Polestar 1, the Electric Car with Paddle Shifters?

Kinja'd!!! "Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish" (mrfist)
03/23/2018 at 15:08 • Filed to: None

Kinja'd!!!0 Kinja'd!!! 13
Kinja'd!!!

Saw this today and thought it was strange, why would an electric car need paddles?


DISCUSSION (13)


Kinja'd!!! DucST3-Red-1Liter-Standing-By > Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish
03/23/2018 at 15:15

Kinja'd!!!0

I think the lastest Volt has them for regen braking. Maybe something along the same lines?


Kinja'd!!! OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish
03/23/2018 at 15:17

Kinja'd!!!0

Kinja'd!!!


Kinja'd!!! bhtooefr > Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish
03/23/2018 at 15:18

Kinja'd!!!3

Two reasons.

In this case, because it’s not an electric car, it’s a plug-in hybrid, and it has an 8-speed automatic.

Another case, though, is for regenerative braking, and changing how much of it you get. The Volkswagen EVs use a manual shifter position to increase/decrease regen on the accelerator pedal. The Cadillac ELR, Gen 2 Chevrolet Volt, and IIRC the Chevrolet Bolt use a paddle to engage extra-strong regen.


Kinja'd!!! Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish > bhtooefr
03/23/2018 at 15:26

Kinja'd!!!0

I feel like I’ve only seen stuff about the battery tech but that makes sense, this thing should even pretty cool.


Kinja'd!!! TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish
03/23/2018 at 15:31

Kinja'd!!!1

You can still have a transmission with an electric motor.


Kinja'd!!! Pich, with Z32 now featuring Civic [Si] / No > Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish
03/23/2018 at 16:36

Kinja'd!!!3

gotta switch between AA and AAA


Kinja'd!!! Spanfeller is a twat > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
03/24/2018 at 09:59

Kinja'd!!!0

Many formula E teams run transmissions... but many others don’t

it depends on how you want your engine to output at a certain RPM and how it relates to wheel speed, but generally it seems to cause too many mechanical losses to be justified, even tesla tried putting a transmission in the Roadster and they said it wasn’t worth it.


Kinja'd!!! TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Spanfeller is a twat
03/24/2018 at 16:39

Kinja'd!!!0

I engineer electric race cars, I understand the trade-offs made in electric powertrains.

Tesla ditched the 2 speed gearbox in the Roadster because they couldn’t get it to stop breaking.


Kinja'd!!! Spanfeller is a twat > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
03/24/2018 at 16:42

Kinja'd!!!0

Do you think it would be worth it (a gearbox) in thr polestar application?

Yes! It broke... I had forgotten that was the reason.


Kinja'd!!! TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Spanfeller is a twat
03/24/2018 at 16:53

Kinja'd!!!0

Depends on what kind of performance they are targeting and what kind of motor they are using. If they are using a motor that only revs to 6-8k rpm a gearbox would allow them to achieve both fast acceleration and high top speed (Tesla’s motors rev to 14k+, allowing them to achieve a high top speed with short gear ratios). A gearbox also allows them to keep the motor closer to it’s peak efficiency point. With the kind of car Polestar has traditionally built a gearbox would make sense for the increased driver involvement.


Kinja'd!!! Spanfeller is a twat > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
03/24/2018 at 17:01

Kinja'd!!!0

Would being able to keep the motor at its most efficient overcome the mechanical losses of a gearbox?

It would mean the motor could be made to spin a lot slower than a Tesla motor... Not that I understand the benefits of that just yet.


Kinja'd!!! TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Spanfeller is a twat
03/24/2018 at 19:17

Kinja'd!!!0

From a power delivery perspective yes, probably not from an efficiency perspective.

The comparison with a Tesla motor has more to do with gearing than anything. If a Tesla motor can rev to 14k and do both 0-60 in 2s and 150mph, a motor that makes the same torque as a Tesla motor that only revs to 7k would still be able to do 0-60 in 2s but would only be able to run out to about 75mph.


Kinja'd!!! Spanfeller is a twat > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
03/24/2018 at 19:57

Kinja'd!!!1

Well, there must be a benefit for slower engines (even if they probably had to be physically larger to equal torque) then in case of power delivery a 7 speed auto or a CVT would make good sense....