Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

DeLorean considering all-electric reboot

newdelorean.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 343 posts

Re: DeLorean considering all-electric reboot

#81

Post by [deleted] »

mrfusion wrote: post #73
stetrain wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On Tesla cars both motors are physically connected to the gearbox/axles with no clutch. They are doing careful tuning of the motor inverter controls to minimize energy use from motors that aren't under active load. Tesla refers to this as "Torque Sleep" I imagine the process is basically tuning for the inverter output that minimizes power consumed as well as drag on the axle when the motor is not supplying active tor…

Offtopic but you seem to know a lot. I’ve been wondering do Tesla’s just have one regenerative braking force when you let off the gas? Doesn’t this leave a lot on the table? Wouldn’t you get more energy by having say gentle braking regen and harder braking regen?

[deleted]

Re: DeLorean considering all-electric reboot

#82

Post by mixmastamyk »

leetcrew wrote: post #72
madhadron wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I get the impression that electric motors are hard on transmissions. Rather, electric motors don't need transmissions. Transmissions are a workaround for the failings of the internal combustion engine.

they don't need a clutch because they can't stall. but, like ICEs, they cannot make peak power at 0 RPM. unless the vehicle is already traction limited (quite possible), it could accelerate faster with a shorter first gear. my guess is in reality it's usually cheaper to just overbuild the motors than to add lower gears to hit your desired 0-60 time, but this isn't a law of nature.

What about those new gear boxes that are gradual instead of stepped?

Re: DeLorean considering all-electric reboot

#83

Post by Negitivefrags »

mrfusion wrote: post #70
cure wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> On the other hand, different axles don’t have to use the same gearing ratio. That’s how dual motor Teslas work - the front wheels are geared for higher speeds, and more power is shifted towards those as you go faster. No gear-shifting required. Yep. Alternatively, the Porsche Taycan has an 2-speed transmission gearbox (cf. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a28903274/porsche-taycan-t... ). I don't think gearboxes ar…

Do the Tesla’s still have differentials then? It would be cool to eliminate those two but then you’d need a motor for each wheel I guess.

They do for all the models currently on the road.

In the future the Roadster and the Cybertruck both have 3 motors. The rear wheels both have one each, so presumably they can avoid the differential there.

Re: DeLorean considering all-electric reboot

#84

Post by stetrain »

mrfusion wrote: post #73
stetrain wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On Tesla cars both motors are physically connected to the gearbox/axles with no clutch. They are doing careful tuning of the motor inverter controls to minimize energy use from motors that aren't under active load. Tesla refers to this as "Torque Sleep" I imagine the process is basically tuning for the inverter output that minimizes power consumed as well as drag on the axle when the motor is not supplying active tor…

Offtopic but you seem to know a lot. I’ve been wondering do Tesla’s just have one regenerative braking force when you let off the gas? Doesn’t this leave a lot on the table? Wouldn’t you get more energy by having say gentle braking regen and harder braking regen?

You have analog control over the regen braking with the accelerator pedal. Push down to accelerate, lift up a little to maintain current speed, lift up a little more to start slowing down, lift off all the way for maximum regen.

It takes a week or two to unlearn the habit of "popping" your foot off the accelerator anytime you want to coast without necessarily slowing down, but after that it basically feels like your right foot is directly connected to the speedometer in both directions.

Re: DeLorean considering all-electric reboot

#85

Post by dharmab »

Daho0n wrote: post #45
perardi wrote: post #27

Some useful backstory on the government regulation to allow low-volume cars like this on the road: https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a34673012/where-is-the... And some history on DeLorean overall: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a15352382/back-to-the-futu... …and it’s a pretty wild history.

Maybe I'm missing something or I'm too stupid to understand the article but I don't see why anyone should be allowed to sell a new car with old safety standards for road use? I'm not from the US so maybe it is yet "Another US Thing I Don't Understand" (sorry). Where I'm at (in Scandinavia) not only would this not be allowed on the roads but even if I buy an old car and want to upgrade it (modern brakes?) it wouldn't…

In the US we find your road safety laws insane as well. It costs 3x as much to DIY fix your own can there as it does here due to needing "approved parts" and an inspection of every repair. Things that are easy, safe and affordable DIY fixes in the US are impossible there.

Your laws are not EU-wide, by the way. Most of the EU doesn't require the approved parts to pass inspection, and only requires the inspection at regular intervals, not after every repair.

Re: DeLorean considering all-electric reboot

#86

Post by blackrock »

core-questions wrote: post #12
mikestew wrote: post #6

Why would I want an electric version of a fat, slow, heavy car? Oh, right, because Back to the Future . And gull-wing doors, let's be honest.

I've driven one, and honestly, it wasn't that fat/slow/heavy. It could have used more power, but it was fairly fun to drive. Not everything needs "five hunnert horsepower" to be interesting.

It only needs to hit 88 mph before it hits the wall, for things to be interesting.

Re: DeLorean considering all-electric reboot

#87

Post by Daho0n »

trhway wrote: post #58
Daho0n wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe I'm missing something or I'm too stupid to understand the article but I don't see why anyone should be allowed to sell a new car with old safety standards for road use? I'm not from the US so maybe it is yet "Another US Thing I Don't Understand" (sorry). Where I'm at (in Scandinavia) not only would this not be allowed on the roads but even if I buy an old car and want to upgrade it (modern brakes?) it wouldn't…

>Seems to me this is a giant loophole. the key for those loopholes is low volume and similar limits. It allows to start making cars, like Tesla had with original Roadster which otherwise wouldn't be let on the public roads. I think it is a great approach in US to have those limited loopholes in various domains which allow to start making things - such loopholes are absent in for example Russia (my old country) and th…

>that affects the entrepreneurship and innovation.

It very likely does but it also saves a lot of peoples lives each day. I mean, not only niche cars, but not having good basic safety in general on the roads. Road fatalities per one billion vehicle km is at 7.3 in the US according to Wikipedia. The worst Scandinavian country is Denmark with 3.9. I guess it comes down to if you want Freedom To Do Stupid Things (like no helmets on a motorcycle).

That said, I don't think you can compare a Tesla Roadster to a 1981 car in safety. I agree there should be some allowance for niche cars but 40 year old safety being sold as new?

Re: DeLorean considering all-electric reboot

#88

Post by grenoire »

Judgmentality wrote: post #79
grenoire wrote: post #78

> The DeLorean was memorably featured in the Back to the Future movie trilogy (1985, 1989, and 1990) as the model of car made into a time machine by eccentric scientist Doc Brown, although the company had closed down before the first movie was made. Woah! Can you imagine what the cars today would look like if they hadn't and became a huge hit following the movie's status!? Truly iconic.

> Can you imagine what the cars today would look like if they hadn't and became a huge hit following the movie's status!? What cars today are you talking about?

Well, in general! Had other automakers copied similarly futuristic and overly-stylish cars, we would've ended up with a completely different design philosophy perhaps?

Re: DeLorean considering all-electric reboot

#89

Post by jayd16 »

jandrese wrote: post #48
BitwiseFool wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stainless steel will rust when exposed to salt water / sea spray and sunlight. Some grades of stainless steel are resistant but I doubt they made DeLoreans with marine grade alloys.

That said, I can't recall ever seeing a spot of rust on a DeLorean body panel, even after 40 years. Certainly some were parked near the ocean in England or California. You probably don't need full up marine grade alloys for something that only has to deal with salt spray. It's not like you park the thing underwater every day. I would expect the frame and engine/transmission to be more of a concern. I'd be doubly susp…

A quick google image search doesn't bring up any rusted DeLoreans either.
Post reply on HN