At 10/11/09 08:05 AM, BobbaQ wrote:
So, how about that internal combustion engine then? Pretty nifty contraption if you ask me.
Yeah, a bit too intricate. Lets compare it to an electric car motor. For starters, only 35% of the energy produced by a combustion engine is actually put into moving the wheels, the rest is given off as heat. An electric car motor puts 85% of the power generated towards the wheels (It also requires a smaller liquid cooling system, which reduces weight). When you want to increase the horse power to weight ratio of a normal combustion engine, you either have to buy expensive and gas gulping superchargers, attach turbos which takes higher gears and revs to produce more power, increase engine liters, or replace heavy engine parts with expensive and lighter aluminum or alloy metals. All you have to do to an electric car is increase the size of the motor, or increase the amps flown out of the batteries. With Combustion engines take up a much larger amount of space than a electric motor and generator, requiring more car, reducing acceleration and efficiency. Electric motors produce 100% torque before you even touch the accelerator, combustion engines have to build up torque over switching gears. An electric motor revs almost twice as much as a gasoline engine, up to 14,000 rpm (more in electric dragsters). The are over 100 moving parts in a combustion engine, under the hood in an electric car there are only two, the motor and generator; 4 if you count the wheels and A/C fans. In countries like Switzerland, you can even recharge a battery faster than you can fill up a gas tank. There are companies that have set up charging stations that mechanically swap out an empty battery pack for a charged one, and you pay only a few dollars (around $3 U.S.). Electric motors are indisputably more reliable than a combustion engine, only requiring service every 100,000 miles (usually only to wind and lubricate the motor). When you purchase an electric car, some governments (Including the U.S.) may give you incentives or grants. These grants may be in excess of $5,000, depending on the type of vehicle you purchase. On average with gas around $2.50/gal, It costs $35 to fill a 14-gal tank, it costs only a little over $3 to fully charge a battery pack of the average electric car. Charging electric cars over night makes use of the wasted electricity provided by power plants, producing virtually no extra greenhouse gases. An electric car usually only has 3 settings with one gear (some with 2 gears for some reason), park, reverse (except for racing motors), and drive. There isn't any time-consuming gear-shifting in an electric car, nor any extra weight provided by a transmission (its all digital).
Now I know electricity has three setbacks (two of which are solved already in certain cases), miles on a charge, charge time, and lack of noise for some is a drawback. If you are loaded enough to buy a highly superb electric car ($108k before tax benefits and grants) , then the Tesla Roadster blows two of the setback out of the water. It gets 244 miles to the charge, and can be charged to 75% power in less than 3 hours, or in 8 with a normal charge. The average american worker puts in 8 hours of labor a day, so that settles nicely, just charge your car while your at work. Also, the average individual car trip in America is only composed of just 10 miles. This car travels 0-60mph in 3.7 sec (2010 Tesla Roadster Sport, it doesn't cost any more than the hard top) with only 248 horse power. That is impossible for a mass-produced gasoline car. As for the noise, electric cars do produce a sound, much like a power-drill hooked up to batteries that draw out enough amps to produce 14,000 Rpm. It sounds very intense, too intense for the majority of the population, and the noise is dampened a little under the bonnet (as there is no exhaust flow). Instead, why not turn up the radio instead? If that doesn't work for you, then you can always purchase a sound box that produces sounds similar to a Lambo or a Ferrari, and you'll have the speed to show for it. There, all cliche' electric car setbacks solved. Also keep this in mind, as technology advances, strides in electric automotive engineering will too. Battery technology grows rapidly every, along with computer processing power. All electronics are getting smaller, more powerful, more capable, and more efficient, with each passing year. Electric cars will in return, follow the same growth, as they are powered by batteries and motors, which are in every electronic device.
Once again, sorry for writing alot, just want to make my point.