Comment on Slate, a no-nonsense EV pickup for $20k

• brucethemoose@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  +1

  Weight is everything. Removing it makes almost literally every aspect of a car better.

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  • Chip_Rat@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    Interesting! I must say I never considered it. My kia soul EV was heavy but handled very well. Loved that thing.

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    • brucethemoose@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      Oh yeah, its more than that. Low weight helps acceleration, braking (so safety), handling, range, wear on every component, and most of all, cost. If the car is lighter, you don’t need as stiff a chassis, nor as much braking to lock the wheels, less battery, motor, which means you can take even more weight off the car… You get where I’m going.

      Racecars are fast because they are light, not because they have big engines and expensive bodies. Little 1500lb cars can lap a $3 million 1500hp (and quite heavy, because of all the stuff in it) Bugatti around a track.

      Heavy cars can handle OK, but the cost is big.

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    • notthebees@reddthat.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      EVs have a very low COG due to the batteries being at the bottom of the car. This is a good thing for handling but making them lighter would be even better.

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