Electric Vehicles
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@NTA said in Electric Vehicles:
We saw zero coverage of that BTW. Has it happened yet?
yep, it's been in service for nearly a month now. And the vehicle is killing it.
My company has given a fully electric bus to a private company in NSW to run. It's the first fully electric bus to run a full, fare-paying service in Australia (there are some in Airports running free shuttles using the other brand available). We also have one running in Auckland, i think that one is doing a city-airport run.
The one in NSW is running a rural route, and it's pretty much the worst route to run an electric bus on, making it a perfect trial. It's a huge amount of highway driving, lots of hills, not a lot of braking, so hard on the battery life. But the results are outstanding. I think the best day so far was 346km, and it returned to the depot with 16% charge.
Initial results show an 80% saving on "fuel" cost.
As for the coverage? Who knows. I was at the full launch at Sydney Uni, and the two politicians spoke as much about the "electric highway" as the bus. And then half the press conference was taken up with pill testing (it was the same day as that Greens MP said she did pills when she was younger, and she was fine), so you know, politics. Also they have little to do with it, and it wasn't their idea, and they aren't providing anything, we are.
So the last month has been spent monitoring the performance, showing it to government departments, and trying to get them to bite the bullet. The change is coming, but it's so very very slow.
The obvious hold up in infrastructure, and cost. The buses themselves are just under twice the price of a diesel. And at this stage the batteries have an 8-10 year life before they need replacing, which is half the cost of the vehicle. Until now it was expected you could run a commuter bus for 15-20 years (which you can tell if you have been in one). We think, with the savings on fuel, and maintenance (the electrics are so basic), then you can still make an economic case for them, but it requires a change in mindset.
The feedback has been unreal, from commuters, drivers, and the operator. So we are enormously confident. The bus is dead silent, it's weird. A fleet of those running around would change the way of life for people in Sydney.
Should be an interesting 12 months.
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Have tesla continued to go the Apple path, and have their own charger, while pretty much every one else has the same?
For instance, the one that charges our bus will charge the Hyundai (which i really liked by the way, i would buy one for my round town vehicle)
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@NTA I noticed the charging station signs on the Taupo to Napier road when I drove it a fortnight ago. Looked like there was a charge station every 35 kms compared to 135 without a fuel stop.
I too think Tesla are fucked now that every major manufacturer is jumping on board to a lesser or greater extent. They just don't have the scale and (if you ignore the drive system) their cars are pretty dated.
As an Audi driver, the one I'm interested in is AIcon. Supposedly gonna have Quattro and a range of 800 kms. My next car will either be something like that or I will simply do without a car entirely and hire when I do a roadie (predicated on retiring into a CBD apartment which is my current plan)
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@NTA said in Electric Vehicles:
If anyone is interested in seeing what's out there, check out Fully Charged Show on YouTube. They tend to get in on what is happening pretty early.
I'm keen to see Rivian get to market, based on this video. The crew cab seems to have a heap of great little features that look perfect for going camping.
I like that beast too. I see there’s a company making classic range rovers and jags electric. I’d like to see an electric ln106 hilux .
This Electric Range Rover Classic is Lighter Than a Tesla Model S
Classic EV conversions are the next big thing, available today.
Also not giving any money to the Saudis would be great.
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@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
I’d like to see an electric ln106 hilux .
A guy here in Oz converted a hilux. Not cheap to do, and the range was shit, and the batteries were AGM, but still
Electric Hilux: An EV conversion trailblazer racks up 100,000km on 10 amp charger
The story of one trailblazing Aussie's all-electric Hilux conversion, and his plans to combine his family's home and vehicle into one power system.
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@mariner4life said in Electric Vehicles:
Have tesla continued to go the Apple path, and have their own charger, while pretty much every one else has the same?
For instance, the one that charges our bus will charge the Hyundai (which i really liked by the way, i would buy one for my round town vehicle)
Charging infrastructure is complex. Its like VHS v Betamax in a lot of ways, where all these engineering dickheads are saying their design is superior
Prior to 2017 if you bought a Tesla you got free supercharging for life - in fact if you buy one second hand now, you still get it. Comes with the vehicle, not the owner. Model X or S bought after 1st Jan 2017 get 1000 free miles supercharging per year, and you pay after that. Hence all the Superchargers have Tesla-specific plugs in the US.
BUT with the advent of the Model 3, Tesla confirmed they'd fit it with a CCS Combo 2 plug so that it would be more compatible with a wider range of charging stations, particularly in Europe, as CCS2 is pretty much the standard outside the USA.
Tesla confirms Model 3 is getting a CCS plug in Europe, adapter coming for Model S and Model X
Tesla Model 3 CCS: the automaker is releasing the vehicle in Europe with the CCS charging connector standard, retrofiting the Superchargers, and more.
There are adapter plugs for anything now.
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@NTA said in Electric Vehicles:
@mariner4life said in Electric Vehicles:
Have tesla continued to go the Apple path, and have their own charger, while pretty much every one else has the same?
For instance, the one that charges our bus will charge the Hyundai (which i really liked by the way, i would buy one for my round town vehicle)
Complex.
Prior to 2017 if you bought a Tesla you got free supercharging for life - in fact if you buy one second hand now, you still get it. Comes with the vehicle, not the owner. Model X or S bought after 1st Jan 2017 get 1000 free miles supercharging per year, and you pay after that. Hence all the Superchargers have Tesla-specific plugs in the US.
BUT with the advent of the Model 3, Tesla confirmed they'd fit it with a CCS Combo 2 plug so that it would be more compatible with a wider range of charging stations, particularly in Europe, as CCS2 is pretty much the standard outside the USA.
Tesla confirms Model 3 is getting a CCS plug in Europe, adapter coming for Model S and Model X
Tesla Model 3 CCS: the automaker is releasing the vehicle in Europe with the CCS charging connector standard, retrofiting the Superchargers, and more.
There are adapter plugs for anything now.
you have an iphone as well don't you.
Yea look, sure, i can't charge my phone and listen to my headphones at the same time, but other than that's it's the greatest thing ever. Plus, you can buy a separate adapter.
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@mariner4life said in Electric Vehicles:
you have an iphone as well don't you
Nope. I'm an Android user. iPhone too expensive.
That Hyundai Ioniq made Mrs TA's day but there were a few drawbacks to owning one right at this point. First of which being nearest dealership and therefore service centre is 30km away which sounds like a First World Problem, but actually could be a right bastard when it comes to getting it there for a service in rush hour.
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@NTA said in Electric Vehicles:
@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
I’d like to see an electric ln106 hilux .
A guy here in Oz converted a hilux. Not cheap to do, and the range was shit, and the batteries were AGM, but still
Electric Hilux: An EV conversion trailblazer racks up 100,000km on 10 amp charger
The story of one trailblazing Aussie's all-electric Hilux conversion, and his plans to combine his family's home and vehicle into one power system.
It will get cheaper and easier though . You’ll be able to go out for a tramp/fish/hunt or whatever and charge the batteries from solar panels too.
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@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
@NTA said in Electric Vehicles:
@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
I’d like to see an electric ln106 hilux .
A guy here in Oz converted a hilux. Not cheap to do, and the range was shit, and the batteries were AGM, but still
Electric Hilux: An EV conversion trailblazer racks up 100,000km on 10 amp charger
The story of one trailblazing Aussie's all-electric Hilux conversion, and his plans to combine his family's home and vehicle into one power system.
It will get cheaper and easier though . You’ll be able to go out for a tramp/fish/hunt or whatever and charge the batteries from solar panels too.
Can I interest Sir in the Bollinger B1?
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@NTA said in Electric Vehicles:
@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
@NTA said in Electric Vehicles:
@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
I’d like to see an electric ln106 hilux .
A guy here in Oz converted a hilux. Not cheap to do, and the range was shit, and the batteries were AGM, but still
Electric Hilux: An EV conversion trailblazer racks up 100,000km on 10 amp charger
The story of one trailblazing Aussie's all-electric Hilux conversion, and his plans to combine his family's home and vehicle into one power system.
It will get cheaper and easier though . You’ll be able to go out for a tramp/fish/hunt or whatever and charge the batteries from solar panels too.
Can I interest Sir in the Bollinger B1?
i remember drawing cars that look like that when i was 6
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It's too late for those manufacturers. Land Rover is going electric. Porsche are going ELV in the next Macan, so presumably Audi and VW will have an equivalent (seeing as it's the same platform).
When the Taycan is released, who in their right mind would purchase a P100D?
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@mariner4life said in Electric Vehicles:
@NTA said in Electric Vehicles:
@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
@NTA said in Electric Vehicles:
@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
I’d like to see an electric ln106 hilux .
A guy here in Oz converted a hilux. Not cheap to do, and the range was shit, and the batteries were AGM, but still
Electric Hilux: An EV conversion trailblazer racks up 100,000km on 10 amp charger
The story of one trailblazing Aussie's all-electric Hilux conversion, and his plans to combine his family's home and vehicle into one power system.
It will get cheaper and easier though . You’ll be able to go out for a tramp/fish/hunt or whatever and charge the batteries from solar panels too.
Can I interest Sir in the Bollinger B1?
i remember drawing cars that look like that when i was 6
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@NTA said in Electric Vehicles:
@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
@NTA said in Electric Vehicles:
@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
I’d like to see an electric ln106 hilux .
A guy here in Oz converted a hilux. Not cheap to do, and the range was shit, and the batteries were AGM, but still
Electric Hilux: An EV conversion trailblazer racks up 100,000km on 10 amp charger
The story of one trailblazing Aussie's all-electric Hilux conversion, and his plans to combine his family's home and vehicle into one power system.
It will get cheaper and easier though . You’ll be able to go out for a tramp/fish/hunt or whatever and charge the batteries from solar panels too.
Can I interest Sir in the Bollinger B1?
Yeah I’ve seen that , that thing is pretty cool. You don’t pick an off-road vehicle based on looks fortunately.
I’d imagine the low end torgue would be pretty popular amongst people who are into rock crawling too .
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@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
@NTA said in Electric Vehicles:
@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
@NTA said in Electric Vehicles:
@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
I’d like to see an electric ln106 hilux .
A guy here in Oz converted a hilux. Not cheap to do, and the range was shit, and the batteries were AGM, but still
Electric Hilux: An EV conversion trailblazer racks up 100,000km on 10 amp charger
The story of one trailblazing Aussie's all-electric Hilux conversion, and his plans to combine his family's home and vehicle into one power system.
It will get cheaper and easier though . You’ll be able to go out for a tramp/fish/hunt or whatever and charge the batteries from solar panels too.
Can I interest Sir in the Bollinger B1?
Yeah I’ve seen that , that thing is pretty cool. You don’t pick an off-road vehicle based on looks fortunately.
I’d imagine the low end torgue would be pretty popular amongst people who are into rock crawling too .
Looks like Meccano does a Land Rover
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@canefan said in Electric Vehicles:
@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
@NTA said in Electric Vehicles:
@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
@NTA said in Electric Vehicles:
@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
I’d like to see an electric ln106 hilux .
A guy here in Oz converted a hilux. Not cheap to do, and the range was shit, and the batteries were AGM, but still
Electric Hilux: An EV conversion trailblazer racks up 100,000km on 10 amp charger
The story of one trailblazing Aussie's all-electric Hilux conversion, and his plans to combine his family's home and vehicle into one power system.
It will get cheaper and easier though . You’ll be able to go out for a tramp/fish/hunt or whatever and charge the batteries from solar panels too.
Can I interest Sir in the Bollinger B1?
Yeah I’ve seen that , that thing is pretty cool. You don’t pick an off-road vehicle based on looks fortunately.
I’d imagine the low end torgue would be pretty popular amongst people who are into rock crawling too .
Looks like Meccano does a Land Rover
The land rover comparison is a bit unfair It doesn’t look piss poorly built and probably isn’t as horribly unreliable .
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@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
@canefan said in Electric Vehicles:
@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
@NTA said in Electric Vehicles:
@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
@NTA said in Electric Vehicles:
@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
I’d like to see an electric ln106 hilux .
A guy here in Oz converted a hilux. Not cheap to do, and the range was shit, and the batteries were AGM, but still
Electric Hilux: An EV conversion trailblazer racks up 100,000km on 10 amp charger
The story of one trailblazing Aussie's all-electric Hilux conversion, and his plans to combine his family's home and vehicle into one power system.
It will get cheaper and easier though . You’ll be able to go out for a tramp/fish/hunt or whatever and charge the batteries from solar panels too.
Can I interest Sir in the Bollinger B1?
Yeah I’ve seen that , that thing is pretty cool. You don’t pick an off-road vehicle based on looks fortunately.
I’d imagine the low end torgue would be pretty popular amongst people who are into rock crawling too .
Looks like Meccano does a Land Rover
The land rover comparison is a bit unfair It doesn’t look piss poorly built and horribly unreliable .
Do they still have that reputation these days?
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@canefan said in Electric Vehicles:
@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
@canefan said in Electric Vehicles:
@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
@NTA said in Electric Vehicles:
@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
@NTA said in Electric Vehicles:
@jegga said in Electric Vehicles:
I’d like to see an electric ln106 hilux .
A guy here in Oz converted a hilux. Not cheap to do, and the range was shit, and the batteries were AGM, but still
Electric Hilux: An EV conversion trailblazer racks up 100,000km on 10 amp charger
The story of one trailblazing Aussie's all-electric Hilux conversion, and his plans to combine his family's home and vehicle into one power system.
It will get cheaper and easier though . You’ll be able to go out for a tramp/fish/hunt or whatever and charge the batteries from solar panels too.
Can I interest Sir in the Bollinger B1?
Yeah I’ve seen that , that thing is pretty cool. You don’t pick an off-road vehicle based on looks fortunately.
I’d imagine the low end torgue would be pretty popular amongst people who are into rock crawling too .
Looks like Meccano does a Land Rover
The land rover comparison is a bit unfair It doesn’t look piss poorly built and horribly unreliable .
Do they still have that reputation these days?
Not sure , a mechanic mate showed me a list of over 140 known faults in one model that was on the market a few years back . Freelanders have a terrible rep too.
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@canefan said in Electric Vehicles:
Has anyone done a study to work out the environmental cost of making batteries for electric cars?
Speaking purely about the preferred chemistries for lithium batteries (and there are a few) - many studies and research have been done, and their conclusions usually depends who pays for them
One stat that I remember is that a Model S becomes completely carbon neutral at something like 70,000km - provided the energy mix used to power it is majority (highly? 100%?) renewable. That includes all parts of the car, not just the batteries.
Tesla have a battery recycling program that they're apparently using to great effect, but I believe there are still waste products. Contrast that to lead-acid which is nearly 100% recyclable and is the primary reason it is still so popular. We have them running the forklifts in our warehouses and AGM is still pretty robust and at a good price point - tho they're far easier to mismanage and fuck up so you have to know your shit.
One issue to date with Lithium Ion batteries has been the cobalt, which is mined in places like Democratic Republic of Congo which brings all sorts of ethical issues to the table - Blood Cobalt, anyone?
Thankfully there are multiple developments in cobalt-free lithium batteries for both EVs and domestic storage applications. That should also make it cheaper, though price drops at volume of some of the factory proposals out in the field. The CHinese are understandably going apeshit for electric propulsion and renewables + Nuclear as they seek to lower their pollution issues.
