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Current electric semis are only good for hauling potato chips (i.e. mostly air) for any distance over 100km. Weight is very very valuable on both passenger car
by jojobas 3y ago
Current electric semis are only good for hauling potato chips (i.e. mostly air) for any distance over 100km.
Weight is very very valuable on both passenger cars and commercial trucks. Hauling those extra 300-500kg vs a comparable size sedan comes at a steep cost too, as increasing weight requires stronger/wheels body, wheels, brakes, even engines.
There is a huge demand for higher energy density, preferably of a non-explosive kind.
- gameoverhumans 3y agoAs I understand it, electric cars are actually surprisingly polluting, which is a consequence of their battery weight and particulates from tires: https://dynomight.net/tires/ https://dynomight.net/tires/
- jakobnissen 3y agoThe blog in your link seems to conclude that electric cars pollute less than petrol cars overall. Still, if the blog is true, it's still surprising that such a large amount of air pollution comes from tyres and brakes. A little Googling does support this claim.
- jojobas 3y agoIt could have something to do with the fact that in order to regen-brake a 1800kg car at your typical 0.5g at 100 km/h you need some 270kW of motor/generator power. This is the main reason your Teslas and Polestars have these otherwise outlandish engines, and if you already have it, why not accelerate at traction limit, creating all these aerosols and what not.
- goodcanadian 3y agoIt is extremely atypical to be braking at 0.5g. That is an emergency braking situation, in which case, it is perfectly reasonable to be engaging the mechanical braking.
- jojobas 3y agoModern cars emergency brake at 0.87-1.08g. Maybe 0.5g is not your everyday braking, but not something you'd remember in a few weeks. https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/content/2023-01-0616/ https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/content/20...
- gameoverhumans 3y agoI wasn't making any kind of comparison to petrol cars! I guess it seemed like I was and that explains the downvotes, perhaps? All I was trying to do is add some support to the claim that battery density does matter in cars (contrary to ancestor assertion). Less weight = less strain on brakes and tires = less nasties in the air and our lungs.
- HPsquared 3y agoBrakes? Surely not, EVs hardly use them.
- goodcanadian 3y agoTyres, absolutely. Equivalent size EVs are heavier (due to the batteries) which creates more tyre wear. My brakes, however, wear far less than on a petrol car due to regenerative braking.
- zaroth 3y agoJust for reference, some cars’ curb weights in kg; Standard Range Model 3: 1617 Long Range RWD Model 3: 1779 Long Range AWD Model 3: 1900 2022 Toyota Camry XLE: 1630 2021 Audi A6: 1970
- cyberax 3y agoBrakepads are not an issue on EVs. They barely use frictional brakes. My car is at 150000 miles and it's still on the original set of brakepads. Some EVs actually have a problem with that, their brakes are used so infrequently that rotors start to rust. So automakers added firmware that periodically applies frictional brakes.
- jillesvangurp 3y agoNonsense. There are battery electric trucks in every vehicle class you can name. 200 tonne road trains in Australia, check. Mining trucks, check. Not a problem. There are also multiple electrical class 8 semi's on the road already. Tesla class 8 semis is a good example. But you can also get similar trucks from e.g. Volvo. Long distances buses, school buses, vans, etc. All available right now. As cost of the batteries comes down, these things will only become more popular.
- jojobas 3y agoYeah, check what range Pepsi is getting hauling anything but Lay's.
- panick21_ 3y agoComplete nonsense. Check: North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) See: https://electrek.co/2023/09/12/tesla-semi-proves-itself-fascinating-new-independent-test/ https://electrek.co/2023/09/12/tesla-semi-proves-itself-fasc... Not all data is out yet but the idea that electric trucks can drive useful range without anything but chips is complete nonsense. The gigantic of track transports are blow 300 miles and a Tesla Semi can handle that under full load and difficult circumstances.
- jojobas 3y agoYour article specifically mentions it's unknown what load they carried and the data suggests not a lot. News from 2022 say they hauled chips for 400 odd miles, and limited soft drink sorties to about 100 miles. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/16/pepsico-is-using-36-tesla-semis-in-its-fleet-and-is-upgrading-facilities-for-more-in-2023-exec-says.html https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/16/pepsico-is-using-36-tesla-se... https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-semi-range-potato-chips https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-semi-range-potato-chips