Here's a video I saw of a LEAF being torture tested under just such circumstances. Everything should be sealed so it shouldn't be an issue. And even if there is a leak, there's ample safety measures to shut down in case of a short...
From the video... Does the Japanese version have rain-sensing wipers?. They're sure acting like one. In the Alaska part, it sounds like the pedestrian noise is active even at those speeds, or is it some other part of the drivetrain that's making that sound?
The real question will be the lifespan of these batteries. I believe the roadster battery pack is only guaranteed for 7 years. I can't see too many people opting for the $70000 300 mile option if this is still the case. I'd wait for capacitors to take the place of batteries in EV's. They have a much longer lifespan and charge instantly.
Kev should have used modifiers like "nearly" or "limited by the source". If capacitor technology ever makes it to the point where they replace EV batteries, it would be unsurprising to see them also used in charging stations as a buffer. Those of you who SCUBA dive know that SCUBA tanks are almost never directly filled from a compressor. Doing so takes too long or requires a truly massive compressor. Instead, a much smaller compressor is used to charge a large bank of air tanks. This bank of air tanks is then used to quickly fill SCUBA tanks as needed. The smaller compressor runs as a background operation, spreading the work over a longer time period, thereby reducing the power requirement. Cheap efficient power capacitors could do the same for charging stations. Tom
Capacitors are even more expensive than batteries. My understanding is that they lose charge quickly so they are not good for long-term energy storage. They may be great to absorb regen brake energy but it wouldn't fly for an EV.
they dont work that way. sure they can transfer STORED power quickly but still gains charge in the normal way. eestor's proposed model stores 52 KWH that can be refilled in 5 minutes. what they have is basically another storage unit in your garage sized slightly larger that charges at a rate of 240 volts at 30 amps and its always connected and topped off. after a charge is transfered to unit on car, it would take better than 8 hours to replace that charge. now, it would seem like that would be expensive to have essentially two power packs, but the costs of building these things is projected (if they can build them) to be very low. there are minimal expensive raw materials required and they are abundant. add to that, the relatively unlimited charge cycles, negligent charge storage degradation and on paper we literally have to solution to nearly all of our problems. we could literally store every electron we generated for next to nothing. this would allow us to double what we use without increasing our current capacity. but once again...it is currently just a dream
As part of the evil military industrial complex, I was getting briefings from starry eyed experts that such miracle capacitors were just around the corner 25 years ago. I think they actually will become available someday. But with a cheap price and with enough energy density to make sense as prime energy source for a car.... not in my lifetime.
I think it will be a really great car. But it will still take a very long time to charge after driving to its range limit, making it impractical for road trips. And though its range for the top model is 3 times that of a Leaf, its cost is about 3 times also. I will not buy a Model S. It cannot replace my Prius for my 360-mile trip to my favorite hiking location in Canada, and I'd have to arrange for charging while there (I can just leave the Prius parked at the heliport). And for the once in two years when the Roadster would be insufficient for in-town driving due to its limited cargo space and only two seats, I can still use the Prius. IOW, having the Roadster, a Model S would be redundant for me. But if you need a bigger commuter/in-town-car, the Model S will be the best thing there is. As for investing in the Company. I think they'll be successful, but the Leaf will have a big head start with the less wealthy buyers by the time Tesla is ready to enter the affordable-EV market, which is where they'll either make it big or go bust. And Superman can fly. EEStor's EESUs are the equivalent of a comic book, where you can make up whatever specs and prices you like. Sure, a 52 kWh pack for $500 that doesn't lose charge when idle would revolutionize EVs. But in the real world we need to talk about real specs, and there are no real specs for a fictional EESU, which is what the EEStor "product" is. It doesn't exist, and while supercapacitors might exist some day, their actual specs, performance, and price are impossible to know today. And note that when two identical capacitors are connected, the charge evens out over them, so for the above scenario to work, the "storage" pack would have to have double the capacity of the EV pack, and for a really fast charge, the cables would be too heavy to lift, due to the amount of current they'd be carrying. My charging cable is heavy, and it only carries 40 amps. To charge the same amount of kWh in 5 minutes, the cable would probably weigh several tens of thousands of pounds, since you'd either need a humongous conductor for the high amperage, or tons of insulation for the super-high voltage.
As long as they are smoking dope, they can conjure up a room temperature superconducting charging cable.
We will be buying the Model S. It will replace our Roadster. It is more useful and we don't take road trips more than once, sometimes twice a year. When we do we will take the Prius or rent (at some point we plan both of our cars will be EVs). Currently I take the Roadster on about 97% of my trips, the Model S will make that 99.5%
At speed (40mph and above) - you generally have more tire to road friction noise, than you have engine (ice) noise. But yes, at low speed - what your saying is true. .
Same is true with hydrolics. There's an accumulator somewhere in line that picks up the slack during times of highest demand. .
If you have a family, I can see this. Since I live alone, the Model S has no real advantage for me over the Roadster. And except for luggage space when traveling, I prefer the smaller car. The Xebra is easier to park and maneuver than the Roadster! If it was not so anemic on hills, I probably would have kept driving it, though it's nice now to be able to go on the freeway. I am pretty sure the warranty is only for defects. Battery capacity over time is not guaranteed, and in fact there are warnings that use of performance mode and range mode will reduce battery life. Nissan also makes no guarantee about battery capacity over time. Back in 2004, a lot of Prius buyers liked to call themselves "pioneers" for purchasing a "new" technology, even though the technology had been on the road in Japan for seven (?) years, and in the U.S. for three(?) years. But the batteries in the Tesla and Nissan cars really are something new, and longevity is relatively unknown. At this point, buying an EV really is stepping into the unknown, and I'd advise against it if a shorter-than-expected battery life (or a faster-than-expected reduction in range) would be a serious financial hardship. One of the reasons I hesitated for so long to buy a Roadster was the noise of the cooling system. When hot after a long or hard drive, the car is quite loud even after you shut it off. The Prius is dead quiet when in electric mode. Not so the Tesla. There's no engine roar as in a gas sports car, and acceleration is very quiet compared to any other sports car, but that cooling system is quite noticeable.
