EV Thread
- Thread starter Andy
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Yep, and I'm a bit saddened by this because their quad-motor setup with independent control over the torque applied to each wheel is (IMO) the right way to make an EV, particularly one that's intended to have off-road capabilities.
Oh, and whoever made design decision that the 12V batts are so damn inaccessible when they're dead should be fired and black-balled from ever working in the auto industry again. I mean the reality is, at some point they will die.
-Uwe-
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Hopefully this is ok since it's about the EV part of PHEV. This video is both cringy and fascinating since multiple energy conversions are taking place resulting in bad use of energy:
So they're using the car's engine to do what a fossil-fuel power plant would if you plugged it in. I suppose that's not something you'd normally do, but as they said, it has might have its uses. How much AC can that vehicle provide to external loads? Uwe goes here. Looks like 1500 W.
I hate to say this, but I think PHEVs are in a lot of people's futures. They get "combined" EPA ratings that easily meet the ever increasing CAFE standards that will be in effect soon. Certain states that are ostensibly banning the sale of fossil-fueled vehicles as of 2035 or so actually have a loophole for PHEVs. The new EPA regs that were just proposed, which the EV crowd thinks will force auto makers to sell 60% pure BEVs will also result in lots of PHEVs. Heck, with an rating of 62 MPG (combined), which equates to ~143g of CO2/mile, the above Outlander is already more than half way to the proposed 2032 standard of 82g from the current average of 347g.
-Uwe-
I want to see the test where they start with a full tank of fuel, let it charge the battery and then re-fill the tank to see how much fuel it consumed to recharge (roughly) 16kWh. My thoughts are that's gotta be far less efficient than charging from the grid and/or just using an efficient 2,200 watt Honda inverter type generator if you were camping or in a power out situation at home.
I do agree with Uwe though, although we've went all in on pure electric PHEVs work for the masses.
I do agree with Uwe though, although we've went all in on pure electric PHEVs work for the masses.
Maybe. At first glance, running a 2.4 liter engine to do that seems terribly inefficient. But remember the duty cycle. 90 minutes to put 16 kWh in the battery, which will then presumably supply 1.5 kW for 10 hours with the engine off, while the little Honda would have to run the entire time. But I don't disagree that such a comparison would be interesting.
I think BEVs have a place, a good use case, but there are certainly use-cases where they are far from optimal. I've said it before and I'll say it again: There's no way I'd use a BEV for the the PA<->FL trip that I run regularly. I'm not willing to waste time at charging stops, nor do I wanna deal with the range anxiety issues.
-Uwe-
I want Mazda to bring back the rotary purely as a range-extending generator for an EV.
Sort of. I think that technically qualifies as a hybrid.
There are two kinds of hybrids -- serial and parallel. IMO, an "EV" with a built-in range extender would also be considered a (serial) hybrid.
What's interesting with such a concept is that ~20 kW is entirely sufficient to keep a car moving at highway speeds indefinitely. You'd only need a ~30 hp engine to produce that. A small diesel designed to run optimally at a particular RPM could probably exceed 40% thermal efficiency doing that.
-Uwe-
You do have a point there. I admit I didn't watch the video this time around, but have watched it in the past. I am going off memory, I thought this example could couple directly to the drivetrain, which is why I am thinking it's more "hybrid" than just a range extender.
I could just be remembering incorrectly.
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As a bit of a PHEV evangelist (I had a PHEV in the past, and then an EV but currently only have two manual ICE vehicles), my confirmation bias appreciated this video:
It all depends use case. For local use, a BEV is likely great (except they still cost too much). For long distance use, ICE wins. For mixed use, a PHEV is a good compromise, but the downside is the added complexity compared to straight BEV or ICE -- more stuff that can (and will at so point) fail.
-Uwe-
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I agree that there is added complexity but given the frequency of failures in recent VAG ICE vehicles (cough, water pumps, cough) I wonder if it all balances out. My A3 e-tron used about 200 gallons lifetime:
That's maybe between 1/4 and 1/3 of the gas I would have used with an ICE A3 (ballparking 25 mpg). That's a fraction of the wear on all of the ICE components.
Let's just assume that nothing purchased new today will be a reliable "forever car". Blessed be those with extended warranties!