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electric vehicles are interesting in that regard because of the radically different power-band and torque numbers compared to ICEs. if the majority of your tim

by serf 3y ago

electric vehicles are interesting in that regard because of the radically different power-band and torque numbers compared to ICEs. if the majority of your time is spent spinning rubber fruitlessly at launch then you can begin to lessen the problem by adding weight to increase mechanical friction. electric vehicles are torquey, so their weight profiles vs. their 0-60s is a lot different than you'd expect from an ICE.

borski 3y ago
Not only that, but they can enforce nearly 50-50 weight distribution (the Lucid Air is something like 49.5/50.5) and the torque doesn't all come from a single spot in the car, then having to be distributed. With the Lucid, each axle gets a motor, and the back axle gets two, so you can distribute the torque at will, limited only by how much power the battery can output, since the motors can do more than the battery will let them. You also get things like torque vectoring on the rear wheels, so you can send that thing into turns at high speeds like nobody's business without a squeal to be heard. It's honestly pretty wild.
karamanolev 3y ago
> if the majority of your time is spent spinning rubber fruitlessly at launch then you can begin to lessen the problem by adding weight to increase mechanical friction. It doesn't really work like that. Say you double the weight, but keep the coefficient of friction - you also double the force. But the now-doubled force has to accelerate double the weight, so the acceleration remains absolutely identical. That's a small simplification, because on snow, gravel, mud and other loose surfaces you have a more complicated relationship, but on asphalt it holds more or less exactly. The reason EVs accelerate better is usually because of instant, better-controlled and gapless application of torque and power - no shifts, no delays, no turbo lag, etc.

by serf 3y ago

borski 3y ago

Not only that, but they can enforce nearly 50-50 weight distribution (the Lucid Air is something like 49.5/50.5) and the torque doesn't all come from a single spot in the car, then having to be distributed. With the Lucid, each axle gets a motor, and the back axle gets two, so you can distribute the torque at will, limited only by how much power the battery can output, since the motors can do more than the battery will let them. You also get things like torque vectoring on the rear wheels, so you can send that thing into turns at high speeds like nobody's business without a squeal to be heard. It's honestly pretty wild.

karamanolev 3y ago

> if the majority of your time is spent spinning rubber fruitlessly at launch then you can begin to lessen the problem by adding weight to increase mechanical friction. It doesn't really work like that. Say you double the weight, but keep the coefficient of friction - you also double the force. But the now-doubled force has to accelerate double the weight, so the acceleration remains absolutely identical. That's a small simplification, because on snow, gravel, mud and other loose surfaces you have a more complicated relationship, but on asphalt it holds more or less exactly. The reason EVs accelerate better is usually because of instant, better-controlled and gapless application of torque and power - no shifts, no delays, no turbo lag, etc.