furcifer said:
Well yes, but I think you're talking about extremes. I would say most people looking for performance parts for their new car don't want to void the warranty.
Plus I think you're underestimating what it takes to properly program a controller so that you don't blow up the motor. It's my understanding that it takes a lot of research to get throttle response, traction, braking etc. to work properly. Are you going to spend time and money to do the research so that 10 seconds later it's on the internet for anyone to use? I highly doubt it.
And again I can't stress this enough, hot rodding is about improving engine efficiency. Electric engines are already extremely efficient. Even if you could make it more efficient, it would be a lot of work for very little gain.
As for the Leaf motor, my understanding is people pull them out and use them for something else. The car can barely handle the torque it generates at start-up as it is. Which brings me back to my point, if the motor can handle more power the company will build the car themselves and program it for more power and sell it for more money.
It's the torque curve of electric motors that will be the downfall of performance tuning. It's backwards, you have a monster motor that wants to tear apart the car at 0-1mph so you have to design for that right out of the gate. The rest is easy. All you can really do is stick the wheels to the ground and if you do that maybe keep it cool.
Incidentally, when you brought up the Leaf I happened to find the NISMO performance package for the Leaf is basically an aero kit and bigger wheels. So,basically exactly what I've been saying
"Well yes, but I think you're talking about extremes. I would say most people looking for performance parts for their new car don't want to void the warranty. "
That's not even extremes. Exhausts, flashes, and intakes can and do void warranties - ALL of which are very basic modifications. I'm not sure how much time you've spent around people who modify their cars, but warranties usually only either A: temporarily stop them until they run out or B: are completely disregarded. And that's just on new cars. What about when all those old Leafs or Teslas are 15 years old and cheap and waaaaay out of warranty? Nobody will care about voiding a warranty then.
"Plus I think you're underestimating what it takes to properly program a controller so that you don't blow up the motor. It's my understanding that it takes a lot of research to get throttle response, traction, braking etc. to work properly. Are you going to spend time and money to do the research so that 10 seconds later it's on the internet for anyone to use? I highly doubt it."
They already do today. Those reflashes for ICE cars? They're created by tuning companies who spend months testing cars on dynos to get the right parameters. That's how they make their living. The difficult work is done by the tuning specialists who then sell their tuning devices to the consumer, and all the consumer has to do (essentially) is plug it into their ECU. They've been doing it for almost as long as cars have had OBDII ports.
"And again I can't stress this enough, hot rodding is about improving engine efficiency. Electric engines are already extremely efficient. Even if you could make it more efficient, it would be a lot of work for very little gain."
No it is not. If you put a supercharger on a car, the car doesn't become more efficient - but it does produce more power. Likewise to an electric motor. We aren't talking about improving efficiency, we're talking about discharging more power from the battery faster. In fact, like a normal ICE car, it's probably less efficient but is of course more powerful. Long story short, you aren't getting more efficient, you're trading power for range.
"As for the Leaf motor, my understanding is people pull them out and use them for something else. The car can barely handle the torque it generates at start-up as it is. Which brings me back to my point, if the motor can handle more power the company will build the car themselves and program it for more power and sell it for more money."
OR a tuner will simply buy a reflash to program the car and get more power out of the car that way. Which is my point.
"It's the torque curve of electric motors that will be the downfall of performance tuning. It's backwards, you have a monster motor that wants to tear apart the car at 0-1mph so you have to design for that right out of the gate. The rest is easy. All you can really do is stick the wheels to the ground and if you do that maybe keep it cool."
Not every electric car is a Tesla. Not every electric car is fast from the factory. Not every car is as fast as it could be. This applies to ICE cars as well. Tuners will always want to improve a car to go faster, and yes, that means even more torque, power, and possibly higher RPMs if possible. Doesn't matter that electric motors have a unique torque curve. That has nothing to do with whether or not people will tune them. People are already doing it with Zero motorcycles which are by all means torque monsters stock, and getting even more torque than usual:
https://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/zero/the-life-electric-next-gen-hot-rodding-video.html
"Incidentally, when you brought up the Leaf I happened to find the NISMO performance package for the Leaf is basically an aero kit and bigger wheels. So,basically exactly what I've been saying"
It's aero, wheels, AND a software program. Again, my point. See here:
https://electrek.co/2018/07/19/nissan-leaf-nismo-specs-launch-sale/
From Nissan: "The custom tuning computer in the Nissan LEAF NISMO allows for a delicate but strong acceleration response. This results in comfortable driving on both city streets and winding roads."
Even listed under the new features for the Leaf NISMO is "Custom tuning computer VCM"
Which goes back to my main point. Here is a (albeit, factory supplied) software enhancement to a car that is otherwise identical powertrain wise to the base model. It is therefore likley that aftermarket companies could tune these VCMs for the same affect, very similar to the ECU of an ICE car.