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CT scans of BYD car parts

lumafield.com

171–180 of 402 posts

Re: CT scans of BYD car parts

#171

I've got a friend whos a master tech/trainer with our state automotive body, and is HV certified etc for dealing with these cars. He's currently got a BYD Shark strewn across his workshop for an autopsy. I have to say I'm super impressed with how heavy duty everything is. The control arms, subframes, etc all look good and don't fit the 'chinese car bad' narrative you always hear. The powertrain components all look to…

"chinese X bad" is really ignorant. One in 6 people on the planet lives in China, it's a gargantuan country that is the world leader in manufacturing. You're going to have a high variance of quality output for the mere fact that the overall output is massive.

People often equate low-value Chinese manufacturing that focuses on low cost with their manufacturing quality across all fields.

Re: CT scans of BYD car parts

#173
post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a Chinese EV too, an MG4 built by SAIC. It’s a really cheap car, significantly cheaper than its non-Chinese counterparts like the VW ID.3 or (roughly) a Hyundai Kona. The factory rust protection was maybe a bit on the lighter side, but everything else on it looks completely normal. The drivetrain is simple (no heat exchange mechanism between battery coolant and motor coolant, a slightly whiny motor), but also…

Cars only show if they're well made after like a decade? These are not washing machines or something. Sadly that's also why it's hard to buy a new car, you only know what's a quality car years down the line. First impression matters though.

I’d be stoked if a washing machine lasted a decade.

Re: CT scans of BYD car parts

#174
post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a Chinese EV too, an MG4 built by SAIC. It’s a really cheap car, significantly cheaper than its non-Chinese counterparts like the VW ID.3 or (roughly) a Hyundai Kona. The factory rust protection was maybe a bit on the lighter side, but everything else on it looks completely normal. The drivetrain is simple (no heat exchange mechanism between battery coolant and motor coolant, a slightly whiny motor), but also…

Cars only show if they're well made after like a decade? These are not washing machines or something. Sadly that's also why it's hard to buy a new car, you only know what's a quality car years down the line. First impression matters though.

I think it depends on the car. I've seen VW products fall apart in months after sale, we actually had a Mk5 golf that went back to the dealer three times in it's first year for fuel system faults.

There are a lot of low price bracket Chinese imports (MGs mainly) that seem to have severe rust issues that are present at delivery.

And Toyotas a few years ago had a problem where certain colour cars would have their paint fall off in huge sheets as the primer was incorrect or something.

I do agree in principle that most modern cars should be pretty good for their warranty period/first owner, but I've also seen some egregious edge cases!

Re: CT scans of BYD car parts

#175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the last few years Chinese manufacturing has reached a very high-level. The reason most people still believe that Chinese-made stuff is poor quality is because they will do what they are told and they are usually told “make this as cheap as possible” by whoever is paying the bills. While I reckon some other countries still have specialist manufacturing in key areas that surpasses China, most “common” parts can be…

>they will do what they are told and they are usually told “make this as cheap as possible” by whoever is paying the bills It's more complicated than this. Historically, Chinese manufacturing has been notorious for quietly undermining the quality of the product to improve their margins over time, in a way that the commissioning brand doesn't notice. If a Chinese manufacturer quotes you a price too good to be true, th…

People should realize China is huge and manufactures one third of world's goods.

You're going to have excellence and crap across such a gargantuan amount of production and companies, a high amount of variance.

Re: CT scans of BYD car parts

#176

Folded into the base is a mechanical backup key, a flat metal blade in a hinged housing. It reads warmer than everything else in the scan. It exists for the moment the battery dies or the RF link fails. Every BYD keyless entry system includes this fallback. It's simple things like this which incumbent manufacturers need to avoid losing sight of.

My 2019 Ford has this as well, this is not novel.

My 2014 Fiesta did too.

Re: CT scans of BYD car parts

#177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>they will do what they are told and they are usually told “make this as cheap as possible” by whoever is paying the bills It's more complicated than this. Historically, Chinese manufacturing has been notorious for quietly undermining the quality of the product to improve their margins over time, in a way that the commissioning brand doesn't notice. If a Chinese manufacturer quotes you a price too good to be true, th…

People should realize China is huge and manufactures one third of world's goods. You're going to have excellence and crap across such a gargantuan amount of production and companies, a high amount of variance.

A really good example of this is the luxury watch market. China manufactures a heap of shitty knockoffs. They also manufacture a heap of the high end legitimate brand watches. And they manufacture some nice and obscenely expensive high end luxury watches.

Re: CT scans of BYD car parts

#178
post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Power electronics are still modular and are easily swappable. Only if someone makes and sells those power electronics to you along with the appropriate DRM tools required for calibration and pairing with the other electronics of the car. Otherwise you're shit outta luck. >Mechanical parts are more integrated, but they so simple that they can last for decades. Simple != decades of reliability, when the design and man…

There is nothing terribly complicated there. It's just an AC motor ("brushless DC") with a classic 3-phase inverter and a resolver. There are plenty of companies that make controllers for this kind of setup. Granted, they are typically not powerful enough for SOTA drivetrains, but it's a question of time. Power electronics will need to fit into the footprint of the e-axle. Or maybe you'll need to manufacture a new ho…

>Both are easily doable for small companies.

As cheap as the mass produced ones with the economies of scale? I seriously doubt it. You're talking about a car ECU. Go see how much ECUs cost that don't deal with power electronics.

>Again, an independent manufacturer can easily make them.

Yeah but again, for how much? You can make anything if money is no option. But if cost is too high people will just scrap the car and buy a new one.

Re: CT scans of BYD car parts

#179

I've got a friend whos a master tech/trainer with our state automotive body, and is HV certified etc for dealing with these cars. He's currently got a BYD Shark strewn across his workshop for an autopsy. I have to say I'm super impressed with how heavy duty everything is. The control arms, subframes, etc all look good and don't fit the 'chinese car bad' narrative you always hear. The powertrain components all look to…

"chinese X bad" is really ignorant. One in 6 people on the planet lives in China, it's a gargantuan country that is the world leader in manufacturing. You're going to have a high variance of quality output for the mere fact that the overall output is massive. People often equate low-value Chinese manufacturing that focuses on low cost with their manufacturing quality across all fields.

I feel that in the west we have been fed a version of China that doesn't necessarily reflect the true image of the country.

Re: CT scans of BYD car parts

#180
post #68

I want to buy a Chinese car and I am annoyed that my protectionist government won’t let me. Lowering transportation cost would be the most impactful thing to my budget. All that serves to do is ensure the American car industry falls far behind by being coddled into a lack of competition. Toyota showed the world the Toyota Production System. What Tesla, Kia/Hyundai, and Chinese EVs have shown American automakers is ho…

Totally agree, this protectionism killed the Australian car industry because eventually you just can’t compete.

Protectionism by who? By definition protectionism cannot kill your own country's car industry.
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