JRP3
Hyperactive Member
I don't understand the permit issue either. You wire an outlet and what you plug into it is your business. Of course I live in a somewhat rural area.
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Electric MINI revealed -- The Mini E
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shark2k
Member
Yeah, read that before seeing the article here. I agree with JRP3, what you plug in is your business. Though, I can see the permit being required so they make sure the wiring is done properly since it is a lot of juice coming through the lines.
It would be nice to have a standard plug over here for plug-in Hybrids and BEVs. Would make life so much easier in the long run. Hopefully this happens in the very near future.
-Shark2k
MINI hands over 40 EVs to British test drivers at Oxford plant - Autoblog Green
Must've been fairly low key compared to the higher profile hand overs going on elsewhere in the UK this weekend.
Must've been fairly low key compared to the higher profile hand overs going on elsewhere in the UK this weekend.
In fact there was a report on my local BBC news just 10 minutes ago. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be online yet.
Written report: BBC News - Electric mini UK trial under way
Slightly older report on the UK test that I just found: BBC NEWS | UK | England | Electric Mini car goes on trial
What I could see from the latest news report is that the UK charger is nothing like those being supplied in the US (even though I presume the US fast charger is also on 240V).
Written report: BBC News - Electric mini UK trial under way
Slightly older report on the UK test that I just found: BBC NEWS | UK | England | Electric Mini car goes on trial
What I could see from the latest news report is that the UK charger is nothing like those being supplied in the US (even though I presume the US fast charger is also on 240V).
Mini-E 240V Clipper Creek charging stations:
Although there was a hiccup at the beginning getting the 240V installations approved.
Driving the MINI E Electric Car: The First 1200 Miles
Although there was a hiccup at the beginning getting the 240V installations approved.
Driving the MINI E Electric Car: The First 1200 Miles
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So now we know who one of the 40 was...
UK Prime Minister, London Mayor get electric cars for a little while — Autoblog Green
I wonder if he will be blogging his experiences...
UK Prime Minister, London Mayor get electric cars for a little while — Autoblog Green
I wonder if he will be blogging his experiences...
My MINI E
My MINI E arrived this week; such a different car to the Tesla, no it doesn't re-locate your internal organs off the line but in exchange it cossets you like a warm blanket. If the roadster is like an electric kart, the MINI is a big bumper car, you point it and it zooms off, in near silence.
If you've not been following the MINI E tech, under the bonnet it's more of a science experiment than the Roadster with bare connectors exposed and known, er, 'issues' with the software but inside it's MINI R56, all funky and fun with the rev. counter converted to a battery level gauge.
The battery is located in the space normally occupied by the rear seats leaving little space back there, perhaps less than the Roadster for storage. The battery is air cooled, a little smaller in capacity than the Roadster but, as the car is much heavier the range is only 85-125 miles depending upon temperaure. Charging is via an included 120v 12A cable or, in time they'll be fitting a 50A wall charger. There are no controlls for charge start/stop or level of charge; range, storage, etc. I hope the wall charger can control time of day at least.
The motor is air cooled and virtually silent, on the highway it's quiet, really quiet, no wind, tire or motor noise.
Handling is "MINI with three people in the back"; very direct and chuckable but it untimately feels rear heavy with the inside front wheel easily spinning through corners. It IS fun to drive though so it's still a MINI. It's softer sprung on its 16" wheels compared to the more hard core JCW MINI I had last year.
It'll be used day-to-day for shopping trips and local commuting where I think it's best.
I wonder if, with some thought BMW could put the batteries under the floor of a Clubman model to make a four seater with 150+ mile range. If they could I doubt that they could make enough to meet demand.
My MINI E arrived this week; such a different car to the Tesla, no it doesn't re-locate your internal organs off the line but in exchange it cossets you like a warm blanket. If the roadster is like an electric kart, the MINI is a big bumper car, you point it and it zooms off, in near silence.
If you've not been following the MINI E tech, under the bonnet it's more of a science experiment than the Roadster with bare connectors exposed and known, er, 'issues' with the software but inside it's MINI R56, all funky and fun with the rev. counter converted to a battery level gauge.
The battery is located in the space normally occupied by the rear seats leaving little space back there, perhaps less than the Roadster for storage. The battery is air cooled, a little smaller in capacity than the Roadster but, as the car is much heavier the range is only 85-125 miles depending upon temperaure. Charging is via an included 120v 12A cable or, in time they'll be fitting a 50A wall charger. There are no controlls for charge start/stop or level of charge; range, storage, etc. I hope the wall charger can control time of day at least.
The motor is air cooled and virtually silent, on the highway it's quiet, really quiet, no wind, tire or motor noise.
Handling is "MINI with three people in the back"; very direct and chuckable but it untimately feels rear heavy with the inside front wheel easily spinning through corners. It IS fun to drive though so it's still a MINI. It's softer sprung on its 16" wheels compared to the more hard core JCW MINI I had last year.
It'll be used day-to-day for shopping trips and local commuting where I think it's best.
I wonder if, with some thought BMW could put the batteries under the floor of a Clubman model to make a four seater with 150+ mile range. If they could I doubt that they could make enough to meet demand.
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It's what I'd heard from the MINI E folk and might explain the lack of noise, that said I think the Tesla noise is mostly transmission gears so it might just be a quieter transmission configuration.
[citation needed]
[citation needed]
How many EVs does one man need? :tongue::biggrin: Congrats.
Not just a Clubman - a conversion house in London has done this with a normal car.
Synergy Innovations | New website coming soon...
Although, how many more of these they have built since is not clear.
In fact, in the FAQ section of the UK site, it actually addresses this. One of the reasons is the Clubman is too heavy and the second is that having the battery in the rear means it isn't as useful (in terms of what the Clubman is supposed to be for). I suspect taking the off the shelf ACP system is the origin of this restriction. Now that BMW are engineering their own systems, you get the underfloor battery of this new 1 Series ActiveE.
Although, while BMW won't make a Clubman, it isn't stopping these guys.
I watched their project up to about episode 18... I checked in today; they're in the 30's now, it really went off the rails in the teens when they added intollerable background, no, foreground music, today it's like watching paint dry... they even speak slowly. In todays show they're discussing in detail, what happens when you don't pay your mortage on time, and then it finished... off the rails.
To be fair they're really getting into the details but, I'd prefer an abridged version... in 2012 when they're done.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
Jack is nothing if not thorough. I find downloading the show and jumping ahead through the parts I'm not interested in to be the best way. I think now that they have a machine shop that can actually make their motor adapter and coupler they should be making some good progress.
shark2k
Member
Just read through some of the comments on the Mini Clubman conversion article (last link from dpeilow). Jack commented (guy doing the conversion) and said they are not going to do regen the way Tesla and BMW did it. He said they are going to connect it to the brake pedal. He seems to be under the impression that the brake lights do not turn on when regen kicks in on the Tesla and Mini E. From what I know the Tesla does activate the brake lights when regen is activated and I'd only be guessing for the Mini E, but I would guess it does also for safety reasons.
It's cool to see him doing this, but from his first comment on the article there is just something that I don't like about the way it portrays him. I don't know if it is his attitude (the way he makes it seem like the way Tesla and BMW did the regen is the wrong way and should have never been done like that ) or what, I can't really put my finger on it.
MPT, how come you just got a Mini E?
-Shark2k
It's cool to see him doing this, but from his first comment on the article there is just something that I don't like about the way it portrays him. I don't know if it is his attitude (the way he makes it seem like the way Tesla and BMW did the regen is the wrong way and should have never been done like that ) or what, I can't really put my finger on it.
MPT, how come you just got a Mini E?
-Shark2k
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
Jack comes on strong and tells it the way he sees it. I don't always agree with him but most of the time he's right on the money. He spends a lot of his time and money testing and destroying batteries so the rest of us DIY types don't have to.
shark2k
Member
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