Motor upgrades

The Fisker is pretty big. This very rough pre-production specimen almost ran over my toes at Best Buy a few months ago. It is definitely a Grand Touring class car.

Likely well over 4K lbs.

TRONZ said:

The Fisker is pretty big. This very rough pre-production specimen almost ran over my toes at Best Buy a few months ago. It is definitely a Grand Touring class car.

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Boy!! That thing (behind the wheel) is hard to look at. Gives me as headache. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

mitch672 said:

EVDRIVER said:

The Fisker is probabably more practical for now, until we see how Teslas "300 mile" range pack works.

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Umm, Fisker Karma practical ? Have you seen the boot in that thing ? While the Model S will carry 5+2 people, or 5 people and a LOT of luggage, not just a golf bag or two...

EVDRIVER said:

Who said 5.3. I'm saying the Tesla is far faster with less than half the power. The difference between even 5.0 and 5.6 is quite a bit and 5.6 to 5.3 is a huge difference. The Karma is a dog for its specs if they are accurate.

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No, they have the same power. The Karma has 2x150kW motors, the Model S a single 300kW motor. The ICE in the Karma can't power the wheels directly, just generate electricity for the motors to use. They have to run the ICE for best acceleration, since the small battery can't deliver enough power. The Model S has a MUCH larger battery that can supply the 300kW on it's own.

SierraQ said:

One interesting point to consider is the Leaf Nismo, the racing version of the Leaf. By reports it is said to have the same drivetrain and battery system reconfigured for racing. The main difference is the car weighs almost 1000 lbs. less so it is a lot more responsive. Interestingly, though, the top speed is still around 90 MPH. You'd think that if they could make it faster with just some programming or other minor adjustments they would have.

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Top speed is limited on the LEAF because power drops off at high motor RPMs. With appropriate gearing, the LEAF could probably hit 110 mph if not more.

To increase top speed of the LEAF NISMO RC, you would need to change the gearbox to provide a high gear ratio (at the expense of low speed acceleration) or use a multi-speed gearbox. With the wide torque curve of electric motors I wouldn't be surprised to see electric cars equipped with 2-3 speed transmissions to improve acceleration, economy and top speed down the road as battery costs drop.

For now, the NISMO RC is primarily a marketing/engineering exercise - for production vehicles the pressure to keep cost down and things simple will probably keep 1-speed EVs dominant for the near future.

jkirkebo said:

EVDRIVER said:

Who said 5.3. I'm saying the Tesla is far faster with less than half the power. The difference between even 5.0 and 5.6 is quite a bit and 5.6 to 5.3 is a huge difference. The Karma is a dog for its specs if they are accurate.

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No, they have the same power. The Karma has 2x150kW motors, the Model S a single 300kW motor. The ICE in the Karma can't power the wheels directly, just generate electricity for the motors to use. They have to run the ICE for best acceleration, since the small battery can't deliver enough power. The Model S has a MUCH larger battery that can supply the 300kW on it's own.

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I was referring to the Tesla Roadster, actually 185kw. The Tesla model S is 220kw. Not sure what 300kw model S you are talking about but the Karma is slow for the 300kw + ICE spec. It is a heavy hybrid which means it's not efficient. It's also is vaporware until it for sale. Don't count on it being anywhere under $100K.

The entry model Fisker Karma is $95K, the one most people will buy is $109K

They are stocking their showrooms now, and there may be a few availble before the end of the year, from what they are telling me on their facebook page. There's also a local Fisker dealer near me..

mitch672 said:

The entry model Fisker Karma is $95K, the one most people will buy is $109K

They are stocking their showrooms now, and there may be a few availble before the end of the year, from what they are telling me on their facebook page. There's also a local Fisker dealer near me..

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Entry model with two 150 kw motors? Should be interesting to see the actual prices and what you get. No way I would buy a hybrid for that price. Kind of silly.

You might just want to check out how it works. It has different modes, it can be a pure EV for the first 50 miles, or it can blend the battery and the engine-generator for higher performance. The engine provides extra power (up to 175KW) strictly through the generator, unlike the Volt. It an impressive car. When I said its "more practical", I mean its a 300 mile range car, that exists, and for most peoples daily drives can be all electric. When the engine is running, the overal result is it pollutes less than a Prius. The Tesla Model S is supposed to have a 300 mile EV range, and be in the same price range ($90K), when they deliver the first one, I'll believe it.

http://www.fiskerautomotive.com/en-us/karma/features/technology" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's also a luxury car, its no "econobox", look at the interior, etc. It ways nicer than the Volt, and has a price to prove it this car is going for a higher end market, if you or I can't afford it, I don't think Fisker really cares, they will sell all they can make anyway.