Electric car thread

[facthunter]

I'd guess between 400 and 650 Kg's. It's NOT inconsiderable.  But you do have weight savings in other respects with the Pure EV. As I see it the HYBRID is the one that needs to justify itself long term. It's a solution for People who can't make up their mind but want to do something. Nev

[octave]

My son used to own a BMW5 2007,  He replaced this with a Tesla 3 long-range.

 

The BMW's empty weight was 1505kg by contrast the Tesla has an empty weight of 1844kg. The BMW of the same year as the Tesla (2019) is 1759kg

 

 

Here are the empty weights of the top 10 selling cars in Australia.

 

1.  Toyota Hilux  1475-1565kg
2. Ford Ranger (single cab) 1789-2431kg
3. Isuzu D max 2112kg
4. MGZS 1284-1610kg
5. Toyota RAV4 1550-1745kg
6. Tesla model y 1909-1997kg
7.Mitsubishi Outlander 1580-1760kg
8. Mazda CX5 1576-1765kg
9.Hyundai Tucson 1530-1810kg
10. Hyundaii i30 1210-1495kg

 

Here are the heaviest passenger cars on Australian roads.  

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by octave

[facthunter]

Some heavy stuff there. Some you would not expect.  Actual Battery weight s of  EV's might be a bit harder to get  Nev

[old man emu]

1 hour ago, octave said:

Here are the empty weights of the top 10 selling cars in Australia.

Can you indicate which are EVs? Obviously the Tesla is an EV.

 

The GWM ORA R 1 supposedly has a kerb weight of 990 kg with a 28.5/33 kWh (Ternary lithium) battery. That's a "tiny" battery. 

 

It also has a published top speed of 102 kph. Obviously that's OK for urban use, but too slow for long distance travelling. Not that cruising at 100 kph is not a good way to cover a lot of ground. I set my cruise control at that and drive for hours. However, when I need to overtake, I can get up to 140 kph really quickly and complete the task spending the shortest time possible on the wrong side of the road.

 

NOTE: For a while I have been thinking about calculating the distance it takes a 22-wheeler with speed limited to 100 kph to overtake a grey nomad travelling at 90 kph. It's an interesting time/distance problem.

[spacesailor]

What would be the " length " of a ' 18 wheeler ' .

Or those B double monsters. 

Passing a Bdouble is a pain when towing  a rig at the ' posted speed limit ' .

You will be lucky , to get to the end of the " overtaking lane " 

spacesailor

[old man emu]

2 hours ago, spacesailor said:

Passing a Bdouble is a pain when towing  a rig at the ' posted speed limit ' .

The speed limit for towing a caravan in NSW is up to the prevailing speed limit of the road. Along motorways and highways, this is 100 kilometres per hour. However, the tow vehicle should have a gross vehicle mass (GVM) that does not exceed 4,500 kilograms or 4.5 tonnes.

 

Don't forget that the articulated vehicle has a speed limit of 100 kph. I travel at a confirmed speed of 100 kph (GPS check and also time/distance). I have often travelled in company of a heavy for miles without gaining or losing on it. Makes me think that they are driving with cruise control. Trucks now have the power and gearing to maintain that speed even in rolling country. 

 

My hate is those who "tow a rig" at 90 kph on a highway with either 100 or 110 kph speed limit.  To me it reeks of "I'm alright, Jack. F* you." These caravaners might be doing the big circle tour at their own pace, but highways are first and foremost part of the economic infrastructure of the country. Truckies are limited to the number of hours they can drive in a day. They can only "work" for 12 hours in 24.  If they had a straight run where they could sit on 100 kph for most of it, their average speed would be about 90 to allow for passing through towns. That means that they could cover about 1080 kms in a day. Getting stuck behind a caravan that is travelling at 90 kph would bring the average speed down to, say 80, or 960 kms - a 120 km or loss of 72 minutes. Is the caravanner going to pay the overtime? 

Edited December 18, 2023 by old man emu

[facthunter]

A 'Cluster' of Horse Floats is worse,. Nev

[red750]

In other words, you're saying, sell your van and stay home, or stick to back roads? Not that it affects me, I don't have a towbar on the Festiva. Did you see the SUV and van that jack-knifed on a freeway in Melbourne this morning?

[spacesailor]

I put " towing bar,s & ball " on all my vehicles.   It stop those ' parking bay ' hoons that use your car as a ' bump stop ' .

spacesailor

[spacesailor]

What's the tow speed for ' Exceeds 4.5 ton ' . ? . Fully loaded " home on wheels " .

As we were talking about the ' huge Slow caravan's,  ' polluting our/ your roads .

spacesailor

 

[red750]

I have a disabled parking ticket.

[kgwilson]

The kerb weight of the MG 4 range is as follows. That is with a full battery.

 

MG4 Excite 51 (51kWH LFP battery)            1635 kg

MG4 Excite 64 (64kWH NMC battery)         1648 kg

MG4 Essence 64 (64 kWH NMC battery)    1672 kg (the model I have)

MG4 Essence 77 (77 kWH NMC battery)     1748 kg

 

My old Mitsubishi Lancer Platinum was 1335 kg so 337kg lighter. The MG has more passenger room & a flat floor but slightly smaller boot space. When the rear seats are folded down there is not much difference but the MG cargo space is flat whereas the Mitsi wasn't. The MG is a bit taller and wider but overall they are similarly sized cars. The Mitsi range was about 720km on 55 litres of fuel. The MG is about 435km on a full 64kWH battery.

 

In driving experience the is no comparison. The MG has all the high tech electronic stuff compared to virtually none (except bluetooth) on the 2012 Mitsi though it was pretty good in its day. Electric motor power is totally instant. Absolutely no lag and there are 5 selectable driving modes. A lot of the functions are available on new ICE cars as well but none can match that instant EV torque. Spend 120k on a hot ICE hatch & you will easily beat the MG, but not off the line. Get the Xpower version with 2 motors & you have to get into very expensive almost super car territory to match it.

 

Power isn't the reason I bought an EV though. With an almost perfect 50/50 weight distribution & RWD (no torques steer) it handles superbly for a standard car. I love booting it out of a corner. There are a myriad of advantages & you can read about these on the web. There are also people who hate them & come up with a zillion reasons why they are no good. Plus there is an enormous amount of totally incorrect disinformation on line. Well none of those have had any effect on me nor on the millions of people who own one or are now in the process of moving towards EVs or the EV manufactures who see that electrification is the current best option and for the near future.

 

There were over 26 million EVs on the road world wide last year. That is set to increase by more than 14 million by the end of this year with well over 500 models available. EVs are not going away any time soon. ICE cars are.

 

 

[red750]

There was a write-up about caravans and convoys posted on Facebook which you might be interested in. Click here.

[nomadpete]

4 hours ago, old man emu said:

The speed limit for towing a caravan in NSW is up to the prevailing speed limit of the road. Along motorways and highways, this is 100 kilometres per hour. However, the tow vehicle should have a gross vehicle mass (GVM) that does not exceed 4,500 kilograms or 4.5 tonnes.

 

Don't forget that the articulated vehicle has a speed limit of 100 kph. I travel at a confirmed speed of 100 kph (GPS check and also time/distance). I have often travelled in company of a heavy for miles without gaining or losing on it. Makes me think that they are driving with cruise control. Trucks now have the power and gearing to maintain that speed even in rolling country. 

 

My hate is those who "tow a rig" at 90 kph on a highway with either 100 or 110 kph speed limit.  To me it reeks of "I'm alright, Jack. F* you." These caravaners might be doing the big circle tour at their own pace, but highways are first and foremost part of the economic infrastructure of the country. Truckies are limited to the number of hours they can drive in a day. They can only "work" for 12 hours in 24.  If they had a straight run where they could sit on 100 kph for most of it, their average speed would be about 90 to allow for passing through towns. That means that they could cover about 1080 kms in a day. Getting stuck behind a caravan that is travelling at 90 kph would bring the average speed down to, say 80, or 960 kms - a 120 km or loss of 72 minutes. Is the caravanner going to pay the overtime? 

OME, your past career might have made you aware that posted speed limits are the VNE of the posted section of road.

Being the UPPER LIMIT, means it allows  is a motorist's  responsibility to travel at a speed less than or equal to the limit, depending on the driver's judgement. For a given vehicle configuration and driver capability it is obvious that not all vehicles can be expected to drive  at the maximum legally permitted.

 

You are suggesting that the highway speed LIMIT is a compulsory fixed speed for all travellers. Not so.

 

Please allow other motorists to drive at the speed that is safe for them, even if you find that momentarily annoying.

 

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by nomadpete

[old man emu]

1 minute ago, nomadpete said:

You are suggesting that the highway speed LIMIT is a compulsory fixed speed for all travellers. Not so.

What I am saying is that a heavy vehicle can be driven legally at 100 kph. when it is being operated it is producing an income, part of which is used to reimburse the driver for time spent working. The time allocated to complete the work is based on an average speed for the journey.  A competent planner will know that , although the truck might travel at 100 kph for hours on end, other factors  need to be accounted for that would bring the average speed down, thereby extending the time to complete the work. If some non-income-producing vehicle causes the trip time of the heavy vehicle to be extended, then the costs of operating the heavy vehicle are increased.

[nomadpete]

3 minutes ago, old man emu said:

What I am saying is that a heavy vehicle can be driven legally at 100 kph. when it is being operated it is producing an income, part of which is used to reimburse the driver for time spent working. The time allocated to complete the work is based on an average speed for the journey.  A competent planner will know that , although the truck might travel at 100 kph for hours on end, other factors  need to be accounted for that would bring the average speed down, thereby extending the time to complete the work. If some non-income-producing vehicle causes the trip time of the heavy vehicle to be extended, then the costs of operating the heavy vehicle are increased.

All of which is taken into account by the trucking business.

 

Until the trucking industry owns the highway, they are sharing it with the (possibly slower) public and have no right to push other road users.

 

But all this has no influence  upon the swing to EV's.

 

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by nomadpete

[old man emu]

1 minute ago, nomadpete said:

But all this has no influence  upon the swing to EV's.

True. It was Spacey at it again!

[spacesailor]

The. " worst "  snail drivers are almost " always " farmers " ..

They seem to keep the engine rev's on the bare minimum . Travelling at 30 ks in town & 60 on the open road.

I couldn't take-off without a bit of revs to get momentum. 

spacesailor

[Litespeed]

It is a problem, overloaded caravans with 4wds are constantly crashing and due to their driving habits often cause frustration in other drivers. This can lead to accidents for everyone.

 

I suggest a licence class with proper training on a track with van is a solution.

 

The idea a person can go from a hatchback to 7 plus tonnes articulated with the same licence is a joke, and many die as a result.

 

I can't drive a light rigid truck without a LR, which I have. lR is intimately safer then a big van rig.

 

It makes no sense.

[red750]

I hope there are no Tesla owners in North Qld. Check this out.

[facthunter]

ALL the submerged ICE vehicles are write offs. That article wasn't very detailed red.  Nev

[old man emu]

48 minutes ago, facthunter said:

ALL the submerged ICE vehicles are write offs.

All modern motor vehicles that have been submerged are write-offs. It's all to do with damage to the computers and sensors failing after being wet.

[facthunter]

Mud and crap get in the internals as well. They used to be written off before all these electronics existed, but of course It's NOW worse.  Nev

[kgwilson]

6 hours ago, red750 said:

I hope there are no Tesla owners in North Qld. Check this out.

OK so that's 3 out of 5 million Teslas on the road. That is just typical anti EV rhetoric. I haven't bothered to check it out but I can guarantee it is not just because they drove it in the rain. How pathetic.

[onetrack]

Yes, of course - it was raining - when he drove his Tesla into that lake, and the water came over the roof!