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Tesla Cybertruck Loses to Model X in Towing Range Test – Again

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31–40 of 47 posts

Re: Tesla Cybertruck Loses to Model X in Towing Range Test – Again

#31

What's the range of a Model X towing 10,000lbs? A mile before you break something? A Prius might have massively more towing range than an F-350, assuming you're towing a tiny trailer.

For highway driving, in most places, aerodynamic drag is far more important than weight. I get nearly the same gas mileage towing a 1.5k kb ATV trailer as my dad gets pulling a 7.5k trailer.

The frontal area of both trailers is roughly the same. They both need about 150 horse power to tow at 70 mph.

Re: Tesla Cybertruck Loses to Model X in Towing Range Test – Again

#32

Comparison on efficiency is silly. People don’t buy full ton trucks with duallies because they get better gas mileage.

Fuel efficiency is absolutely a concern with regards to operating costs. The people that really need to haul things absolutely care about how expensive it is to run a vehicle.

Re: Tesla Cybertruck Loses to Model X in Towing Range Test – Again

#34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Newton's laws of motion would like to have a talk with you about those statements. A heavier vehicle absolutely needs more energy than a lighter one when all other factors stay the same.

And what does Newton say about regenerative braking? Does the energy you put into the system just go puff? I hate when people make smart-ass claims with surface level knowledge at best.

> Does the energy you put into the system just go puff?

Yes, actually. The most common example of this is drivetrain power loss, which EVs are not immune to. Tesla engineers have stated that they are ~15% which is about the same as with ICE vehicles.

Re: Tesla Cybertruck Loses to Model X in Towing Range Test – Again

#35
post #27
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not how these calculations work at all. Weight (if it doesn't change the size or shape) really only has an effect on rolling resistance, which is a small portion of overall losses. The extra weight should make a marginal difference in efficiency. Just expect more tire wear.

There’s a 600ft climb involved too. It’s not an enormous difference, but lifting that extra 1200lbs still adds up to about 0.3 kWh.

And then you have a good percentage of that .3 kWh available as extra energy to recapture as regen.

Re: Tesla Cybertruck Loses to Model X in Towing Range Test – Again

#36

Comparison on efficiency is silly. People don’t buy full ton trucks with duallies because they get better gas mileage.

Fuel efficiency is absolutely a concern with regards to operating costs. The people that really need to haul things absolutely care about how expensive it is to run a vehicle.

I have never seen a person with a dualie who actually hauled things. They're cosplay items. Fuel efficiency is a negative for that market segment.

Re: Tesla Cybertruck Loses to Model X in Towing Range Test – Again

#37
post #15
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not how these calculations work at all. Weight (if it doesn't change the size or shape) really only has an effect on rolling resistance, which is a small portion of overall losses. The extra weight should make a marginal difference in efficiency. Just expect more tire wear.

That seems to be a rather simplified view, as if stemming from the world of frictionless pulleys and rope that does not stretch. These are self-propelled electric vehicles that have regenerative braking. Regen is miles ahead of just dumping momentum as heat [as conventional brakes must] but it can never be 100% efficient -- and it may not even be able to begin to try to capture 100% of that momentum in the first plac…

It is a pretty simplified view.

I wrote an electric vehicle power / efficiency / range estimation program back in college when I was very into building electric bikes. (More advanced version of the ebikes.ca calculator for an example). There were a whole lot of parameters that went into actually estimating the performance, but the general rule of thumb was rolling resistance is pretty much worth ignoring (for efficiency) until you have spent time optimizing aero and drivetrain losses.

It was pretty damn close to real world measurements.

I'm going to use rules of thumb rather than exactly calculating things for a colloquial conversation online.

Re: Tesla Cybertruck Loses to Model X in Towing Range Test – Again

#39
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not how these calculations work at all. Weight (if it doesn't change the size or shape) really only has an effect on rolling resistance, which is a small portion of overall losses. The extra weight should make a marginal difference in efficiency. Just expect more tire wear.

Newton's laws of motion would like to have a talk with you about those statements. A heavier vehicle absolutely needs more energy than a lighter one when all other factors stay the same.

While a heavier vehicle at times needs more energy - trains are a counter example to consider. Magnitudes heavier, but do not need magnitudes more fuel.

Which comes to Newton's laws of motion, the two concepts of inertia and Newton's second law: "F=ma", come into play. If the course is a straight 100 mile segment with no elevation gain - then the dominant fuel expenditure will be counter-acting aerodynamic drag. When trains haul many cars, the train cars are drafting behind one another, meaning those cars do not need any force to overcome drag, just the lead car needs to do that.

So, places where trains do badly, will be places where weight matters. Urban environments when stopping/starting a lot - trains will keep it slow. Very hilly/mountainous courses - trains "nope" that and require shallow grades. Which goes to show, if you're spending most of your time fighting gravity - then weight is really important, if most of the time is fighting aerodynamic drag, then weight becomes less important as aerodynamic drag decreases. For example, it does not matter as much how heavy a bullet train is, the drag coefficient is a better indicator of overall fuel cost rather than carry weight.

Re: Tesla Cybertruck Loses to Model X in Towing Range Test – Again

#40

The cyber truck can tow more than twice the payload. My Jeep can probably tow a couple jet skis further than my friend’s Ford F35O can tow his 26’ gooseneck RV. Who cares?

> Who cares? If all you are ever going to tow is a couple of jet skis, then your jeep would be the better vehicle (if evaluating solely on towing distance). If you own a trailer like this one and are deciding if you need the Cybertruck to tow it, you have the data. Knowing capabilities and data helps make better choices.

Agreed. An Audi station wagon can (and commonly is seen) tow a horse trailer comfortably.

It's mentality. In the US, I've seen attitudes of "well, I move my horse twice a year from a summer to a winter pasture" which apparently equates to "... so of course I need an F-350 Superduty DRW ("dually")."

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