What's the problem with electric cars?

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Frank Bullitt

…and my point is that this is nothing to do with being an EV.

Yep - that's a valid point too!

[sixaparrat]

Originally Posted by Clan

you will find these days as cars get heavier the tyres also get wider, so the pressure on the road is likely to be less or the same as previous cars, and trucks have even wider tyres .

The wider tyres protect the surface layer (point load) .
The increase in weight is not altered by the tyres. The Rolling load is what causes failures to the sub-formation layers.
As I said the damage caused is on a log scale ie 2x the weight is 10x the damage.
I agree that cars and lorries have been getting heavier, but over a protracted period, the jump to BEV is much quicker and roads are going to fail sooner than before.
My point is that if you're going to get a BEV, get a 4x4 with good rough surface performance. You'll need it.

[sixaparrat]

Originally Posted by DaveNP

Trucks may have wider tyres but they don’t really offset the weight, there are many sections of motorway that have ruts in lane one due to the amount of HGVs pounding them, I don’t suppose individual BEVs will have a great effect but as the numbers go up there could be a cumulative effect .

'tis what I was implying

[baggy798]

Originally Posted by Frank Bullitt

My V60 weighs 1800kg (on the nose), my Polestar 2 weighs 1832kg.

Next!

Nope!

V60 D4s are around 1700kg, Polestar 2 64kwh is 1940kg minimum kerb weight. 10% heavier.

The other Polestar 2 models are 15% and 20% heavier.

[Thekilt]

I’ve just returned from a long weekend in Devon, and have a few take backs from the experience of driving electric:

1. Non-Tesla charge points suck. Most are in areas you have to pay parking for, and are exceedingly expensive (ranging from 50p per kw up to 85p per kw). That’s more expensive per mile than running petrol or diesel! We went to a few hotels and all of which knew nothing about the charge points but all were chargeable and not free.
2. Tesla charge points are very good, and a lot cheaper. As I mentioned in a previous point the costs vary on time of day, but the cheapest we got was 34p per kw which is on par with my home electric day rate. There were loads of chargers (12) and not at one point were they all full.

However to address what some people say about seeing loads of teslas parked around a full charging bay, you do get charged for “idle fees” so you don’t hog the charger when your finished charging. So you will naturally see a lot of teslas parked around the charge points as I moved mine when finished charging to a parking space just opposite. Also even teslas which were not charging parked close, like a fan club and similar to what I used to do with my Volvos, always park near a Volvo

I also have to praise Darts farm just off the M5 dear Exeter. 6 minutes away from the turn off of the M5, and from the services most people visit. Darts farm has 12 chargers and the best thing there is loads to do there while you charge. This is what the charge points have to be if they are to become popular. Lovely farm shop, playground for the kids, animals to look at, dog walking area, cafes restaurants etc.

Not range anxiety I had was the charge left when we arrived home as I still have the 3 pin plug and not a 7kw charger, so it takes a while to charge back up to a decent level. If I didn’t charge I would have arrived home with 7% so that’s why I topped up the battery before we left. Otherwise I would have risked it and done the hope trip without charging.

[Frank Bullitt]

Originally Posted by baggy798

Nope!

V60 D4s are around 1700kg, Polestar 2 64kwh is 1940kg minimum kerb weight. 10% heavier.

The other Polestar 2 models are 15% and 20% heavier.

Nope!

I have the type certification for the V60 as the V5 is one of those that shows the brakes towing weight as 750kg, and it clearly says 1800kg.

[Forg]

Originally Posted by Frank Bullitt

Nope!

I have the type certification for the V60 as the V5 is one of those that shows the brakes towing weight as 750kg, and it clearly says 1800kg.

If talking the last year they sold them in Oz, which was 2021, the only V60's were the T5 AWD & they were 1806kg or thereabouts. Diseasal engines are about the same weight as petrols these days but I assume a D4 would be lower-spec & FWD-only so I'd believe 100kg less for a D4 (diseasal cars are losing sales to EV's big-time here & Volvo didn't sell a diseasal V60 at all since the last face-lift here).

By comparison I don't know which Polestar 2 Baggy was talking about 'cos it seems badging is different here, but looking at the current model they range from about 1900kg to 2200kg. I also note that the facelift released here in May is ~60kg heavier than the pre-facelift ... probably a bigger battery?

[GSS]

Originally Posted by Thekilt

the best thing there is loads to do there while you charge. This is what the charge points have to be if they are to become popular. Lovely farm shop, playground for the kids, animals to look at, dog walking area, cafes restaurants etc.

This is the main reason why I have no intention of going electric. If I have to refuel as part of my journey then I want to refuel and carry on; not spend time doing other thins or twiddling my thumbs for half an hour, (or longer if there are no available chargers). Having said that, if I have a long trip to make I always fill up beforehand. With a range of at least 800 miles in a V70 diesel I've never had to break a journey for refuelling purposes.

[Tannaton]

So it turns out the increasing weight of cars is a thing.... not just EV's but people using pickups etc. as every day drivers.

Friend of mine is a project manager for a bridge construction company - they have just won a contract with Highways England to fit motion and load monitoring sensors on motorway bridges. The concern is if there is a motorway closure, and cars are parked on bridges bumper to bumper, what is the impact if most are over 2 tons rather than 1 tons of 30 years ago....

That's not from the Daily Mail, that's happening now starting with the M56/M6 junctions and bridges.

[sixaparrat]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

So it turns out the increasing weight of cars is a thing.... not just EV's but people using pickups etc. as every day drivers.

Friend of mine is a project manager for a bridge construction company - they have just won a contract with Highways England to fit motion and load monitoring sensors on motorway bridges. The concern is if there is a motorway closure, and cars are parked on bridges bumper to bumper, what is the impact if most are over 2 tons rather than 1 tons of 30 years ago....

That's not from the Daily Mail, that's happening now starting with the M56/M6 junctions and bridges.

Told you.
I have spent 37 years building motorways and dual carriageways, including being present when pavement design decisions were being made. Weight was the main parameter for depth of pavement.