Gone but not forgotten: Tesla Motors boosts Roadster range to 400 miles with upgrade retrofit. - Polidicks

[img]http://i.imgur.com/nCgFOQy.jpg[/img] [quote] Battery technology has continued a steady improvement in recent years, as has our experience in optimizing total vehicle efficiency through Model S development. We have long been excited to apply our learning back to our first vehicle, and are thrilled to do just that with the prototype Roadster 3.0 package. It consists of three main improvement areas. 1. Batteries The original Roadster battery was the very first lithium ion battery put into production in any vehicle. It was state of the art in 2008, but cell technology has improved substantially since then. We have identified a new cell that has 31% more energy than the original Roadster cell. Using this new cell we have created a battery pack that delivers roughly 70kWh in the same package as the original battery. 2. Aerodynamics The original Roadster had a drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.36. Using modern computational methods we expect to make a 15% improvement, dropping the total Cd down to 0.31 with a retrofit aero kit. 3. Rolling Resistance The original Roadster tires have a rolling resistance coefficient (Crr) of 11.0 kg/ton. New tires that we will use on the Roadster 3.0 have a Crr of roughly 8.9 kg/ton, about a 20% improvement. We are also making improvements in the wheel bearings and residual brake drag that further reduce overall rolling resistance of the car. [B]Summary Combining all of these improvements we can achieve a predicted 40-50% improvement on range between the original Roadster and Roadster 3.0. [I]There is a set of speeds and driving conditions where we can confidently drive the Roadster 3.0 over 400 miles.*[/I] We will be demonstrating this in the real world during a non-stop drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles in the early weeks of 2015.[/B] Appointments for upgrading Roadsters will be taken this spring once the new battery pack finishes safety validation. We are confident that this will not be the last update the Roadster will receive in the many years to come. Happy Holidays.[/quote] Fine print italicized* [url]http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/roadster-30[/url] That's like 20 miles less than my Silverado can do on a full tank. I'm going to guess the real world range will be around 375.

My Mini gets right around 300 to a tank, so Tesla has actually made the electric car that outdoes (at least some) internal combustion cars. Very nicely done, Tesla. Now make it cheap.

I feel like Tesla is going to really innovate in the battery industry as it's stagnated for quite some time.

I always wondered how these electric cars heaters worked. Does it get heat from the motor or does it have a heating element in it?

[QUOTE=nomad1;46826602]I feel like Tesla is going to really innovate in the battery industry as it's stagnated for quite some time.[/QUOTE]They have to do exactly that if they're going to sell cars cheap enough to make a significant difference on the world. [editline]30th December 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=Cmx;46826634]I always wondered how these electric cars heaters worked. Does it get heat from the motor or does it have a heating element in it?[/QUOTE]That big bank of battery cells generates a ridiculous amount of heat, and since it's on the bottom of the car I'd imagine some of that heat makes it's way upward.

[QUOTE=JumpinJackFlash;46826655]They have to do exactly that if they're going to sell cars cheap enough to make a significant difference on the world. [editline]30th December 2014[/editline] That big bank of battery cells generates a ridiculous amount of heat, and since it's on the bottom of the car I'd imagine some of that heat makes it's way upward.[/QUOTE] That's they have a heat deflector That's why it's fucking dangerous to have the heat deflector damaged... [QUOTE]My Mini gets right around 300 to a tank, so Tesla has actually made the electric car that outdoes (at least some) internal combustion cars. Very nicely done, Tesla. Now make it cheap.[/QUOTE] You travel mostly inside cities or in highways?

[QUOTE=Cutthecrap;46826779]That's they have a heat deflector That's why it's fucking dangerous to have the heat deflector damaged... You travel mostly inside cities or in highways?[/QUOTE] 25 miles to campus and back, five days a week. That's mostly 50mph highway, but I pass through the city for about ten minutes a trip. It's a 2003 Cooper with the CVT, which is notorious for its inefficiency. If I had a manual, I'd get 350ish,

[QUOTE=Cmx;46826634]I always wondered how these electric cars heaters worked. Does it get heat from the motor or does it have a heating element in it?[/QUOTE] The roadster has an electric heating element and the model s has a heatpump for heat Heat can be transferred between the battery and motor to warm the battery in cold climates. edit: When the weather is too cold to use the heatpump(basically an ac in reverse), the model s switches to a traditional heating element for heat.