Split Electric Vehicles (from Twitter idiot)

[Jimmy Higgins]

Some cars allow different levels of regen braking.

Tesla's have 2 settings for regen. Low and standard with low being less aggressive. I use standard.

Edit: Well technically 3 because off is also a setting.

Yeah, I read that they got rid of their "Insta-Stop Regen" pretty quickly as it was liquifying the test drivers.

 

[Gospel]

Well, I do have to do a near insta-stop regularly to make sure my actual breaks don't seize. I haven't received official word on that, it's just me being paranoid about things that go unused for too long deteriorating.

 

[Elixir]

I'd like to find out if the range is extended by allowing the car to coast more.

Me too. That would require a mathematician with as much relevant data points they can get. I'm not the one.

Is there a real-time +/- gauge so you can see when and how much juice you’re gaining or losing?

 

[scombrid]

Huge and Heavy EV Batteries: Is Increased Range Worth the Safety Trade-Offs?

Does a mid-size sedan have a chance against a 9,000lb. Hummer EV? NTSB chief Jennifer Homendy has concerns about the increased risk of traffic deaths associated with hefty EVs.

www.pcmag.com

10,000 pound vehicle. 0-60 in 3.3 seconds. Asshole behind the wheel. What could go wrong?
Vehicles should automatically brake when a traffic signal turns yellow. Assholes can bitch about it like they bitched about red light cameras.

The safety angle is minor for me compared to the fact that building giant EVs that are as fast as ICE supercars of yesteryear negates any environmental upside to EVs. We don't have enough green power or raw metals to produce that shit any more than we can just keep burning oil in piston engines willy nilly.

Massive trucks and SUVs are already dangerous to people in smaller vehicles. The giant lifted diesel trucks around here with "deleted" emissions controls driving >90 mph on the interstate while "rolling coal" to "own the libs" are already dangerous and our Brevard County sheriff never pulls the good ole boys for reckless operation.

 

[Gospel]

I'd like to find out if the range is extended by allowing the car to coast more.

Me too. That would require a mathematician with as much relevant data points they can get. I'm not the one.

Is there a real-time +/- gauge so you can see when and how much juice you’re gaining or losing?

Actually yes. There is a screen that shows a lot of stuff my pea brain just says "yup something is working" and then moves on. I'll share a screenshot when I get a chance.

 

[Elixir]

I'd like to find out if the range is extended by allowing the car to coast more.

Me too. That would require a mathematician with as much relevant data points they can get. I'm not the one.

Is there a real-time +/- gauge so you can see when and how much juice you’re gaining or losing?

Actually yes. There is a screen that shows a lot of stuff my pea brain just says "yup something is working" and then moves on. I'll share a screenshot when I get a chance.

It would be the equivalent of the real-time gas mileage display on my Ford. I have found that having educated myself courtesy of that readout I am far more mileage-conscious than before. My overall mileage has increased by more than 10% just from habit modification, with no further conscious thought required.

 

[bilby]

Edit: Well technically 3 because off is also a setting.

Only in the same sense that atheism is a religion, or not collecting stamps is a hobby.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Well, I do have to do a near insta-stop regularly to make sure my actual breaks don't seize. I haven't received official word on that, it's just me being paranoid about things that go unused for too long deteriorating.

If my car sits long enough without being driven the first few times the brake is applied doesn't sound good. Things start sounding normal once the corrosion wears off. Doesn't take long. I have had the emergency brake seize up when it gets applied by another driver. I never use the thing but young people these days are taught to apply it every time they park the car whether it's on a hill or on a flat. That's just dumb.

 

[bilby]

Well, I do have to do a near insta-stop regularly to make sure my actual breaks don't seize. I haven't received official word on that, it's just me being paranoid about things that go unused for too long deteriorating.

If my car sits long enough without being driven the first few times the brake is applied doesn't sound good. Things start sounding normal once the corrosion wears off. Doesn't take long. I have had the emergency brake seize up when it gets applied by another driver. I never use the thing but young people these days are taught to apply it every time they park the car whether it's on a hill or on a flat. That's just dumb.

Cars haven't been fitted with an "emergency brake" since the 1920s, though the name has been widely (and incorrectly) used to describe the parking brake ever since.

To not apply the parking brake whenever you plan to leave the driver's seat for any reason is just dumb; It's generally possible to depend upon the transmission to prevent the vehicle from moving when in "Park", but that option only even applies to vehicles with an automatic transmission that has a "Park" setting, and doesn't exist in manual transmission vehicles or heavy automatics (heavy vehicles with automatic transmissions typically only have Drive, Neutral and Reverse).

And it's a basic principle of safety in general that you should always use multiple redundant and independent safety systems where these are available, so that failure of one doesn't result in damage, injury, or death.

Use of the parking brake reduces wear on the pawl that locks the transmission when in Park; And it also clears any corrosion or dirt from the parking brake mechanism, so it won't seize up.

The reason it seizes up on your vehicle when used is almost certainly that you don't use it regularly.

Young people these days generally get a much better education on how to drive than we oldies got. Of course, that doesn't mean it sticks, but then, forgetting what you were taught is at least no worse than not being taught in the first place, or worse, being taught something that's completely wrong (eg "You don't need to use the parking brake every time you leave your vehicle").

 

[laughing dog]

I'd like to find out if the range is extended by allowing the car to coast more.

Me too. That would require a mathematician with as much relevant data points they can get. I'm not the one.

I have a hybrid, and coasting puts the car in ev mode which does extend the range.

 

[Gospel]

Use of the parking brake reduces wear on the pawl that locks the transmission when in Park; And it also clears any corrosion or dirt from the parking brake mechanism, so it won't seize up.

Hmm, I wonder if the drive train in a Tesla is likely to experience similar wear and tear as other cars, since it automatically shifts into park when the driver opens the door at a standstill.

Edit: But then again, it's possible that the park on a Tesla isn't there for the same failure points.

 

[bilby]

Use of the parking brake reduces wear on the pawl that locks the transmission when in Park; And it also clears any corrosion or dirt from the parking brake mechanism, so it won't seize up.

Hmm, I wonder if the drive train in a Tesla is likely to experience similar wear and tear as other cars, since it automatically shifts into park when the driver opens the door at a standstill.

I was under the impression that a Tesla doesn't have a drive train at all; No transmission, and separate direct drive motors for each of the drive wheels.

What it does in "Park" has to be completely dissimilar to what a regular internal combustion engine vehicle does; The whole subsystem to which the concept applies is absent.

My (completely uneducated) guess would be that in a Tesla "Park" just means that the parking brake is automatically being applied, though it could also entail a separate redundant system to lock the drive motors.

 

[Gospel]

I think you're right. I misnamed it; it's actually called the drive unit. It highly likely doesn't function the same.

 

[robnisch]

Well, I do have to do a near insta-stop regularly to make sure my actual breaks don't seize. I haven't received official word on that, it's just me being paranoid about things that go unused for too long deteriorating.

If my car sits long enough without being driven the first few times the brake is applied doesn't sound good. Things start sounding normal once the corrosion wears off. Doesn't take long. I have had the emergency brake seize up when it gets applied by another driver. I never use the thing but young people these days are taught to apply it every time they park the car whether it's on a hill or on a flat. That's just dumb.

Cars haven't been fitted with an "emergency brake" since the 1920s, though the name has been widely (and incorrectly) used to describe the parking brake ever since.

To not apply the parking brake whenever you plan to leave the driver's seat for any reason is just dumb; It's generally possible to depend upon the transmission to prevent the vehicle from moving when in "Park", but that option only even applies to vehicles with an automatic transmission that has a "Park" setting, and doesn't exist in manual transmission vehicles or heavy automatics (heavy vehicles with automatic transmissions typically only have Drive, Neutral and Reverse).

And it's a basic principle of safety in general that you should always use multiple redundant and independent safety systems where these are available, so that failure of one doesn't result in damage, injury, or death.

Use of the parking brake reduces wear on the pawl that locks the transmission when in Park; And it also clears any corrosion or dirt from the parking brake mechanism, so it won't seize up.

The reason it seizes up on your vehicle when used is almost certainly that you don't use it regularly.

Young people these days generally get a much better education on how to drive than we oldies got. Of course, that doesn't mean it sticks, but then, forgetting what you were taught is at least no worse than not being taught in the first place, or worse, being taught something that's completely wrong (eg "You don't need to use the parking brake every time you leave your vehicle").

In cold weather it is not wise to use the parking brake, for obvious reasons.

 

[Derec]

I was under the impression that a Tesla doesn't have a drive train at all; No transmission, and separate direct drive motors for each of the drive wheels.

As far as I know, all their models have a simple transmission with fixed reduction gearing. Here's one from Model S.

What it does in "Park" has to be completely dissimilar to what a regular internal combustion engine vehicle does; The whole subsystem to which the concept applies is absent.

Why? It still has gears to which you can add a park pawl. Now, hub motors are different. Some of those have reduction gearing while others are direct drive.

 

[Derec]

To not apply the parking brake whenever you plan to leave the driver's seat for any reason is just dumb; It's generally possible to depend upon the transmission to prevent the vehicle from moving when in "Park", but that option only even applies to vehicles with an automatic transmission that has a "Park" setting, and doesn't exist in manual transmission vehicles

Manuals may not have "Park", but you can leave them in reverse (or 1st, but reverse is usually the lowest gearing) and use engine compression to prevent it from rolling.

In any case, you are right that leaving vehicle in park/reverse and applying the parking brake is best practice because of redundancy.

 

[Derec]

Only in the same sense that atheism is a religion, or not collecting stamps is a hobby.

I thought stamp collecting was science. Except for physics.

 

[Derec]

The safety angle is minor for me compared to the fact that building giant EVs that are as fast as ICE supercars of yesteryear negates any environmental upside to EVs.

States are contemplating going from using gas tax to charging road use by mile as less gas is sold in the future.
This should definitely not be a flat rate but strongly depend on vehicle mass. After all, if the goal is to raise money for road maintenance, road damage goes up with ~4th power of axle load.

 

[bilby]

In cold weather it is not wise to use the parking brake, for obvious reasons.

Cold weather here means just above freezing; The reasons are guessable to me, but far from obvious.

 

[TomC]

States are contemplating going from using gas tax to charging road use by mile as less gas is sold in the future.

Those interstate "freeways" always were a socialist boondoggle.
Tom