Andrew767

Carl Much of what you say is true,it's the reason why the gauges in the Outlander are known on the owners forum as guessometers!!.I always calculate my Mpg after refilling the car and my best ever was 98mpg. However the best single long distance journey was 58.7mpg. Not bad for a 2ltr petrol but a long way from the official 148mpg. My figures are from real world use and not from conjecture or opinion which is why i prefer comment from first hand experience. Percy I can still find no reference to issues with this particular engine. I wonder if his decision is more likely to be based on the reduction in BIK on his tax bill and also that from 9th November, there is no longer a £2500 subsidy on hybrid vehicle purchase. Germany is seriously looking at hydrogen generation because for much of the year they have a surplus of wind and solar energy. It makes sense to use this surplus to create hydrogen as this can be stored and used to generate electricity when they are in deficit ,effectively using hydrogen as a battery. An added bonus is that the emissions from this energy production is clean drinkable water. Andrew P.S. Do it Percy.....you know you want to...It's not just having that new car but knowing it can be powered by smugness!!.   Edited By Andrew767 on 14/10/2018 20:06:02

Percy There is clearly some kind of fault with his particular vehicle but all PHEVs can charge when running. Yes the engine is fairly basic but that is because it only acts as a generator but it's a very economical engine. I regularly exceed 90mpg and bearing in mind that this is a 2 tonne SUV that is quite impressive.I can still find no evidence to suggest that this engine has any particular faults and mine has been faultless in over 12 months. I think that too many comments on this thread have come from those that have no first hand experience but merely repeat nonsense spread in the press. EVs don't achieve the ranges quoted by manufacturers but then no ICE vehicles can achieve the MPG quoted figures either. The problem comes from the testing standards and something needs to change!. Andrew

Percy If you look behind the drive selector you'll see a button that says "Charge" on it!. Yes the Outlander can charge from the engine on the move. It uses about 3ltrs of fuel to charge the battery to 80%. What is the issue with the engine?. I've never seen any mention on the owners forum. Recall for this vehicle is for a rubber boot on the handbrake system allowing water ingress. Andrew

Tim What Steve said!! Andrew Of course Steve is quite right in that it is not easy and my tested figures were approximate but enough to show that the motor wasn't as described.

Tim As BEB says...are you sure this is 800kv?...These motors are rebadged XYH motors and in the past i've bought 800kv that when tested were actually 1100kv!!. If you are able to check this do so. They can be labelled wrongly at the factory. On the plus side, XP2 esc are rebadged Hobbywing Flyfun, so that's one good thing. Andrew

Michael I'm watching this with interest. I have the plan but have never got around to building it. What do you intend to cover it with?. Andrew P.s....Nice work by the way...

Erf Come back out of your box....the more people start saying this, the sooner things will change!. The things you describe from the past only changed because enough people complained about them. Andrew

I think we have gone beyond our ecological niche but i agree with your basic sentiment. Sadly you are correct, i also think it will end in tears. Andrew

Posted by Don Fry on 09/05/2018 19:37:47: Denis, you are quite right. But the just our lot is the problem bit. Don ....You are quite right...There are just too many of us! Andrew

Posted by Erfolg on 09/05/2018 16:24:15: Hmm Local Emmissions Free, strange diescription. I had noticed that Hybrid cars could be required to be able to travel for 20 miles without use of a IC power source, as part of Government long term proposals. It seems that current Hybrids typically can only do 10 miles, a particular Japanese vehicle was singled out as an example. At first sight it just seems you need a battery *2 the size now fitted. The downside will be the space required to keep the battery, which also leads to a weight increase, and so on. I am guessing that the battery size currently chosen is based on the concept that others have mentioned, in that a IC engine running at a constant speed optimum efficiency speed, is a very efficient package. Probably much more energy efficient than a pure electric, when generation, distribution losses are considered. I have just renewed my Gas/Electric package for my home. It struck me that the cost of gas per unit energy was 1/4 of the electric unit cost. I would expect that this discrepancy is an overall efficiency effect. Although electric kettles are very efficient, it would not surprise me that gas heating of a kettle is at a lower cost. Looking at the emissions issues, again it would not surprise me that gas distribution and burning creates less gross pollutants than electric. Part of my memory contains the difficulty of just getting rid of transformer oils, and some of the nasty chemicals associated with vacuuming down for transformers and switchgear. Erf...You are forgetting about Plug-in Hybrids which can generally attain 25-30 miles as an EV. So "typically" is not the right description. Andrew

Do you still have reverse the throttle on Futaba for electric?..I know i used to. Sorry if you've done this Mark....it was just a thought. Andrew

C8 Back to your OP. I thought,just out of curiosity mind, that i'd have a look to see how much my car would cost one year on. Now of course i expected it to be a couple of grand cheaper but no!!...12 mths later, it,s the same price!. Reminds me of an old motortrade saying "19 cars and 20 customers...they're all full price......20 cars and 19 customers...they're all discounted!". I suspect that there are more people wanting to buy EVs than there are vehicles available, thus keeping the price up but this will change over time. Andrew

Posted by IDD15 on 28/04/2018 07:22:29: Gawd help you on here then if you drive a 4x4 EV! I've been labeled a subsidy a subsidy sucking parking pariah because I have the temerity to charge at a Supermarket and it might be near the doors! Marvelloooose....... idd IDD.....SSHHHHH!!!!....My 4x4 is EV.....Please don't tell anyone..

CP I have one and the build and finish is very good. Sadly not got round to flying it yet so i can't help you there. I'm sure someone on this forum used to rave about them a few years ago. Have a search. Andrew CP    It was Stephen Grigg... Edited By Andrew767 on 28/04/2018 13:37:02

Posted by Cuban8 on 26/04/2018 16:26:37: I know it shouldn't wind me up, but it still does.........................Whenever I go shopping with Mrs C8 to Asda, there's usually a couple of non-electric vehicles sitting in the spaces with charging points (four spaces with 'leccy in total). The culprits are usually huge 4X4s of Teutonic manufacture. Because the charging points are close to the shop and I think the charging spaces might be a tad wider than usual, these inconsiderate people think they'll save themselves a walk and block access for someone who could really need the facility in a hurry. C8....I also see it near where i live.......I think some people do it to try and prove a pathetic point. Andrew

Posted by IDD15 on 22/04/2018 22:43:30: Re Tebay Could not agree with you all more, the selection of pies in the Deli was fabulous. It is also one of the few places I have found damson jam! Re Lake district passes Great idea! Last time I drove them it was in a Mini Metro and it was hard work. Re My EV journey It was never a properly planned journey more a series of events over time really. A friend got a Prius a few years ago and it was really interesting learning about it. However as clever as the Prius is the fact that you had two propulsion systems and two energy systems in one car has always sat uncomfortably with me. Funnily enough we were out with him yesterday in his new Mitsubishi PHEV. Very, very impressive I have to say. Then I heard about some start up called Tesla creating an electric sports car. Shortly after that I nearly stepped in front of one in Monte Carlo whilst working over there on a project for an oil company! I loved the quiet under stated performance as it zipped away, but not the price. For me though it kind of sowed the seed that an electric car was in my future, provided I could avoid being run over! Step forward 4 years or so and I worked briefly with a lady who was utterly besotted with her Nissan Leaf! Shortly after that my employer at the time got some employee deal whereby you got £400 cash back through Nissan if you leased a Leaf. So we went for a test drive, were hooked and the rest is history. Underlying all this is a professional interest in things electrical and the surrounding environmental issues. As Erf rightly points out there has to be a genuine gain else it is not worth it. I think there is a gain to be had with EV's and PHEV's idd   IDD A few pages have passed since i asked that question and thanks for the reply. My journey was a little different. I had to close a business in 2010. I supplied services to a well known national DIY brand and of course after the downturn things dried up. My 6th Mondeo (after two dreadful Passats) which had been trouble free when travelling around the UK, began to have problems with it's EGR when my usage changed to frequent short journeys. So i decided to switch to petrol. My own car does little mileage, so as a stop gap i bought an old T30 X-Trail 2.5Ltr to last 6mths or so.3yrs later having run perfectly,save loving petrol like an alcoholic loves drink, i needed to replace it. Sadly almost no petrol SUVs of a reasonable size were available. My choices were limited to either a Range Rover 4.6ltr (I do so little mileage that i could live with 15mpg) or a Mitsubishi Outlander. Unfortunately my tame Landrover mechanic was just about to move abroad (Lancashire!!!!) so i was left with Hobsons choice. However the PHEV has proved to be exactly what i needed. The fuel economy came as a bonus and having spent time in my friends MOT station i had already decided to only run Japanese cars. Andrew       Edited By Andrew767 on 26/04/2018 20:36:25

Percy I have to agree with all you said.....Sadly. Andrew

Don I'm guessing that you're saying that Hydrogen is a no,no?? Andrew

Sorry Percy.....Just joking again...I'm also looking at the possibility of a Solar array to feed the house and charge the car. I think it's the way forward as i have a south facing roof and in the summer ( Do we have them anymore??) the sun is on my roof from 11.00am onwards. Andrew

What!!!.....The Sun exploded in 1956??....Now that is worrying! Andrew

Percy....You just can't beat Thermo Nuclear energy! Andrew

Posted by Phil 9 on 22/04/2018 19:31:59: Posted by cymaz on 22/04/2018 19:12:22: Hangar 9 have got some lovely looking stuff. availability seems to be poor Yes i agree...H9 have had some super planes but like eflite, they seem be discontinued fairly quickly. The Pulse, in all it's guises being popular and a good example of this. Andrew

Posted by cymaz on 22/04/2018 19:08:58: Range no problem for a hybrid...if you own that American truck with the battery and hydrogen fuel cell. 1000 miles Cymaz..You're the Devil incarnate!!...However if i was a gambling man, my punt would be on Hydrogen being Betamax and Electric being VHS..... Andrew

Percy...Your description is an HEV....PHEV is an ICE assisted electric vehicle. Other way round in other words. Don, a PHEV can run as a pure EV, an HEV cannot. Only need the engine to either give a boost uphill when the battery is low or recharge up to 80% when on the move. And yes it can be entertaining. Mine gives 204ps using both. Think scalded cat!! Andrew PS....Don just to help.....EV= Electric Vehicle.....HEV= Hybrid electric vehicle....PHEV= Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle...Sorry if i'm teaching you to suck eggs.

IDD15...Can you tell us how you came to choose an EV?..was it economic, environmental, practical etc. It would be very interesting to know. It was a bit of a journey for me to choose a PHEV. Andrew