the truth about electric cars

[EnterName]

36 minutes ago, Rooted said:

Opt out.  Walk or cycle or scooter.  But do not go on about price of footwear or choice.  Or push bike or push scooter or electric.   Or wind up watch , battery / solar.   Flat Vs house. Tent Vs caravan or motorhome.  Hotel / resort Vs Cruise.        Everyone has opinions and choices in the UK.  Rich country, lots of pollution..

"Let them eat cake" eh? 😄

[Graham Butcher]

What is all this Guff about UK being a rich country and lots of pollution, taking a look around at the state of the country today you would be forgiven for thinking that we were a 3rd world country right now with all manner of services on their knees and the energy resources struggling to cope with demand without the increasing load being applied with EVs needing to be charged on a regular basis.

 

The country would be far better served if there was less corruption among the elites in society, and they were made to pay their fair share towards the services that everyone at some time or other, rely on. Yes I suppose if you take into account all the vast wealth that these elites have squirrelled away in offshore and overseas tax heavens, which are often attracting more interest payments in a day than many people earn in a year, then in theory it is rich country with the wealth controlled by a few.

 

As to lots of pollution, has anyone actually investigated the truth instead of just trotting out what the elites keep sprouting? I said before, if the elites tell a lie often enough and the masses (the public) will believe it because they fall for the BS because its being fed to us by those that we naively elect to be the leaders and run the country because we still have not learnt from past history that our system is corrupt, and we lurch from direction to another depending on the election results each time, like yo-yo's.

 

This is the actual live air quality map for today as of just a few minutes ago and anything in green is good and just look at the UK v the rest of the Europe and the continent, and if you bother to check it out for yourselves, the rest of the world fares even worse, we already have clean air and there less pollution as a whole. 

 

Not to sure how much longer that will continue for if we allow these elites to keep dumping raw sewage etc into our rivers and sea sides though, it's time that we as @EnterName said, had the gall to say NO a bit more often, the French do and they often have civil unrest and they get things improved. Not that I'm advocating such events, but as long as we blindly accept what the elites tell us, they keep the status quo going and it will be only the super rich who will have the ability to do things we can do today, while the rest of us will be crippled in our movements etc.

 

Edited 13 March by Graham Butcher

[lol-lol]

An article online from our UK public funded BBC.  I like it, others may not.....

 

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20240311-evs-lost-their-luxury-status-symbol-reputation 

 

EVs were once luxury vehicles. Now, they're for every driver

.........Eventually, EVs for everyone 

Alongside the lower-cost EVs other automakers are introducing, Chinese EVs could represent a tipping point. Yet experts caution models by BYD and other Chinese EV manufacturers may not hit the market immediately.   While the Chinese firm started selling some of its models in Mexico last year, and currently produces them in Europe, Helveston says North America will be a tough market to penetrate. The US currently charges a 25% tariff on Chinese EV imports, which eats into the signature selling feature of these cars: affordability. US President Joe Biden also recently announced an investigation into the sale of Chinese EVs in the US on "national security" grounds, while Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said she is worried about China's ability to flood the US market.   "There are plenty of barriers here that are going to make it really hard," says Helveston. "Either they're going to have to import the cars, which is going to make them too expensive, or they're going to have to set up shop here, which is going to be really hard to do."  Ultimately, sales are going up and prices are going down – which means EVs no longer carry the cachet they once did. As the cost of batteries drops, automakers are getting close to the point where their EV offerings match their petrol-guzzlers. 

 

[Luckypants]

23 hours ago, J.R. said:

Now whilst you can do all that on the autoroute the eating is expensive and if I'm towing and need fuel I try to find a shopping centre with supermarket and petrol station, there are many around but it would be nice of the car could plan that. I can search for them at any time but all it shows is a distance as the crow flies and a compass bearing, getting there from the autoroute might be a massive detour involving driving many mile to an exit then many miles back in the same direction.

 

It would be very good to have it planned out.

If using an EV, use the sat-nav to navigate to Tesla chargers which are normally just off the motorway. There are literally hundreds of Tesla chargers open to all in France . To map out a route in advance for an EV, use an app like A Better Route Planner to see the journey and potential charging stops. There are others who moan about Tesla chargers NOT being on the Autoroutes / Motorways as they do not want to leave the road corridor. Just shows that all needs are mostly catered for.

[wyx087]

Related article: 

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20240222-used-electric-vehicle-market-ev-prices

 

The used electric vehicle market could tempt EV-curious drivers

 

As the used EV market emerges, proponents are hopeful the first adopters will serve as pioneers who can teach hesitant consumers that a pre-owned electric vehicle is a worthwhile investment – and a really good deal.

[wyx087]

21 minutes ago, Graham Butcher said:

and the energy resources struggling to cope with demand without the increasing load being applied with EVs needing to be charged on a regular basis.

Would be good if you stop repeating FUD. 

 

It is the peak power demands that are the problem for the grid. 

 

But remember most EV's are not charged during high demands. Most EV charge up during lowest demands just like storage heaters. It is probable high EV adoption would lead to lower standing charge as there would be less variations in demand curves, less grid infrastructure spend less time wait to be used. 

 

More public charging infrastructure need time-of-use tariff to reflect the wholesale pricing variations that also reflects the demand variations. 

 

Here is from the horse's mouth: 

https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/journey-to-net-zero-stories/can-grid-cope-extra-demand-electric-cars

 

 

Edited 13 March by wyx087

[Graham Butcher]

These articles etc coming from the BBC are even if some don't like them, going to be the truth unless the government do a massive U turn as eventually even the most hardened die hard ICE enthusiast will one day have zero option, so they there are just stating the truth. But also at this juncture, U turn excepted, they have been manipulated into towing the government line.

[EnterName]

20 minutes ago, wyx087 said:

There is lot of choices. Change car, use public transport or reduce travelling into ULEZ just to name a few. Just like leaded petrol, based on more scientific understanding, a change need to happen. When something needs to change, there always has to be incentives and punishment, carrots and sticks. Enough carrots have been given out. 

I disagree, but I'm happy to simply disagree and as Rooted says, "Just say no.".

 

I get somewhat frustrated by what I see is a lack of empathy for the people in the UK who don't want change, but have it foist upon them by people who claim to know better.

Re-framing change as "progress" just so you can force people into the change you want won't wash.

When the "progress" turns out to be worse than what was originally deemed to need change, those who pushed for change always hide behind their good intentions, as if good intentions always trumps the caution of opposition to their change.

I'm lucky enough to be able to accommodate the penalties for not buying into the green utopian dream, but many aren't.

 

It is nice to be able to live in some sort of Pleasantville, where the high cost of living prices out the Plebs. Certainly that's where I choose to live, and I suspect you do too.

(I bet you don't live anywhere near the sort of people who rattle around all day in a smokey 20 year-old Transit, looking for scrap they can sell.)

People can put up with living in a world where there are "haves" and "have-nots", only when the "haves" enjoy what they've got without bullying the "have-nots" into living like the "haves", and punishing them if they resist.

 

I think the problem is one of ignorance, used in the true sense of the word. There seems to be a lack of comprehension of how many people live in the UK.

Example: There are an estimated 1.5 million uninsured vehicles on UK roads. Do you think those uninsured drivers give a toss about "getting to net zero" to save the planet?

 

Talk of using the stick if the carrot doesn't work isn't encouraging.

You can only enforce laws people don't consent to with the use of draconian force. (So much for our "Liberal Democracy", if it comes to that.)

If you are willing to use a stick on people, don't complain if they find a stick of their own to use on you.

[J.R.]

11 hours ago, Graham Butcher said:

Thanks for the video, it helped, but according to my research the more tread the better wet performance and my Avon ZV7 tyres are rated A for wet performance and lets face it, we certainly have more than our fair share of rain. They are also low rolling resistance tyres as well but they come with 8mm of tread and I change my tyres at 2mm as a minimum and I have been averaging around 25,000 plus to a set of tyres.

 

That is surprisingly little.

 

I have done 55000 miles now on the set of 4 Kumhos that were on my vehicle when I bought it and they were not new then, I have no way of knowing how many miles they had covered before my ownership but I dont reckon many as the vehicle had been driven like it was stolen (clutch cover friction area dished and burned from doing 4wd drag starts) but thankfully the tyres were not scrubbed.

 

In my experience the 2 factors that really influence tyre longevity make the biggest difference during the first few thousand miles, correct tyre pressures (which are probably different to the manufacturers settings) and driving moderately to avoid scrubbing out the inside or outside edges. It may take 3 or 4mm of uneven wear before the driver may realise, that means they wont get the last 3 or 4mm of wear from the tyres that they would if they wore evenly, wear is not progressive, the last 1/2 of useable tread depth lasts twice as long as the first.

 

In the initial weeks on new tyres I use an infra red pyrometer to measure the temperature gradient after a spirited drive and adjust the pressures to even it out, just as I did when racing, after that once wear is measurable I measure the tread depth across the tyre and tweak the pressures again to the optimum, I rotate the tyres once a year and move the least worn tyres to the corners where the most wear occurs, I also mark and note the tread depths to know how much wear since the last rotation.

 

My aim is for all 4 tyres to wear evenly down to the TWI's and a little beyond which is where I am at now after 55K miles, what has amazed me is I expected tyre wear to be higher because it is 4x4.

 

During my very lean years I drove 250000 miles on part worn tyres, I would only ever buy a set of 4 matching tyres that were evenly worn across the width for the reasons above, I would then rotate them by eye, I got great mileage but not as much as the Yeti because I would have to change the set when one wore quicker than the others or clobbered a kerb, I think the higher profile of the Yeti tyres have saved me in that regard.

[wyx087]

10 minutes ago, EnterName said:

When the "progress" turns out to be worse than what was originally....

Sorry, lost me here. 

 

The change is optional for the crowd you are talking about for at least 15 years. By then with improved infrastructure, the "progress" solution is better in every single way. 

 

You are judging EV by today's infrastructure, which I admit is lacklustre for those without home charging. 

[EnterName]

3 minutes ago, J.R. said:

In the initial weeks on new tyres I use an infra red pyrometer to measure the temperature gradient after a spirited drive and adjust the pressures to even it out

Just when I think I couldn't like you any more than I do already @J.R., you go and pull this out of your hat. 👌😄

[EnterName]

5 minutes ago, wyx087 said:

Sorry, lost me here.

 

The change is optional for the crowd you are talking about for at least 15 years. By then with improved infrastructure, the "progress" solution is better in every single way. 

 

You are judging EV by today's infrastructure, which I admit is lacklustre for those without home charging. 

Happy to disagree with you here, without prejudice.

But I will remind you of the "Law of unintended consequences" and get my "I told you so!" in now. 😊

Edited 13 March by EnterName
Rephrased second sentence

[J.R.]

12 minutes ago, EnterName said:

(I bet you don't live anywhere near the sort of people who rattle around all day in a smokey 20 year-old Transit, looking for scrap they can sell.

 

I do! Bang in the middle of it, as the only scrap metal weigh in place in the region os in my village it is the centre of the universe for the gens de voyage (static) community and has been for 45 years. half the listings on the Facebook groups are ferailleurs offering to take away your scrap vehicles and metal plus of course anything else metallic while your back is turned.

 

Thankfully the old adage about not s***ting on your doorstep seems to be true and I have great neighbours.

[Ootohere]

@EnterName  or let them sniff my tailpipe. Is that it?   1 hour to get through Glasgow ok n motorway today.  Very much traffic with engines running a few hundred yards away from the LEMZ. 

[lol-lol]

The totally brilliant Kia EV9.  UK Car of the Year by a massive margin.......  Not so cheap to buy, potentially cheap to run. 

Good range with 100 kwh battery, fast charging with 800v architecture.  I want one, well when there is a cheaper LFP version. 

 

 

 

[Graham Butcher]

1 hour ago, Rooted said:

@EnterName  or let them sniff my tailpipe. Is that it?   1 hour to get through Glasgow ok n motorway today.  Very much traffic with engines running a few hundred yards away from the LEMZ. 

I did 6 miles this morning in 1 hour 10 minutes, taking one of my sons to his brothers so they could car share, then back home, pick up the Mrs and her to the law courts were she works, and back home. My engine and as far as I can tell, many of the others not running while stationary so they could smell our tailpipes and get nothing. On a serious note, it would help everyone regardless of what type of vehicle they drive if the roads were capable of keeping traffic moving, time wasting and pollution levels could drop even further if some serious consideration was applied in that dept. You can't keep building new estates without increasing the support for them, roads, sewers shops, doctors etc. 

Edited 13 March by Graham Butcher

[lol-lol]

1 hour ago, Graham Butcher said:

I did 6 miles this morning in 1 hour 10 minutes, taking one of my sons to his brothers so they could car share, then back home, pick up the Mrs and her to the law courts were she works, and back home. My engine and as far as I can tell, many of the others not running while stationary so they could smell our tailpipes and get nothing. On a serious note, it would help everyone regardless of what type of vehicle they drive if the roads were capable of keeping traffic moving, time wasting and pollution levels could drop even further if some serious consideration was applied in that dept. You can't keep building new estates without increasing the support for them, roads, sewers shops, doctors etc. 

 

Long cars are a problem.  if cars were shorter and the queues were shorter then drivers would be able to get to their turning quicker and queues would be shorter or non existent.

[Graham Butcher]

4 minutes ago, lol-lol said:

 

Long cars are a problem.  if cars were shorter and the queues were shorter then drivers would be able to get to their turning quicker and queues would be shorter or non existent.

Wow, brilliant deduction Watson, what are your proposals for people like me then, chop off my legs so I can get into smaller cars 🤣

[xman]

31 minutes ago, Graham Butcher said:

51 minutes ago, lol-lol said:

 

Long cars are a problem.  if cars were shorter and the queues were shorter then drivers would be able to get to their turning quicker and queues would be shorter or non existent.

Expand  

Wow, brilliant deduction Watson, what are your proposals for people like me then, chop off my legs so I can get into smaller cars 🤣

My solution: just try some simple visual mods

[lol-lol]

44 minutes ago, Graham Butcher said:

Wow, brilliant deduction Watson, what are your proposals for people like me then, chop off my legs so I can get into smaller cars 🤣

 

Are you nearly 5m tall.  How about an SUV like most people are going for ?  Go upwards instead of taking all that road length, shorter queues, drivers can turn off quicker.  

[xman]

26 minutes ago, lol-lol said:

 

Are you nearly 5m tall.  How about an SUV like most people are going for ?  Go upwards instead of taking all that road length, shorter queues, drivers can turn off quicker.  

 

Found the ideal car for you. Electric, and in my favourite colour too! What's not to like?

 

 

 

[wyx087]

How about tallest production car? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daihatsu_Wake 

Height: 1,835 mm (72.2 in)

 

 

2 hours ago, Graham Butcher said:

On a serious note, it would help everyone regardless of what type of vehicle they drive if the roads were capable of keeping traffic moving, time wasting and pollution levels could drop even further if some serious consideration was applied in that dept.

You know what could improve traffic flow and get more cars on the road?

Automounts vehicles. Only reason they don't work is because of other meatbags on the road. 

 

But the idea of banning all cars and only allow robo-taxies will probably ruffle more feathers. 

[Graham Butcher]

51 minutes ago, lol-lol said:

 

Are you nearly 5m tall.  How about an SUV like most people are going for ?  Go upwards instead of taking all that road length, shorter queues, drivers can turn off quicker.  

I did with the Nissan, only becomes an effective 2 seater then with a crap boot. 😂

[Graham Butcher]

22 minutes ago, wyx087 said:

How about tallest production car? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daihatsu_Wake 

Height: 1,835 mm (72.2 in)

 

 

You know what could improve traffic flow and get more cars on the road?

Automounts vehicles. Only reason they don't work is because of other meatbags on the road. 

 

But the idea of banning all cars and only allow robo-taxies will probably ruffle more feathers. 

Tallest car won't work, its only available as a petrol 😇

[xman]

22 minutes ago, wyx087 said:

You know what could improve traffic flow and get more cars on the road?

Automounts vehicles.

 

Automounts? You mean like this?