3 ms·

As much as I love the rumble of an ICE (the Japanese straight-6 is my aural drug of choice), its days are numbered. We're closing in on a future where gasoline

As much as I love the rumble of an ICE (the Japanese straight-6 is my aural drug of choice), its days are numbered. We're closing in on a future where gasoline is too expensive due to rarity, too polluting or just too socially unacceptable to power cars with. As a pure mode of transport, EVs tick all the boxes, and they've even proven to be performant, too - even the best drag racer is going to struggle to match a machine with maximum torque available for 95% of its rev range, from zero. Embrace the electric!

lozaning 8y ago
I'll drive my twin turbo straight six till it wont run any more! That being said I welcome what i perceive to be the coming days of electric wrenching. Once someone make a an electric motor kit that works as a drop in replacement for an LS engine things I think will get really interesting. I'd love to build an all electric rat rod.
- gargravarr 8y ago
  And if it's Japanese, it'll continue running for decades. Particularly the Toyota M and JZ series - just about indestructible. Agreed, I would love to retrofit an electric power train in a mk2 Supra - attach the motor directly to the rear diff and fill it with batteries to the weight of the ICE/gearbox plus full fuel tank, and it could be a really potent sleeper.
wcarron 8y ago
Neverrrr! I will not succumb to the dark side. You can take away my V-Twin or supercharged V8 once I'm dead! I can't do it. I refuse to even own an automatic gearbox. I need my 3rd pedal, man True, gasoline is an incredible pollutant. But, electricity has its environmental costs, too. Depending on our where your power comes from, e.g. coal, it could be very dirty indeed. As a whole, though, EVs are much greener. As for racing, drag cars + EV = extremely fast. No doubt. The Telsa P100D in ludicrous mode can even beat a dodge demon. But, I'd say there'll be at least 15 years before a pure EV can match the consistent performance of, say, the Porsche 911 GT2 RS on the Nurburgring. Add another decade for any endurance style race e.g. Le Mans. Right now, EVs struggle to come close to the top end speed of ICE supercars, despite their awesome torque figures.
- gargravarr 8y ago
  True on all counts. For the most part, coal power is being phased out (the UK has closed many plants in the last couple of decades), although China is opening new ones about as fast as the rest of the world is closing theirs! No doubt, it's very difficult to wean ourselves off fossil fuels, but cars are a great start - even if they're ultimately powered by a coal plant, the energy efficiency of such a power station is drastically higher than individual engines (many go to great lengths to recover or make use of waste heat) and the potential for controlling emissions from one source is a lot easier than millions of tailpipes. No doubt, however, the move to EVs will coincide with greater use of renewables or nuclear. Hopefully there will be a breakthrough in battery technology in the next decade; if we can improve on the power density of lithium, we might finally be able to rival the energy stored in a tank of fuel.

lozaning 8y ago

I'll drive my twin turbo straight six till it wont run any more! That being said I welcome what i perceive to be the coming days of electric wrenching. Once someone make a an electric motor kit that works as a drop in replacement for an LS engine things I think will get really interesting. I'd love to build an all electric rat rod.

gargravarr 8y ago
And if it's Japanese, it'll continue running for decades. Particularly the Toyota M and JZ series - just about indestructible. Agreed, I would love to retrofit an electric power train in a mk2 Supra - attach the motor directly to the rear diff and fill it with batteries to the weight of the ICE/gearbox plus full fuel tank, and it could be a really potent sleeper.

wcarron 8y ago

Neverrrr! I will not succumb to the dark side. You can take away my V-Twin or supercharged V8 once I'm dead! I can't do it. I refuse to even own an automatic gearbox. I need my 3rd pedal, man True, gasoline is an incredible pollutant. But, electricity has its environmental costs, too. Depending on our where your power comes from, e.g. coal, it could be very dirty indeed. As a whole, though, EVs are much greener. As for racing, drag cars + EV = extremely fast. No doubt. The Telsa P100D in ludicrous mode can even beat a dodge demon. But, I'd say there'll be at least 15 years before a pure EV can match the consistent performance of, say, the Porsche 911 GT2 RS on the Nurburgring. Add another decade for any endurance style race e.g. Le Mans. Right now, EVs struggle to come close to the top end speed of ICE supercars, despite their awesome torque figures.

gargravarr 8y ago
True on all counts. For the most part, coal power is being phased out (the UK has closed many plants in the last couple of decades), although China is opening new ones about as fast as the rest of the world is closing theirs! No doubt, it's very difficult to wean ourselves off fossil fuels, but cars are a great start - even if they're ultimately powered by a coal plant, the energy efficiency of such a power station is drastically higher than individual engines (many go to great lengths to recover or make use of waste heat) and the potential for controlling emissions from one source is a lot easier than millions of tailpipes. No doubt, however, the move to EVs will coincide with greater use of renewables or nuclear. Hopefully there will be a breakthrough in battery technology in the next decade; if we can improve on the power density of lithium, we might finally be able to rival the energy stored in a tank of fuel.