Or stuck in a blizzard and having to use the heat!
3 Likes
Should there be a blizzard the Californians will need to watch this on the television after reaching their destination.
I don’t know if this is true on the Model 3, but on the Model S, often the lower range version uses the exact same battery as a version with more range. It’s just limited by software. You can pay to unlock the software block and get higher range if you decide you need it. If that’s the case on the Model 3, that $18k would just be pure profit for Tesla and not indicative of how much more the extra range actually adds to the build cost.
The rotary engine was a fascinating bit of witchcraft, but really, it’s kind of a failure. It burns oil by design, it’s inefficient compared to a regular engine, and its only real advantage is that it’s smaller than a piston engine of a given horsepower… And that’s an advantage in an old 80’s front-engine RX-7, but when you’re dropping it into an SUV with plenty of room under the hood, who cares?
Weight is everything in electric vehicles as less weight = more range and higher power to weight ratio, which translates to peppier performance. The rotary is simpler, lighter, and more reliable than a comparable piston engine. If they can keep the rotary generator engines from burning oil then they will have a real winner.
It’s not about whether or not there is room to put in a bigger engine. It’s about the lightest and simplest way to get a strong enough engine in the vehicle to keep the batteries charged.
Nissan has an 88 pound regular IC engine the size of a carry-on suitcase that makes 400hp. I don’t think we need to worry too much about power levels in light engines anymore. 
And if we’re really going for the lightest engine with the biggest output, we should go with a jet. The TJ100 can generate 750 watts and weighs less than 50 pounds. But that would be a bad idea for other, environmental and efficiency reasons that also apply to using rotaries.
I’d rather they put all the development and manufacturing cost into a bigger battery, instead of a range extender.
1 Like
Do you have a link for that Nissan motor? It would revolutionize the marine industry.
It’s a racing motor that was designed for the (sadly failed) Delta Wing car.
Nissan must have found some problems with that engine, last update I could find was from 2016. I suspect a very short lifetime for the engine.
1 Like
I would guess the main problem was that the car it was designed for got cancelled.
While I haven’t had my Bolt up to a sustained 70mph yet, it does just fine doing 65 with AC running. Though running the heat in the wintertime WILL eat up your range. I typically run in the 1kW range idling, running the heat full blast to clear off the windows in the morning takes it up to 7~8kW idling(I lose about a mile per minute while the car is warming up).
The way you drive does affect the range more than anything else. I went nearly 70 miles throughout my normal week and only dropped 15~20 miles of range when I drove out of town 20 miles one way and back again.
How many hours of course on and off heat would that last in a blizzard? We have had some discussions before about how long can you idle with an ICE, just wondering if you have a random guess how long you could stay warm and have enough power to make it to the next charging place.
It’s all subjective, really. There’s the charger at my house and 4 other stations in my little town within a couple miles of each other. The further south I travel, into Columbus, there are way more options available to me in terms of charging stations- and I’m sure a Chevy dealership wouldn’t turn me away if they were equipped to charge Bolts for no other reason that it might lead to a future sale.
When I use my remote start on those cold mornings, I would lose roughly 1 mile of range per one minute of me running the heater at 90 degrees with the fans at max speed. Driving with that and my heated seat on would use more energy as well, but using the regenerative braking as much as possible one could extend that range a little bit.
Obviously paying attention to the weather forecast and not going out would be the most ideal situation, but we can’t all have that luxury as the blizzard might hit on the way home from work.
Add to the fact that you don’t need to treat your range as a gas tank and waiting to “fill up” when it gets low, charging at night or on the weekend if you’re not going anywhere will get you the cheaper rates for electricity. Or, if you’re taking a trip and come across a charging station even though you’ve got plenty of range to go, topping it off isn’t such a bad idea(as opposed to topping of a gas tank).
I would encourage anyone that’s on the fence, or even just curious, to rent an EV for a weekend and see how it feels.I know they aren’t for everyone, but you might just be surprised
2 Likes
That is interesting that you have a Mustang GT and a Bolt .
I actually got rid of the Mustang last summer