Mitsubishi i MiEV electric car progress report

[huboz0r]

"It doesn't slip about like the other cars do, especially the BMW's". Now, i'm not a huge bmw fanboy...but do you know anything about cars?

[teta809]

Looked huge next to the BMW

[desicanadiano]

what average range have you been getting? And how much difference u think running heater or AC would make to the range?

[MikeBoxwell]

We're getting a range of 65-70 miles on mixed driving, and we're never running it flat - there could be as much as 10 miles extra range on the car if we needed it. Running the heater takes around 10 miles off the range.

[desicanadiano]

65-70 mile range, is that on flat terrain? What u think it would be in up and down roads? How long it takes to charge? When will it be available for consumers & for how much? Thanks

[argosy2006]

how is the heater in that car.????? how does heater work, how does headlights work? and when there on does the range drop by half/?

[r4nd0mn4me]

The heater, headlights and everything else in the car is electric.

[argosy2006]

@r4nd0mn4me then that would drop your range by alot, a heater eats power,so does headlights,

QUESTION!!! how come an electric car has no alternator to change the batteries? a lil wind turbine in front grill,,and four alternator on each wheel,, wheels are turning why not have them hooked up to alternator,, same with drives,, THERES NO ALTERNATORS! WHY?

[4r4nd0mninj4]

Yes any accessory will diminish the range but this should still allow the car to make the average commute. Anyone in high school physics will tell you that hooking up an alternator to any part of an electric car would sap more power from the drive system, than it would add to the battery pack. Mitsubishi is the only company that I have ever seen put an electric turbine on the front of a car and that has to do with the high pressure build up at the front of the cars grill.

[MikeBoxwell]

The amount of power used by the heater and the lights is nothing compared to the power used by the motor. A headlight uses 55 watts, a heater uses 500-600 watts - the motor can use 47,000 watts.

The car does have an alternator - of sorts. When you take your foot off the gas pedal, the motor starts taking charge from the momentum of the car and using it to top up the batteries. You can boost this recharge, using the motor to slow down the car. Think of it as a really efficient braking system.

[argosy2006]

why not have a Lil wind turbine in front grill, i mean why not, it can only do good, cost nothing to have it there, car is moving the wind turbine would be spinning,free power for baterries, has this car litium batteries?>

[MikeBoxwell]

Wind turbines create turbulance, which would slow the car down. The additional amount of energy required to overcome the turbulance would be more than the power you would generate from the turbine. A small turbine like you propose would not generate more than 60 watt-hours of energy - enough to run one headlight. The amount of drag it would create would probably take 500 watts of power to overcome. The result is a significant net loss.

[JUKIO01]

@argosy2006 or solar panels

[SirTragain]

@MikeBoxwell That is called "Regenerative Braking". The electric motor becomes a Generator by utilizing the forward kinetic energy (Momentum) that is being transmitted back through the drive axels when you lift your foot from the accelerator pedal and cost; a greater proportional field is granted when the brake is applied. Anything more than 40% recovery would probably cause the tires to lock up on snow and ice and feel like you were in a rocking chair when driving on pavement

[JohnCBriggs]

Mike, Thanks for the update. Looks like a great car. Don't you guys plow the streets over there in England?

John C. Briggs