Electric cars, not too far to go now !

PiKe · 14 Dec 2007 at 10:57

Jonnycoupe said:
You can vary the load just like a petrol car using the 'throttle'

Electric heaters, easy. Wont have to wait for the engine coolant to warm up either

Yes but on a petrol car there is a torque curve, electric is constant.

And electric heaters? Don't be daft, turn them on and your range will drastically reduce!

5tephen · 14 Dec 2007 at 11:24

I'd be more supportive of electric cars but what are we going to do when we no longer get to hear engine revs, exhaust notes etc - driving won't ever be the same

Simon · 14 Dec 2007 at 11:40

PiKe said:
Yes but on a petrol car there is a torque curve, electric is constant.

And electric heaters? Don't be daft, turn them on and your range will drastically reduce!

A 1kw heater would be far too powerful for a car. We are talking about vehicles with much higher power output than that.

There is no reason why voltage can't be variable either

Dogbreath · 14 Dec 2007 at 11:45

PiKe said:
Yes but on a petrol car there is a torque curve, electric is constant.!

Motor torque is not constant, it reduces as the RPM increases.

In any case, just like a petrol or diesel engine, the torque will be variable by means of a "throttle".

PiKe · 14 Dec 2007 at 11:58

Lacking a clutch too might cause issues, because the motor will require a certain amount of current to start turning.

fRostiE · 14 Dec 2007 at 12:05

√ Ultra smooth 100% electric power (700+bhp) immediately from zero rpm

4 new tyres please

thanks chaps, see you again next week

save on petrol and spend on tyres... nice!

platypus · 14 Dec 2007 at 12:41

AcidHell2 said:
Not really. It also has a huge very safe bottle to store it in, rather than a flimsy petrol tank.

Compressing Hydrogen to fit in a storage tank that could fit in a car however is very expensive. The amount of hydrogen gas required to produce the same power as an equivalent petrol tank would be about 3,000 times bigger.

Additionally, the pressure in the storage tank would be around 6,000psi, which means the tank needs to be regularly maintained and checked. Another expense. Then you need additional cooling systems for Hydrogen gas tanks, involving liquid nitrogen.

Jonnycoupe · 14 Dec 2007 at 13:49

PiKe said:
Yes but on a petrol car there is a torque curve, electric is constant.

And electric heaters? Don't be daft, turn them on and your range will drastically reduce!

Do you know how power and current are related? A car running on fuel doesnt have a fixed torque output, its regulated by the throttle controllingt the amount of air in the engine. You do exactly the same with an electric motor and current. Have you never played scaletrix!!!!

2kw heaters on a 100Kw electric motor,

Thats 2% in my book. Not drastic and thats something like a fast boil kettle which wouldn't be in a car.

Jonnycoupe · 14 Dec 2007 at 13:50

PiKe said:
Lacking a clutch too might cause issues, because the motor will require a certain amount of current to start turning.

Yes thats right the Rolls Royce marin trent gas turbine uses an electric starter and that has a clutch....

Oh no it doesnt, just like a internal combustion engine.

Do people just make stuff up? You do know you can start a car engine without a clutch so i have no idea where that idea comes from.

lordrobs · 14 Dec 2007 at 13:54

PiKe said:
Lacking a clutch too might cause issues, because the motor will require a certain amount of current to start turning.

I wouldn't have thought so, don't forget a petrol engine is already turning at 800 RPM at idle. The electric motor on the other hand will be starting from 0 rpm so you just feed in the power. Don't forget you can't stall itbecause theres nothing moving in the first place.

Jonnycoupe · 14 Dec 2007 at 13:55

Yeah my hoover and drill has a clutch aswell. :rolleyes:

PiKe · 14 Dec 2007 at 14:02

You could politely tell me I'm wrong you know rather than being sarcastic.

[huzeeee] · 14 Dec 2007 at 17:23

fRostiE said:
√ Ultra smooth 100% electric power (700+bhp) immediately from zero rpm

4 new tyres please

thanks chaps, see you again next week

save on petrol and spend on tyres... nice!

I doubt they will hardwire the battery through a speed controller straight to the motor, there will be circuitry and gizmos to make the drive smoother so you dont shred your tyres.

Peter Diffey · 15 Dec 2007 at 18:03

fRostiE said:
√ Ultra smooth 100% electric power (700+bhp) immediately from zero rpm

4 new tyres please

thanks chaps, see you again next week

save on petrol and spend on tyres... nice!

That is one of the most retarded things i have ever read.
The ignorance in this thread is amazing

fRostiE · 15 Dec 2007 at 18:14

Peter Diffey said:
That is one of the most retarded things i have ever read.
The ignorance in this thread is amazing

quit your moaning it was a joke.

jeez

NathanE · 15 Dec 2007 at 18:22

The Tesla Roadster has traction control so yes you can just "floor it" from a stand still and not shred your tyres but of course the TC will be gobbling up a lot of that power for the first few meters. After that it's a case of "c'ya later fellow petrol powered super car!".

Here's some "spy shots"

I got of the Tesla a couple months ago:

L0rdMike · 15 Dec 2007 at 18:41

How do you have max torque at 0rpm?

NathanE · 15 Dec 2007 at 18:49

The motor might be running at 1 revolution per 1.1 minutes. You'd be going very very slow but it's possible

They are just stating a fact about the motor.

L0rdMike · 15 Dec 2007 at 18:51

NathanE said:
The motor might be running at 1 revolution per 1.1 minutes. You'd be going very very slow but it's possible They are just stating a fact about the motor.

but then thats 0.x RPM and not just zero?

Glaucus · 15 Dec 2007 at 18:57

L0rdMike said:
How do you have max torque at 0rpm?

#
The motor doesn't have to turn to provide all the power. You would still get 400bhp. If it was stationery. Say you attached something to heavy for the car to move.

Thats the good thing with electric motors. as long as it's getting full voltage you get the maximum torque. whatever speed the motors turning at.