Volusiano said:
What is the significance of the low pressure cooling system on the Leaf as opposed to the high cooling pressure in ICE cars?
i am sure that is part of it, but lets examine the engineering behind ICE vehicles
1) they provide waaay more power than is necessary for nearly every function the car performs. that includes accessories, climate control, cargo capacity, low end speed, etc. this creates a product with non existent efficiency. but then again, we already knew that.
the cooling system is another example of an over-engineered system. and keep in mind, the pressure is variable and for normal conditions in "normal" weather with a properly operating cooling system, the pressure is generally not that high.
but the cooling system on the Leaf pretty much has pretty standard conditions it runs in. sure, sitting out in the AZ sun at 4 pm in the afternoon QC'ing is probably not recommended more than a few times a day, but it can still handle it but mostly because the car is pretty efficient, so waste heat is minimal
on your car, for every gallon of gas it uses to move your butt down the road, it burns up another 4-6 gallons generating heat. that is a LOT OF HEAT even in a Duluth MN winter. so that is why the cooling system on a car has to be over-designed. the primary reason is NOT the ambient weather conditions. its primarily the influence of oil companies, hidden subsidized fuel pricing, and all around general corporate greed.
