EV general discussion

Agreed totally Tombie. [emoji41]

The right approach would be to encourage EV usage for urban / short trips - as done by the vast majority of cars in every city. But then retain and support ICE usage for regional / rural / mining / long distance driving / goods transportation outside of the cities.

Just have to get the balance right without totally eliminating ICE’s. This is what I expect will happen in many countries outside of Europe.

And significantly less Nox emitting cars in our cities can only be a healthy thing.

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Originally Posted by Tombie

Looking at some data sets, I’d say urban EV battery life will be significantly better than fringe or long range used units.

A lot of this is driven by not requiring “Supercharging” which significantly impacts battery longevity.

So if you just use 20% of your battery and slowly restore it, yes it may well last longer and retain capacity.

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not sure on that. You would know better than most of course.

On the supercharging front we are really slow anyhow.

"It took only a few weeks between launching the site and including it in the Non-Tesla Supercharging Pilot.

Tesla's first V4 Supercharging station (16 stalls), located in Harderwijk in the Netherlands, is now open to non-Tesla electric vehicles.
Tesla initially launched the station for Tesla EVs only on March 15 (see video of charging here), saying that "soon" it will welcome all EVs.
Opening the station for non-Tesla electric vehicles is the main point of the introduction of the V4 stalls, which are equipped with longer cables to reach charging inlets in different locations.
We assume that the initial tests were completed, and on April 8, Tesla announced that the site is open for all EVs - of course, only those compatible with the CCS Combo 2 (CCS2) connector, which isused in Europe for fast charging."

Not likely to see that here in OZ as I suspect Tesla was told do it or else by EU or Netherlands?

Not a issue for me soon. I will be very happy to bypass the almost always empty Tesla faster chargers in Colac. Blow them a raspberry will be assured[bigrolf]

FYI 350 kwh at Torquay and Ballarat are better than Tesla V4 anyway - not that my car can charge at that rate. "Tesla Supercharger V4’s design has been revealed as part of the construction plans of a new station being deployed in Danvers, Massachusetts. It’s another clean design that is reminiscent of previous chargers.
Tesla’s Supercharger technology has evolved greatly over the years, going from 90 kW of capacity to 250 kW. But when it comes to the design, it hasn’t evolved a lot."

I can use the 350kwh chargers my current car maxes out at below 150kWh ish. The longer range one I am getting still seems to have similar low 150 limit "The 51kWh version can be charged from 10 to 80 per cent in 52 minutes using a 50kW fast charger, and 39 minutes with a 150kW charger. Meanwhile, the Long Range 64kWh model takes 60 minutes and 35 minutes respectively on the same rates, indicating the lesser version has a lower charging capacity that isn’t detailed in the specifications table."

That said 80% faster charge at 150kWh rate on the 64kWh battery will get a lot furterh a lot quickr than 80% on my current 42kWh battery which takes almost as long to get from 80% to 100% as it takes to get to the 80%[bighmmm]

Happy to be slow most of the time of course. If its sunny a very slow charge is totally free here or at work[biggrin]

Out of interest NavyDiver - what is your normal charging habits and how much DoD (Depth of Discharge) do you typically use between recharging?

Do you often charge above 80% or only when needed for extended trips?

And at what rate do you typically recharge at?

Man warns drivers to ‘think twice’ before going electric
Man warns drivers to ‘think twice’ before going electric

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Originally Posted by spudfan

Man warns drivers to ‘think twice’ before going electric
Man warns drivers to ‘think twice’ before going electric

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That's quality journalism right there. Right up with "Man on reddit isn't happy with his new car".

If people are unhappy with their EV's - they will struggle to sell them. Just like any car.

But it's not panning out that way. Once people have an EV they seem to enjoy them.

I talked a lady at the vet last week. "So that's your red Tesla - do you like it?"

She replied "I'm not a car person but that's the best car I have ever owned". Maybe we can send that to the journo above?

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Originally Posted by DiscoDB

Out of interest NavyDiver - what is your normal charging habits and how much DoD (Depth of Discharge) do you typically use between recharging?

Do you often charge above 80% or only when needed for extended trips?

And at what rate do you typically recharge at?

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Home charge is just under 6kW per hour. It could be 7kWh - sparky was a bit worried the 3 phase circuit which is also on my Heat pumps might stress out. I have never tested the theory as over night is more than enough off peak power. A manual power regulator was added to adjust if needed. When using solar I tend to just use the 2kWh wall plug. I plug in every few days when its below 50km range.

MG suggested using a CCS charger monthly to help the battery cells balance. The BMS is possibly not as smart as another brand here!

I am not fussed about the 80% bit with the current 42kWh battery. The Fast or Slow charge rates drop off significantly at about 90% not 80% on the current one I have. That was time consuming when I was pushing the cars range limits to get to and from the chemotherapy. A long slow charge did help range in the poor high speed range of the current MG XS. When hitting 100% in about an hour at racv Torquay (205km) or Ballarat (201km). The 100kph run to Port fairy was at the edge of my 'poor' range limit. A 7kWh charge in Port Fairy left 5-10% on the way back. It might be prevailing winds as well. South Westerly wind is the normal here more so near the coast of course!

The replacement car will have an app to control charge limits. The current one does not. The other brand here has that already.

Charging if parking at home makes it all very easy and cheap. The limited charging facilities in many remote areas, faulty chargers and peak demand will be a issue if pushing range constraints as I was. Its clear you can Drive around Australia if NOT in a hurry :)

There is always two sides to every story. Over here there is a big government push on EVs. I don't agree with all the incentives given to people to buy them at the expense of other non EV users. I wonder how many would be sold without the incentives? I paid government taxes on my Defenders which they accepted graciously and I pay the road tax every year. Stick the EVs out there without the tax breaks and see how they sell. You will soon see how "green" people are. The stated range on the EVs is purely a desk top work out so they should be tested with the heater on, wipers on and other things usually used by drivers then the range stated. I know people with an EV and that is the gripe, they do not know how far to trust it distance wise.

Six years ago when I drove over the Gotthard Pass I witnessed 112 EV's on a rally through the Swiss Alps. Vehicles ranged from push bikes right through to a Tesla Roadster that was on the last few days of an 80 day around the world trip - he didn't include Australia though!

My Favourite - I followed him down the northern side of the pass (a straighter run than the southern side) and was battling to keep up with him.

https://www.aulro.com/app/data/1459/.../IMG_00942.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/app/data/1459/.../IMG_00682.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/app/data/1459/.../IMG_00422.jpg

Cheers NavyDiver.

You do sound like you are truly pushing the limits of that MG. Well done for doing this as well.

With your replacement having a larger battery and better range, I am sure life will be easier. Victoria is probably one of the best states to have an EV as everything is so close, and it never gets too hot.

As you acknowledge the MG battery technology and BMS won’t be as good as say the Tesla - so if you are planning to keep longer, do consider limiting how often you charge above 80% and minimise the DoD between recharges when it makes sense to do so.

Of course when you need the extended range - fully charge it, use it, and enjoy it!

Keep posting updates on your experience. You have definitely been bitten by the EV bug.

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Originally Posted by Xtreme

Six years ago when I drove over the Gotthard Pass I witnessed 112 EV's on a rally through the Swiss Alps. Vehicles ranged from push bikes right through to a Tesla Roadster that was on the last few days of an 80 day around the world trip - he didn't include Australia though!

My Favourite - I followed him down the northern side of the pass (a straighter run than the southern side) and was battling to keep up with him.

https://www.aulro.com/app/data/1459/.../IMG_00942.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/app/data/1459/.../IMG_00682.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/app/data/1459/.../IMG_00422.jpg

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Australia does have a cool EV race sun power only [biggrin]

World Solar Challenge 2023