# Electric cars **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Tags:** integra, electrical-wiring, acura\ **Created:** [September 3, 2009, 2:23am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electric-cars/36038 "2009-09-03T02:23:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![oosnahvie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dc4da7/32.png) [@oosnahvie](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oosnahvie)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 2:23am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electric-cars/36038/1 "2009-09-03T02:23:02Z")
how much electricity does a battery put out while going highway speeds in an average electric car? ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 2:25am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electric-cars/36038/2 "2009-09-03T02:25:30Z")
Let’s guess 5 hp, about 750watts/hp, so that’s 3750 watts…or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![oosnahvie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dc4da7/32.png) [@oosnahvie](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oosnahvie)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 2:26am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electric-cars/36038/3 "2009-09-03T02:26:59Z")
3.7 Kw is that per hour? ---
**Author:** ![tardis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f0a364/32.png) [@tardis](https://community.cartalk.com/u/tardis)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 2:36am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electric-cars/36038/4 "2009-09-03T02:36:40Z")
That is continuous, from one instant to the next. So, in one hour, it will have put out 3.7Kw-hours. Kw is a unit of power, there is no time associated with it. Kw-hr is a unit of energy. ---
**Author:** ![oosnahvie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dc4da7/32.png) [@oosnahvie](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oosnahvie)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 2:39am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electric-cars/36038/5 "2009-09-03T02:39:24Z")
then i’m not asking the right question lol… if i wanted to know how much power generation is required to power an electric car and maintain a charge on the battery to start it next time what would that be ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 2:49am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electric-cars/36038/6 "2009-09-03T02:49:38Z")
Here’s a different way of looking at it - the all-electric Mini has a 35 kw-hr battery, range of about 100 miles, so that’s about 1/3 kw-hr/mile. The battery is supposed to take about 24 hours to charge on 110 volts, about 3 hours on 220v. Still not sure I understand your question. ---
**Author:** ![oosnahvie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dc4da7/32.png) [@oosnahvie](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oosnahvie)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 2:51am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electric-cars/36038/7 "2009-09-03T02:51:12Z")
i have an idea for a continually charging electric car and i’m trying to figure out if it’s even possible. so i’m trying to figure out how much power would have to be charged continually (while on) to run the car and keep the battery charged ---
**Author:** ![mcparadise](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mcparadise/32/32_2.png) [@mcparadise](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mcparadise)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 2:53am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electric-cars/36038/8 "2009-09-03T02:53:20Z")
Perpetual motion? Is that what you have in mind? ---
**Author:** ![oosnahvie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dc4da7/32.png) [@oosnahvie](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oosnahvie)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 2:54am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electric-cars/36038/9 "2009-09-03T02:54:00Z")
no using wind ---
**Author:** ![oosnahvie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dc4da7/32.png) [@oosnahvie](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oosnahvie)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 2:55am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electric-cars/36038/10 "2009-09-03T02:55:12Z")
i’m not quite that stupid lol ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 3:02am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electric-cars/36038/11 "2009-09-03T03:02:32Z")
Uh-oh, this isn’t the ‘put wind turbines on the car and generate electricity while I’m driving’ ideas - it won’t work. ---
**Author:** ![oosnahvie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dc4da7/32.png) [@oosnahvie](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oosnahvie)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electric-cars/36038/12 "2009-09-03T03:03:45Z")
why wouldn’t it? and figures though i had a good idea lol ---
**Author:** ![oosnahvie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dc4da7/32.png) [@oosnahvie](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oosnahvie)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 3:04am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electric-cars/36038/13 "2009-09-03T03:04:47Z")
thought~ ---
**Author:** ![Caddyman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/caddyman/32/23_2.png) [@Caddyman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Caddyman)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 3:32am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electric-cars/36038/14 "2009-09-03T03:32:39Z")
Stick you hand out the window at 60 mph. The force you feel is called drag. Stick a 4kw wind generator out the window. It will produce more drag than 4kw can overcome…Your battery goes dead a little sooner than a car with no wind turbine or its drag… ---
**Author:** ![oosnahvie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dc4da7/32.png) [@oosnahvie](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oosnahvie)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electric-cars/36038/15 "2009-09-03T03:35:02Z")
what about a whole bunch of really small ones generating enough to make up for the drag? and properly lubricated couldn’t you lower the amount of drag enough to make it viable or no? ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electric-cars/36038/16 "2009-09-03T03:36:41Z")
nope ---
**Author:** ![oosnahvie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dc4da7/32.png) [@oosnahvie](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oosnahvie)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electric-cars/36038/17 "2009-09-03T03:43:34Z")
yeah just realized, and no idea why i didn’t think of it before i really should have now feel stupid, can’t convert wind energy into electricity to overcome the same wind energy lol. yay law of conservation of energy ---
**Author:** ![Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/joseph_e_meehan/32/21_2.png) [@Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Joseph_E_Meehan)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 11:39am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electric-cars/36038/18 "2009-09-03T11:39:01Z")
Don’t feel stupid. At least you figured it out. The ones that should feel stupid are those how totally refuse to listen to anyone. We all have those moments when we just don’t see the obvious. The intelligent ones don’t assume that they can’t be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![roadrunnr43](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@roadrunnr43](https://community.cartalk.com/u/roadrunnr43)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 12:34pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electric-cars/36038/19 "2009-09-03T12:34:37Z")
one thing is that lithium battery’s have a “burst” output rating. what it is on some battery’s, is if you need extra power, the battery puts out more voltage then regular use. but it can only do this for a short time. ---
**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 2:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electric-cars/36038/20 "2009-09-03T14:53:35Z")
oosnahvie; THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH!! Only politicians succeed in bribing taxpayers with their own money. Glad you were able to figure out you can’t get anything for nothing. [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/electric-cars/36038.md?page=2)