasonable SUV, but it wasn't going to be. A visit to TireRack says 255/45-19. Very interesting because my S wears 245/45-19.

Due to long waiting doctor's appointment on Wednesday which I forgot about, have rescheduled delivery to Saturday when a friend is off work and can drive me 209 miles to Memphis.

My Y's maiden journey will be 209 miles with Superchargers only on the end points. Nothing between Memphis and Huntsville/Madison yet. Athens is 15 miles from the end but a bit off my route.

 

[Grumpycat]

I find it interesting that the current administration allocated 11 billion (or 11 million) bucks of taxpayer money to bring about EV charging stations country wide but not a one has been built yet. Until there is a charging stations as common as gas stations, I don't see the EV market growing in leaps and bounds like the EV proponents say. Urban dwellers might charge their EV's in their garages if they own a dwelling but for apartment dwellers that is pretty much out of the question.

EV drivers do not want "gas stations".

Some apartments do not include a parking space. Or charge extra. Some apartments have garages. An apartment dweller who wants an EV will find an apartment which accomodates. Just as apartment dwellers have moved to another apartment for swimming pools, spa, washer and dryer hookups, internet, air conditioning, etc.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Anyone who's ever owned a classic VW Beetle knows they are absolutely phenomenal cars in the snow. Surprising, the stupid little thing doesn't look like it should be anything special, but they seem to go through anything. Maybe it's all about weight distribution and skinny tires, or so I suspect.

In any case, EV's are heavy, and the weight distribution is at the discretion of the engineer, not hampered by a transmission, driveshaft angles, etc. Slam the battery into that floor pan wherever it yields the best performance compromise under desired conditions. I suspect there's opportunity for EV's to be way better than the average ICE, WRT snow performance.

As always, ditch the nice wide performance tires for best traction in snow. You don't want to float, PSI is the name of the game.

I had a '70 beetle. They were so easy to work on. I bought this one in about 1985 for $75 to make a dune buggy out of. My friend/neighbor had two and we wanted to race around his farm, hitting each other. I got it cheap because it wasn't running. Bad ignition points was all it was. I cleaned it up, it was in great shape, I shouldn't have destroyed it. Basically the body sits on a pan. Unbolt all around, unplug wiring harness and he & I lifted body off pan. I welded 2" pipe up making a roll cage. Everything was so basic, I made lights...it was fun while it lasted.

 

[sd455dan]

Anyone who's ever owned a classic VW Beetle knows they are absolutely phenomenal cars in the snow. Surprising, the stupid little thing doesn't look like it should be anything special, but they seem to go through anything. Maybe it's all about weight distribution and skinny tires, or so I suspect.

In any case, EV's are heavy, and the weight distribution is at the discretion of the engineer, not hampered by a transmission, driveshaft angles, etc. Slam the battery into that floor pan wherever it yields the best performance compromise under desired conditions. I suspect there's opportunity for EV's to be way better than the average ICE, WRT snow performance.

As always, ditch the nice wide performance tires for best traction in snow. You don't want to float, PSI is the name of the game.

I was able to mount 29" tall studded snows and go down from 21" wheels to narrower 18's on the MYP
With the New Nokian's the Y gets around better than any other "car" I have owned, which also includes some VW bugs and rabbits. Which were Good.
The best "2 wheel drive" snow car I ever drove was a Fiat 128 For a front drive only it was an amazing little car in snow.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Beware in Memphis.

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[deserteagle71]

According to the study, EVs are only selling well in heavily Democrat counties.

Only makes sense since "heavily Democrat counties" are cities. That's where an EV works the best - where trips are only a few miles. Out here, a trip to town for me means a minimum of 350 miles.

For years now, after every election, when they throw up the election map on the screen it shows all the rural areas as red and the cities as blue. What do we in the rural areas know that those in the cities do not??

 

[Eagle1]

Simple the more rural you are the less you want any government help or rules. If they leave me alone I can get long fine.

 

[MossRoad]

That's the rub... The SF Bay Area is EV LAND and heavily Democratic...

But, since Elon bought Twitter many have publicly said they now can't stand him...

I can't stand him either. Doesn't mean he isn't brilliant. So was Howard Hughes.