Why do EV's in general have poor top speed

[Raymondjram]

If you never exceed speed limits on the interstate, you are a rolling roadblock. And dangerous.

I don't believe there was a 74 Mach 1,FWIW.

I am not a roadblock! The laws were made to avoid accidents. I did drive a light blue with white stipe Mach-1. I sold it because the rear window was terrible to look back through. Everyone who drives over the speed limit is a assassin waiting for a victim and the real danger.

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[Mach1E]

I am not a roadblock! The laws were made to avoid accidents. I did drive a light blue with white stipe Mach-1. I sold it because the rear window was terrible to look back through. Everyone who drives over the speed limit is a assassin waiting for a victim and the real danger.

Wait, you were being serious when you used the 74 Mustang II Mach 1 as your example of “knowing what speed driving is?”

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/amp15143599/1974-ford-mustang-ii-mach-i-review/

That’s the first time the #notamustang began.

I mean the top performance Mach 1 was a 105 hp v6!!! “Speed driving,” maximum speed was only 99 mph with an estimated 0-60 mph time of 13.8 seconds. ?

 

[Draconfier]

I am not a roadblock! The laws were made to avoid accidents. I did drive a light blue with white stipe Mach-1. I sold it because the rear window was terrible to look back through. Everyone who drives over the speed limit is a assassin waiting for a victim and the real danger.

Have you ever come up in a two lane highway and had a tractor blocking traffic by going too slow. The car immediately behind is too timid to pass because he/she might exceed the limit, or perhaps its a hilly/curvy road and they are unfamiliar with it so choose to be "safe" by not passing. So the next guy that comes up behind now has a more difficult and dangerous decision, to not only pass the tractor but also the timid driver as well. He eventually thinks its safe to pass or becomes frustrated driving 20 miles below the limit,, but unfortunately the extra time it took to pass the other vehicle plus the tractor leads to a head on collision with an incoming vehicle that he didn't see.
I'll give you another scenario. You're on a major highway. All the vehicles are driving the speed limit. However, the weather is horrible, the road is becoming covered in snow pack and ice and visibility is poor from the storm as well. The guy who just passed you going the speed limit because he has an unrealistic expectation of his 4x4 lifted pickup being able to handle any condition thrown at him and he's upset with all those yuppies driving below the speed limit are a bunch of (fill in the blank here with whatever expletive you think he'd choose) slowing him down. Three miles down the road there is a heavy downhill curve and the 4x4 takes out 3 other cars due to his belief of his trucks superiority.
Thinking in unrealistic utopian terms that we would all be safer if we just drove the limit doesn't account for variables.

 

[Josh X]

ID.4's top speed is 99mph

 

[mccdeuce]

Speed limits -
LEGALLY the fastest you can drive, SOCIALLY the slowest you can drive.

Using the US as an example - fastest speed limit is 85mph on a 40 mile stretch in Texas. The MME can go 110mph. So if someone is going the limit of 85, you have a difference of 25 to get past them. Plenty to make it happen. I currently drive a 2019 e-Golf. Acceleration 0-45 is great. Above that meh. But where do I generally find I need the acceleration to prevent some idiot from hitting me? 35-45.

On another thread on these forums there is a good discussion of changing the thought process of how you drive between an ICE and an EV. miles/kW drastically decreases the faster you go (same with mpg, but people care less)

There is a great statement by NHTSA on the "Driving Continuum"

"Higher speed overwhelms a driver’s capabilities. Although vehicles and roadways can be designed to withstand high-speed traffic, human beings cannot be redesigned to handle increasingly higher speeds. A driver’s capability is limited by speed. The faster a vehicle is driven, the less control the driver has over it. No matter how good a driver may be, some loss of control over the vehicle will be the result if the driver goes too fast. Safe vehicle operation is directly related to the “Driving Continuum”, an interaction of operator, environment, and vehicle. Each element has different concerns which affect the others."

Back to the original question - You have to build to the mission of the vehicle. The MME is probably optimized for a 35-65 mph. Building in a faster top speed will degrade from some other aspect.

 

[Pushrods&Capacitors]

Thanks.

It seems some Tesla's have dual motors with each motor having a different ratio to enhance low and high speed performance. The Plaid motor can spin over 23k RPM, which explains it's 200 mph top speed.

200mph is an Elon/Tesla myth. Plaids are currently limited to about 163mph iirc. They say it’s for aero stability reasons due to lack of downforce but methinks that’s Elon speak for the motors get knackered past that speed but I’m not admitting it because I’m Elon.

 

[one5460]

200mph is an Elon/Tesla myth. Plaids are currently limited to about 163mph iirc. They say it’s for aero stability reasons due to lack of downforce but methinks that’s Elon speak for the motors get knackered past that speed but I’m not admitting it because I’m Elon.

They upped it to 175.

 

[StephanHR]

Actually the top speed limit is pretty crap, on the Autobahn I get passed by pretty much everyone. But they admire my car.
No I got used to a different way of driving, I knew the limit before I bought it. You drive more relaxed right away and that is a definite plus.

 

[Pushrods&Capacitors]

They upped it to 175.

But, is that only if you option the $30K(!) carbon ceramic brake upgrade? Or do all Plaids get the new top speed? And that is still way short of 200mph.

 

[Kevin P]

200mph is an Elon/Tesla myth. Plaids are currently limited to about 163mph iirc. They say it’s for aero stability reasons due to lack of downforce but methinks that’s Elon speak for the motors get knackered past that speed but I’m not admitting it because I’m Elon.

Based on what I mentioned before from the Car and Driver article, aero/stability has a lot to do with it. They had a hard time keeping it within one lane at that speed due to it wandering all over the road (likely experiencing lots of aero lift.) Basically said it was terrifying and implied it was about the worst they had experienced in recent memory.

 

[Rt1AWD]

Why is this an issue?
There is no public road where it is legal to drive more then 80 mph

 

[Sealevel]

Because responsible EV manufacturers want their customers to respect speed limits and drive safely. If you want to drive faster, go to a racetrack. Personally, I will NEVER exceed speed limits. I drove a 1967 Chevy Camaro RS and a 1974 Ford Mustang Mach-1 so I know what speed driving is.

Tesla is crazy! That is why the have the highest death records.

Tesla is crazy, I agree. But the total fatalities is also a function of the number of vehicles on the road.

 

[Sealevel]

Based on what I mentioned before from the Car and Driver article, aero/stability has a lot to do with it. They had a hard time keeping it within one lane at that speed due to it wandering all over the road (likely experiencing lots of aero lift.) Basically said it was terrifying and implied it was about the worst they had experienced in recent memory.

I recall the original Mustang (1965) had 45 lbs of downforce at 90 mph when it first debuted - lots of crashes even though it was underpowered by today's standards.

 

[Logal727]

No idea why someone would want to go faster than 112 if not on a track

 

[Sealevel]

No idea why someone would want to go faster than 112 if not on a track

There are 3 answers:
1 - Because you can!
2 - Because the other driver's vehicle can or can't quite!
3 - Because that is as high as the speedometer reads.

Back in the mid 1970's, the car manufacturers were required to limit the top speeds of cars for the energy crisis - but their first step was to just change the speedometers to peg at 85 mph. It took a couple of years to de-power the engines. Psychological thrill s getting the most out of the vehicle - or what you believe is the most. Machoism is beating the other guy. I'm 64 now, so that is fast enough for me.

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