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Are Formula E cars geared? Electric engines can deliver the same optimal torque throughout the RPM range, so is shifting involved? That's obviously an important
by numlocked 11y ago
Are Formula E cars geared? Electric engines can deliver the same optimal torque throughout the RPM range, so is shifting involved? That's obviously an important part of the F1 drivers' skillset (especially during starts) so I'm curious if they just have work the brake and accelerator or also worry about gear changes.
- TD-Linux 11y agoElectric motors are usually torque limited (especially modern inverter driven ones), so they have a constant maximum torque throughout their speed range. However, this means that at higher speeds, they are able to deliver more power, so gearing is actually beneficial. Formula E cars have 5 gears. There is a lot of work done to change the performance - ideally you'd actually not want flat torque, but high torque at low speed and lower at high speed to reduce the need for switchable gears. This is done with techniques like flux weakening.
- clouddrover 11y agoIn the first season they all had the same car with 5 gears. In the second season development has been allowed on the motor, inverter, and transmission and the teams have taken a number of different approaches: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-KONybIQQA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-KONybIQQA
- exDM69 11y agoI guess the engine speeds would become an issue at 100mph+. Even if theoretically you can get maximum torque at any speed, practical issues would arise if you ran electric motors at 100k rpm.