Re: [EVDL] EVLN: Electrification juices tuner/hot-rodder/customizer culture

[Lawrence Rhodes via EV]

I can't make an EV as well as Nissan does.  However that said I bet with some 
small modification you could fit a Leaf drive train and batteries in a Ford 
Aspire.  Bet it'd go 150 miles on a charge.  That is with a 24kw pack.  Lots of 
possibilities but I'd rather not if I didn't have to.  Lawrence Rhodes  
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Re: [EVDL] EVLN: Electrification juices tuner/hot-rodder/customizer culture

[paul dove via EV]

Do we have a number on the number of people who have died modifying electric 
vehicles. My guess is none.
 

On Thursday, December 6, 2018, 9:34:24 PM CST, brucedp5 via EV 
 wrote:  
 
 

http://www.thedrive.com/tech/25229/for-tuners-and-hot-rodders-the-electric-cars-of-the-future-present-a-host-of-new-challenges
For Tuners and Hot Rodders, the Electric Cars of the Future Present a Host
of New Challenges
November 30, 2018  Eric Adams

[image  
https://timedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/genovation-hero.jpg
]

The age of electrification will add new twists—and risks—to the ancient art
of modifying cars. 

Car culture was built on the backs of tuners and tinkerers, the diehard
automotive enthusiasts who, for more than a century, have been willing to
swap out engines and transmissions and body parts for stronger, lighter,
more powerful upgrades—or in more recent times, even just tweak onboard
computers for more turbo boost than the manufacturer might have thought
prudent. Cars, after all—even the sportiest of them—must still tow the line
on economic, efficiency, longevity, durability, and safety when they leave
the factory. Why not dig in a bit once it’s yours, even if it means giving
up a bit of something the carmaker or government would rather you have to
feed your need for speed?

But with the coming age of electrification, is the juice that fuels
tuner/hot-rodder/customizer culture about to vanish? After all, electric and
hybrid cars are complex black boxes that would scare off even the most
committed gearheads. Their motors—dense, sealed cylinders buried deep in the
machines—possess no discernible entry point or remotely tweak-able
appendages. Batteries present terrifying challenges to anyone without an
electrical engineering degree—and rightly so. What’s a wrench looking to
dial in quicker acceleration from an electrified ride to do?

At first glance, not much. When I asked a Honda representative at the Los
Angeles Auto Show about the potential for owner enhancement of electrified
vehicles, the typically tuner-friendly company was—predictably,
perhaps—decidedly cautious, despite the rabid car culture that surrounded
the Southern California venue. 

“We recognize and appreciate that people want to personalize their vehicles,
and we don’t expect that to change as more vehicles become electrified,”
said Chris Naughton, after consulting with colleagues on the clearly
sensitive matter. “That is why we offer a full range of accessories to help
personalize vehicle appearance and, depending on the model, a variety of
driving modes to suit the mood or need of the driver.”

That said, he then definitively discouraged monkeying with the carmaker's
machines in any fashion not developed or endorsed by the company itself,
particularly with respect to electric powertrains. “Working with high
voltage electrical systems in modern EVs can be very dangerous, with
potentially deadly consequences if certain service procedures are not
followed precisely,” Naughton said. “Thus, the stakes can be much higher
modifying an electric vehicle versus modifying a traditional vehicle, and
these risks should not be taken lightly.”

But if owners or even professional aftermarket tuners were to try and climb
into an EV’s powertrain to monkey around, they’d likely have a tough time
figuring out where to even start. Today’s electric vehicles no longer simply
have electric motors in place of the engines and batteries where the gas
tank used to be; they’re fully integrated in ways that internal combustion
vehicles simply never have been. In the new Audi E-Tron SUV, for example,
the Quattro all-wheel-drive system alone taps very specific elements of
battery, suspension, and motor capability to fine-tune its off-road
scrambling and on-road handling. 

“Such powertrains are very hard to mess with,” said Audi engineer Michael
Wein, project manager for the electric Quattro system. “You can’t just boost
the turbos anymore or put in new gear ratios. They have to be fit precisely
to the right battery and the electronics of the motor itself, and all the
thermal management systems factor in, as well. It’s nearly impossible to
turn this system because it’s really, really complicated.”

He notes by way of example that in internal combustion vehicle programs,
each system could be developed more or less independently—but in an electric
vehicle, the battery, motor, cooling, chassis, transmission, and
electronics, and even the suspension, are all developed as a complete
package in a single, very large team. The resulting systems work much faster
and in complete harmony with each other—and are in fact already engineered
to maximize performance as much as possible. After all, the Tesla Model S
P100D electric sedan can accelerate to 60 mph in less than 2.5 seconds, the
Audi E-Tron can fully disable its traction control to unleash some
legitimately good drifting capabilities, and the Jaguar I-Pace can shred
racetracks in the morning then tackle gnarly