Official 'Record Run' Video of the VW I.D R Pikes Peak

How long is a formula E race? How long do you think a battery will last in a power track as Le Mans? And multiply that for 55 cars...

Formula E race is around 2 hours long. I don't know how long a battery would last, but considering they refuel about once in 45 minutes, I think it's safe to assume they'd last a little over half an hour. If you multiply 3 batteries times 55 cars, you get 165. I suggest consulting a calculator if you want to check the correctness of this calculation.
 
Formula E race is around 2 hours long. I don't know how long a battery would last, but considering they refuel about once in 45 minutes, I think it's safe to assume they'd last a little over half an hour. If you multiply 3 batteries times 55 cars, you get 165. I suggest consulting a calculator if you want to check the correctness of this calculation.

That is the minimum. Battery lasting 45 minutes at full speed around Le Mans? Not even close. Formula E cannot even run full bore F1 circuits, imagine that at Le Mans... Now imagine at least 110 battery packs charging at the same time in the pits. And we are still being optimistic, because a single unit might take hours to charge, and minutes do discharge on the track...

Why do you think no 100% electric battery packed car ever tried to run that race?...
 
That is the minimum. Battery lasting 45 minutes at full speed around Le Mans? Not even close. Formula E cannot even run full bore F1 circuits, imagine that at Le Mans... Now imagine at least 110 battery packs charging at the same time in the pits. And we are still being optimistic, because a single unit might take hours to charge, and minutes do discharge on the track...

Why do you think no 100% electric battery packed car ever tried to run that race?...

That's why I said "about half an hour" rather than 45 minutes. Formula E can run F1 circuits, but they instead chose to run city circuits, probably because it suits the cars more and because they are the only series that can. Considering 55 cars will be out driving, only roughly 55 would be charging at one time. Modern road car batteries can be charged in 15-30 minutes, so I think it's pretty safe to assume racing teams would know how to charge batteries faster than in several hours.

Why has no battery packed car ever tried that race? Why should I know? Why are car manufacturers still refusing to make proper electric cars even if they are superior to their ICE counterparts?
 
That's why I said "about half an hour" rather than 45 minutes. Formula E can run F1 circuits, but they instead chose to run city circuits, probably because it suits the cars more and because they are the only series that can. Considering 55 cars will be out driving, only roughly 55 would be charging at one time. Modern road car batteries can be charged in 15-30 minutes, so I think it's pretty safe to assume racing teams would know how to charge batteries faster than in several hours.

Why has no battery packed car ever tried that race? Why should I know? Why are car manufacturers still refusing to make proper electric cars even if they are superior to their ICE counterparts?

I could try to reason against this point by point, but i will just say this: Everything you said is wrong, and the reason why no electric cars ran the race is because they would never be competitive or last.

As for manufacturers making proper electric cars, well... they have been around for quite a while:

 
"The future is electric"

Really? Can someone explain to me how you can do rallying, a dakar, a 24 hours of Le Mans, or even a full F1 grand prix or full MotoGP race with battery power? Batteries are still eons away of having the same capacity as any chemical fuel we have. And hydrogen is proving to be a challenge also, both logistical and environmental. Sure they can go uphill quick for 10 minutes tops, but anything more than that is just impossible with the current technology...

Many options:
- tiny nuclear/antimatter powerplant inside the car (not so soon :) )
- replace this by gravity cars/bikes (it even exist :D), so no engine needed at all (engines are over rated anyway)
- they finally succeed to put an engine AND an alternator together, when they got an efficient alternator (not so soon either),
- add power pedals to cars, driver(s) have to recharge when the electric engine do the job, or it will the the co-driver job, or even the team, and the Ford Transit will become the first team-car ever build for racing,
- keep ICE because it's easier :p and too bad for the planet, it's already lost anyway, so at least, better to have some fun before the checkered flag (or the fatal crash).

There will be probably not so much e-motorsport anyway as they finally "discover" no enough energy can be created with even more environmental hazardous means to create it (at least nuclear power plants) and there will not be enough raw materials to build batteries to store this energy.
 
I could try to reason against this point by point, but i will just say this: Everything you said is wrong, and the reason why no electric cars ran the race is because they would never be competitive or last.

As for manufacturers making proper electric cars, well... they have been around for quite a while:

You saying "you're wrong" doesn't make me wrong. Also electric cars have been around even in the early 1900s, but as evident from the lack of choices in the EV market and the existence of compliance EVs, manufacturers clearly don't want to make the switch.

Edit: Also, you saying an electric LeMans car would not be competitive in a thread about an electric car that beat every ICE car it faced-off against hilariously ironic.
 
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OMG!, Performance is the only important in motorsport!! C'mon!
Really people who just love to be stuck in the past, Why you don't live like in 1800's?, or just like 1980?
Is so frustrating people just because they had been raised with ICE noises they will miss that!?
This is a clear example of Stockholm syndrome!!

Motorsports, as well as sport road cars, are made to entertain, to provide fun and amusement to the people. I do not want the fastest cars ever if that means they are so easy to drive that the driver's skill doesn't really matter anymore, or if there's no danger nor risks at all in the races, or if there are some essential things missing such as roaring engines, smoke, fire from the exhausts, and even the smell of gasoline (if you are lucky to really be there). Sports cars should be wild, noisy and exciting. Speed, acceleration and other performance elements are only part of the show. Electric cars may be good for the sake of nature and to have more placid and silent cities. They may be the future, even for beating track laptimes. What will be the next improvement? One pedal, rails ala Scalextrix, remote control, no humans? Oh yes: no spectators.
 
People are fans of their own era. It's hard to find yourself in between changes, but that's the only thing that's permanent. I don't own any electric vehicle, but I see them gaining momentum here in Taiwan. We have Tesla here now(something I never expect) and a government run bus line that only uses electric bus.

The major form of transport here are motor bikes. I own one. I recently changed my exhaust pipe because the stock got rusty and broke. I can't find them anymore(old model) so I have no choice but to install noisy, sporty aftermarket exhaust pipe. My 6yr old boy saw it and said "WOW Daddy! Your bike looks like a rocket!". :D After that, every now and then whenever he sees an electric bike or car, he asks me if I can buy one. He says he don't like my bike anymore because it's noisy.

I remember watching old Shumacher stuff as a kid. Now I miss those V type engines and the squeel they make. They don't roar, they scream! I miss them:cry:... But I'm pretty sure, if ever my kid grow up to be a racing fan, he maybe watching people racing around quietly by then. May even exclude humans like the idea said above. Technology moves forward. Nothing is forever. If RaceDepartment is still around in a hundred years or more, people may laugh reading us discussing this topic.
 
Electric will never be more than a stop gap to a real replacement for the ICE.
Simply not enough resources on this planet to accommodate the shear number of electric vehicles required to replace current ICE, never mind continued population growth.
 
You saying "you're wrong" doesn't make me wrong. Also electric cars have been around even in the early 1900s, but as evident from the lack of choices in the EV market and the existence of compliance EVs, manufacturers clearly don't want to make the switch.

Edit: Also, you saying an electric LeMans car would not be competitive in a thread about an electric car that beat every ICE car it faced-off against hilariously ironic.
Apples and oranges.
 
Electric will never be more than a stop gap to a real replacement for the ICE.
Simply not enough resources on this planet to accommodate the shear number of electric vehicles required to replace current ICE, never mind continued population growth.
Yes, sure. All we know that petrol is an infinite source!, here in Denmark for example it rains gasoline on monday, wendsdays, frydays and diesel on tuesdays and thursdays. The weekends is raining kerosene...... ..... .... .... ....
 
Well, the first petrol powered car had 0.75 hp and a top speed of 16 kph.

Do you think they looked at it and thought "That's going to be useless - we may as well scrap the whole idea right now!"?

Some people are far too quick to write off alternatives to the IC engine :rolleyes:
 
OMG!, Performance is the only important in motorsport!! C'mon!
Really people who just love to be stuck in the past, Why you don't live like in 1800's?, or just like 1980?
Is so frustrating people just because they had been raised with ICE noises they will miss that!?
This is a clear example of Stockholm syndrome!!

And this is why classic car/bike racing is non existant and unpopular...oh wait, hang on it's VERY much alive and popular as well. There comes a point when technology and advancement makes things utterly boring and electric cars/bikes is that point.

Humans use their senses to enjoy things and hearing is JUST as important as everything else. Electric cars and bikes sound crap. How on earth anyone could like a loud whiney noise is beyond me.

what if motorsports evolves into magnetic lift like wipeout, getting rid of the nuances and skills involved in managing tyres? Then the real thing becomes arcade!
 
Edit: Also, you saying an electric LeMans car would not be competitive in a thread about an electric car that beat every ICE car it faced-off against hilariously ironic.

It's not ironic at all, hill climbing like RX falls into the comfort zone of electric cars so not a valid comparison at all. Would a F1 car beat an FE car? I think it would and I also think it would destroy it over a full race distance.
 
I must admit I do find the almost evangelical pushing of electric as worrying, I've yet to read any comment on any website from a pro electric person that doesn't remind me of a religious fruitcake. Hybrids I can understand, reduce the amount of oil based fuels needed. But personally Hydrogen is the way to go for me, most abundant element in the universe so a needed step for mankinds future.
 
Yes, sure. All we know that petrol is an infinite source!, here in Denmark for example it rains gasoline on monday, wendsdays, frydays and diesel on tuesdays and thursdays. The weekends is raining kerosene...... ..... .... .... ....
Yes, because the ICE engine only runs on petrol derivates, as we all know, there is no engine running from alcohol, vegetable oil, or any derivates :whistling:
 
I'm not sure where some people are getting their information but a Formula E race lasts 45 minutes plus one lap. The new Gen 2 cars can do that on one charge. With Gen 1, the drivers had to swap cars mid race. The tracks have a length of 2 to 3 km and a race distance is between 80 and 90 km. So, we're a good way off longer races, at the moment, anyway.
 

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