Any GTAM'ers own an electric vehicle? | Page 106 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Any GTAM'ers own an electric vehicle?

Brian P said:
Battery news. The next step appears to be lithium-sulfur (I've known about these for some time). Supposedly these are planned to go into production in late 2018 http://www.sionpower.com/

500 Wh/kg ... more than double the energy density of current lithium-ion batteries. At that rate a 100 kWh battery pack (biggest Tesla) would weigh 200 kg. This is probably at the cell level; making it into an actual battery pack will make it weigh more. (The Bolt's 60-ish-kWh Li-ion battery pack weighs about 400 kg)

LG Chem owns that company. LG Chem is heavily involved in supplying EV components including for the Chevrolet Bolt.

The number of charging cycles still needs work but I'm sure they're not done development. Even at 400 full charge/discharge cycles, if that is 500 km per cycle which is plausible at that energy density, that's 200,000 km ...
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Where do you get the 500Wh/kg? Their site claims carefully over 350Wh/kg ....

Quote
Sion Power's Licerion® battery has the potential to be an enabling technology for both Plug In Hybrid and Pure Electric Vehicles. With over 350 Wh/Kg today, this exceeds most manufacturers' expectations for specific energy for a vehicle battery.
Unquote

Tesla's 18650 were around 250Wh/kg ... 2170 will be closer to 300Wh/kg ... so their 350 doesn't look that much better ... Your number looks much much better though. 500Wh/kg would be a significant step forward.

Ownership wise, I thought they only licenced their technology to LG Chem, LG Chem does not own them in any way.

I'd like to see an actual car maker, coming out stating that they tested SionPower pack in a car and real application and they can confirm xxxxxx. Hopefully LG Chem can do that, soon.
 
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PrivatePilot said:
Here's hoping the technology gets better. Higher electric energy density is what's needed in the EV world, that's for sure.
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To tell you the truth, I'd prefer a battery breakthrough with very fast charging, yet with smaller density, rather than high density with +200K km battery lifetime. Plus it's reasonable to assume that battery replacements costs would be a lot lower in the future. So if one's battery conks out at 150K, well there will be market to get it replaced without going broke. A combination of certain specs will go like black and white ... but one can dream, right?

Anyways, this is always a trade-off ... the ideal mix formula will be established as the EV market develops.
 
Unfortunately consumer acceptance, when you read any comments online about EV's, revolves almost singularly around range. When a manufacturer comes out with a car that will do 1000KM on a single charge 99% of the "Not enough range!" naysayers will be muted instantly....even though many of them probably do under 100KM a day on average and might make a 500-1000KM daily trip once a year.
 
Yeah, I get it ... hence me saying, one can dream. Eventually, if ultra-fast charging ever happens, watch for all those naysayers at some point start buying the least expensive cars with smallest kWh packs, because they finally do the math and will discover the holy grail of range math .... and difference between want and need, especially if you have to pay for it dearly.

For now, I will agree with Tesla that there's no need for +100kWh passenger light duty cars. Other than ultra expensive sports or hyper cars.
 
Brian P said:
Even at 400 full charge/discharge cycles, if that is 500 km per cycle which is plausible at that energy density, that's 200,000 km ...
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How do you count plugging it in every night, 365 nights a year? Or are you not supposed to "top it off" every night?

I commute 100 km per week plus weekend trips. So I would be good for 2~3 weeks between fill ups, which is what I'm doing with gas right now.

I can't see myself NOT plugging it in every night.
 
With most rechargeable batteries partial charges only count as that percentage against a charge cycle, so it would take 4 25% charged to equal one full charge cycle.
 
Shallow charges affect the battery chemistry less than full discharge/charge cycles. No need to "top it off" every night if you've used a few percent of the overall battery capacity, so it's something you might do out of personal choice. Where it ABC ("Always Be Charging") does make a difference is in cold temps, where the cars with active thermal management for the battery (e.g. Bolt, Volt, Tesla) keep the battery warmer, so it'll be at a better operating state.
 
For those with the new gen Volt or the Bolt EV, does the climate control have a choice of JUST the window defrost without the feet? I've always hated that combo? My feet freeze because I need to direct some air at the windshield - DUMB idea mixing those 2 although many auto makers have it the same.
 
LBV said:
For those with the new gen Volt or the Bolt EV, does the climate control have a choice of JUST the window defrost without the feet? I've always hated that combo? My feet freeze because I need to direct some air at the windshield - DUMB idea mixing those 2 although many auto makers have it the same.
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You can have defrost with or without the feet on.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
On the Bolt, you can select one of the three (window defrost, upper, lower) or combine by pressing the desired buttons.
2017-chevrolet-bolt-ev-045_720.jpg
 
You might have a separate button for just windshield defrost, that turns on the AC and directs heat to the windshield alone.
 
fastar1 said:
You might have a separate button for just windshield defrost, that turns on the AC and directs heat to the windshield alone.
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Thanks Steve and Rick ... looks like GM fixed that.

fastar1 - I do have just the defrost but it uses 100% of the climate control power when initially used. I want to use just the fan setting on the windshield without the feet where it uses a few % points of power only and there's nothing for that.
 
LBV said:
Thanks Steve and Rick ... looks like GM fixed that.

fastar1 - I do have just the defrost but it uses 100% of the climate control power when initially used. I want to use just the fan setting on the windshield without the feet where it uses a few % points of power only and there's nothing for that.
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Ah ya. I never use that bitton, now I remember why!
 
A couple interesting articles in the past few days. The second one is especially interesting for all alternative fuel vehicles. As gas tax drops, the government will have to makeup the ridiculously high gas tax somehow. As a best case, it would be like AC tax and you pay $200 when you buy your car, I expect it will be more like $500 a year to renew your sticker but I could easily see them charging 0.10/km (or whatever rate they pick) at plate renewal time which would be a disaster.

Some Ioniq's are having trouble charging in the cold (seems to be an issue related to the physical plug and/or sensing).
https://electrek.co/2018/02/15/hyundai-ioniq-electric-recalls-charger-issue/

Maine wants to implement a tax to charge hybrid/EV to makeup for lost gas tax.
https://www.autoblog.com/2018/02/16/maine-ev-hybrid-fee/
 
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The issue experienced by Ioniq and other EV models are just normal teething issues of new tech, exposed to harsh climate, or simply a design not proven yet. Kia has had their share of OBC failures with their pre-2018 models. Not every car, but notable amount of units.

What is a lot more stunning to me is how stupid certain dealerships or brands can be. In Ioniq's case clearly Huyndai needs to pull their head out of their *** and make it right with the customer. That would include rental and gas money. It's not a fault of the customer who now has expenses incurred otherwise not existing or much much lower. It really questions Hyundai and and what possibly can they be up to??? This is where Tesla says ... "I told you so ...." surely they have their fair share of issues, but customer's care is hardly something they have hard time understanding due to no middle-man involvement.
 
mxs said:
The issue experienced by Ioniq and other EV models are just normal teething issues of new tech, exposed to harsh climate, or simply a design not proven yet. Kia has had their share of OBC failures with their pre-2018 models. Not every car, but notable amount of units.

What is a lot more stunning to me is how stupid certain dealerships or brands can be. In Ioniq's case clearly Huyndai needs to pull their head out of their *** and make it right with the customer. That would include rental and gas money. It's not a fault of the customer who now has expenses incurred otherwise not existing or much much lower. It really questions Hyundai and and what possibly can they be up to??? This is where Tesla says ... "I told you so ...." surely they have their fair share of issues, but customer's care is hardly something they have hard time understanding due to no middle-man involvement.
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Agree. The customer shouldn't have to be begging to corporate for help. The dealership should be the point of contact and should be providing what the customer requires while dealing with the issue of who pays behind the scenes. If Hyundai wants to sell these, corporate should be dealing with this without causing more headaches.
 
The dealers are clueless when dealing with EV customers. I brought my Bolt in for a software updated and was offered a Ford Expedition as a loaner. I declined and had them drop me off instead. It would have cost me more in gas than I spend in electricity in a week just to go home and back.
 
Exactly. They should have reimbursed you for your extra gas expenses as well. The dealers and brands who are not getting it, will be the one incurring a lot pain, not so far from today. Talk about self-inflicted injuries ...
 
GreyGhost said:
If Hyundai wants to sell these, corporate should be dealing with this without causing more headaches.
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That's the thing .... I was always more on the side of the legacy OEM's, giving them a benefit of the doubt. Since now, everyone knows what the not so distant future looks like, there's no excuse for them .... so having said that, I am not believing Hyundai much when they say how they are into EV's .... I think they are still doing them, because they have no choice. They basically are forced to make them, rather than really want to make them ... difference between these two and it shows not only in their offerings and how many units they really have for Worldwide sales available, but also in their customers service with EV's in mind.
 
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