Tesla Model S

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Tesla Model S

Postby Heid the Ba » Thu Jul 20, 2017 3:58 pm

I was invited to a Tesla bunworry by a friend, some lunch, a brief sales talk by a suit then driven round in a Tesla Model S. God's holy trousers that thing is quick off the mark. With five adults in it and up a slight slope the acceleration was like going over the top of a roller coaster, 0-60 in a few seconds. I have never been in a car anything close to that quick. I didn't have time to hang about to drive it myself, alas. No interest in buying one but it was fun to be in.
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Re: Tesla Model S

Postby Arneb » Thu Jul 20, 2017 5:21 pm

That was YOUR chance to something for the environment, taking a joyride in Good Vehicle, and you botched it. I can't believe it. :shock:
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Re: Tesla Model S

Postby tubeswell » Thu Jul 20, 2017 5:45 pm

Electric motors are very efficient at transferring energy into motion, and are relatively compact. This means the electric motors can be embodied directly within each wheel, so you get 4 wheel drive power (in some cars), and there is no seperate gearbox, driveshaft or diff to absorb energy. (Although I understand that the Model S has only 1 electric motor and does have two driveshafts - one to each rear wheel, so is only two-wheel drive. The Mitsubishi IMEV range has seperate in-wheel motors though.). As battery tech improves (hopefully), the recharge times will get shorter and the discharge times will get longer, so you won't have to worry about pushing the car home LoL

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Avoid self-driving Teslas for now though
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Re: Tesla Model S

Postby g-one » Thu Jul 20, 2017 6:11 pm

I'm not sure why you need brakes with an in-wheel motor? Redundant 'emergency' brake?
Or to save batteries? I guess using the electric motor (in-wheel or otherwise) for braking would use too much capacity?
Do they harvest the rotor heat like I think they do in F1 ?
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Re: Tesla Model S

Postby Lianachan » Thu Jul 20, 2017 7:51 pm

I've wanted one of those since they first came out. I don't have a spare ninety grand kicking about, however.
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Re: Tesla Model S

Postby tubeswell » Thu Jul 20, 2017 11:54 pm

g-one wrote:I'm not sure why you need brakes with an in-wheel motor? Redundant 'emergency' brake?
Or to save batteries? I guess using the electric motor (in-wheel or otherwise) for braking would use too much capacity?
Do they harvest the rotor heat like I think they do in F1 ?


Emergency brakes and for stopping. We had one in the car fleet at my last work for driving around town, hardly used the brake pedal, and it had amazing acceleration (quite a bit quicker than a petrol drive car) for sprinting ahead at the lights for town driving, and was dinky enough to park just about anywhere. But, they are a bit hazardous for pedestrians because they are virtually silent, and if the car hadn't been on the charger overnight, you could get stuck out of the office waiting for a tow truck LoL. If they were cheaper and a bit roomier inside, I'd buy one for a daily inner city runabout, but the battery tech hasn't got to the point where I can be faffed yet and the smallest cheapest model is a squeeze for a lanky guy like me.
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Re: Tesla Model S

Postby Enzo » Fri Jul 21, 2017 1:30 am

Electric motors can turn into generators to slow you down faster. Like downshifting a car. But like downshifting, it won't bring you to a stop right away. Diesel electric locomotives on railroads have used that feature for 75-80 years now, called dynamic braking. Saves brake shoes on long downhill runs.

A DC motor can be stopped by voltage, or powered slightly in reverse to faster retard the motion. But a brake system is independent of the motors, so perhaps a layer of reliability.
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Re: Tesla Model S

Postby Heid the Ba » Fri Jul 21, 2017 10:40 am

As Tubes says, take your foot off the throttle and the car slows down very quickly, so quickly that the brake lights come on to warn other traffic even though you aren't actually braking. The brakes are largely redundant. The Tesla harvests the energy when the car is slowing down. Much of the technology has come from endurance racing where every saving matters.

We looked seriously at the BMW i3 a year or two ago but with the driving we do the range would have been an issue, though as Tubes said they are great around town. With government incentives it would have been much cheaper than they are costing now.

I'm 6'3" and they are roomy enough for me, though the BMW i8 is a bastard to get in and out off since they are so low and the sills so wide.
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Re: Tesla Model S

Postby g-one » Fri Jul 21, 2017 5:39 pm

The bikes are awesome too. I'd love an electric dirt bike for the torque & silence but once again, the range is too limited for now.
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