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I can't find any reliable information on how they would perform going down a hill. Take San Fran: If you'd be on roller skates going down - say - Oak St: you'd

by beders 4y ago

I can't find any reliable information on how they would perform going down a hill. Take San Fran: If you'd be on roller skates going down - say - Oak St: you'd have to continuously break. Surprised Wired hasn't tested something like that.

LarryMullins 4y ago
Their website says "we automatically regulate your speed downhill." but it doesn't say where that energy goes. Brake pads I guess, or maybe rheostatic braking.
- jrockway 4y ago
  Could also charge the battery. I feel like regenerative braking is common enough that it could end up in a product like this (but at the same time, don't expect bells and whistles from v1).
  - asdff 4y ago
    Can you regeneratively brake if the battery is full?
    - jrockway 4y ago
      I was wondering about that too. I guess I have to say no. If the battery explodes if it's charged above 4.2V and the current voltage is 4.2V, then I guess you shouldn't try to put any more energy into the battery. I don't have an electric car but my understanding is that you don't actually charge them to full (it says 100% but the battery can safely accept more charge). Maybe they would do something similar here. But yeah, I don't really know. What happens if you have an electric car and live on the top of the mountain and the first 10 minutes of your grocery store involves trading elevation for battery charge? Does your car fail sooner than the person that lives at the bottom of a hill and expends most of their energy in the first 10 minutes? No idea.
    - LarryMullins 4y ago
      I did a little search and found this Tesla forum post suggesting that Teslas won't use regenerative braking when the battery is full: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/tesla-should-update-firmware-to-allow-regen-braking-when-battery-is-full.166129/ https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/tesla-should-update-... > "most of us charge to a user-specified software limit of say 70%, 80%, 90%, etc. When you first set out on your next drive after charging to that capacity there's a warning that regenerative braking won't function 100% until some juice is used up to make room."
      - jrockway 4y ago
        Good researching. That makes a lot of sense.

by beders 4y ago

LarryMullins 4y ago

Their website says "we automatically regulate your speed downhill." but it doesn't say where that energy goes. Brake pads I guess, or maybe rheostatic braking.

jrockway 4y ago
Could also charge the battery. I feel like regenerative braking is common enough that it could end up in a product like this (but at the same time, don't expect bells and whistles from v1).
- asdff 4y ago
  Can you regeneratively brake if the battery is full?
  - jrockway 4y ago
    I was wondering about that too. I guess I have to say no. If the battery explodes if it's charged above 4.2V and the current voltage is 4.2V, then I guess you shouldn't try to put any more energy into the battery. I don't have an electric car but my understanding is that you don't actually charge them to full (it says 100% but the battery can safely accept more charge). Maybe they would do something similar here. But yeah, I don't really know. What happens if you have an electric car and live on the top of the mountain and the first 10 minutes of your grocery store involves trading elevation for battery charge? Does your car fail sooner than the person that lives at the bottom of a hill and expends most of their energy in the first 10 minutes? No idea.
  - LarryMullins 4y ago
    I did a little search and found this Tesla forum post suggesting that Teslas won't use regenerative braking when the battery is full: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/tesla-should-update-firmware-to-allow-regen-braking-when-battery-is-full.166129/ https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/tesla-should-update-... > "most of us charge to a user-specified software limit of say 70%, 80%, 90%, etc. When you first set out on your next drive after charging to that capacity there's a warning that regenerative braking won't function 100% until some juice is used up to make room."
    - jrockway 4y ago
      Good researching. That makes a lot of sense.