Mitsubishi i MiEV electric car progress report

This is a report I did for EVcast in early January 2010 on the Mitsubishi i MiEV electric car which I am using on a year long trial.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Mitsubishi
• i MiEV
• electric car
• ev
• electric cars

[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.

[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/?

[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.

[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

[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

[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