Bloody cars

[frank rabbets]

Lots of sparks underneath when off roading.

 

[clivehorridge]

The more mechanical gives way to electrical, the more I lose interest.

To me, half of the pleasure of motoring is knowing what's going on mechanically, in and under the car I'm driving, it always has been.

However good electric or other power sources might get, I will never form an affinity with it like I have all my life with the good old fashioned ICE.

Lucky for me I've lived at a time to enjoy it, generations to follow will experience something very different, but somehow I'm pleased that it won't be me ....

 

[Crispin]

Do quite enjoy these threads. thanks.

 

[Gary820]

The problems with these cars will be when they're a few years down the line, go to garages that don't have the training or equipment to repair them.
The equipment isn't exactly cheap and there's items we don't own, we just borrow from another of our dealer group if need them (battery end of service tester and cell balancer as don't use often)


I've got a X5 plug in hybrid sat in the car park waiting on parts, I took it off the road the other day as not safe to drive due to a loose part!

 

[flint]

Thanks for posting, always interesting stuff. It certainly looks like the bush mechanic has had his day with the way things are going. One thing slightly puzzles me, are the emergency services up to speed on what to do in the case of a bad smash ?

 

[StarCruiser]

Thanks for posting, always interesting stuff. It certainly looks like the bush mechanic has had his day with the way things are going. One thing slightly puzzles me, are the emergency services up to speed on what to do in the case of a bad smash ?

Yes. The advice is not to touch the vehicle.
Makes you think doesn't it!

 

[Gary820]

As above pretty much don't touch it. If an airbag triggers it will switch off the hv. It'd be a worse case scenario if the body became live as a lot of safety systems to try prevent it. The cells and contactors are all within casing.

If the battery casing became that badly damaged there'd be very little car left

Iirc they will pretty much just soak the car to prevent the battery getting hot too but would depend on the accident i guess.

 

[Gary820]

Being kept busy by the boys in blue today, 49 k and done the front diff! Pinion bearing failed and was rather noisy. They do get a hard life.
Quite a small unit that bolts upto the engine sump and the long shaft runs through the sump (not in engine oil)
Supposed to drop the subframe but can just lift the engine up instead.

 

[Crispin]

Are these jobs warranty jobs or is there a special understanding? It would seem silly for BMW do design cars to live up to police standards and abuse and over-engineer everything.

 

[Gary820]

It's a warranty job. It's not a common thing to fail tbh, they have a quite a few on fleet with loads more miles that all get just as much abuse.

 

[frank rabbets]

I'm in Clives camp. Fortunate in 2 areas. We missed the horse and cart and won't see the electric car.

The electric car seams to be the trump card in the manufacturers fight against the back street garage. Due to the very nature of electrics you can't see what's going on so unlikely you could self train which you could with an ICE. More and more work will have to be carried out at the dealers. Also the cost of the equipment will tie the work to the dealers.

 

[Julian T]

I too am with Clive and Frank on the issue of electric or hybrid vehicles, probably because I would not be able to maintain or work on them myself the way I can on my current vehicles or could my previous vehicles.

Some cars to my mind are becoming more and more disposable appliances for short term use when compared to what they were historically, when products in general were manufactured to the highest standards and intended to last as long as possible.
We have seen that with house hold appliances and personal accessories.

As much as I like and approve of advances in technology and manufacturing practices it seems to me we are consuming more and more and not necessarily producing something better.

I find I am appreciating some older things more than their newer counterparts if only because they are still working and have proved their worth.

Gary not trying to hijack your thread this is just a small part of my soapbox speech and this thread has a lots of interesting posts by yourself, thanks for sharing and please do keep it up as I have found it to be very informative.
Thank you.

 

[clivehorridge]

I didn't intend to hijack either, but this thread does promote thoughts on the matter of leccy cars and IMO they don't solve the "problem" at all, they just shift it somewhere else.

I hope there's some data that would prove me wrong, but when they become commonplace, let's say 80% of the cars on the road, what problems will that cause the electricity power generation and distribution industries?

It seems a shame that in their attempts to "resolve" the fossil fuel problem, the best that the innovative intellects can come up with is another dead-end unsustainable demand on a power source.

Maybe they hope that by then, we'll be able to capture electric power direct from the sun or some-such.

BTW, I remember in the late 60s, at current trends, oil was predicted to run out by 1980. That makes you wonder which numbers they're using...

Jeez, I'm such an old cynic

 

[Towpack]

Hybrids. What a complete waste of time and money. Expensive to buy worth little when they're a few years old and outdated. Full electric via hydrogen cell is the future, hang on..it's already here! That's where the money for R&D and infrastructure should be going! JMO

 

[clivehorridge]

On the subject of safety, especially after a hefty crash, I don't know if I dreamt it, but did I hear they're going to start "Formula e" car racing?

That will get them running around with orange tape when they start crashing them big time...

 

[frank rabbets]

Am I right in thinking that all the electricity used in electric cars will be created by burning fossil fuel or will other forms of energy be used.

 

[StarCruiser]

Am I right in thinking that all the electricity used in electric cars will be created by burning fossil fuel or will other forms of energy be used.

Probably not all Frank and it would depend where in the world you plugged it in.
China-coal powered car
India-coal and animal waste powered car
UK-Gas (50%) nuclear,coal, wind,solar and a little bit of French powered car
America- "Whoa you can get electric cars?"

An interesting site here, http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/ on the UK power network.

 

[clivehorridge]

Am I right in thinking that all the electricity used in electric cars will be created by burning fossil fuel or will other forms of energy be used.

There's the rub Frank...
Gas is ok, till it runs out...
coal the same, but both cause global warming and pollution, but maybe less than ICE cars do though,
Wind generated and "other" is very small at present...
Nuclear is (IMO) still a half thought out idea, until they find a way of safely disposing of the radioactive waste.

Then there's the problem of disposing of the worn out electric cars.

ICE cars can just be crushed and recycled, not so sure about leccy cars and their batteries.

 

[Pat]

I was on the turn of horses and carts and the expansion of trucking.At the college I went to,for a period of time I was in charge of two Clydesdales and their harness and carts harrows etc.Loved it.

 

[Mblinko]

Then there's the problem of disposing of the worn out electric cars.

Happy to stand corrected but I'm pretty dammed sure the carbon footprint from the production, use and recycling of these suckers is enormous compared to that of a Detroit V8.