Ttaskmaster

Here's a curious one... Over the years, I've found my car seems happiest driving around 1800-2100rpm, and I gear accordingly. However, I've been paying close attention to the MPG counter on my MFD, and it seems to return a much better mileage around 2500-2800rpm. I'm talking the difference between 35mpg at 1800 and 55-75mpg when up around 2800, At the higher revs, the engine seemes to be really quite loud and it's just a bit beyond the point where the turbo starts tailing off. I'm not sure I'm happy driving with the engine this loud. Does this seem right, or is it just a wildly inaccurate MFD?

Click to watch on YouTube, select the three dots to bring up the menu, enable transcript, skim-read that - Your eyes are likely far faster than this bloke's staccato style of speech.

YES!!!!!!!!! Always, always, always, always, always change the bolts. They are single-use only. The previous owner of my car took it to a place that reused the bolts. The engine mounts came undone and the whole engine listed over, smashing its right side against the bay. It was very nearly written off and the previous owner had already pretty much dumped it. It's only by pure luck that my friend and I were able to salvage it... and that's the story of how I got myself a car for £60. So unless you wanna donate your vehicle to me, use new bolts.

I have a 140 litre air compressor in my garage. That does the tyres for everyone who parks their car close enough, as well as dusting out my PC, clearing the workshop floor, powering impact guns and other such tools, paint sprayers, sand blasters and a load of other stuff. You can find them pretty cheap, especially the smaller ones, and they really come in handy.

Any solution would probably have to support the majority of household activities for a good 10 hours of darkness. Maybe more... Right now, most seem to struggle with a desk fan!

Yes, I have indeed looked. That's how I know there's only a few fractions of a penny between what they offer and what we're on. RG1 is central Reading, whereas we're in a more rural part, several miles further on the outskirts. Octopus seems to require a decent mobile signal, which we don't get out here and is probably why we're not on smartmeters... heck, we don't even get gas or sewerage! As is, the best they could offer us is a tracker tariff, which we're already on.

It's more that this is similar to the same arguments put forward by the Eco-warrior engineers at work - "If you just pay out STACKS of cash on this funky thing, with blah-blah statistics and blah-blah figures, it will eventually be fully paid off in a couple of decades and you'll then be on free energy for about half the year... but concerningly in debt until then". So basically, wonderful if you have the money, but frakked through the wallet and up the bum if you don't. Like selling superyachts to the homeless... That basically just returns the same tarrif we're already on. There's a couple fractions of a penny difference.

So long as you're alright, Jack...

The absolute cheapest rate available to us was 46p daytime and 18p night, plus 45p standing charge. Word is that's going to double at the next round of revisions.

24cm is pretty close to 10", still. The wife has a DVD nav system built into her CR-V stereo. It's basically a 2-DIN size unit, but it's actually built into the centre console instead of being slapped on over the top of it. EV screens just look so amateurish... like they couldn't be bothered.

I once used public transport to get a full drum kit home from the shops. That alone was enough to get me looking at private vehicles. But since getting my own wheels, I've saved far more money by being able to buy things like food in bulk, buy cheaper furniture, buy tools and equipment that lets me do things for myself, and even get a job working at places that public transport just can't service. Plus there's the actual cost of fares, which have been getting ever more ridiculous in the years since I last used a bus or a train. Feel free to post any pertinent links...... So far all I've seen is advice on using padlocks... most of those even I can open in seconds with a comb pick, blade pick, rake, pair of shims or just a good whack with a hammer. The only piece of advice I wouldn't be able to counter is if you park with your wheels on the cable, but I doubt you want to do that... and none of them would stop me from cutting the cable for scrap value. Plenty of other things are also good investments. None of those are affordable for us which is, funnily enough, why we're still renting.

That's small, in your mind? It looks bigger than a 10" iPad....! I have no issue with it being situated centrally. What I intensely dislike is how it looks like an aftermarket product that has just been glued onto the front of the dashboard by a clueless DIY modder.

Aesthetics is a big aspect, yes. Does the screen not also control battery management, performance settings, suspension management and all the other electric-fantastic things that EVs have? It's feckin' hideous. Looks like a cardboard cut-out control panel from some cheap 70s sci-fi TV programme, or an early 80s concept car design, rather than a sleekly-designed, refined and finished product. Could they not have made it a bit smaller and maybe integrated it into the dash more instead of just bolting it right on to the front like that? I've seen laptops integrated into vehicles better than this.

1 & 2/. It doesn't matter how accurate your Miles Left gauge is, if people don't know how exactly many miles they're going to be driving. But even if they do, things will happen to impact that remaining range, be it additional current draw, road diversions or something else that means they run out, including just being stoopid humans. 3/. And it's a lovely idea... but unless the car connects to the charger all by itself, people will forget or be distracted. I carry a USB cable and µUSB adapter because so many people around me forget to charge their life-essential smartphones. 4/. I have had a go with a couple. The Leaf, most notably. I didn't measure consumption, so I'm just going by what the owners at work tell me about their cars. 1 & 2/. It's still one of the biggest ownership barriers to those who actually live in built-up areas, where EVs are supposedly in their element. 3/. I'm talking about walking along at night and nicking your own personal charge cable while you're sleeping and charging your EV overnight. Electrocution - Thieves regularly break into 33Kv junction boxes on our railways and nick the cable from those. Occasionally you find a blackened and crispy corpse, but even they are getting more careful. Locks? Pfft... If I want to non-destructively acquire your cable, I can buy a set of tools online that will defeat most locks with only a modicum of practice, with all the learning on YouTube. Lockpicking Lawyer and McNulty are classic examples, but any Locksporter can show you. I can do all my own motorcycle locks in under 3 seconds. Going destructive, it'd take under a minute per cable. "Many scrap and recycling businesses are also seeing increased questions regarding electric car chargers – most often, how much they would pay for one. For example, the scrap value for materials in a cable may be worth around £50. Plus, second-hand chargers are being sold for around £200". https://www.leasingoptions.co.uk/news/latest-news/the-new-crime-sweeping-the-uk-electric-charger-cable-theft/8623 So just in this road, that's up to 30 cars, call it an hour to do them all. £1,500 to £ 6,000 for an hour's work and a bit of risk... Even assuming half that value for a quick fence, a casual week of hits like that and I could afford a Tesla of my own! I don't have anywhere to charge an EV off our mains, currently, and the nearest charge points are in some desolate park & ride about a mile up the road. What is considered a 'good' EV by your measure? £800-1000 is just what you posted as the cost of a home charge point installation, so was taken as an example value. I'm sure it'd be more for most spaces, but it's a starting figure. Bill - "a printed or written statement of the money owed for goods or services". Doesn't have to be recurring, though I imagine any sensible landlord would split the cost over several months to avoid ******* off the tennant(s). Panels looked to start around £9,900-odd for a small 2-bed semi, from a quick Google... with the big caveat of *IF* the house is suitable. Batteries were extra, starting at £3,000 for a piddly little one. Our house was built in 1865 and we rent, so not any kind of investment for us and comanies coming to quote have already said they can't mount anything on our roof. But beyond just the cost of installation, the addition of charge points, solar panels, home storage batteries and anything else will also add to the value of a property - If you're a homeowner, you're probably happy, but if you're renting then your rent may very well go up.

What, this thing? If you gave me that for free, I'd just sell it. Wouldn't even take it for a test drive.

We are talking locally. Firstly, people like to push the limits on their vehicles. The fuel gauge might be in the red, it might even have the warning light on, but people will still push their luck and sometimes that luck runs out, along with their fuel. Secondly, people badly estimate. My car tells you roughly how many miles you have left in the tank, but people will rarely know exactly how far they're going and be able to factor that in. Most refuel before it gets too bad, but plenty of us have had to play Plum Patrol. Thirdly, people do procrastinate and forget. They clock the Empty light and warning sound, think they'll sort it in a few miles or on the way back from the shops and then forget, or think they can get further than they actually do. Fourthly, people forget that things like running the a/c uses fuel, especially when unexpectedly stuck in traffic during a baking hot day. The greater disadvantage with EVs is that things like radio, heating, dashboard, windscreen wipers and sometimes things like rear-view cameras, all use more of that primary 'fuel' and it's easy to forget this (ask the guys at my work), so you could end up unexpectedly stuck somewhere and run right out of power even with the 'engine' off... but unlike an ICE, you can't just walk to the nearest station and return with a green plastic rescue can of go-juice. Cost of fuel is another driving factor, and will remain so once every station charges for charging. Over 800,000 drivers a year run out of fuel, and already breakdown agencies are having to rescue EVs that have run out of charge. At destination takes time, though, and is too much faffing, and the cables are all dirty, and it's just a quick trip to the shops, and I'm already running late, and, and, and.... There will be a plethora of excuses that people trot out, even if there is ample charging wherever they go, and especially if there isn't. 1/. If it can't supply everyone in the street, it's not going to be sufficiently practical. 1a/. Insurance often states that any vandalism or theft that occurs within 500m of the registered address, if the vehicle is not in the declared location (garage, driveway, designated bay), is not covered under the policy. On-road parking has more leeway, but they will decide if you parked too far from your house. 2/. It's more about the physical location and how parking a car there or using it for charging would not be a good idea. Many of our lamp posts are on the building-side of the pavement, meaning charging cables trailing across the public footpath. 3/. Your link, first picture - See that nice yellow cable? Not any more, ya don't.... YOINK. Flog that on eBay for, what, £50? £100? Operators = Customer paying, either directly or through increased prices from the businesses served by that car park. Lamp-post = local council = Residents who pay council tax. In many cases, people couldn't afford the increases - Those in rented accomodation being hit with an £800-1000 supplement to their rent bill would probably be quite upset. A few years.... Supposedly 7 years, on average, mainly due to increase in energy anyway. However, that only applies to homeowners, so again not rented or those in flats and the like. That's without including the solar batteries that many people will need if they're not home during the day to run appliances, charge the car, watch TV, etc. What you get may be free, but it's often not enough. EVs are a nice idea, but they're a long way off being practical and affordable (and good-looking) enough for the widespread adoption that would end ICEs.

That may be true at motorway service stations... But the vast majority of people currently refuelling their car don't drive to motorway services to do so. I'm talking primarily about the local stations, which will certainly need to remain for all those residing in terraces, flats, rented accommodation and anywhere else that lacks home-charging capabilities. Add in all the businesses that can't have charge points on their premises. As for who does a full recharge when they don't need to - I imagine the same ones who leave their car at the pump while using an Express station to do a massive shop, or who burn more fuel leap-frogging from station to station on their way home to keep the tank topped up during a fuel shortage... Yeah, local - Where most people will most commonly need to recharge, especially during a busy life of urban runabout errands. They'll want to recharge on the way home from work, or after a shopping trip, or at sudden moments when they've used more stereo/air-con/window power and batteries are getting lower than expected. Unlike the EV geeks at work, most of us don't live our lives according to a tightly regimented schedule of calculated battery ranges and recharging times - That's a job in itself. If every lamp post... Firstly, that relies on everyone being able to park near a convenient lamp post close to your home. Certainly here that ain't ever gonna happen and your car will often be a good distance away. In many cases, this will impact or even invalidate your insurance. Secondly, it relies on every lamp post location being suitable for a charge point, whether fast or otherwise - It's not possible at the office where I work, as that was already proposed for our Leccy fleet vehicles. Indeed, we've got more motors than places to put chargers for them. Thirdly - Vandalism and theft of copper cable. How do you stop that? To expand the idea - If every parking space could charge your car... How much of an undertaking do you imagine it would be to convert such spaces in the UK? More importantly - Who the heck is going to pay for all this? This would cost an absolute bomb and whoever owns those parking spaces (companies, retailers, landlords, local councils) will simply pass the costs onto whoever parks there. It's the same argument that gets thrown back at the home-charging eco-warriors at work - Pellet heating, solar panels and all this magical free energy they like to wave around, yet it's cost them so much money that most of us wouldn't be able to afford it... ever. Can it be done for smaller vehicles? I don't know how fast they said it was in the video and the subtitles aren't available, but that's the sort of thing that's needed before the lifestyle of EVs becomes viable for most people.

How many have massive ugly touchscreens slapped on the dash?

Have they concluded that all this mining, refining and the subsequent disposal of degraded batteries is going to save the planet... or have the decided this is the more profitable option for them? Genuine question. Similarly, people made stacks of money from the Detroit motor industry and their share prices were once amazing. But now Detroit is an absolute cess pit of polluted waterways and neighbourhoods that look like demilitarized zones. I remain skeptical of the environmental side, and in disgust of the hideous aesthetics sported by most EVs.

Who takes 10 minutes to go for a slash??!! Most people will take 5 minutes to refuel, then 2-3 minutes to pay for it, before they're off. A 20-minute quick-charge means you're taking four times longer and, for simplicity's sake, if everyone drives an EV that's then four times the queue during busy times. This also assumes that everyone is quick-charging, rather than the full charge of however long that is - 30 minutes? An hour? But until recharging is as quick as refuelling, you'll need several times the number of charge points as pumps, even with some of those drivers charging overnight at home. The problem is that it will impact the roads as it conflicts with the ever-increasing number of vehicles out and about on other business - Costco round our way opened a fuel station at their place, with nice cheap fuel and pay-at-pump only. The issue is that traffic queueing tails back out onto the roundabout, then down all the roads of the industrial estate, before finally spilling onto the main A33 route into Reading... on a busy Saturday, that can reach all the way back round Junction 11 and onto the M4. Now imagine if this were all 20-minute charge-points instead of 5-minute ICE pumps.

It's more the idea of 'refuelling' taking four times longer for every car, and having four times the queue length just to get to a charging point, which then drags your journey time out.

This is apparently due to "something-something-something-engineery-talk, meaning that the DPF doesn't eliminate the more harmful microparticles, still releases the stored larger particles of blah-blahrium into the atmosphere during the burn-off of DPF regeneration and also generates a lot more carbon dioxide as well as releasing particulates of the precious metals used in such devices. This is furthered by ultra low sulphur diesel fuel with poorer fuel efficiency, which contributes to higher fuel consumption and an increase in CO2 emissions".... and also the better fuel economy of the PD engine. And yes, the guy reeled all that off in one breath. He also pointed out that local air quality only applies to the point of examination, which only measures certain emitted pollutants and does not take into account the wider pollution resulting from such vehicles. It's also about how unsecure that data is. Plenty of companies tell me they never sell my data or pass it on to a third party, yet some of them clearly do as I get a sudden surge of spam and cold-calls within days of using them.

These guys calculate the environmental impacts of stuff for a living, mainly the works we do, as a factor of asset cost when we go and whack a new treatment plant in somewhere. I thought it reasonable to presume they have some idea what they're talking about. They did specify that my ASZ engine was far better for the environment than newer versions with DPFs and the like. And hell yeah, I'd be disabling all that tracking spit... ! It's not so much fear of technology, or of the 'Google-type megacorp' that I expect ultimately runs all that data capture, but of that data falling into the wrong hands as it so frequently does. Yeah, even at £280/mo, I won't be affording something like that. Fuel saved isn't a factor, it's the actual car that costs too much. We don't get car allowance or salary sacrifice, as it's cheaper for the company to maintain fleet vehicles and pool cars. We also don't own a home, so couldn't install anything either. So yeah, still a bit of a rich boys' toy from my position.

OK, so it comes down to me just not being rich enough to afford, and thus appreciate, a Tesla....? I meant more the EV geeks maintaining spreadsheets of local charging points and the features/specs of each, planning out every step of every journey and factoring in charging times (despite having all that at their solar-powered homes), calculating ranges based on currently reported road speeds, and so on. They're engineers and proper geeky about it... but in their defence they crunched some numbers and worked out that, due to the environmental impact of production, their cars would have to exceed 230,000 miles before their footprint was lower than my Octy Mk I at the same mileage. I've also watched drivers as more assistive tech has come in, and find them to be far lazier than they used to be. I've even noticed this myself just in going to an automatic. There's less to do in such cars, so your mind wanders more instead of paying attention to the road. Even simple things like allowing a bit more space and time in which to change gears, use the handbrake, etc. However - The point about a Tesla integrating with your calendar and tracking your patterns... That right there just guaranteed that I'll NEVER get a flipping Tesla. Seriously, it does that??!! It can frak right off, in that case! I've never had a Blackberry, but I have owned phones with a fold-out full-size QWERTY before, and they're still the best phones I've ever had. Other people seem to agree, as there's a plethora of aftermarket keyboards for smartphones and even small companies making keyboard phones again, like the Psion relative ones. The new ways are not always the best ways, yet they're often forced upon us because someone makes more money from that.

How much of that success is just people wanting the latest trending thing, though, especially in light of the various safety concerns over touchscreens? Millions of people adapt to all sorts of new technology, but that doesn't mean it's the best technology... It often only proves that marketing strategies work. I get a lot of fanboyism from the guys at work with EVs, but when I look at what they have to go through and spend all their time doing just in order to drive a car... A pushbike starts to look surprsingly attractive!