[ahmedb]

Hi all,

Just throwing this one out there if anybody was interested, I work at De Montfort University in Leicester and they are hosting an electric vehicle day at Mallory Park on 9th June. It's open to all as it is to raise awareness of electric cars.

More info is available in the following link and you can register here too. It's £5 if you want to attend yourself or £10 includes a coach from DMU.

http://dmu.ac.uk/demoday

Includes some lunch (pizza, wraps, crisps etc.) with refreshments

We should have some half decent cars there such as the TeslaS2, an electric Elise and a custom built Vortex. We've also been speaking to Ford who would like to bring their custom built 2 seater Formula Ford car.

I know the Formula Ford isn't electric but it only uses a 1.0 3 cyclinder engine so as long as it passes noise emission tests, it should get the nod.
Ford, and their endless pit of resources, would be more than happy to whizz people around in their 2 seater along with some of the other car owners. I believe there will also be a competition to give people the opportunity to drive a selection of cars if they are pulled out of a hat.

[gangzoom]

If work time table allows I'll see if I can make it....Will be in the Leaf by than

Has Mallory park got any fast charger facility?? When I took the Leaf out for a B road blast on my test drive I used up 20% of it's charge in about 8 miles!!

[ahmedb]

Originally Posted by gangzoom

If work time table allows I'll see if I can make it....Will be in the Leaf by than

Has Mallory park got any fast charger facility?? When I took the Leaf out for a B road blast on my test drive I used up 20% of it's charge in about 8 miles!!

A 2nd leaf would be brilliant. In fact, if you like I can talk to my colleague who is arranging the trip and you could even be a vehicle owner/demonstrator and you probably wouldn't have to pay to attend that way either.

From what I gather, they only have 1 high voltage charging point in the paddock (about 25-30 minutes for the Leaf) and the other points are slower charging points.

You could head down to De Montfort University before we leave out and charge up the Leaf here and then head out together.

Getting ahead of myself a bit here, I'm sure.

[gangzoom]

LoL, I think on the PCP deal there's a specific bit about 'Racing'...but not necessary about taking in on a private track.

How ironic...In 10 years of owing high performance petrol cars I've never trashed one properly on a track, but might end up doing in the Leaf

Let me check with work (will need to book it as Annual Leave)...But in theory I'll be up for it. Mallory park is only 10 mile from LE1, so range is no issue, as long as they have the relevant charging point.

Let me get hold of the Leaf and than book leave and I'll PM you!!

[gangzoom]

The Leaf I got will either charge with the fast 480 volt charger (80% range in 30min) via the CHAdeMO port...or standard type 1 or 2 charger 220/16amp (I'll have a type 2 to type 1 cable) at 5-6 miles/hour.

If you could check what charging Mallory park have that would be great...otherwise it'll be a very long wait using a normal 3 pin plug

[ahmedb]

Sounds good to me, it would be good if you did come along.

I've been informed that they have 1x 32amp socket but also a 16 amp socket in each garage in the paddock.

[E92Dan]

This is the problem with electric vehicles. I think for the majority of people the internal combustion engine is a better bet, until they sort out the storage problems with hydrogen cars...........

[ahmedb]

Agreed to some extent Dan, the infrastructure is not quite there yet which is why hybrids tend to be fairly popular in this day and age.
Electric cars can work depending on how many miles your local commute is and what the facilities are like amidst your journey.

The Nissan Leaf can do 100+ miles on full charge which isn't too shabby. Most people wouldn't do more than that to work and back.

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by E92Dan

This is the problem with electric vehicles. I think for the majority of people the internal combustion engine is a better bet, until they sort out the storage problems with hydrogen cars...........

Hydrogen storage is like Gene therpy and nuclear fusion, great idea but in practice very hard/impossible to deliver in real life.

I'll let you know how I get on with the Leaf, but having looked at all the facts I'm 100% comittet to give it a go....Even though it has meant I'm going to let my 335i go, which by all measures is still the best ICE car I've owned by a long way...But is it going to be the 'best' car I've ever compared to an EV??...I'll let you know in about 36 months (after I swap the Leaf for a Tesla)

[E92Dan]

I just don't think that electric vehicles are the future. The batteries take too long to charge and the charge is too short. Also the batteries only last 5-10 years before you need new ones! The cars are okay and are getting better, but it just feels like a stop gap until something better comes along.

[gangzoom]

Prius batteries are good after 200,000 miles

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/n...d-up/index.htm

Tesla S are now staring to hit big miles, by all accounts most units are retaining >90% charge after 70-100,000 miles.

http://gas2.org/2015/02/20/tesla-los...e-less-feared/

Now ask any 335i on here how confident they are the engine in their car will make it to 100,000 with no problems...Been still a 335i owner myself I can tell you the answer to that question

Ofcourse still lots of unknowns, charging is a issue, but my Leaf will be charged at home 99.99% of the time. And if needed a motorway rapid charge will refill 80% in 30 minutes. It's simply a different way of managing power.

I fully appreciate 90% of the pubic are unsure about EVs (Even my wife is making milk float jokes), but I've yet to read a single bad review about the Tesla S. If I could afford £70k I would have one without hesitation...But I cannot, so have to make do with a Leaf for a few years

My view is that EVs are 100% the future, and I'm willing to put that to test with my own £££ (though admittily not that much of it )...If I'm wrong than I would gladly jump on the next bandwagon, I do know one thing...The ICE belongs in history books.

[E92Dan]

Fair play to you for giving it a go.

Is it the future? Only if they can speed up the charging and extend the range. Also the main source of the power is dirty coal fired power stations, not exactly green.

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by E92Dan

Is it the future? Only if they can speed up the charging and extend the range. Also the main source of the power is dirty coal fired power stations, not exactly green.

Who said anything about 'green'...My last three cars have been a Honda Integra Type R, Nissan 350Z, and my 380bhp 335i

I couldn't careless where the power comes from, all I know is that even though I could afford to buy a £40-50K used F10 M5, there is no way on earth I could afford it's running costs of <20mpg, M tax, high road tax etc..

But a used Tesla S for £50K which for all intents and purposes deliver the same performance as a M5, will cost £5.10 to 're-charge', it's 85KWH battery using Ecnomic 7 rate for every 250miles or so....A 320D doing 60mpg will cost £21 in fuel for 250 miles....So you still have no interest in a EV like a Tesla S

Oh also found this some Amercians complied about the batter life of a the previous Tesla Roadster...So yes the range does drop, but it's pretty slow and predictable. The current generation of EVs have better batter managment than the roadster, so the fall should be even less.

[E92Dan]

I was talking about the future of the EV rather than just you, for electric vehicles to have a future they need to be more environmentally friendly. I can see that those figures do look good though. Very cheap to run.

[ahmedb]

Someone's done their homework and you do have a compelling argument.

Clearly infrastructure work is required but until enough people jump on the EV bandwagon, government would not commit to spending large amounts of £££ on roads that constantly charge up cars (for example). That's where the research element fits in.

Understanding what is physically possible, albeit on a smaller scale, can provide a framework and identify a solution should the world adapt to EV vehicles.

As with any new technology, there are always flaws and teething issues but with time these are ironed out, developed and innovated

[E92Dan]

The thing is the electric car isn't new technology, they've been around for over a hundred years.

I will try and come along to mallory park, I might learn something.

[gangzoom]

As mentioned before I really don't give much thought to the 'green' credentials of EV cars etc...I do know we (general public) have our behaviour driven largely by financial insentives as set out by the power that be...Hence the push toward diesel in the last 15 years (which is now been reversed), and to a large extent me switching to EV (Isn't it bizzar the goverment is 'giving' people who can afford a £70K Tesla £5K as a grant?). So with the right political drive we can all be 'pushed' towards changes in lifestyle.

But one argument I haven't heard untill recently was the fact it takes almost the same amount of electcity to refine a gallon of oil as it does to drive an EV car the same distance a gallon of oil will power a ICE car. In which case why waste electricty refining oil, when we can use it directly to drive cars.....I'm not a chemist so I don't know the in-outs of the calculations, but this line of arugment is pushed by Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla/Space X/Solar farms/PayPal.

http://greentransportation.info/guid...-gasoline.html

I have no idea what Musk's political/personal views are, but I know he has much more vision than 99.9999% of the poplutation. People always talk about Steve Jobs been a genius, but this guy's achievments read like something striaght out of a Sci-Fi film, and if he belives in EV, who I'm I to argue

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk

[E92Dan]

But then how much energy does it use to dig coal out of the ground and ship it half way around the world?

Also Hitler had a lot of visions and look where that got us, ha ha

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by E92Dan

But then how much energy does it use to dig coal out of the ground and ship it half way around the world?

Also Hitler had a lot of visions and look where that got us, ha ha

LoL I know what you mean!!

Apparently Space X has just won a contract with NASA to developed maned space capsules....Their main competitor, just a small startup company called Boeing!!

I wish I had 0.1% the vision/drive of some one like Musk...For one thing I know I wouldn't be having to sell my 335i to finance a Tesla S

[ahmedb]

Originally Posted by E92Dan

The thing is the electric car isn't new technology, they've been around for over a hundred years.

I will try and come along to mallory park, I might learn something.

Yeah come along, the more the merrier and it would be good to also see some fellow e90post members there.

It's a massive shame that the BMW i8 owner didn't get back to us in the end.

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by ahmedb

Yeah come along, the more the merrier and it would be good to also see some fellow e90post members there.

It's a massive shame that the BMW i8 owner didn't get back to us in the end.

Have you tried https://speakev.com

Would be good to get at least something like a i3?

[ahmedb]

Originally Posted by gangzoom

Have you tried https://speakev.com

Would be good to get at least something like a i3?

Nice one, I will give it a go.

I believe my colleague in marketing will be approaching BMW dealerships to see if they would like to attend.