Electric vehicle equivalents

Slacy’s Blog says, “I think that Tesla Motors and even Toyota, should begin to educate the public around the stats that are interesting for Electric Vehicles.”

Here are some things to think about:

Displacement ~= Voltage (say, 144V)
Max Torque ~= Maximum Amperage (say, 1000A, depending on motor)
Fuel Economy = Watt Hours / mile (Wh/m) for city & highway driving
Gas Tank Size ~= Total battery pack size in Watt Hours (say, 15kWh for a small car)

The other crazy thing is that the methods of measurement of Horsepower and Torque for ICE engines vs. Electric motors is vastly different. You can’t just say that a 100hp gas motor is the same power as a 100hp electric motor. Its generally accepted that the electric motor is rated at about half of the equivalent number that a gas motor would have. So, that means thta a 100hp electric motor is as “fast” as a 200hp gas motor.

So, some day, your friend will get a new EV, and you’ll say “What kind of motor does it have?” and he’ll say “Its got a 288V system that can draw 2000A” and you’ll know that he’ll be smoking tires up to 40 mph.