Manual drivers, do electric cars make you reassess the meaning of driving stick?

[dtilque]

@Sam_Stone

That said, I believe the Porsche Taycan has a two-speed transmission, I’m guessing to limit motor speed at higher velocities. Porsche says they think they can get 5% more range that way. It’s not about improving the driving experience, but probably reducing frictional or back-EMF losses in the motor.

I’ve read that EVs (possibly just the high performance ones) work better with a two-speed transmission. Tesla doesn’t have that because they failed to design an adequate one or something like that. What they did instead is gear one motor for low speed and the other for high speed. Of course, that’s only on the dual-motor models.

[MrDibble]

@Driver8

It may be different now, but when I lived there my mother was the only person I knew who had an automatic.

A little bit different, but not that much. No-one I know right now has an automatic. My in-laws used to have one.

[control-z]

Another that simply enjoys driving a manual transmission, not giving it up anytime soon. If I had to regularly drive in stop-and-go traffic I’d likely change my mind.

[swampspruce]

https://www.evwest.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=40&products_id=218

4 spd Electric Manual. Bam! EVWest also makes a conversion for the Porsche 912 and a few others.
Just ignore the range limitations.

FWIW, I vacillated for a long time between a Model 3 and a new Focus ST. The ST won by virtue of the fact the lower priced models of the Model 3 weren’t available at the time. I love manuals, but I also love instant torque in a good handling chassis.

[YamatoTwinkie]

@dtilque

I’ve read that EVs (possibly just the high performance ones) work better with a two-speed transmission. Tesla doesn’t have that because they failed to design an adequate one or something like that. What they did instead is gear one motor for low speed and the other for high speed. Of course, that’s only on the dual-motor models.

You can see some dyno charts of a Tesla Model 3 here:

Tesla Model 3 SR+ Dyno Testing

Notice how the power slowly drops off after about 6000 RPM / 80 km/h (50 mph), going from a peak of 325 hp (for the LR version) down to ~250 hp or so at 11000 RPM.

Conceivably, you could put in a 2 speed transmission with a shift point at 110 km/h or so, bringing the motor RPM back into the peak power region, which would allow for more acceleration at higher speeds and a greater drag-limited top speed.

The counterargument is that a beefy transmission able to handle the instantaneous motor torque is going to add weight, complexity, and maintenance to the design, and any extra weight may be better utilized by just:

• increasing the size of the motor
• adding more batteries
• adding a second motor to the design that is geared for higher speeds, and having the motor controller route power accordingly

Since we’re generally only talking about speeds of 60mph+ where another gear starts to make sense, I’m not sure if you’re going to see 2 speed transmissions on anything other than performance EVs

[LSLGuy]

@YamatoTwinkie

Since we’re generally only talking about speeds of 60mph+ where another gear starts to make sense, I’m not sure if you’re going to see 2 speed transmissions on anything other than performance EVs

Agreed.

But that’s a funny sort of repeat of history. I recall when the early autotrannies on low performance cars were 2 speeds. As they say, history doesn’t repeat or echo; but it rhymes. Sorta.