I don't see this covered on the FAQ spreadsheet: Am I correct in thinking that reduced wind resistance also means the motors do more of the stopping, yielding a more effective regen curve?
Hub motors' regen is inherently a bit better from just eliminating the frictional loss of the usual 4 CV joints, differential, & gearbox (yes, only single-speed for EVs but still intermeshing gears).
Ken's original point seems valid: Reduced wind resistance also means the motors do more of the stopping, yielding a more effective regen curve.
For example, with a high-drag car, slowing for an off-ramp from 80mph to 30 in 1000feet could offer zero regen, simply coasting with the air slowing it down. Aptera would be using regen to slow.
On the other hand, Aptera's light weight means it takes less regen-braking force for deceleration. Of course it also means it takes less energy for acceleration, but due to losses like heat & friction, light weight is still a big net benefit.
Somewhere along the line it was also stated that in-wheel motors have a consistently higher regen percentage - so we could be looking at some really surprising results!
@Ken Potter Adaptive Cruise Control can do some pretty amazing things: It's astonishingly more sophisticated than the old-school variety. In my serial PHEV it decides when to coast and when to regen, when battery-powered acceleration is sufficient, when a jolt of generator-produced power is necessary and when additional torque is needed from direct-coupling to the ICE. Admittedly, the car's AI is playing a part in this, making decisions about which of the three power modes is the most energy efficient way to move two tons of Honda down the highway, but the systems integration is seamless, effortless and - frankly - amazing!
To me, the various regenerative settings are the key to more effective cruise control. A cruise setting of 60 mph frequently allows 75 mph coasting down a mountain. I'd like to see progressively higher regenerative braking programmed into the cruise control system as the speed climbs well beyond the setting. Maybe smarter cruise control already has that covered?
@Ken Potter Me & other drivers prefer to be able to adjust right-pedal regen on the fly, so it's nice if that option is available. You don't have to use it if you don't want to.
To chinkypoo1: Do you mean various levels of regen, or adjusting cruise speed? To me , the logical thing here would be automatic. In Cruise Control mode, it could go to various levels of regen as gravity goes through it's ups and downs. It's not a big deal for Cruise Control to adapt to gravity accelleration, just like it reacts to decelleration on a hill climb. I suppose that users could control the sensitivity in software (+ or - 2 mph, for example), but that seems unnecessary. I feel like Cruise should seamlessly do it's job in the background. If this was a hyper-mile rally on a closed course, you would let the vehicle run downhill as fast as gravity would take it, but in the real world, safety wins every time. Why not grab some extra ions without having to lean on the brake pedal?
I do like having very specific driver controls on the Cruise speed setting. In our current EV, you can easily change from 66 to 64 mph, while our ICE car is set somewhere vaguely around 65-ish....
For the position, my guess is that the speed control is safer on the (rectangular) steering wheel than on the armrest, correct? For regen in general, my opinion is to customize that in settings, rather than do it on the fly. You'll come to expect it to behave in a certain way, and surprises are not a good thing.
Hub motors' regen is inherently a bit better from just eliminating the frictional loss of the usual 4 CV joints, differential, & gearbox (yes, only single-speed for EVs but still intermeshing gears).
Ken's original point seems valid: Reduced wind resistance also means the motors do more of the stopping, yielding a more effective regen curve.
For example, with a high-drag car, slowing for an off-ramp from 80mph to 30 in 1000feet could offer zero regen, simply coasting with the air slowing it down. Aptera would be using regen to slow.
On the other hand, Aptera's light weight means it takes less regen-braking force for deceleration. Of course it also means it takes less energy for acceleration, but due to losses like heat & friction, light weight is still a big net benefit.
Somewhere along the line it was also stated that in-wheel motors have a consistently higher regen percentage - so we could be looking at some really surprising results!
@Ken Potter Adaptive Cruise Control can do some pretty amazing things: It's astonishingly more sophisticated than the old-school variety. In my serial PHEV it decides when to coast and when to regen, when battery-powered acceleration is sufficient, when a jolt of generator-produced power is necessary and when additional torque is needed from direct-coupling to the ICE. Admittedly, the car's AI is playing a part in this, making decisions about which of the three power modes is the most energy efficient way to move two tons of Honda down the highway, but the systems integration is seamless, effortless and - frankly - amazing!
I read there will be a few regenerative brake settings
To me, the various regenerative settings are the key to more effective cruise control. A cruise setting of 60 mph frequently allows 75 mph coasting down a mountain. I'd like to see progressively higher regenerative braking programmed into the cruise control system as the speed climbs well beyond the setting. Maybe smarter cruise control already has that covered?
@Ken Potter Me & other drivers prefer to be able to adjust right-pedal regen on the fly, so it's nice if that option is available. You don't have to use it if you don't want to.
I would like to see a small dial on the armrest that you could adjust as you're moving. Or + - buttons.
To chinkypoo1: Do you mean various levels of regen, or adjusting cruise speed? To me , the logical thing here would be automatic. In Cruise Control mode, it could go to various levels of regen as gravity goes through it's ups and downs. It's not a big deal for Cruise Control to adapt to gravity accelleration, just like it reacts to decelleration on a hill climb. I suppose that users could control the sensitivity in software (+ or - 2 mph, for example), but that seems unnecessary. I feel like Cruise should seamlessly do it's job in the background. If this was a hyper-mile rally on a closed course, you would let the vehicle run downhill as fast as gravity would take it, but in the real world, safety wins every time. Why not grab some extra ions without having to lean on the brake pedal?
I do like having very specific driver controls on the Cruise speed setting. In our current EV, you can easily change from 66 to 64 mph, while our ICE car is set somewhere vaguely around 65-ish....
For the position, my guess is that the speed control is safer on the (rectangular) steering wheel than on the armrest, correct? For regen in general, my opinion is to customize that in settings, rather than do it on the fly. You'll come to expect it to behave in a certain way, and surprises are not a good thing.