Tesla Model S

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peterc
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Re: Tesla Model S

Post by peterc »

The main reason for 4 wheel drive cars going through the hedge is that they are usually travelling so much faster than a 2 wheel drive car in adverse conditions. The drivers confidence gets higher and higher to match the grip and stability available until it all lets go and then it's beyond the average driver to recover from.
I was always very aware of this in the 10 years I enjoyed my 4 x4 Sierra. The silicone LSD worked a treat and I never experienced wheel spin. Magic for pulling out of junctions in the wet? I had a few moments under breaking through!
My Audi A3 Quattro is front wheel drive until the ABS system detects the need for rear wheel power. Pleased so with it so far.
I would like to drive a hybrid or a Tesla to feel the pull of the front wheel drive when most of the power is otherwise going to the rear.
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Roger King
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Re: Tesla Model S

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Glad you've decided against the Tesla, Paul. Those 18-wheelers are tricky little things to spot... and I will be very interested to see the outcome of the insurance claim for that tragedy. Will it be down to the owner? Or the driver - which was the car, with liability presumably therefore lying with Tesla?
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peterc
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Re: Tesla Model S

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Just watched an episode of Jay Leon's garage where someone's granny was tasked with proving that a Tesla was faster than Jay's chosen car.
I was rather surprised at the vast distance the Tesla managed to pull out from none other than a 427 Cobra. I appreciate that it's 1965 versus 2015 but sobering none the less.

Keeping up the accelerating discussion it appears Volvo have decided to spice up their image.
How does 2367 bhp and 4425lb sound. Standing start to 1000 metres in 21.29 secs or 500 metres in 13.71 secs.
Top speed around 171mph.
Not a new estate car but 4.5 tons of HGV tractor unit with 12.8 litres with quad turbos but only 6 cylinders!
By comparison a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport has been timed at 18 secs over the 1000 meters.
I'm still trying get to get my head round the 2 litres per cylinder. That's back to the size of vintage aero engines.
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Roger King
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Re: Tesla Model S

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Peter - the glory days of the pseudo (or actual) aero engined cars could be a good bit bigger, like 7 litres per cylinder...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsdWgmp4TaQ

...and the Tesla figures just prove what train manufacturers have always known about the sheer torque capabilities of electric motors. Stay away from H. Potter or 18-wheelers, though
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Re: Tesla Model S

Post by Paul Blore »

The Tesla also has huge computing power to monitor each wheel independently to avoid wheel spin. A petrol engine needs revs to produce power, so it is a fine juggling act between revs and traction, whereas an electric motor produces 100% of its torque from zero revs.

Coincidentally, I'm going for another test drive in a Tesla later this morning.

Last Wednesday, Tesla announced that all cars produced from that point on would have all the necessary hardware to be fully autonomous and they have said that their cars will be at least twice as safe as a good human driver when driving autonomously. Aside from deciding where to go, the car can drive the entire journey on its own. However, local legal requirements will dictate when it will be activated in each country.

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Roger King
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Re: Tesla Model S

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Should be fun, enjoy!

However this really scares me. Unless a completely different set of manufacturing and software standards is going to apply to this part of the industry, I am of the opinion that electronic control of a car to this degree is simply not reliable enough to be let loose on public roads. Every built-in satnav I have in our current cars is just not reliable, let alone the low level of electronic 'interference' in the actual running of the cars. My 8-year old 3 series regularly develops problems that BMW diagnostics cannot diagnose - the last one had an intermittent misfire under acceleration that BMW insisted wasn't there because their software told them it wasn't, when every test drive the dealer did revealed a pretty vicious misfire under mild acceleration. The front and rear distance sensors on our new Honda seem to start bleeping at random, typically when stopped at a junction when the car tells me the empty road in front of us has an obstacle. The collision avoidance system also caused all four wheels to lock up and the engine to cut when I was about 20 feet from an access barrier which scared the living daylights out of me, and the driver of the car behind. I'm sure Telsa have all this sorted out, but I'm not ready for all this interference in my driving, the reliability of which is questionable. Give me three pedals, a carburettor and a distributor with just one coil, please, and leave the rest to me - then I know who to blame!
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Re: Tesla Model S

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I can only but agree with Roger.
My sat nav often chooses a poor choice of route. This is why coaches get stuck down narrow country lanes and cars try to drive across non existent fords.
I have come to appreciate the double clutch automatic gearbox on my Audi and the blind spot warning system is also very useful on busy motorways but further computer input than that I am very sceptical of.
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Re: Tesla Model S

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To play the darkest kind of devil's advocate, I think it is the potential legislation that concerns me the most. As more autonomous vehicles appear, there will be pressure on more conventional cars to conform to new regulations which favour the newcomers. They are touted as being able to drive close together at speed, electronically aware of each other's presence. How long before motorways etc. are restricted to autonomous vehicles only on safety grounds? - which will impact negatively on petrol/diesel stations, which already operate on a financial knife-edge. If that delicate system is tipped over fuel stations could get few and far between very quickly, which will really destroy motoring as a hobby or passion. As more and more classics become exempt from road tax and MOTs we will have no say in any of this.

Buy that fantastic Jag, Paul! Proper car... off to test-drive an auto Abarth 124 this pm, whilst waiting for my manual. Not in the same league as all the above, but looking forward to it anyway
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Post by catsx11 »

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Last edited by catsx11 on Wed Aug 23, 2017 4:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Horse and cart

Post by Roger King »

catsx11 wrote:I say, bring back the horse and cart!…What could possibly go wrong then?!!
Image
Another vehicle with a mind of its own - like the forward control, though

Reminds me of my failsafe approach to vehicle safety.
Construction legislation should be changed to:
1) position the driver at the very front of the vehicle, in a large glasshouse area
2) remove all chassis rigidity around this area
3) make the use of driver seatbelts illegal, with a heavy penalty
4) require all steering wheels to have a large metal spike protruding from the centre, aimed at the driver's chest
5) horse positioned behind driver optional
I promise you, the accident rate and speeding rate would reduce dramatically overnight. Wouldn't raise much revenue, though.
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