• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.

Electric Vehicles |OT| EV 2.0

Gpsych

Member
May 20, 2019
2,886
Only took two months, but finally got my Tesla Model 3 yesterday. Whoa, the regen breaking thing is no joke. Makes the driving experience completely different. Also, holy shit is this thing fast to the point of complete ridiculousness. And navigate on autopilot is some sort of weird super future tech. Amazing.
 
Darren Lamb

Darren Lamb

Member
Dec 1, 2017
2,831
Commuted with my Bolt today, one pedal driving is a game changer. It was a nightmare with all the traffic (took almost an hour for me to go 5 miles this morning) but I felt so much more calm in stop and go situations.

How does everyone charge here? I'm not sure if I can get electricity running out to my garage like I hoped, but I've got a chargepoint machine about a 5 minute walk away. There's a DC fast charger at the Whole Foods a mile away as well
 
hwalker84

hwalker84

Member
Oct 29, 2017
3,784
Pittsburgh
Gpsych said:
Only took two months, but finally got my Tesla Model 3 yesterday. Whoa, the regen breaking thing is no joke. Makes the driving experience completely different. Also, holy shit is this thing fast to the point of complete ridiculousness. And navigate on autopilot is some sort of weird super future tech. Amazing.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I want one but my charging situation is dire. I own a town home (I choose a bigger one without a garage). I'm over 100ft from the front of my place and have a pretty restrictive hoa. No real way to charge at work. No superchargers south of Pittsburgh. I love my Hellcat but I've had muscle cars for ten years. My gut wants to go tech this time.
 
captive

captive

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,988
Houston
Gpsych said:
Only took two months, but finally got my Tesla Model 3 yesterday. Whoa, the regen breaking thing is no joke. Makes the driving experience completely different. Also, holy shit is this thing fast to the point of complete ridiculousness. And navigate on autopilot is some sort of weird super future tech. Amazing.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Welcome to the club.

I hated regen breaking during the test drive but now I love it. Especially how your brake wear is so much less because of it.
 
Cherubae

Cherubae

Member
Oct 31, 2017
195
Beaverton, Oregon, USA
Darren Lamb said:
How does everyone charge here? I'm not sure if I can get electricity running out to my garage like I hoped, but I've got a chargepoint machine about a 5 minute walk away. There's a DC fast charger at the Whole Foods a mile away as well
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

The garage in my house came with a NEMA 14-30 clothes dryer plug, but at some point the previous homeowner had remodeled and moved the washer/dryer inside the house. Now we use the extra garage plug to charge our cars: A level 2 Clipper Creek plug-in unit for the 500e, and a NEMA adapter for the stock Telsa charger.

If you do plan on using external charging stations like at Whole Foods, there's a lot of different networks out there. Likewise they also charge more per kw than what you would be charged per kw by your local residential utility company.
 
Kommodore

Kommodore

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,325
Seriously considering joining the club. Was in an accident recently that totaled my car and when I started looking at new rides I realized there were some fully electric possibilities in the range I'm looking for. Currently weighing a decision between a 2016 Nissan leaf and a Chevy Spark EV. Gonna do some test drives tomorrow.
 
Darren Lamb

Darren Lamb

Member
Dec 1, 2017
2,831
Cherubae said:
The garage in my house came with a NEMA 14-30 clothes dryer plug, but at some point the previous homeowner had remodeled and moved the washer/dryer inside the house. Now we use the extra garage plug to charge our cars: A level 2 Clipper Creek plug-in unit for the 500e, and a NEMA adapter for the stock Telsa charger.

If you do plan on using external charging stations like at Whole Foods, there's a lot of different networks out there. Likewise they also charge more per kw than what you would be charged per kw by your local residential utility company.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

This is true, the fast charger is 30 cents per minute, and the level 2 ones are 30 cents per kwh. I'm a renter though, so the cost/benefit on installing 240v in the garage probably doesn't make sense unless my landlord wants to pay for most of it
 

Deleted member 8741

user requested account closure
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
4,917
Nema 14-50 installed and ready to go at .04 kWh. Got approved for a loan at 2.5% on the AWD Tesla. I'll be jumping in early next year. Can't wait.
 
Cherubae

Cherubae

Member
Oct 31, 2017
195
Beaverton, Oregon, USA
Darren Lamb said:
This is true, the fast charger is 30 cents per minute, and the level 2 ones are 30 cents per kwh. I'm a renter though, so the cost/benefit on installing 240v in the garage probably doesn't make sense unless my landlord wants to pay for most of it
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

The 500e came with a Level 1 J-plug charger that used a normal, household 120v socket. It was slow, but it worked fine for parking the car overnight inside the garage and having it fully charged in the morning. Maybe there is an inexpensive Level 1 available for the Bolt?
 
lenovox1

lenovox1

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,995
Cherubae said:
The 500e came with a Level 1 J-plug charger that used a normal, household 120v socket. It was slow, but it worked fine for parking the car overnight inside the garage and having it fully charged in the morning. Maybe there is an inexpensive Level 1 available for the Bolt?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

The Bolt has a beefy battery. It takes two days to charge from empty.
 
Cherubae

Cherubae

Member
Oct 31, 2017
195
Beaverton, Oregon, USA
lenovox1 said:
The Bolt has a beefy battery. It takes two days to charge from empty.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

True, the battery for the Bolt is about 3x the size of the 500e battery. Using a Level 1 every night could keep the Bolt battery fully charged if the car is driven less than 30 miles per day (experience-wise it was about 4 miles per hour of charge using a Level 1). For low-mileage drivers, it may be convenient to trickle charge off a 120v in the garage at public utility electric rates.
 
Jogi

Jogi

Prophet of Regret
Member
Jul 4, 2018
5,442
Next car I'm def going ev. Love the look of the mustang mach e. Just have to figure out what to say to my condo complex since I have no clue how that all works.
 
Marshall

Marshall

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,975
Any EV owners here who live in a cold climate? I'm in Minnesota, US and it ranges from 30F to -10F all winter long. With my commute (50 miles/day) I need to be sure I have the range as they have no plugins at my place of work.
 
captive

captive

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,988
Houston
Marshall said:
Any EV owners here who live in a cold climate? I'm in Minnesota, US and it ranges from 30F to -10F all winter long. With my commute (50 miles/day) I need to be sure I have the range as they have no plugins at my place of work.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
what EV are you going to get?

a Model 3 has more than enough range to cover that commute even with lower efficiency in cold weather. You'll have to plug it in more often at night though.
 
Marshall

Marshall

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,975
captive said:
what EV are you going to get?

a Model 3 has more than enough range to cover that commute even with lower efficiency in cold weather. You'll have to plug it in more often at night though.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I want an M3, but may go with a Bolt or Leaf depending on costs at the time. I know, it's a shotgun approach and I'm sure the performance will differ for each model :/
 
Midramble

Midramble

Force of Habit
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
10,451
San Francisco
Is there much of an electric conversion community on here? Hard to find good sources on motors and LiFePo4 batteries. Budgeting out a conversion but resources seem hard to find.
 
Darren Lamb

Darren Lamb

Member
Dec 1, 2017
2,831
Cherubae said:
The 500e came with a Level 1 J-plug charger that used a normal, household 120v socket. It was slow, but it worked fine for parking the car overnight inside the garage and having it fully charged in the morning. Maybe there is an inexpensive Level 1 available for the Bolt?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Yeah, honestly we'd be fine with trickle charging with 120v, I don't drive to work anymore so it'll be sitting most of the week. When I do use it during the week, I don't go more than a few miles to do errands. It's just that I don't have any outdoor electricity at all currently (detached garage has wiring, but it's been broken for awhile), if we had to pay to dig everything up it'd make more sense to spend a little more to wire it for 240.

Going to see if my 100ft extension cable that I bought for my snowblower can be snaked discretely down the side of the house...
 
Last edited:
Radiophonic

Radiophonic

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,598
Just had to replace the radiator and thermostat on my Volt. With 101k miles, it feels like it's time to get serious about a new car.
 

Deleted member 8741

user requested account closure
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
4,917
Possible extensions on the EV credit are being debating right now for the Friday budget.


For those watching the EV tax credit, here's the latest I've seen: Talks were held yesterday, led by Senate Finance Committee Chairman @ChuckGrassley. There's a push to get a deal on temporary tax breaks (known as extenders) into Tuesday's spending bill 1/
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Optimism for renewable and electric-vehicle tax credits is fading as the White House lobbies against including them in an extenders deal. Things are looking more promising for tax breaks on booze, race tracks, filmmakers, biodiesel, and short-line rail https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-16/deal-on-biodiesel-and-beer-credits-hinges-on-broader-tax-package …
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
 
GSG

GSG

Member
Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,051
Radiophonic said:
Just had to replace the radiator and thermostat on my Volt. With 101k miles, it feels like it's time to get serious about a new car.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I'm in the same boat with my Volt as well, had to do about $2k in repairs and maintenance over the past summer(have over 147k km/91k miles on it now). Just waiting to move into my new house when, hopefully, there will be a fresh batch of EV models to choose from.
 
J-Skee

J-Skee

The Wise Ones
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,097
captive said:
Welcome to the club.

I hated regen breaking during the test drive but now I love it. Especially how your brake wear is so much less because of it.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Ditto. Took me about 2 months to finally get used to it when I first got my Model 3. But then they recently updated it with the new stopping mode & I rarely put my foot on the brake to stop. It's insane.
 
Hesemonni

Hesemonni

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,974
Just sat my acquitance's M3 and drove for a bit. Heavy snow if that matters, but the interior felt really cheap, rattly and squeeky. I don't know when in was manufactured, but coming from Audiland I wasn't exactly impressed. Didn't check the panel gaps or anything since the owner was standing next to me.

How's your M3?
 
captive

captive

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,988
Houston
Hesemonni said:
Just sat my acquitance's M3 and drove for a bit. Heavy snow if that matters, but the interior felt really cheap, rattly and squeeky. I don't know when in was manufactured, but coming from Audiland I wasn't exactly impressed. Didn't check the panel gaps or anything since the owner was standing next to me.

How's your M3?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
it has the best seats of any car ive ever driven or ridden in.

the screen and info-tainment is so much better than any car, i find myself missing them when i drive another car, like our van. Its seriously takes 5-10 seconds before the radio comes on. Literally every time i drive it it asks me if i want to make my phone the default connection, despite clicking yes every time, it asks again anyway. Then sometimes i prompts for contacts and proceeds to give a long as message about downloading contacts.

I certainly don't miss Audi repairs and maintenance costs, thats for damn sure. If that means i dont get shiny knobs and fake wood veneer, what the hell ever.
 
Radiophonic

Radiophonic

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,598
GSG said:
I'm in the same boat with my Volt as well, had to do about $2k in repairs and maintenance over the past summer(have over 147k km/91k miles on it now). Just waiting to move into my new house when, hopefully, there will be a fresh batch of EV models to choose from.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yeah, I'm hoping to test drive a Model 3 sometime very soon, once Christmas is over, at least. I'm kinda done with the Volt at this point, though it's generally been a very reliable car for the almost eight years I've driven it. In terms of replacing it though, there aren't many options.
 
Kendrid

Kendrid

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,127
Chicago, IL
Hesemonni said:
Just sat my acquitance's M3 and drove for a bit. Heavy snow if that matters, but the interior felt really cheap, rattly and squeeky. I don't know when in was manufactured, but coming from Audiland I wasn't exactly impressed. Didn't check the panel gaps or anything since the owner was standing next to me.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Is it a 2018? I have a March 2019 with no rattles, squeaks, etc. I have a thread on a Tesla forum asking about squeaks (they really bother me) from before I purchased our car. It seems based upon replies that the early cars had issues that they worked out.
 
Ryu_Ken

Ryu_Ken

Member
Oct 30, 2017
1,782
Picked up my 2019 40kwh Leaf Tekna in Saturday.

Huge improvement over the 24 it replaced, although it's essentially the same car, the added power and new tech makes the world of difference. Feels a much better car to drive. Would have loved an M3 but couldn't warrant almost twice the monthly cost for the limited amount of miles I do.
 
Kommodore

Kommodore

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,325
Finally did it. Bought a 2016 Chevy Spark EV LT2 trim with DCFC for $8500 (offset by $3400 to $5100 from insurance check for my totaled car). Payments will be $113 monthly, and gas costs used to be around $80-100 per month making driving it nearly a wash. Tiny, slightly odd-looking car, but I think it looks better than pre-2018 leafs. Car has 340 lbs of torque. Really funny to shock people who don't realize that little car can GO.

Now considering installing an L2 charger in the garage and getting that outlet wired for the voltage. Been a fun experience switching over.
 
Kommodore

Kommodore

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,325
Darren Lamb said:
Looks like the new spending bill didn't get an extension/increase of the existing tax credit for new vehicle purchases, but there's one for covering the installation of an EV charger. It's retroactive for 2018 and through 2020. 30% up to a limit of $1000

https://electrek.co/2019/12/18/us-e...s-motorcycles-fuel-cells-again-retroactively/
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Speaking of looking into getting an L2 EV charger; anyone know how this works in terms of using the tax credit? You purchase the charger, and report on taxes?
 
Darren Lamb

Darren Lamb

Member
Dec 1, 2017
2,831
Commodore said:
Speaking of looking into getting an L2 EV charger; anyone know how this works in terms of using the tax credit? You purchase the charger, and report on taxes?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

As far as I know, it's for the charger, and any installation costs. I got quoted a rough estimate of 3k to run electricity to the garage after trenching and running a ~50ft conduit. If I bought a 500 dollar charger I'd say it was 3500 to install EV charging capability and get to claim 1k on my return
 
Kendrid

Kendrid

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,127
Chicago, IL
If you ever wondered how strong the glass roof of a Model 3 is, check this out. It appears the Rav4 drove over the Model 3 after being in an accident with a taxi. Hopefully the Model 3 had it's dashcam going and they release the footage.

 

Gpsych

Member
May 20, 2019
2,886
Octodad said:
Just placed an order for a M3 Dual Motor. Can't wait.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Congrats! You will not be disappointed. I've had my M3 for less than a month and wow do I love it. It's funny because I've never really cared about cars - but this one is just amazing. The worst part is the long wait for delivery (depending on where you live I guess).
 

Deleted member 8741

user requested account closure
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
4,917
Gpsych said:
Congrats! You will not be disappointed. I've had my M3 for less than a month and wow do I love it. It's funny because I've never really cared about cars - but this one is just amazing. The worst part is the long wait for delivery (depending on where you live I guess).
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Mine quoted 4-7 weeks and it is killing me. I had a preorder down before they came out but my wife's car died 3 months before release and we had to get her something.

I'm pulling a serious glow up. I'm going from a 2006 Corolla with 190,000 miles and mismatched bumper to this.
 

Deleted member 2652

user requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,434
Hesemonni said:
Just sat my acquitance's M3 and drove for a bit. Heavy snow if that matters, but the interior felt really cheap, rattly and squeeky. I don't know when in was manufactured, but coming from Audiland I wasn't exactly impressed. Didn't check the panel gaps or anything since the owner was standing next to me.

How's your M3?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Creaks are my biggest complaint about my M3, but that's because my last few cars were BMWs.

I drive other cars around this price range and higher pretty regularly and I'm always so happy to drive my M3 again.
 
Kendrid

Kendrid

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,127
Chicago, IL
Quote said:
Creaks are my biggest complaint about my M3, but that's because my last few cars were BMWs.

I drive other cars around this price range and higher pretty regularly and I'm always so happy to drive my M3 again.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

What month/year? Our April 2019 has no squeaks or noises at all. I am curious if we got lucky or if only older cars had issues.
 
Ryno23

Ryno23

Banned
Dec 13, 2017
1,097
Kendrid said:
What month/year? Our April 2019 has no squeaks or noises at all. I am curious if we got lucky or if only older cars had issues.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

My December 2019 build is damn near flawless, couldn't be more happy with it.

Unbelievable lol. Also Nissan seems to be following the Toyota strategy of doubling down on Hybrids... Pretty sad considering how early they were with the Leaf
 

Deleted member 25834

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 29, 2017
394
My dream of purchasing a Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus has died. A dream that was very short lived for sure.

All in, an SR+ would have been approx $58K-$60K CAD, which definitely puts it into the luxury car range. I can't fathom being able to finance a purchase that large with a mortgage already on my tab and plans to start a family soon.

While there are fuel cost savings with an SR+ (and other EVs in general), the upfront cost of these vehicles is outrageous. Plus, since I only have a front parking pad, I'd likely need to install a NEMA 14-50 plug to get any decent charging speeds.

Gahh... maybe one day.

EDIT: Also news of Honda electrifying (even in part) by 2022 is intriguing, but I don't think I can wait 2 years. Maybe I can purchase a Civic hatch and hopefully trade it in for a hybrid Civic hatch in 2022.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.