Can they get longer battery life and more range by reprogramming gas pedal/motor?

[slacktide_bitog]

EV acceleration is known to be quick and instant, even without ludicrous mode. So my question is, can they program it somehow to give less acceleration, something similar to a gas engine car's acceleration, and would that help prolong battery life and extend range?

Extended range means the battery doesn't have to be charged as often, which means longer battery life.

 

[Rand]

I would think the electric motor(s) can be more efficient at different power levels vs a gas engine.

I am not sure what your point is.. have nanny/eco mode that gives 10miles more per tank?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Why do we need another nanny? Just accelerate gently and you will get better range. With that said, part of the EV's appeal is that quick acceleration. Why rob yourself of it?

 

[JHZR2]

Yes. Heat is generated as the square of current…. I^2 R

Super acceleration is achieved through lots of current, and at high current, it gets perpetually worse (because as you pull more current, the voltage drops due to resistance…. Vicious cycle).

This harder acceleration, harder battery discharge, higher current, more heat inside the cell, faster and more side reactions, more degradation of the electrolyte, etc.

If you discharge hard enough, or have some less healthy cells thst conduct down below 2v, you can dissolve copper. It re-plates in the worst spots.

Hot spots in cells can actually show damage to the materials.

The list goes on.

Practical reality though is this… I can go at illegal speeds in my 67 HP 240D. I can’t use all the capability of my 300HP 135i, which is “slow” by EV standards. So the utility of some neck snapping Uber acceleration is short lived, and if not, the vehicle will cut out on over temp at some point. If it doesn’t, and all the capability is genuinely used, it’s an issue, it’s harder to determine loss of life, which is absolutely there, from just a few hard accelerations… especially if they are time limited because of the realities of the roads.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Good comments. I believe most owners use their Teslas like we do. We drive 'em from point A to point B. It is always fun to goose 'em a little, just like any other car. It is great to merge onto the freeway, or pull ahead to get where you wanna go; just like any other car.

You can beat on your Tesla if you want; just like any other car.
@JHZR2 's BMW is fun; our Tesla is fun. All good.

 

[BISCUT]

OP, It's a TESLA. At the end of the day it still remails the driver is the key to how the car is operated. As said above by JeffKeryk, hoe you drive it is up to you. Enjoy some acceleration at times, or all the time. Just like a gas engine, there are benefits and trade offs to how you decide to drive.

 

[Wylie6G72]

Is there more efficiency to be had by adding a cog or to the reduction gearbox to reduce highway RPMs? It can make a big difference in an ICE, but not sure hot it impacts an EV. They've got to be spinning some incredible RPMs at 80mph.

Tesla tested a 2-speed box on the Roadster, but they kept breaking it. Will a multi-speed EV ever come to pass?

 

[willbur]

Is there more efficiency to be had by adding a cog or to the reduction gearbox to reduce highway RPMs? It can make a big difference in an ICE, but not sure hot it impacts an EV. They've got to be spinning some incredible RPMs at 80mph.

Tesla tested a 2-speed box on the Roadster, but they kept breaking it. Will a multi-speed EV ever come to pass?

Yes- it has. I believe Porsche uses 2 speed motors

 

[UncleDave]

The Porsche/Audi has a 2 speed trans, but you are adding weight and friction with that as well as RPM reduction.

Telsa has "chill" mode that dulls the throttle response which can result in less power consumption but not always.

Its not going to do anything about steady state cruising efficiency.

 

[PimTac]

We are all born with a fuel efficiency mechanism. It’s called the right foot.

Any programming should take advantage of things beyond our control like regeneration and such.

 

[borgward]

EV acceleration is known to be quick and instant, even without ludicrous mode. So my question is, can they program it somehow to give less acceleration, something similar to a gas engine car's acceleration, and would that help prolong battery life and extend range?

Extended range means the battery doesn't have to be charged as often, which means longer battery life.

Well as for softer acceleration the foot bone is connected to ankle bone which connects to the brain ...
As for longer battery life I would think easy acceleration would help extend battery life

 

[slacktide_bitog]

OP, It's a TESLA. At the end of the day it still remails the driver is the key to how the car is operated. As said above by JeffKeryk, hoe you drive it is up to you. Enjoy some acceleration at times, or all the time. Just like a gas engine, there are benefits and trade offs to how you decide to drive.

not specific to Tesla

 

[Cujet]

EV acceleration is known to be quick and instant, even without ludicrous mode. So my question is, can they program it somehow to give less acceleration, something similar to a gas engine car's acceleration, and would that help prolong battery life and extend range?

Extended range means the battery doesn't have to be charged as often, which means longer battery life.

Yes, there is some gain in efficiency with modest acceleration (and coasting to a stop in an EV) But not like a gas car. The fact is, Force is Equal to Mass times Acceleration. Put simply, it takes a certain amount of energy to accelerate a 5000 pound car to 60MPH. The rate at which it happens is not theoretically important.

But as JHZR2 correctly notes, very high rates of current flow do have a penalty.

However, Tesla cars are designed for very high current flow, and don't pay much of a penalty for fairly normal rates of rapid acceleration. Jumping to 60 in 6 seconds or 20 seconds makes little difference in real world range, other than the aero drag for the additional time at 60mph. One Tesla owner quantified full acceleration as 100 watt hours per mile additional for the mile that involved the full rate of acceleration. A rate which is just not possible in most locations.

Yes, battery life can be affected by high rates of drain (or charge). But once again, many of the Tesla cars are so fast, using "full power" is just not something you can do in regular traffic.

The faster EV's have big conductors, big motors, big batteries and so on. Driving them in a generally sporty manner is won't kill range in the way you might expect. I drive them all the time.

 

[MRC01]

Gas pedal linearity can be an interesting topic. People talk about the throttle response of an engine and often assume it's due to shape of the torque/power curve (which it may be), yet sometimes what they are feeling is the TPS (throttle position sensor) mapping. Some cars have highly non-linear throttle response. My wife's Subaru is an example. You get 90% of the throttle in the first 25% of the pedal movement, making it feel more torquey and powerful than it really is. I find it annoying because it reduces fine control, and as soon as you push the pedal down further you get the disappointment of it not doing much because you already had near full throttle at a part-throttle setting.

You certainly can remap the TPS to have linear, less than linear, or more than linear response. I would imagine that in cars having different modes: economy, sport, etc. this is one of the configurable settings it changes. Less than linear doesn't mean you can't get full throttle, it just means you have to push the throttle further to get it. Which makes the lower range less sensitive and easier to modulate.

 

[borgward]

That's like power brakes in the 50 and 60's. Way too touchy. Goes for the old power steering too.

 

[Kiwi_ME]

EV acceleration is known to be quick and instant, even without ludicrous mode. So my question is, can they program it somehow to give less acceleration,
something similar to a gas engine car's acceleration, and would that help prolong battery life and extend range?
Extended range means the battery doesn't have to be charged as often, which means longer battery life.

Yes, but it's not going to be nearly as effective as for an ICE car and you get a good portion of that energy back when you decelerate. Unless you're at a drag strip it's just not as much a factor in the big picture as continuous losses such as aerodynamic drag, road gradient and rain.

 

[JeffKeryk]

No worries @slacktide_bitog . Just plug 'er in when you get home and you will never know the difference.

 

[y_p_w]

Heat is the enemy as others noted, but Tesla supposedly has a pretty good cooling system.

The best way to get the highest longevity would be to limit the charge range of the battery, as the extreme limits of charge are what cause a battery to wear down. Most older hybrids were limited where they only need a little bit of the battery capacity and it might go between 40-75%. There are Toyota Prius batteries that have been used for 500,000 miles without replacement. I heard of one that hit a million miles, although I'd think that would require a lot of long distance driving so maybe the battery isn't used as often. But then there are some Prius taxis that have gone long miles without replacement.

Quite a few device manufacturers have increased the rated life by oversizing the battery and then using a little bit less of the range. Apple iPhones are rated for about 500 cycles before they reach 80% of original capacity. But iPads and notebook computers are rated for 1000 cycles. The latter are bigger, so they can just use a little bit less of the battery capacity by setting the 0% and 100% charging points. I've got some non-Apple computers where I can set the battery management for maximum longevity, and it will only use about half of the battery capacity.

This can be programmed in a Tesla, and I understand that many owners set it to about 90% unless they really need it for long distance driving. I read one guy who recommended setting it to 80% and he estimated that a 20 year life could be achieved. Of course a little bit of battery capacity goes away strictly with age, but 20 years isn't impossible.



I guess the other thing is that on some cheaper models with lower published range, it's otherwise identical (including battery) to other models with higher range, but it's software locked. But when there are emergencies like hurricanes, Tesla has enabled the full range for cars in certain areas where there are evacuations. Still - that would use less of the overall charge range and should last longer.

 

[Andrew1972]

The EV cars I have driven (eGolf, Tesla) already have various modes including an “eco” to save on battery consumption. Not sure what you are asking. You can also not use heat or AC and save on consumption.

 

[y_p_w]

The EV cars I have driven (eGolf, Tesla) already have various modes including an “eco” to save on battery consumption. Not sure what you are asking. You can also not use heat or AC and save on consumption.

I don't think the question is about how much energy is being consumed, but what can be done to maximize the life of the battery in terms of how many times it can be recharged before losing a certain amount of capacity. Obviously, batteries heat up when they're discharged, which is one of the enemies of battery longevity. There are others though.