Something has to be done about the comically small battery capacity of electric cars

  • Thread starter Thread starter Magog
  • 51 comments
  • 14,895 views
From how I tested EVs at Daytona, only the N 2025 VGT and Audi e-tron VGT survive for more than one or two laps (they do four laps). The 2X VGT also survives for that same number of laps, although not officially considered an EV by the game (which allows the player to do custom races with any opponent so I can do the test).

EDIT: Tested on 10x fuel wear.
 
Last edited:
Are we talking about the game or real life? The ID.R was built for Pike's Peak, and has that range, almost exactly. When Chris Harris drove it for Top Gear, he was very impressed with its performance, and very disappointed that he couldn't go past 12 minutes with it before needing a recharge. OTOH, didn't Jeremy Clarkson say that at top speed, the McLaren SLR would drain its fuel tank in 12 minutes?

If we're complaining about EVs in the game not being very useful, then go out and run some IRL. My son has a Fiat 500e he let me drive for a couple of weeks. 85 miles is all it can do on a charge, so it's absolutely a city car only. OTOH, I only spent about $14.50 to drive it 215 miles. I wouldn't have one, but I will admit it was cheap to get to work and around town in. Obviously other EVs are built with significantly longer ranges, but they don't get run around race tracks for timed laps, which would seriously reduce those ranges.

That said, I'm not sure the EVs don't have the same fuel multiplier being applied to them, so a car with 300 miles theoretical range suddenly has 50 if the fuel is 6x. I haven't examined that, because I simply do not like racing the EVs. The engine noise is the best feedback for being at the right speed in turns, the right gear, all of that, and EVs give you none of that, and I despise that when trying to run them for times.
 
Last edited:
One thing they could do is add some more decent races with the same payout per minute as Tokyo, that only have tyre wear, no fuel consumption, then the electric cars would be usable for those races.

And while they're at it, if they could up the Human Comedy mission payouts to 1.8m, make it so you get the payout every time you repeat them, and make the leaderboards show and sort by total race time as well as number of laps, that would be great.
 
Rotgutsnot
How about some way of changing the "gearing" of electric cars .... Yes I know electric generally don't have gears but the BMW I3 is just useless maxing out at around 150kph or 90 ish mph .
Click to expand...
As I recall, the I3 is speed limited at 93 MPH or a bit more IRL. .....consensus seemed to think it had to do with protecting the motor(s) which would be spinning over 14k RPM above that and/or the batteries. I don't know if I would want to drive that thing any faster than that.

I agree with @wfooshee on this. I have to imagine the multiplier is having an affect here. .....and if it wasn't for my disinterest in EVs in the game, I'd probably test it out in a custom race with various settings.
 
On the record breaking Nurb run, VW stated that configuration of the ID.R used 55% of it's battery capacity.

The ID.R isn't a fixed setup though, for instance on the Goodwood Festival of Speed run, VW swapped out the battery pack for a much smaller, lightweight one, with a much shorter range.

Regenerative braking is also a factor, as the ID.R uses that tech to extend range, which is to say that if it only used 55% of its battery on the 'Ring, how much of that remaining 55% was regained through the regenerative braking?

If you throw your mind back a few weeks, we had GR2 at a track I've forgotten the name of. During that week people figured out that if you braked earlier and held the throttle, you could regen a lot more of the hybrid battery capacity, giving you more to use. For all we know right now, the ID.R may require a similar tactic to get the range out of it.

Or PD could have given us the smaller battery pack... (Which would be dumb).
 
Last edited:
A small point of political sarcasm... All this discovery of the uselessness of EVs as being realistically portrayed in the game... Must really make the progressives among us very angry! "But EVs are the answer to everything about climate change!"

Yes, a generalization, and I'm being sarcastic, but I simply cannot fault PD's portrayal of them, as the shortcomings they have IRL are exactly what everyone is complaining about in this thread.
 
Magog
If this were true to life the ID.R wouldn't even make it through one lap at Nurburgring....
Click to expand...




Seems like it made it just fine in their hands, which tells me one of 2 things about you:

  • You haven't even driven the car at the Nurburgring (therefor, using this as a justification that EVs need to be fixed is pure Bollocks)
  • You have driven it but somehow can't make it an entire lap around, to which I have two words for you: Skill issue (And this is coming from somehow who hasn't even played GT7)

Given your equally hyperbolic claims about the AI in GT Sport using a video where the dude is not even remotely trying to pass at the most opportunistic times (I have a video and replay of me duplicating those same conditions proving that the AI are NOT competitive and can post here if you like), I'm gonna guess its the former.
 
Last edited:
RACECAR




Seems like it made it just fine in their hands, which tells me one of 2 things about you:

  • You haven't even driven the car at the Nurburgring (therefor, using this as a justification that EVs need to be fixed is pure Bollocks)
  • You have driven it but somehow can't make it an entire lap around, to which I have two words for you: Skill issue (And this is coming from somehow who hasn't even played GT7)

Given your equally hyperbolic claims about the AI in GT Sport using a video where the dude is not even remotely trying to pass at the most opportunistic times (I have a video and replay of me duplicating those same conditions proving that the AI are NOT competitive and can post here if you like), I'm gonna guess its the former.
Click to expand...

I may be wrong, and please correct me if I am, but it doesn't appear that fuel consumption is turned on in either of those videos, meaning the battery would never drain. They're time attack only.
 
Last edited:
Zero2Oblivion
I may be wrong, and please correct me if I am, but it doesn't appear that fuel consumption is turned on in either of those videos, meaning the battery would never drain. They're time attack only.
Click to expand...

Upon further inspection, they appear not to. Interestingly, I can't seem to find ANY video where the Consumption is turned on. Maybe @Magog can upload a gameplay video of him not making it around with the fuel turned on and prove that this is exactly happening with the ID.R?
 
wfooshee
A small point of political sarcasm... All this discovery of the uselessness of EVs as being realistically portrayed in the game... Must really make the progressives among us very angry! "But EVs are the answer to everything about climate change!"

Yes, a generalization, and I'm being sarcastic, but I simply cannot fault PD's portrayal of them, as the shortcomings they have IRL are exactly what everyone is complaining about in this thread.
Click to expand...
Not really, we don't care about the battery range of EVs when it comes to motorsports because thats not where the net benefit of a mass adoption of EV by society at large would lie.

Because as matter of fact, society at large is mostly uncaring about motorsports as a whole, and most of buyers out there just buy cars as a means of daily personal transport and nothing more.

If anything, we understand that the current limitations on range are a tech issue in regards to batteries as a whole, it needs lots of investments of time, research and money, and we also understand said investments are only now being incentivized due to law mandates that bans the sales of cars with ICE starting on the next decade.

Either way, this matter steps a bit too heavily into politics, so I'll refrain from saying what I think of conservatives who simply do not understand that the mass adoption of EV will eventually bring progress and innovation to address the battery range, amongst other issues.
 
Last edited:
Some hybrid cars as well. You cant even do 1 lap on le mans in the Porsche 918 without completely draining the hybrid power and the thing becomes pretty much useless. As I recall same goes for the FXX K to a lesser extent. It would be a good idea to implement an option not to drain hybrid power like the same option they have for fuel and tire wear.
 
Last edited:
Pedinhuh
Not really, we don't care about the battery range of EVs when it comes to motorsports because thats not where the net benefit of a mass adoption of EV by society at large would lie.

Because as matter of fact, society at large is mostly uncaring about motorsports as a whole, and most of buyers out there just buy cars as a means of daily personal transport and nothing more.

If anything, we understand that the current limitations on range are a tech issue in regards to batteries as a whole, it needs lots of investments of time, research and money, and we also understand said investments are only now being incentivized due to law mandates that bans the sales of cars with ICE starting on the next decade.

Either way, this matter steps a bit too heavily into politics, so I'll refrain from saying what I think of conservatives who simply do not understand that the mass adoption of EV will eventually bring progress and innovation to address the battery range, amongst other issues.
Click to expand...
One more reply from me as well, then I'll leave it alone in here.
Until electricity can be dumped into a battery at the same rate and with the same resulting range as dumping fuel into a tank is done, EVs are useless. It isn't just range, it's having to park forever to charge. And like you said, off-topic for EV discussion in the game, so I'm done with this line.
 
Somehow, the Porsche Taycan in the Mission Challenge, holds its charge for a good while. It leads the race and sets FL times.
 
RACECAR
Upon further inspection, they appear not to. Interestingly, I can't seem to find ANY video where the Consumption is turned on. Maybe @Magog can upload a gameplay video of him not making it around with the fuel turned on and prove that this is exactly happening with the ID.R?
Click to expand...
I’ve used the IDR with fuel consumption at 1x on nurb it makes a full lap with ease and could do a second

Edit: just tested you can do two laps of nurb
 
Last edited:
Ryan Dungey
I’ve used the IDR with fuel consumption at 1x on nurb it makes a full lap with ease and could do a second

Edit: just tested you can do two laps of nurb
Click to expand...

I was trying to use it in the 800pp Sardegna race and it didn't even make two laps of that much shorter course but then again it does have a fuel consumption multiplier. Every high level single player race does though so it's useless for any of them.
 
Last edited:
I actually completed the Sardegna WTC 800 race in the Porsche VGT Spyder. I turned the power down to 88% to get 799.8 PP. With lift and coast for regen at half to 3/4 of the straights, I could eke out two laps. I'd pit and get charged in 13 seconds or so of stopped time. Needed tires every other stop. Finished 12th, which is WAY better than I expected!

Watching the battery gauge drop visibly is weird, but it raises visibly under braking, too.
 
Last edited:
I drove the ID.R for about 18 minutes on Catalunya before it died. I think I did 11 laps in that time.
 
Last edited:
Rotgutsnot
How about some way of changing the "gearing" of electric cars .... Yes I know electric generally don't have gears but the BMW I3 is just useless maxing out at around 150kph or 90 ish mph .
Click to expand...
One of the reasons the Porsche Taycan is not competitive at Tokyo 600.

It can do 6 laps in one charge, but the speed cap is 260 km/h which is simply not enough for that race.
 
Magog
I was trying to use it in the 800pp Sardegna race and it didn't even make two laps of that much shorter course but then again it does have a fuel consumption multiplier. Every high level single player race does though so it's useless for any of them.
Click to expand...
So the problem primarily is the fuel multiplier then isn't it.
 
wfooshee
...didn't Jeremy Clarkson say that at top speed, the McLaren SLR would drain its fuel tank in 12 minutes?
Click to expand...
That sounds about right. And I'm pretty sure when Richard May drove the Bugatti Super Sport on that high speed run he said it was only about 8 minutes to empty the tank at full throttle.
 
EVs are (probably) the future and I applaud PD for taking a few into the game to show the kids they can be fast and cool, but highlighting their shortcomings is the exact opposite of that.

I would love to be able to buy a "battery expansion pack" for the ID.R (or the other EVs) in the tuning shop.
Make it expensive (a million or so), make it heavy (250kg for 3x the range?, the ID.R can take the extra weight), I don't care.

Give us a few dedicated EV single player events or even a championship without fuel multiplier or even without fuel comsumption at all.

/rant, thanks for humouring me.
 
I don't think it's highlighting their shortcomings, I think it's portraying them with reasonable accuracy. (Well, as accurate as it can be with a fuel multiplier and 13-second recharges...)
Accounting for the fuel multiplier being applied, what I'm seeing in the game is very close to my real-world EV experience, such as it is: use of a couple of city-type EVs and a Tesla Model Y while visiting in Washington state a couple of years ago. They are economical to run compared to ICE cars, but needing to be parked at least a quarter of your trip time if you want to actually go somewhere is... less than convenient.
 
Last edited:
Magog
I was trying to use it in the 800pp Sardegna race and it didn't even make two laps of that much shorter course but then again it does have a fuel consumption multiplier. Every high level single player race does though so it's useless for any of them.
Click to expand...
To be fair, there are several ICE vehicles in this game that are relatively useless outside of custom or arcade same-make races, etc.

Personally, I could care less about the EV cars in the game or VGT for that matter as they don't really do anything for me. However, what I would like to see are more options on tracks and championships that let us explore all of the cars in GT7 (including EV's).

If the payout / economy made more sense in GT7 and was more linear throughout the game, I would be spending a lot more time in Custom making my own races but as it is, it's just not worth it to me. Custom is a big wasted opportunity IMO that could really get folks to play more. I always thought a share mechanic would be cool. ....and a championship template so folks can create their own series and so on.
 

Similar threads

scottinwales
Porsche electric cars losing power when using a steering wheel (Logitech pro) anyone else - Solved, it's the transducer/basskicker causing it.
2 3
Replies
61
Views
7K
scottinwales
scottinwales
Tekku
Is there something to be done about the "one-make" nature of Sport mode?
Replies
7
Views
925
Nuschel01
Nuschel01
Cristobal1234
Ford Pro Electric SuperVan 2022
Replies
0
Views
1K
Cristobal1234
Cristobal1234
Memesbro
Could it be possible to add the Nurburgring to GT2?
Replies
11
Views
6K
pez2k
P
E
Couple of questions about gas usage
Replies
13
Views
8K
ebadevil
E

Latest Posts

Back