DonCorson
[AHCI]
3358
Think again...
This is the domain where I have a small amount of competence, my bread and butter job.
Written about 6 months ago my conclusion was:
"The Tesla Roadster may get 365 km Reichweite under certain circomstances (note the 450kg battery weight) and charging in 4 hours is probably possible, assuming that ones electrical network at home can support a ~25kW connection for the car.
I, personally, would not put a foot in this vehicle. The reason why? The battery pack consists of 6831 18650-type Li-Ion cells such as used in portable PCs. These cells are inexpensive because they are mass produced for PCs, but they are not inherently safe and even with their external safety circuitry it cannot be avoided that there are fires of PCs once in a while. When one of these cells reaches a temperature above about 150°C it starts to burn and can not be stopped as all the reactants are in the cell itself. The energy released in a PC fire where there are 4 or 6 cells is already alot as can be seen in the videos of such PC fires. But in this vehicle one cell burning will cause 6000 cells to catch fire and the only thing one can do is to wait for it to burn out.
It is for this reason that all the serious auto makers are going to Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries or other more modern technologies that do not have this problem, but are not yet in mass production like the PC batteries and are as such more expensive.
IMHO the first company to cause LiFePO4 batteries to be produced in large quantities so the price comes down is to be applauded, not jokers who are trying to run a wave and passing off highly dangerous technology on unsuspecting customers. If one such cell catches fire in a Natel or 6 catch fire in a portable PC the damage is controllable. If 6000 catch fire I do not want to be in the area."
Since I have heard that they have some kind of separation system in the battery to try to avoid thermal runaway, but I have not seen any evidence of full scale battery tests such as short circuiting one of more cells in the battery pack, for example. (If anyone has that evidence and can share it with me I would love to be proven wrong)
I do not deny the possible performance of the car and there is no reason why an electric car couldn't be charged in 1 hour, so 5 hours has to be possible, it all depends on the cross section of copper going into your house to carry the electrons and the ability of your electricity utility to supply the energy, the batteries can withstand fast charging without a problem.
They, Tesla, have IMHO simply not chosen the battery technology that is appropriate for the application.
Don
More posts:
Long Report of Tesla Roadster
This year, the March issue of Robb Report magazine announced its favorite car of this year. Every year, this magazine hosts a car contest where several judges are assembled in Napa Valley to sample choice wines from different vineyards and to drive cars f...
re: Tesla Roadster....
Hello Patrick! If it's on a Lotus Elise chassis, they they show you the one leg in/ then butt in/grab the pillar & slide into the car technique? Does the roof attach/detach like the Elise too? -MW
Elise Chassis
The Tesla Representative didn't show me the technique, but I managed getting in and out of the car without exerting too much trouble. The roof does indeed detach and attach like the Elise. The Tesla features a targa type roof. Should you desire the roof t...
on BBC TV's Top Gear programme it didnt manage more than 50 miles
before the driver was left stranded. the 2nd one broke and the first one had to be pushed back then took 8 hours to charge. it looks good on paper and in pics, but so far i've not heard of a good test drive in UK. it would cripple me just getting into it ...
There was a big contraversy over this episode of Top Gear..
The BBC actually admitted that the car NEVER ran out of juice but they claim that the episode reflected what could have happened . Clarkson said this: "We never said once that the car had run out of power. The car had to be pushed into the warehouse becau...
My Test Vehicle
My test vehicle had a computer screen that indicated all of the information about the vehicle. The car was about 70% charged when I got the vehicle. During my test drive where the car exhibited very aggressive driving, the car's computer said the car woul...
Patrick, i'm very glad to...
Patrick, i'm very glad to hear that the car is better than the british public have been led to believe. i and my 13 year old are top gear fanatics and yes it is just entertainment although the previous version with Jezza and Tiff Needell was more informat...
Think again...
This is the domain where I have a small amount of competence, my bread and butter job. Written about 6 months ago my conclusion was: " The Tesla Roadster may get 365 km Reichweite under certain circomstances (note the 450kg battery weight) and charging in...
Tesla's Battery
I don't work for Tesla, but I can tell you that Tesla's battery department has taken the flammability of batteries into account. The battery system which comprises of thousands of batteries is enclosed in a special cooling system and the entire assembly i...
