Video of durability test for volt. i don't remember potholes ramping back up on the far side. I got a whole bunch of vicious potholes anywhere I drive.
Your thoughts about these "potholes"??
Run the video and comment
Quote »
These days, we hardly give any thought at all to driving our precious cars and trucks over rough, potholed pavement. Sure, it's uncomfortable and we avoid the nastiest stretches when possible, but the worst thing that we expect might happen is a blown tire or bent wheel. In the grand scheme of things, not that big a deal.
Electric cars, though, are different animals entirely. Back when the automobile was in its infancy and the internal combustion engine first staked its claim as the powerplant of choice, it was sometimes possible to practically ruin a car when traveling over harsh terrain. That just won't do in today's modern society. For proof that electric vehicles need just as much care as other cars, look no further than Lyle Dennis from GM-Volt.com, who's own Mini E broke down after hitting a nasty pothole.
So, what is General Motors doing to ensure that the Volt doesn't rattle its delicate electrical bits to pieces over the course of its life? Glad you asked. Click past the break for a video showing the rigorous durability testing that GM is currently inflicting on its fleet of pre-production Volts.
Some consider diesel to be a big, black smoky mess. As to the smoke. Hell yes it smokes. Big clouds of smoke. That fits clearly into my favorite category of problems - the Department of Somebody Else's Problem. If I drove the car from the rear bumper, it would be my problem.
Diesel smoke... the perfect solution to aggressive tailgaters
How about testing some real potholes; who the hell hits sloped potholes?
This isn't tire testing, it's vehicle testing. I would say that those potholes were designed to provide a similar impact to the suspension and body without destroying the tires & wheels. We all know what would happen if you hit real potholes that deep at those speeds, within two or three strikes you'd have no front tire left. That would kind of defeat the purpose of the testing, no?
This isn't tire testing, it's vehicle testing. I would say that those potholes were designed to provide a similar impact to the suspension and body without destroying the tires & wheels. We all know what would happen if you hit real potholes that deep at those speeds, within two or three strikes you'd have no front tire left. That would kind of defeat the purpose of the testing, no?
Except it would provide a more accurate result and give more "real world" data. Just because a computer says that all things are equal doesn't mean they actually are.
We need a TCL Regional Forum so CLICK HERE and vote in favor of it.
This isn't tire testing, it's vehicle testing. I would say that those potholes were designed to provide a similar impact to the suspension and body without destroying the tires & wheels. We all know what would happen if you hit real potholes that deep at those speeds, within two or three strikes you'd have no front tire left. That would kind of defeat the purpose of the testing, no?
Pfff... You think engineers would know better than Car Loungers? Puh-lease! It's obvious that they're half-assing it and, as a result, the first real pothole will cause the Volt to explode like an A-bomb...
Pfff... You think engineers would know better than Car Loungers? Puh-lease! It's obvious that they're half-assing it and, as a result, the first real pothole will cause the Volt to explode like an A-bomb...
^This.
If TCL used their collective power for good instead of dash-stroking, we would have cured world hunger & the common cold by now.
This isn't tire testing, it's vehicle testing. I would say that those potholes were designed to provide a similar impact to the suspension and body without destroying the tires & wheels. We all know what would happen if you hit real potholes that deep at those speeds, within two or three strikes you'd have no front tire left. That would kind of defeat the purpose of the testing, no?
Pfff... You think engineers would know better than Car Loungers? Puh-lease! It's obvious that they're half-assing it and, as a result, the first real pothole will cause the Volt to explode like an A-bomb...
laughing myself silly over here.
course i'd be real grumpy if i actually smacked the damn thing hard
Quote, originally posted by Mr. Jalopy »
Just to get it sorted, a carefully selected used Mercedes will require initial year repairs equal to the purchase price of the car. And for ever after, you will spend that initial purchase price again and again. A poorly researched and carelessly selected Mercedes has no upper monetery limit. $1000s of dollars per month until you cry uncle.
course i'd be real grumpy if i actually smacked the damn thing hard
Those '98-02 Grand Marquis wheels usually have 225/60-16 tires mounted on them giving them a ginormous helping of sidewall. It's odd that that wheel took on that amount of damage. Must've been one hell of a pothole.
Why spend the money to make fake ones? Just come to Buffalo late in the winter after the first few thaws. Look for the road with the most hubcaps laying around and you've found your testing area. I can already tell the road leading to my house is going to be bad this year.
Except it would provide a more accurate result and give more "real world" data. Just because a computer says that all things are equal doesn't mean they actually are.
So then you propose they use real potholes and stop to change a tire, oh, about once every third pothole?
Hell, most of that video reminded me of my last visit to Detroit.
ga ha ha
and that's "real" baby...
jeez that video is all out. Next stop, enter a Volt in a freaking Rally Car Series.
For "testing"
Modified by audifans at 3:48 PM 11-7-2009
Quote, originally posted by Mr. Jalopy »
Just to get it sorted, a carefully selected used Mercedes will require initial year repairs equal to the purchase price of the car. And for ever after, you will spend that initial purchase price again and again. A poorly researched and carelessly selected Mercedes has no upper monetery limit. $1000s of dollars per month until you cry uncle.
Pfff. GM potholes have no soul. They're pushing the same clapped out old potholes on us that they have for the past 20 years. They should tell the bean counters to go screw and let the engineers finally make some REAL potholes.
I wonder why people assume the electronics in the Volt will be any different the electronics in any other car?
It's not as though electric motors are all that complicated..
evidently there is more to this pothole/electric car story.
Quote, originally posted by autoblog »
As some readers may know, I am one of 100 people in New York who are leasing the MINI E electric car for one year. I recently passed 5000 miles of driving the car, and for the most part am very happy with it, especially in that all those miles have been covered without using one drop of gasoline. As the car is technically a mule or prototype, it is not production-ready and has had some issues. A month or two ago it began popping loudly into neutral whenever the accelerator was floored. The power electronics control unit was replaced and after that it almost never happened (it happened one more time). So I’m gentle with the accelerator. The other day I was driving to work and went over an unexpected construction zone pothole. The car was jostled and suddenly it went into neutral. After that it could no longer be put into drive. Despite turning it on and off and moving the shifter in and out of drive neutral and park several times, that was it, dead. A tow truck was called and off it went to the dealership for a MINI “flying doctor” to come and repair it. After a few days I found out it was the power electronics control unit again which was again replaced. This made me immediately realize the importance of extensive testing of new electric cars over rough road conditions, potholes and the like. With new technology electric cars there may be cables that can simply come out stopping the car dead in its tracks. Fickle electrical connections and sensitive electronics may be more vulnerable to these effects than mechanical combustion powertrains which have been road-tested for a hundred years.
Quote »
I reached out to Volt vehicle line director Tony Posawatz to see how carefully GM was evaluating pothole effects on the Volt prototypes. "We do more tests to our cars and especially the Chevy VOLT than anyone could imagine including some pretty severe potholes on our Milford Provings Grounds and other very difficult road surfaces."
If this video is any indication of "severe" potholes at Milford, then he needs to start testing around construction sites, which is where the Mini took a beating. Those "severe potholes" in the video won't stand a candle to NY street realism
Why spend the money to make fake ones? Just come to Buffalo late in the winter after the first few thaws. Look for the road with the most hubcaps laying around and you've found your testing area. I can already tell the road leading to my house is going to be bad this year.
They don't need to go to Buffalo. The roads in and around Detroit are some of the worst in the country. The place looks like it's been a war zone in some areas.
Have no fears. Anything being tested in Detroit has PLENTY of real world pothole experience.
They don't need to go to Buffalo. The roads in and around Detroit are some of the worst in the country. The place looks like it's been a war zone in some areas.
Have no fears. Anything being tested in Detroit has PLENTY of real world pothole experience.
QFT
and laughing my azz off over the engineers driving around Detroit's mess of a street system
Quote, originally posted by Mister Jalopy »
Some consider diesel to be a big, black smoky mess. As to the smoke. Hell yes it smokes. Big clouds of smoke. That fits clearly into my favorite category of problems - the Department of Somebody Else's Problem. If I drove the car from the rear bumper, it would be my problem.
Diesel smoke... the perfect solution to aggressive tailgaters
Except it would provide a more accurate result and give more "real world" data. Just because a computer says that all things are equal doesn't mean they actually are.
youre probably right, those auto engineers likely havent done any chassis testing work before.
you should probably shoot an email to gm and let them know theyre "doing it wrong"
I wonder why people assume the electronics in the Volt will be any different the electronics in any other car?
It's not as though electric motors are all that complicated..
They are a LOT different. The power controllers that run the motors have large IGBT's (most likely, they may be using a different power transistor, but essential it does the same thing - these are high capacity switching transistors that modulate the power output) these are physically large/heavy for an electronic device and vibration can cause a breakdown of the soldered connections. There are also heavy/large capacitors which could be upset in a similar manner...
The motor itself if a high precision device. Vibration at 10,000+ rpm on a moving rotor can cause forces to be exerted on the bearings that otherwise are not normally accounted for when the motor was designed. The rotor is quite close to the stator if the vibration was severe enough and the rotor came in contact with the stator there could be damage from the impact resulting in possible ground faults (short circuits, or minor leakage of current to the casing) or perhaps a break in some of the internal windings (the wiring that is wrapped around iron cores in a motor). The motor needs to be of a specific design to be able to take the amount of vibration and twisting forces required of it.
Nothing is "complicated" about a motor... but the levels of precision involved make for very tight tolerances.
Those potholes are engineered for depth to test the suspension... they aren't out to ruin the tires and rims - they know a bad pothole will do that. They just want to make sure the suspension travel and damping is sufficient to insulate the car.
The VW testing video someone posted is for airbag sensitivity.
I either carry my XD-45 or Kel-Tec .380. Depends on what I'm wearing... the XD-45 is a little large to conceal when wearing shorts. Extra ammo in a backpack in the trunk. Those goddamned zombie bastards aren't going to kill themselves. That's why. - medicracer
For advertising information Click Here
Compression, travel, that sort. Standard proving grounds/test track testing.
