Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) New toy

Yes I have noticed the Tesla on my A34/M4 trundle and they tend to all be sitting on 75 and not venturing into the quick traffic. I know different cars engender different driving styles quite often and wondered if that was what was happening?

Is that a "relax it is silent and calm" thing or a "range management" thing ?

They are quick enough so it cannot be a performance issue. I guess at some point the migration from single speed to gearbox will occur but the torque they offer will make this an interesting technical challenge. The elastic band variomatic will not take it but some of the other new architectures might be interesting.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/technology/under-skin-future-transmission-tech

I think it's an autopilot adaptive cruise control thing. I have found that the Tesla doesn't urge you to drive at 100mph, although it's very capable of doing so - it's similar, in some respects, when I had a Bentley. You tend to whisper along and not get hunched over the steering wheel trying to overtake everything!

The adaptive cruise control with cameras and radar is very easy to use and it is by far the easiest way of driving on a motorway. Find a car that's doing roughly the speed you want, press a button and the Tesla will match it's speed - you can quickly set the distance you want to follow too.

Reading about Tesla owners 'generally', many seem to become obsessed about much money they're saving per mile - even though the car is as cheap as chips to fill up with volts. So I guess some will drive at 60 to max out the range.

I agree with Neil
I reckon my average speed has dropped especially on motorways and through towns/villages. Nothing to do with range extension. Maybe because I know I can overtake something v rapidly if I want to, it has taken away the urge to do so (weird mentality I know) thus I drive in a more relaxed fashion (according to her Ladyship anyway). In towns the digital display and very controllable throttle (and quietness) means I am more aware of eg pedestrians as well as speed limits so now have the habit of sticking to precisely no more than 30 where indicated. I am sure it drives the people following me up the wall as they tailgate but mentally I am blaming the adaptive bit so feel no guilt....😇
But when you slam the throttle (rarely eg when joining via a slip road) it does give you a little thrill although you have to be more aware of the traffic ahead rather than the gap behind because you close up so quickly!!!!
HB

I'm sure if Tesla engineered the Model S today they'd do it differently. At the moment it's a car-shaped battery - a result of chasing range confidence. Once all that weight is in place I guess there's little penalty in engineering drivetrain components to handle Ludicrous Mode torque. As newer, more efficient batteries emerge it's possible that the weight of drivetrain components becomes more of an issue, and smarter transmissions can be built within those weight constraints.

As a novice carmaker you can see why Tesla would not overcomplicate the Model S design where they didn't have to - their tech was plenty pioneering-enough already.

At the other end of the 'experienced carmaker spectrum' BMW's i3 and i8 were engineering-led testbeds for technologies that are now becoming commonplace across the range.

My hybrid i8's front axle is a 2 speed e-axle by GKN - and then has a 20bhp electric motor to manage the handshake between the electric engine at the front, the conventional 6 speed auto box, and the petrol engine.

Perhaps its no surprise that there isn't an Alpina performance i8. Alpina apparently build a prototype performance variant, at BMW's request, to explore what might be possible. Alpina found that the challenge was recalibrating the powertrain for more power. Since there are hybrid race-prepped i8s, I'm led to think that more power is possible, but at the cost of refinement and reliability.

The i8's design ethos was to keep the car to a very strict low weight limit, to find an acceptable balance of performance from the available power sources. Having worked so hard to keep the car light I imagine that Alpina found there were marginal performance gains in adding power, as each drivetrain component was beefed up to handle the extra demands it's likely to then add weight, which offsets the performance gain...

Will

https://insideevs.com/news/323805/details-on-bmw-i8s-gkn-2-speed-eaxle/

Am I alone in thinking that we're still wandering down the road of excessive complication .... we're trying to replicate the over the top luxury and speed of the very cars that led us to this .... old fashioned thinking and an obsession with our own cleverness .... if saving the planet is the aim, no-one needs 0-60 in 2.9 seconds in a fat-gutted SUV lugging around all the electronics and weight needed for indivudually self-adjusting heated armchairs and power everything!. Even with current technology we could have cheap nimble cars along the lines of those we grew up with (oh, how light and compact a mk1 Cortina or Citroen Saxo looks now) .... but with modern safety and corrosion standards. Instead we pander to the well off who want their M5 and to feel good about themselves into the bargain. Modern technology harnessed to harmful dinosaur thinking.

Harsh but fair I think

K

I wonder if that BMW technology will fit the CX platform, petrol at the front, electric at the back?

We need greater prominence to 'just because you can doesn't mean to say you should' thinking...I'm all for technological advances where it benefits mankind and the environment to lead healthier and better lives, but not when its solely for its aggrandization of certain sections of the society, especially when we still have poverty and hunger around the world.

regards

I don't think it would fit Peter - the 3 cylinder Cooper engine is quite tall - and the central tunnel would need to be wider to fit in enough batteries + the connections between the engines.

On the other hand, there's likely plenty of space to fit the range-extender version of the i3 - which BMW no longer offer. Put the electric motor up front, spread the batteries front, mid & rear, and find space for the 650cc bike engine somewhere (front or rear). The petrol engine is a generator, it doesn't provide direct propulsion. You'd have a rear wheel drive car of maybe 1250lbs, where electric range wasn't a worry.
Is the hybrid future part of the thinking behind keeping the weight of the CX platform cars as low as possible?

Will

I resemble that remark. But you miss many things at this point. In for a penny!

My seats are heated and cooled, they have massage function and TV's in the headrests. When you turn corners they inflate on the side to keep you upright so you do not spill your in flight catered G&T.

I feel great about myself, thanks for asking

(and I agree your point)

Even Greta has stated she won't judge anyone for their less than perfect environmental actions (turned 18 so probably got a boyfriend with a GSXR1000 on straight pipes ) ... so who am I to disagree? .... most certainly not sniping at anyone on here .... more a philosphical prod at the manufacturers who turn this stuff out while smugly telling us how they're saving the planet.

Anyway I'm sure your personal Popemobile has less to do with your feeling good about yourself than your dashing good looks and incisive intellect !





K