Are electric cars competitive?

Lancia stratos

Lancia stratos

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Blu_Subaru22
Well as we all know, Kaz and the folks at PD took the liberty of going green (kind of) by adding electric cars at the dealerships. I purchased my favorite electric motor vehicle, the Tesla roadster! :dopey: I did a research project on this car in my electronics class. According to my research, it reaches 0-60 in 3.9 seconds. Fast! But when I tried it in a race, it accelerated way too slow. So I looked at the description and it said it was toned down for safety. Thats ok with me then, because I still like this car. But then when I test drove this car at the special stage route 7, the battery died around 12 minutes :indiff:.

So I accumulated a lot of cash afterward, and I wanted to buy the GT by Citroen. But I remembered, the car is electric (the concept version is). Then I looked back at the Tesla's life span of 12 minutes :indiff:. It might only last 12 minutes too. So I'm not sure whether I should buy it and race it online.

Do all electric cars by any chance have a battery supply of 12 minutes? Are there any long lasting ones available to purchase? Or are they just meant for 2-3 lap races?
 
So long as the race isn't too long, you will be fine. I've actually used the Citroen GT concept online at SSR7 several times.
 
Maybe driving at top speed isn't best for the battery? ;)

The Tesla is a great car, it'll last quite awhile around Nurburgring. More then 2-3 laps.
 
^^both thoughts exactly.

After all, I do see that red meter moving really fast each time I move fast in it. I should buy the citroen and drive it in both SSR7 and then the ring. See what should come up.

Edit: Elitedreamer, did you drive in the 24H ring or the regular ring?

After doing a little test run with the tesla, lap 1 took 8 minutes and 28 seconds. The battery life was around maybe 75% left as compared to when I raced it in SSR7. One lap and my battery life was around maybe 65%. I did notice at some occasion that I did conserve battery life by lightly tapping the acceleration button (sometimes, not all). So I guess the best way to go is to pick tracks such as London or tracks with high consecutive turns ratio.
 
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The Tesla is highly competitive. Most online races are just a few laps, Nordschleife is usually only one. The Tesla is slow from a standing start but once you're up and running it's pretty good.

EDIT: Also, when braking some of the energy is being transferred to charge the battery, and as there aren't much braking on SS route 7 that might explain part of why the battery only lasted 12 minutes.
 
Thats why hybrids are better
 
Hmm, I thought only hybrids recharge when braking (which would explain why I have a lot of fun with the CR-Z). If I was able to upgrade the transmission on the Tesla I would, but it can't be done. So looks like I better cross my fingers for a rolling start each race.

Speaking of which, what happens when the electric car goes to the pit stop to recharge? I've never done this, so I don't know what happens if I take it to the pit.
 
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