The Car thread

[dsr-burnley]

24 minutes ago, The Bear said:

If you are going to a residential property then you have the option of the three pin plug to charge. With the owners permission of course. Teslas come with a three pin charging cable as standard. 

 

It's slow, around 2-3kW/h but will add significant range over several hours or overnight. 

Potential legal problems with plugs trailing over the footpath, though.  And, if it's winter, with having to leave the front door or window open.

 

Some of the disadvantages of the range of electric cars can be solved with little effort, but some can't. 

Edited 11 July 2023 by dsr-burnley

[The Bear]

2 minutes ago, dsr-burnley said:

Potential legal problems with plugs trailing over the footpath, though.  And, if it's winter, with having to leave the front door or window open.

Yes I was thinking more of people with driveways/garages. 

 

When researching ways to run cables across pavements safely, on one forum I actually saw someone with a cable going from an upstairs window overhead of the pavement and to the opposite side of the car parked outside. Crazy. 

[Zear0]

7 hours ago, Milo said:

I stuck 150 miles of range into mine last night and it cost me £1.70. 
 

Also, I think Arnold Clark are giving away home chargers with any EV purchased. 
 

You on a EV Tariff? I've still not switched and paid £8.81 for my last charge of 32kWh. Suppose that's useful here for people to know the damage for the lazy buggers who haven't moved to EV tariffs. I did look but I use quite a lot of leccy at home and not sure it'll actually be cheaper. 

[Milo]

1 hour ago, Zear0 said:

You on a EV Tariff? I've still not switched and paid £8.81 for my last charge of 32kWh. Suppose that's useful here for people to know the damage for the lazy buggers who haven't moved to EV tariffs. I did look but I use quite a lot of leccy at home and not sure it'll actually be cheaper. 

I’m with Octopus, on a smart meter anyway, and just went on to their EV tariff (Octopus Go?) when I got my home charger installed. 
 

I am a bit surprised at how cheap it is, tbh. 
 

I haven’t really done an in depth analysis, I just use their data. I could go and check out the cost per mile/cost of charging, etc - but am far too lazy! 
 

I think the EV tariff just calculates the cheapest energy cost time of the night and only uses that. It has fluctuated a bit, but usually around the £2-3 range. 
 

For contrast, was speaking to a mate earlier that just put £115 of fuel into his car and he reckons he’ll get about 300/350 miles 😬
 

 

 

[Suzie the Fox]

What actually happens with an electric car when the battery runs out? Does it just stop and if so what can you do then? I'm totally clueless here but do you carry around a spare battery or is that not even a thing lol.. sorry if i sound dense. 

[Izzy]

11 minutes ago, Suzie the Fox said:

What actually happens with an electric car when the battery runs out? Does it just stop and if so what can you do then? I'm totally clueless here but do you carry around a spare battery or is that not even a thing lol.. sorry if i sound dense. 

[tom27111]

9 minutes ago, Suzie the Fox said:

What actually happens with an electric car when the battery runs out? Does it just stop and if so what can you do then? I'm totally clueless here but do you carry around a spare battery or is that not even a thing lol.. sorry if i sound dense. 

 

It is a bit of a concern long term.

 

Much like a mobile phone that you've had for years, the charge eventually won't hold as well as it did.

 

This is the main reason that a fast charger will only top up to 80% rapidly, then trickle charge the remaining 20% ro preserve battery longevity. 

 

I belive you're looking at around 8k plus to replace a battery. It's the most expensive thing on the car and why EV's are more expensive than traditional ICE cars.

 

I don't know if it's still the case, but some manufacturers previously made you lease the battery, separately to the car. 

[The Bear]

12 minutes ago, Suzie the Fox said:

What actually happens with an electric car when the battery runs out? Does it just stop and if so what can you do then? I'm totally clueless here but do you carry around a spare battery or is that not even a thing lol.. sorry if i sound dense. 

You have to call out the AA/RAC or someone that can put some charge into it, to enable you get you to the nearest charger. Or they can tow you to a charger. 

 

The batteries are the heaviest part of the car, so no spares! 

[tom27111]

You could tow a diesel generator around with you to give you a bit of charge, kind of defeats the object though 

[The Bear]

With Teslas though, they still have a small 12v battery under the bonnet behind all the trim that powers the basic electronics, and if you deplete that then you're in trouble and have to charge that back up somehow. Without it, it won't even open the doors. 

[The Bear]

1 minute ago, tom27111 said:

You could tow a diesel generator around with you to give you a bit of charge, kind of defeats the object though 

 

[tom27111]

2 minutes ago, The Bear said:

 

 

I knew they existed, but wow 

[String fellow]

11 minutes ago, The Bear said:

You have to call out the AA/RAC or someone that can put some charge into it, to enable you get you to the nearest charger. Or they can tow you to a charger. 

 

The batteries are the heaviest part of the car, so no spares! 

Some Teslas are too heavy to (legally) drive over the Brooklyn Bridge in New York!

[Jattdogg]

Somehow charge your car from your phone battery (if it isnt dead itself)? Lol

 

Or buy an electric car gas can backup:

 

 

 

 

It only takes up half your back seat. Lol

[fox_favourite]

2 hours ago, Jattdogg said:

Somehow charge your car from your phone battery (if it isnt dead itself)? Lol

 

Or buy an electric car gas can backup:

 

 

 

 

It only takes up half your back seat. Lol

Need a battery to charge a battery. I don't know why but it makes me laugh. 

[FoyleFox]

"The government has released its new Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 to shape a more resilient future for electric vehicles (EVs) in the UK.

The new rules, which were set out in Parliament on the 11th of July, will provide drivers with access to highly efficient, reliable public charge points that will significantly improve the charging experience".

 

https://www.drive-electric.co.uk/news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-2023-public-charge-point-regulations/

 

 

[Wycombe Fox]

Quick update on my post a couple of weeks ago.

 

My partner eventually decided on a 2014 Citroen C1, slightly higher mileage than she originally wanted but it's got a full service history, 12 months MOT, £0 tax, new front discs and pads, new clutch, new exhaust and three months warranty, all within budget.

 

She's a very happy bunny.

 

Thanks for the advice previously given.

[Iran]

 

[Milo]

58 minutes ago, FoyleFox said:

"The government has released its new Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 to shape a more resilient future for electric vehicles (EVs) in the UK.

The new rules, which were set out in Parliament on the 11th of July, will provide drivers with access to highly efficient, reliable public charge points that will significantly improve the charging experience".

 

https://www.drive-electric.co.uk/news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-2023-public-charge-point-regulations/

 

 

I had a long journey yesterday, and used the Tesla chargers (for my non-Tesla car). Super quick and easy. 

 

They seem to have opened up a number of chargers for general use. Well worth checking out. 

[FoyleFox]

12 minutes ago, Milo said:

I had a long journey yesterday, and used the Tesla chargers (for my non-Tesla car). Super quick and easy. 

 

They seem to have opened up a number of chargers for general use. Well worth checking out. 

Do you still need an adapter for the Tesla charging points?

[Milo]

1 hour ago, FoyleFox said:

Do you still need an adapter for the Tesla charging points?

I didn’t. 
 

you have to download the Tesla app and check if your car is compatible. But they’re a lot less faff than some other charging points. And super fast! 

[FoyleFox]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66237935

 

Jaguar Land Rover-owner Tata is set to announce plans to build a flagship electric car battery in Somerset.

 

Hope that brings the cost down, I-Pace is top of my wish list. (I know it won't)!

[Zear0]

36 minutes ago, FoyleFox said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66237935

 

Jaguar Land Rover-owner Tata is set to announce plans to build a flagship electric car battery in Somerset.

 

Hope that brings the cost down, I-Pace is top of my wish list. (I know it won't)!

Handy location as they're starting the lithium pit mine nearby.

[Bellend Sebastian]

Going on my first long journey in the EV next week, down to Devon.

 

Car SHOULD have the range to get there with quite a bit to spare, but would probably be a good idea to do a top up charge en route. Never used a public charger before, can you just turn up at one (like at the Motorway services) whip out your debit card and away you go, or is there more to it than that?

[The Bear]

8 minutes ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

Going on my first long journey in the EV next week, down to Devon.

 

Car SHOULD have the range to get there with quite a bit to spare, but would probably be a good idea to do a top up charge en route. Never used a public charger before, can you just turn up at one (like at the Motorway services) whip out your debit card and away you go, or is there more to it than that?

They've only just changed the legislation last week to make sure in future all public chargers are contactless payment friendly. 

 

You may find that you have to register with whichever provider the charger is owned by and load some money into the account to get the chargers to work. Some will be contactless, some will be app only. 

 

https://www.zap-map.com/live/ is your best bet. You can plan what services to charge at and see what the requirements for each charger there are like making sure they have the right connections for your cable. Try and filter for "Rapid" chargers (pink/purple icons) rated at 50kwh or more. That way a 20-30 min rest break should give you a reasonable top up. 

Edited 23 July 2023 by The Bear