Over conventional vehicles, powered by internal combustion engines, electric vehicles still have a number of shortcomings. This knows the hero of todayís story, the journalist of the edition CNET, because he is the owner of the electric vehicle. Extreme temperatures (heat or frost) may have a negative effect on the battery, ultimately leading to a reduction in the reserve. In addition, electric vehicles are generally heavier than their ice counterparts, often use all-season tyres with low rolling resistance tyres, which are harder to catch during the winter the road surface. Every automaker is testing their new products in winter conditions, to best prepare your car for the different operating conditions Company Tesla is no exception.
California company Tesla has always prepared its electric vehicles to operate in winter conditions. In 2007, when the model Rodster first generation still held a phase I trial, the company sent a team of engineers in the Swedish city of Arvidsjaur 110 km South from the Arctic circle to test the effectiveness of the suspension at low temperatures. Since then, the company continues to test all its electric vehicles in harsh conditions, which is why they are now so popular, for example, in Norway. Only now cars check on a closed test track in Alaska. Tim Stevens with a camera crew CNET got an exclusive offer to visit this secret place and try all three models of electric cars Tesla is manufacturing.
Winter landfill Tesla is in this wilderness, about two hours drive from the city of Fairbanks. The company’s engineers spend testing electric vehicles and technologies for several years, but this is the first time this allowed journalists. Central long building surrounded by a huge asphalt track, as well as additional participants, where the staff in every one plagued by various experimental samples.
“There are ice and snow-covered plots, which test the maneuverability of the cars, a few icy hills with numerous slopes and also the ice-covered area for the vehicle to skid or side slip, smooth so that it is suitable for holding the Cup finals of the NHL,” writes Stevens.
Company checks here not only the control system and the safety of their electric cars. The conditions here are ideal to check the settings and efficiency of the systems of conditioning and ventilation that boasts Tesla.
Of course, Stevens could not help but use the opportunity to test-drive caught in his hands models of the Tesla. Models S and Model X, like most other modern cars equipped with various systems of stabilization and sustainability, which is used in order to minimize probable threat situation in such extreme conditions.
“Get out of line, do something that the car does not like it and she immediately will significantly reduce power and will do everything necessary in order for you to preserve it”, — the journalist writes.
What if you disable all this electronics? On the test firing of Tesla there is a very large snow field where you can easily enter into a skid or even to depart from the beaten track, if you overdo it with the accelerator pedal. Stevens first went there.
“Using a laptop and a couple of clicks, one of the engineers Tesla has disabled absolutely all the stabilization system of the car and asked me to perform a sharp maneuver, simulating a rapid lane change at speed of about 100 kilometers per hour. Such situations in Alaska can happen quite often, wild elk here like to cross the road at the most unexpected for you a moment.”
Have in stock a decade of experience driving on snowy road Stevens to maneuver in such conditions did, however, the journalist notes, “the average Model S owner of be spun here as a cow on ice”.
Then a specialist company re-enabled stabilization system and traction control, and Stevens tried again.
“Same speed, same snowy field. I tried to let the car skidding, but every time Tesla tried to keep himself inside the band, at first allowing you to make sharp maneuver to the detour of the imaginary moose, and then quietly stabilizing its movement direction”.
The journalist explains that the car did it through the combined work of systems of active braking, as well as the selective distribution of torque.
“When the car detects a skid due to a variety of sensors including sensors of frequency of rotation of a wheel, it immediately tries to minimize its effects, automatically otorbaeva different wheels, pulling the nose. In addition, the machine can modulate torque to the front and buildings axes, thereby helping the wheels to catch on the road.”
According to Stevens, on Model 3 to ride on snow more fun, even in the basic version, compared to its older counterparts.
“Despite the fact that Model 3 is exactly the same as that of Models S and X to stabilize the movement and prevent your skidding, she has a wider range of permissible slippage”.
Performance version of the electric vehicle with active mode Track Mode seemed the most journalist-friendly.
“Mode “Track Mode” Model 3 allows the rear of the car even more to go in the demolition, in some moments it lets you feel like a real drifter. But overdo it and you’ll go into a real skid. However, in this case, the car will also reduce the power and is able to slow down at the right time to align your movement,” explains the journalist.
“On the track with a slippery coating, as well as more fidgety on the road I felt the car is less resistance to what I eventually want to do, allowing you to perform more complex maneuvers like the Scandinavian flick when the car is first wagging in the opposite direction from the direction of rotation and then in the direction of rotation. Any hint of an active stabilization system would kill such a manner, but I was wound round and round doing the trick, and Model 3 is in these moments not resisted,” write Stevens.
In General, the end of the day the journalist was just amazed by the capabilities Model 3. Electronics of the machine allows you to not only feel safe, but also to the pleasure of management. The only thing that complained was a journalist, so it’s the lack of physical hand brake and the inability to disable the security system yourself. At the same time, he noted that Tesla is working on a “advanced” mode “Track Mode” that will allow for a more flexible configuration allowing you to manually adjust the torque split between the front and rear axles of the car.
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