EV-what’s under the bonnet?

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Fri 20 Aug 2021 13:05
EV-what’s under the bonnet? - FoxyJukebox
Never looked under the bonnet of an EV.
What’s there instead of dipstick, oil filler, oil filter, fan (belts), alternator?,plugs, “engine”…
..is it just batteries and screen wash bottle?
…what else ?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 20 Aug 2021 13:21
EV-what’s under the bonnet? - elekie&a/c doctor
Depends on the car . If it’s a Tesla, then not much . Washer bottle is the only really serviceable item . Most of the gubbins is under the floor or at the rear . Front wheel drive cars will have the E motor and loads of electric cables and bits . Don’t think you get a starting handle any more.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 20 Aug 2021 13:38
EV-what’s under the bonnet? - Brit_in_Germany

At least an air conditioning system and a 12V battery.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 20 Aug 2021 14:26
EV-what’s under the bonnet? - RichT54

There's an interesting video showing the various components of the Nissan Leaf here:

https://evreviews.uk/whats-under-the-bonnet-in-an-ev-looking-at-the-nissan-leaf-40kwh_6102c4f97.html

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 20 Aug 2021 15:43
EV-what’s under the bonnet? - Andrew-T

Is there a Haynes manual for any EV yet ? If so, what is in it ?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 20 Aug 2021 17:56
EV-what’s under the bonnet? - badbusdriver

Never looked under the bonnet of an EV.
What’s there instead of dipstick, oil filler, oil filter, fan (belts), alternator?,plugs, “engine”…
..is it just batteries and screen wash bottle?

…what else ?

In a Tesla there is a decent sized 'boot', or 'frunk' (front trunk). Very useful, but Tesla do seem to have sussed (amongst other things) how best to make use of an EV's 'footprint'.

Most EV's have the batteries under the floor rather than the bonnet which is a no brainer really. It is the best way to minimise how much a huge battery or batteries eat into the available space. The electric Mini, at first glance, appears identical to the ICE Mini. But park them side by side and you will see that the electric version is a wee bit taller to account for the batteries under the floor. The other benefit to keeping the batteries there is to keep the centre of gravity as low as possible for stability. Electric versions of SUV's will inevitably weigh quite a bit more than their ICE equivalent, but they will usually lean less through the corners due to the lower centre of gravity.

But going back to under bonnet space, I've read a couple of articles in motoring magazines about the new electric Ford F-150 pickup for the US market. It has an absolutely huge space under the bonnet, complete with load securing points and power points for plugging in tools. Also, apparently, in the event of a power cut you can power your house from it!. How long for will of course depend on how much charge is in the battery and how much power your house uses, but according to Ford, based on the power consumed by the average US house, you would easily get 3 days (presumably from a fully charged battery).

F-150-Lightning-Mega-Power-Frunk-1.png

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 20 Aug 2021 18:50
EV-what’s under the bonnet? - Andrew-T

<< based on the power consumed by the average US house, you would easily get 3 days >>

That's a long time, considering that many US houses have air-cons going much of the day (especially if, as was claimed about President Lyndon B Johnson, you enjoy a log fire at the same time).

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 20 Aug 2021 19:08
EV-what’s under the bonnet? - John F

A couple of years ago we went out for an evening meal with my son to a chain restaurant (The Cheesecake Factory) in California. The ambient temperature was around a pleasant 20C, so we ate outside. The overhead umbrella-type heaters were on, and inside the air-con had made it cold enough for a sweater.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 20 Aug 2021 19:58
EV-what’s under the bonnet? - movilogo

Why not put the battery under bonnet where traditionally engine is placed? In that way it would have been easier to replace/swap/service battery. Also batteries could be modular. Small car will have say 100 cell battery and a larger car with more space under bonnet have 150 cells battery.

Center of gravity will shift towards the front but all cars with engine at front have that bias anyway.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 20 Aug 2021 20:04
EV-what’s under the bonnet? - mcb100
You need to put the motor and inverter somewhere. If car is FWD, that logically has to be between the front wheels.
If you could then also fit the battery back there’d be a massive front bias in weight distribution. Throw a hammer and it’ll always land head first - you’d have a car reluctant to deviate from a straight line.

Edited by mcb100 on 20/08/2021 at 20:05

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 20 Aug 2021 19:59
EV-what’s under the bonnet? - mcb100
Open the bonnet of a Polestar and you’ll see a plastic panel just below bonnet level, covering the entire area.
There’s a a recess to carry charge cables, the cap for the washer bottle, and that’s it.
Understandably, I’d imagine EV manufacturers don’t want customers getting too close to a motor and inverter.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 20 Aug 2021 20:48
EV-what’s under the bonnet? - badbusdriver

Why not put the battery under bonnet where traditionally engine is placed?

If you want a rough idea of how that would actually feel, strap about 8 bags of cement on to your bonnet and go for a drive!.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 21 Aug 2021 11:58
EV-what’s under the bonnet? - barney100

Presumably an ev will wear tyres more quickly due to the weight.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 21 Aug 2021 12:21
EV-what’s under the bonnet? - Xileno

The linear torque must have an impact on tyre wear and also the Tesla 'Sport' mode or whatever it's called must put a lot of strain on the tyres.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 21 Aug 2021 12:51
EV-what’s under the bonnet? - RT

Presumably an ev will wear tyres more quickly due to the weight.

More likely have bigger tyres which will last as long but cost more.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 21 Aug 2021 13:08
EV-what’s under the bonnet? - mcb100
Tyre manufacturers have ranges of EV specific products, specific to deal with the requirements of electric cars.
They’re constructed and formulated to deal with a heavier car weight and instantaneous torque delivery, as well as reduced rolling resistance.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 21 Aug 2021 13:33
EV-what’s under the bonnet? - elekie&a/c doctor
There’s nothing under the bonnet guv ! m.youtube.com/watch?v=wwlOTYGAP54
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 21 Aug 2021 18:33
EV-what’s under the bonnet? - Andrew-T

Presumably an ev will wear tyres more quickly due to the weight.

More likely have bigger tyres which will last as long but cost more.

Looking back, smaller tyres - as fitted to lighter cars such as the 205 - would last longer than the larger fatter tyres fitted to later models, which were heavier. SWMBO's 205 Dturbo got 50K from a set of tyres, despite the front-heaviness. Our later Pugs do well to manage 30K miles. I presume greater wear may be partly due to more width, or possibly the effect of PAS (tho SWMBO's car had that too).

Basically I guess the heavier the car, the fewer miles a set of tyres will do, as the rubber compound is probably similar for all of them. All you might do is fit more wheels to spread the load ... :-)

Edited by Andrew-T on 21/08/2021 at 18:36

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.

Is an electric car right for me?