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Tiny electric motor can produce more than 1,000 horsepower

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Re: Tiny electric motor can produce more than 1,000 horsepower

#461

Post by reactordev »

mrguyorama wrote: post #459
xandrius wrote: post #426

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry for the ignorance, what what does "balancing a check book" mean? Is that an euphemism or an actual activity? I can of course look up but interested in continuing the conversation.

"Balancing the check book" refers to the process of running your own log of check transactions using something like https://cdn.wallethub.com/wallethub/images/posts/14483/check... and ensuring that it matches the occasional official balance statement from your bank occasionally. Don't want to make assumptions about what you know so forgive any overexplanation... It is about ensuring that you manage your account balan…

This is about as thorough as it can be. Thank you. I was definitely referring to financial literacy. Man, Americans…

Re: Tiny electric motor can produce more than 1,000 horsepower

#462

Post by Dylan16807 »

throw-qqqqq wrote: post #305
jabl wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You probably know already, but ICE cars only convert about 20–30% of fuel energy into motion, while EVs are often +90% efficient. So when an EV has to work harder (extra battery weight or colder weather), you notice the drop in range more. There's a kernel of truth here in that Otto engines suffer lower efficiency at part load, however I suspect the real reason is that gas car range is "good enough" and refilling i…

> That's because a) some batteries suffer degraded performance at low temperature, and b) ICE cars use the plentiful waste heat for cabin heating whereas an EV needs a heat pump or even resistive heating of the cabin air. You are making my point here actually. Combustion engines suffer from the exact same, but because they waste so much energy as heat already, less “extra” energy needs to be spent on that.

Part of your point is right, part is wrong.

Yes heating impacts range in an EV, but it's not really an efficiency thing, it's because you can't get it "free". If an ICE didn't let you harness the heat, you'd see a similar percent drop in range.

And for extra weight, it's just not true. Making a motor work 10% harder at 90% efficiency, compared to making an engine work 10% harder at 20% efficiency, both of these are going to reduce your range by 9%.

Re: Tiny electric motor can produce more than 1,000 horsepower

#463

Post by mlrtime »

lunias wrote: post #327
ungreased0675 wrote: post #322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if larger/heavy non-commercial vehicles were taxed at a very high rate, would more people choose Fiat 500 sized cars?

Maybe... I think it would definitely help. I think just driving a smaller car that puts you in control might cause a lot of people to switch. I know that when I've done the opposite; gone from a very performance oriented car to a random person's SUV, I've felt extremely unsafe comparatively in breaking, merging, changing lanes, parking, etc. etc. I think most people just have little experience to compare it to anymor…

>I know that when I've done the opposite; gone from a very performance oriented car to a random person's SUV, I've felt extremely unsafe

Which two cars? I've gone from a 911 to a BMW X5 and the X5 was just as fun for what it was. They are completely different cars, I'm not sure what you would expect and why you judge others.

Re: Tiny electric motor can produce more than 1,000 horsepower

#464

Post by jacquesm »

SR2Z wrote: post #385
mperham wrote: post #356

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s no area in the world that allows e-bikes with more than 750w motors. A 3kw motor is illegal (cf Surron), unless you are talking about an e-moped requiring registration.

They are not allowed, but still commonly owned and used. The law needs to catch up. There are clearly good reasons for people to want extremely powerful e-bikes and they should be allowed to. They can't be treated like bicycles because they're too fast but aren't nearly as dangerous as motorcycles. We need a new category for light motorcycles. The real problem, IMO, is that the law is generally not deferential enough…

> aren't nearly as dangerous as motorcycles.

Opinions differ. I have seen far more accidents with powerful e-bikes than I have seen with motorcycles, and yet there are many more motorcycles.

Re: Tiny electric motor can produce more than 1,000 horsepower

#465

Post by jacquesm »

RajT88 wrote: post #375
eikenberry wrote: post #363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the issue? I've seen people on those bikes and they look fun to ride.

I see kids blasting around at high speeds without helmets. Kids treat them like fast bikes you do not have to pedal. Wiping out on a bike at 13mph is a very different proposition to wiping out on a bike at higher speeds. I saw just a couple nights ago some kid doing what appeared to be about 40mph on an eBike. Wind in his hair, not pedaling, just blasting it. I am sure new regulations will come to speed limit them, b…

A kid died right in front of my door on one of those. They call them fatbikes around here and they're super dangerous to operate. Way too much torque and speed for kids (and, fairly, most adults) to handle responsibly.

Re: Tiny electric motor can produce more than 1,000 horsepower

#466

Post by paulryanrogers »

hinkley wrote: post #377
testdelacc1 wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your intuition is correct. Americans’ Love Affair with Big Cars is Killing Them ( https://www.economist.com/interactive/united-states/2024/08/... ) - The Economist. > In a crash, the fatality rate of the occupants of the heavy pickup truck is about half that of the compact car. But they are also far more dangerous to the fatality rate of people in other cars. > The fatality rate is roughly seven times higher when col…

Well, hood and grill shapes are mandated for pedestrian safety but everyone else is fucked.

Then how is the Cybertruck legal on US roads? It's got sharp edges both front and rear

Re: Tiny electric motor can produce more than 1,000 horsepower

#467

Post by FireBeyond »

Aurornis wrote: post #251
davedx wrote: post #6

Could lead to significant efficiency gains for EV's, because 1/4 of the motor weight means better power-to-weight ratio... a lot of things will automatically get better. YASA was founded in 2009, a spin out from Oxford University following the PhD of founder and still CTO, Dr Tim Woolmer. "Over the decades that followed both of these technologies were explored. But despite the potential for weight reduction, smaller…

> Could lead to significant efficiency gains for EV's, because 1/4 of the motor weight means better power-to-weight ratio... a lot of things will automatically get better. EV motors are already lightweight. The electric motor in a vehicle like a Tesla Model 3 already weighs less than you do. Reducing that one component by 75% would be a weight savings equivalent to about a half of a passenger. Not a significant effic…

> The electric motor in a vehicle like a Tesla Model 3 already weighs less than you do. Reducing that one component by 75% would be a weight savings equivalent to about a half of a passenger.

Of which there can be two, or even three.

Re: Tiny electric motor can produce more than 1,000 horsepower

#468

Post by paulryanrogers »

gameman144 wrote: post #362
ajuc wrote: post #307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

car weight / min(number of seats, number of people in the family)

This metric disincentivizes carpooling -- everyone should drive a light single-seater to minimize their tax. (I agree with the spirit, just calling out that there are going to be edge cases galore with a scenario like this)

Do people car pool anymore?

Re: Tiny electric motor can produce more than 1,000 horsepower

#469

Post by ericd »

SR2Z wrote: post #385
mperham wrote: post #356

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s no area in the world that allows e-bikes with more than 750w motors. A 3kw motor is illegal (cf Surron), unless you are talking about an e-moped requiring registration.

They are not allowed, but still commonly owned and used. The law needs to catch up. There are clearly good reasons for people to want extremely powerful e-bikes and they should be allowed to. They can't be treated like bicycles because they're too fast but aren't nearly as dangerous as motorcycles. We need a new category for light motorcycles. The real problem, IMO, is that the law is generally not deferential enough…

>They can't be treated like bicycles because they're too fast but aren't nearly as dangerous as motorcycles.

As a former rider, why? Cars were the most dangerous part, in my experience.

Something that stuck with me from my motorcycle safety course, the speed at which hitting a wall is 50% fatal is 30 mph. Doesn't take highway speeds.

Re: Tiny electric motor can produce more than 1,000 horsepower

#470

Post by oblio »

ashirviskas wrote: post #450
oblio wrote: post #439

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any ebike that goes faster than 25kmph in Europe and whatever it is in NA should not be allowed anywhere were pedestrians can go. The real solution people don't want to accept is that ALL non arterial roads in ANY urban/suburban/rural environment should be limited to 30kpmh (and equivalent in NA). And by limited I mean traffic calmed: 1 lane per direction, narrow lanes, raised street crossing, raised intersections, E…

> Any bike that goes faster than 25kmph in Europe and whatever it is in NA should not be allowed anywhere were pedestrians can go. So, literally any bicycle?

Fixed.
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