EV general discussion

[VincentHanna]

I'd love to get in the back of my car drunk one day and tell it to drive me home.

If we ever get there, it'll put a lot of taxi drivers out of work though.

 

[lordrobs]

I'd love to get in the back of my car drunk one day and tell it to drive me home.

If we ever get there, it'll put a lot of taxi drivers out of work though.

Honestly, the day we can have what everyone from my generation wants, which is basically KITT I'll be a very happy man.
*Talks to watch*
"Car, I've had a few too many, can you pick me up?"
"Sure Rob."
"Thanks, oh and one more thing. Please call me Michael"
"er... OK Michael"
*chef's kiss*

 

[father-ted]

Hello all, looking for some EV advice please:

Just taken the plunge and bought an EV (BMW iX xdrive 40) - as we have solar panels and battery fitted (also benefit from cheap electricity between 23.30 - 05.30) - so would be mad not to.
On the rare occasions that we travel long distance, what is the best option for charging at a cheaper rate / what do I need to join?
Don't really want anything with a monthly cost, as we would only need to do this 2-3 times per year (charge the car at home otherwise).

Many thanks

 

[Penfold101]

Hello all, looking for some EV advice please:

Just taken the plunge and bought an EV (BMW iX xdrive 40) - as we have solar panels and battery fitted (also benefit from cheap electricity between 23.30 - 05.30) - so would be mad not to.
On the rare occasions that we travel long distance, what is the best option for charging at a cheaper rate / what do I need to join?
Don't really want anything with a monthly cost, as we would only need to do this 2-3 times per year (charge the car at home otherwise).

Many thanks

If a long journey is that rare, just find the fastest charger near to where you are and ignore the cost.

 

[MOOGLEYS]

If a long journey is that rare, just find the fastest charger near to where you are and ignore the cost.

This.

It’s not worth hunting around to save a few quid really for a few times a year.

 

[father-ted]

Ok thanks chaps, just wasn't sure if there were other options

 

[kefkef]

Hello all, looking for some EV advice please:

Just taken the plunge and bought an EV (BMW iX xdrive 40) - as we have solar panels and battery fitted (also benefit from cheap electricity between 23.30 - 05.30) - so would be mad not to.
On the rare occasions that we travel long distance, what is the best option for charging at a cheaper rate / what do I need to join?
Don't really want anything with a monthly cost, as we would only need to do this 2-3 times per year (charge the car at home otherwise).

Many thanks

I set my preference for Tesla chargers that are open to all, the BMW NAV system will use that as a preference but will also recommend others if there's none on your proposed route.

 

[dannyjo22]

And this is why I keep telling my son to go and be a pilot. If people cannot let go of controlling a car for journeys they sure as hell won't be happy with no pilots in both of our life times no matter how much more likely the idiot in the front is to kill you. I dream of the day I can sleep in the car to and from work.

 

[Jonnycoupe]

The sky is much easier to manage…

 

[Penfold101]

And this is why I keep telling my son to go and be a pilot. If people cannot let go of controlling a car for journeys they sure as hell won't be happy with no pilots in both of our life times no matter how much more likely the idiot in the front is to kill you. I dream of the day I can sleep in the car to and from work.

They aren’t really comparable situations…

 

[dannyjo22]

They aren’t really comparable situations…

If I'm going to die in both situations they are comparable enough for me.

 

[jpaul]

wacky races - It'll be all good in London

recently,
the company announced it had suspended all freeway operations in cities including Los Angeles and Miami after one San Francisco rider recounted on X that his robotaxi had led police on a high-speed pursuit through an active highway construction zone.

none of the collisions in which Waymo robotaxis appeared responsible, such as hitting parked cars, crashing into downed utility lines and driving into a San Francisco cable car, resulted in what was classified as a serious injury.

Other cyclists, pedestrians and motorists reported they would have been struck by Waymos if they hadn’t swerved or run out of the way.

Waymos were draining city resources and obstructing emergency response efforts – including the city’s response to a deadly mass shooting outside a bar in March.

such as incidents where its cars were rear-ended after unexpectedly braking for low-flying birds and mistaking business signage for a stop sign.
..
Around the same time, in Austin, a police officer reported watching a Waymo turn left towards an oncoming 18-wheeler, which braked in time to avoid a crash.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

I dont see how autopilot/full self driving on a congested motorway is better than a good active cruise (aka not Telsa with its awful PID tune meaning it takes off slow, accelerates to fast then has to brake hard) The VW MEB system is brilliant in motorway traffic. Is your vision you sitting behind the wheel with a laptop? or sit in the passenger seat?

The Tesla system they offer in other markets can do more of the journey and will automatically change lanes, pass slower vehicles, navigate junctions, merges, lane splits etc. etc.

However, the 'level 2' system tesla is actually shipping to customers in some markets isn't relevant to the conversation jpaul started because it is only level 2 and isn't going to mean I can sit in the back and participate in a circular conversation on OCUK .

I'm not sure why the focus on Tesla though, neither me or jpaul mentioned any particular brand and it was more of a conceptual conversation. Frankly I am pretty brand agnostic and I've mentioned multiple times its looking less and less likely my next car will be a Tesla.

 

[Simon]

Was because a guy said he has a Tesla and an ID3 and compared the two

 

[shroomz]

You don’t need to use the charger integration to get Predbat working.

The octopus home assistant integration by bottlecap Dave pulls all the relevant information for charging sessions and Predbat can control the charging of the battery solely from this.

Predbat had no visibility of my charger and my car and it’s been pretty flawless.

Jump over to the home assistant thread if you are having issues.

Edit: I’m also using GivEnergy (now bust if you haven’t seen).

Thanks I will take you up on your offer to diagnose what I've done wrong with my setup if that's ok. I do use bottlecapdave's HA integration for octopus. The problem I have has just occurred again: car charging slots due from 11:30, charger put onto Eco+ by IOG. Predbat has scheduled home battery export 95%-25% from now til 10pm. But because the discharge rate is 4kW and greater than Zappi's 1.4kW threshold, Zappi tries to put 2kW into the car. Will tag you in the HA thread.

 

[joelk2]

new to the world of Evs and have been googling etc. do worry some reviews are biased towards products they’ve been supplied so looking for real people recommendations/advice.

Does anyone have a recommendation for an ev charger?

I got a quote for an ohme pro but later read a bunch about them failing and due to being a sealed unit they just need replacing.

I will be with octopus go so to my knowledge a bunch of them integrate with this.

Would it be worth paying extra for something like the hypervolt 3 pro?

What additional benefits would that give me compared to one which is £100-£200 cheaper

 

[Demon]

new to the world of Evs and have been googling etc. do worry some reviews are biased towards products they’ve been supplied so looking for real people recommendations/advice.

Does anyone have a recommendation for an ev charger?

I got a quote for an ohme pro but later read a bunch about them failing and due to being a sealed unit they just need replacing.

I will be with octopus go so to my knowledge a bunch of them integrate with this.

Would it be worth paying extra for something like the hypervolt 3 pro?

What additional benefits would that give me compared to one which is £100-£200 cheaper

It can be a crapshoot knowing what might have issues later down the line..

Hypervolt have seemingly stood the test of time and still have good support, my Hypervolt v2 is still working well and I got that because I like the clean lines and ability to store the tethered cable quite neatly.

However, there are never any guarantees as to if companies can go under or if they suddenly have some poor design choices that lead to premature failures..

 

[MrRockliffe]

I’d advise against Ohme - their customer service if anything goes wrong is abysmal.


The Hypervolt will be fine, but it’s expensive for what it is.


I’ve just gone for:

Sync Energy | 7.4kw Wall Charger Wi-Fi and LAN Tethered | EV Chargers

Order the Sync Energy EVWC2T7G-02 EV Wall Charger 2 7.4kw Wi-Fi and LAN Tethered with 7.5mtr Cable from Superlec Direct and get same-day shipping before 2pm

www.superlecdirect.com

And it’s compatible with Octopus if you’re with them. If not, you can set a standard schedule for charging.

 

[joelk2]

It can be a crapshoot knowing what might have issues later down the line..

Hypervolt have seemingly stood the test of time and still have good support, my Hypervolt v2 is still working well and I got that because I like the clean lines and ability to store the tethered cable quite neatly.

However, there are never any guarantees as to if companies can go under or if they suddenly have some poor design choices that lead to premature failures..

I do really like the look of the hypervolt and I’ve read some good things about them.

 

[joelk2]

I’d advise against Ohme - their customer service if anything goes wrong is abysmal.


The Hypervolt will be fine, but it’s expensive for what it is.


I’ve just gone for:

Sync Energy | 7.4kw Wall Charger Wi-Fi and LAN Tethered | EV Chargers

Order the Sync Energy EVWC2T7G-02 EV Wall Charger 2 7.4kw Wi-Fi and LAN Tethered with 7.5mtr Cable from Superlec Direct and get same-day shipping before 2pm

www.superlecdirect.com

And it’s compatible with Octopus if you’re with them. If not, you can set a standard schedule for charging.

I think it worked out about £150 more for the hypervolt compared to the ohme so happy to pay that to be honest.