ponderingturtle
Orthogonal Vector
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Like how it is more impressive to beat a video game when you set up an intentionally bad user interface, vs beating the same game with a good one.
Electric Vehicles
- Thread starter acbytesla
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Like how it is more impressive to beat a video game when you set up an intentionally bad user interface, vs beating the same game with a good one.
Compared to an automatic gearbox (you know, with the separate stop and go pedals you like?) a manual gearbox is generally more reliable.
Hey you leave the Dark Souls fandom out of this.
That depends if the interface you chose actually prevents you playing the game.
Shalamar
Dark Lord of the JREF
And FUN to drive! I have one of the 'slow' Teslas, but even it can slam me back in my seat when I slam the accelerator! I can't image what a Model S Plaid is like!
Doug Demuro, a guy who routinely drives high performance cars, basically simultaneously dies, orgasms, and enters another plane of existence:
https://youtu.be/qen0ZlZM0ZA?t=1908
Nope, just that they were first.
Sure it does...
Brag? don't be ridiculous.
Fact, All my cars are manual
Fact, I have also driven both standard automatics and CVTs and I consider neither to offer me an advantage. If I spent my life driving in stop start traffic they might but I don't
Those are simple facts.
Still I'm sure you'll want the last word, so here it is
The Last Word.
Compared to an automatic gearbox (you know, with the separate stop and go pedals you like?) a manual gearbox is generally more reliable.
And an EV without either even more so.
ToddH
Critical Thinker
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I own a Mustang GT w/Performance Package that I thought was fast until I drove a buddy's Plaid. It made my car feel slow. It's convinced me that my next vehicle will be electric.
I believe the original Tesla roadster had a two speed tranny, but I could be wrong. Something about the early motors not being able to hit both the acceleration goals and the top speed goals. That was a long time ago, though. So I could be misremembering.
Many early conversions left the manual transmission because it was easier to hook the motor to the tranny than to hook it directly to the transfer case. Less need to change out the rear end gearing and such. A side effect was that the transmission let you pick the smoothness of the ride. First gear would be jerky while third would be smoother. No worries about stalling when starting in a higher gear because of the motor having max torque at zero rpms. I think some of the high end conversion places may still do that, but I haven’t looked recently.
Trl;dr: many electric cars have transmissions. Ground up designs with modern hardware don’t need them.
bruto
Penultimate Amazing
Which is really pretty silly when you think about it, because of course a significant portion of the consumers of such products are going to be those who aren't experienced with older machinery, and probably grew up with automatics anyway.
Don't get me wrong. Part of me misses having a stick shift (just not a practical thing these days for the cars I'm using), and got along well with them. I am sure I could still start that old throttle-lagging diesel on a steep hill (and so could my kids, who learned on it), and I can still remember how to double-clutch a crashbox, but if I get an electric car I want it to be honestly electric and to do the things it can do well, not the things it doesn't need to.
Filippo Lippi
Philosopher
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- Nov 28, 2002
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- 5,359
Manual choke, anyone?
Maybe it's time to return to the topic
That Dodge concept car? I expect if, and it's a big if, the engine noise and the jerky delay in acceleration ever see production, they will be rarely chosen options that dealers will never put on demonstrators
Maybe it's time to return to the topic
That Dodge concept car? I expect if, and it's a big if, the engine noise and the jerky delay in acceleration ever see production, they will be rarely chosen options that dealers will never put on demonstrators
Compared to an automatic gearbox (you know, with the separate stop and go pedals you like?) a manual gearbox is generally more reliable.
That certainly seemed to be the view say 30 years ago but is it true these days?
Yes, and while we're at it why not get rid of synchromesh (takes all of the skill out of changing gear on a manual gearbox) and revert to drum brakes and crossply tyres which made stopping and going around corners so much more
wareyin
Penultimate Amazing
And single cylinder engines were first, yet you aren't trying to cast shade on anyone who uses an engine with more than one.
Sure it does...
Hey, weren't you the guy who said calling something a child's toy wasn't in any way meant to denigrate a user? Yet here you are, acting like calling what you're bragging about using a child's toy is meant to be an attack. I'm simply using your terminology to better communicate with you.
Yes, brag. It's not subtle.
So? My motorcycle is a manual. One of my current cars is a manual. The one I drove to work today in, actually. I just don't feel the need to brag about it.
Modern automatic gearboxes get better mileage, which is an advantage to those of us who have to pay for gas. Plus, as you point out, clutches suck in stop and go Atlanta traffic. Add to that how much simpler it is to sip your coffee while you're driving in the city with stoplights, and automatic gearboxes are quite advantageous.
Thanks. I wasn't sure if I should respond, as that would have left you standing there holding the last word, looking awkward. So in order to be polite I've taken what you've offered, as I take the religious tracts that the Hari Krishnas or the Menonites or the yelling street preachers hand out when I'm walking through the park.
theprestige
Penultimate Amazing
Sounds like a nice feature. We just traded our manual transmission car for an automatic transmission car. Our commute has several hills and often heavy traffic. I'm used to coming over a rise, seeing the slow-down ahead, taking my foot off the gas, and letting the engine's resistance bring me to about the speed of the traffic further down the hill. The automatic doesn't do that, and I actually have to apply a little brake.
theprestige
Penultimate Amazing
Do you mean like the brake pedal will eventually be seen as redundant, and deleted from future designs? Because I don't think that's ever going to happen. We're always going to want a quick stop option.
So I guess you probably mean people taking their foot off the accelerator and letting the car slowly decrease in speed, in scenarios where that's sufficient, rather than bother with the brakes. Which I kind of assumed everyone was doing already, a lot of the time, in any and every car that behaved that way.
Like, do you guys *not* do that all the time? I hate using my brakes at all, at speed on the freeway. I much prefer to manage my speed by easing up or bearing down on the accelerator. Is that not a thing for you?
I find it amusing that one-pedal driving is something controversial. It is something like complaining about new TV remotes having a "Mute" button when the "Volume" buttons work perfectly well.
Once you experience one-pedal driving, you will probably be sold on it. It doesn't require much of a change in the way you drive, but it makes the experience more pleasurable.
One-pedal driving doesn't have to be just an EV thing. It is great for EVs because they can use regenerative braking. But, the controls in many cars are "fly by wire" so the computer could coordinate the throttle and brakes much the same way as it is done for EVs - but also using the transmission.
Once you experience one-pedal driving, you will probably be sold on it. It doesn't require much of a change in the way you drive, but it makes the experience more pleasurable.
One-pedal driving doesn't have to be just an EV thing. It is great for EVs because they can use regenerative braking. But, the controls in many cars are "fly by wire" so the computer could coordinate the throttle and brakes much the same way as it is done for EVs - but also using the transmission.
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We live at the top of a steep hill. Unless you're going to use first gear on the way down, you're going to have to use your brakes to stay in control of your speed. OTOH it's perfectly fine for one pedal driving.
My very limited experience of one pedal driving makes me think that there's a significant difference between that and using engine braking from a manual car - not least because the retardation is so much greater.
In normal driving, there really shouldn't be any reason to use the brake pedal while one pedal driving even in stop/start driving. The brake pedal would almost become an emergency brake, it could almost be a button mounted on the floor or elsewhere. I was going to say that it could be entirely replaced by a collision avoidance system but they wouldn't be useful in situations were you're approaching a traffic light or intersection a little too quickly.
I too hate using my brakes, not least because it's a waste of fuel. Back when I used to drive to visit Daddy Don early on a Wednesday morning, I'd often drive for 250 miles without having to use the brake pedal at all.
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