• shalafi@lemmy.world
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    11 hours ago

    Had an ex-friend who was a motorhead arguing that electric motors will never beat ICE because they lack comparable torque. Look, I’m no mechanic, but I never got my head around that.

    “You mean they don’t have enough torque to run a US destroyer?! Someone should call the Navy.”

    Seriously, if you’ve played with even a tiny electric motor, provide DC, it goes, instantly. What could he have possibly been trying to say?

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      5 hours ago

      What could he have possibly been trying to say?

      I mean, the general appeal of ICE engines is the fuel, not the engine. Gasoline is generally more energy dense than lithium.

      • shalafi@lemmy.world
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        3 hours ago

        Nah, his complaint was lack of torque. Very strange, never got it. Figured he was repeating fossil fuel propaganda. But he was a motorhead!

        And yes, energy density is the thing no one talks about when raging against fossil fuels. A gallon of refined gasoline packs insane energy. I’ve run my 5-gallon, crappy Harbor Freight generator all night into the morning, powering the camp, heaters and all, never came close to emptying it. Contrast that with a monster LIPO4 battery that died in 48-hours only powering LED lights. (Gotta admit, something weird happened there.)

    • Geobloke@aussie.zone
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      3 hours ago

      Dunno, I feel every rev head knew about that evs have no torque curve and plenty of it. The concern to me head always been weight and range when on track. EVs are great in straight line, but have a lot more momentum in corners. They generally have narrower tires as well, which is great for range, but poor for grip

    • ayyy@sh.itjust.works
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      8 hours ago

      He was trying to say that he spent too much time in a media bubble disconnected from reality.

    • Boomer Humor Doomergod@lemmy.world
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      10 hours ago

      My parents had an original Prius and it was a weedy little car that made those two hippies really happy. If that was his only experience with electric cars I can see why he’d think that.

      But the new ones are fucking rockets. I just don’t understand why they need all that. Can they make a cheaper one that’s got 300 horsepower?

      • frongt@lemmy.zip
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        6 hours ago

        I put my hybrid into sport mode when I actually need the acceleration, like quick highway merges or cramped city turns in traffic. If I kept it in eco mode like I normally do, or even just normal mode, the acceleration would be limited and I’d either be unable to merge or would cause an accident.

        Yeah drivers in my area are shitty, I know. Unfortunately I can’t flip a switch and change their behavior.

        Also sometimes it’s just plain fun to go zoom (when safe, obviously).

      • MangoCats@feddit.it
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        9 hours ago

        . I just don’t understand why they need all that.

        Power sells, they can give that insane 0-60 sprint for very low cost, so it gets people to buy their product instead of a 6 liter V8.