Who has or is planning to get an electric car / EV Talk

[SactoGuy18]

And even though I don’t have the need currently, if I were to buy a new EV today, I’d get one that can take advantage of 350kW, but that’s just me.

Alas, the number of vehicles that take full advantage of 350 kW initial charging rate on DC is still quite rare beyond Tesla models.

 

[JT2002TJ]

Alas, the number of vehicles that take full advantage of 350 kW initial charging rate on DC is still quite rare beyond Tesla models.

I don't think most Tesla's are capable of 350 kW charging. I think the S/X can get close to but not 350. I believe the LR 3/Y are limited to 250 kW. Maybe the Cybertruck can, or will be able to.

I think you need an 800v architecture which most Tesla's aren't (Cybertruck is).

While it might be nice to be able to charge at 350 kW, I wouldn't limit my options to vehicles with it, unless you have a MASSIVE battery like that in the Rivian's, CyberTruck, HummerEV, Ford Lightning. The reasoning is, they need the 350 kW to be able to charge their batteries in the same amount of time the smaller battery vehicles can. Otherwise for them to go from 20% to 80% will take FOREVER.

Right now, going from 20%-80% on a TMY LR is fast enough that it will charge faster than you can go in, use the bathroom, grab food and get back to the vehicle. Assuming you precondition the batteries.

 

[jz0309]

Alas, the number of vehicles that take full advantage of 350 kW initial charging rate on DC is still quite rare beyond Tesla models.

well, Hyundai Ioniq5/6, Kia EV6/9 are some of the more affordable which can, see below link, that lit is growing ...

https://www.topspeed.com/fastest-charging-electric-vehicles-in-2023/#kia-ev6-hyundai-ioniq-5---350kw-18-minutes

 

[jz0309]

I don't think most Tesla's are capable of 350 kW charging. I think the S/X can get close to but not 350. I believe the LR 3/Y are limited to 250 kW. Maybe the Cybertruck can, or will be able to.

I think you need an 800v architecture which most Tesla's aren't (Cybertruck is).

While it might be nice to be able to charge at 350 kW, I wouldn't limit my options to vehicles with it, unless you have a MASSIVE battery like that in the Rivian's, CyberTruck, HummerEV, Ford Lightning. The reasoning is, they need the 350 kW to be able to charge their batteries in the same amount of time the smaller battery vehicles can. Otherwise for them to go from 20% to 80% will take FOREVER.

Right now, going from 20%-80% on a TMY LR is fast enough that it will charge faster than you can go in, use the bathroom, grab food and get back to the vehicle. Assuming you precondition the batteries.

I am pretty sure that the current Hyundai/Kia that I mentioned above do not yet have 800V, but that is coming ...

It really all depends on your needs, I am still quite happy with my EUV and I do know that if I ever were to go cross country, I could, just need to plan it right.

 

[SalisburySam]

For infrequent travelers, renting a new (and perhaps exciting) vehicle can solve the charging issue. For example, rent a Porsche to learn what all the excitement is about. Rent a minivan and carry your home with you. Rent an exotic for the novelty. No need to fret the L3 charging unless you’re comfortable doing so. Note: if you rent a Chiron, please detail your experiences with lots of pix.

 

[SalisburySam]

I am pretty sure that the current Hyundai/Kia that I mentioned above do not yet have 800V, but that is coming ...

My 2023 Hyundai Ioniq5 Limited has an 800v architecture today (as it did when I got it).

 

[JT2002TJ]

My 2023 Hyundai Ioniq5 Limited has an 800v architecture today (as it did when I got it).

Yeah, I'm not sure how one can get 350 kW charging without 800v architecture. I thought it was a requirement...

 

[4sallypat]

EA, EVGO etc have been deploying 350kW chargers over the past 2 years or so, and as far as I know Tesla V4 SUC also supports 350kW, so it’s coming as it is the new “standard”.
And yes, there will be adapters for non-Tesla EVs eventually.
It all depends on your needs, if you are doing frequent longer roadtrips, think twice. For me, I’ve only been on a couple longer trips since I have the EUV and charging speed is not critical.
And even though I don’t have the need currently, if I were to buy a new EV today, I’d get one that can take advantage of 350kW, but that’s just me

Most EVs are 400V architecture so won't take in more than 150kW.

My Ford EV (400V) at Tesla Superchargers will max out around 120 kW.

Next EV will look at getting an 800V battery car like the Porsche Taycan....

 

[diamond.g]

Yeah, I'm not sure how one can get 350 kW charging without 800v architecture. I thought it was a requirement...

You could get there by allowing ~900A at 400V. The current 250kW stalls provide 625A. I believe the CCS specification limit is 500A though (400/800V)

 

[wonderings]

First, what country are you in? Charging is different between the US and other countries. In the US Tesla's and Tesla Super Chargers share the NACS plug (scroll back a few posts to look at the plugs). When you have a Tesla or a Ford/Rivian you can just plug into these and get billed though your vehicle app (charges the card on file).

Tesla's have one rate, while 3rd party (Ford/Rivian) have a higher (but still cheaper than a lot of other L3 non-Tesla chargers). Ford/Rivian need to use an adapter that goes from US CCS1 to NACS (provided by Ford/Rivian, or 3rd party).

If you have a Tesla and want to use non-Tesla charges, if there are fees, you will need their app to facilitate charging. My local grocery store (Volta has L2 charging J1772 to NACS adapter is needed) has free charging for the first 2 hours. There are tons of paid Non-Tesla L2 chargers around me, but you need their app. If you want to use a non-Tesla L3 charger, you will need to use a NACS to CCS1 adapter, and facilitate payment with the app of the charger.

I think things are different in Europe, as I believe their chargers are mandated to have "at pump" payment capabilities. So, you can pay directly on the 3rd party chargers without needing to download an app. They also have the benefit to Tesla, Tesla chargers, other vehicles and other chargers all using CCS2. So, it is just payment, which since they have a "pay at pump" mandate, it is seamless.

Since there are several companies, and some require money sitting in an account (not exact payment), it really is not ideal to use 3rd party chargers in the US, unless you stick to a particular brand. I have money sitting in an account for Flo chargers that I never use...

Also, if you happen to be in a remote place with no cell phone service, you are out of luck on these 3rd party chargers... Especially if you need to download an app and setup payment prior to charging.

In the US, the Tesla public charging experience is just better. Even if you have a Ford/Rivian that can use Tesla chargers, they are still limited to compatible chargers. It is nice though that they get direct payment when they do use a compatible charger.

EDIT: The lack of standard really screwed us here in the US. If you need to use public chargers, the best experience is Tesla, not only because of not needing all these adapters, but also because Tesla has the best uptime vs others. So many other companies do a terrible job of maintaining their chargers.

But for me, I charge at home 99% of the time. In the last 1.5 years, I have used chargers a total of 4 times away from home.

I am in Canada. I was asking because I have 2 charging stations up the road from me. They are not Tesla branded charging stations. In some googling it looks like you get an adapter with a Tesla that covers most charging stations in N. America. If things go through at work and I get a Tesla Y, we would have the faster home charging station at the office, so I would generally just charge there and at home if I am in a pinch I could charge up the road. I live in a small town and from looking online I can see how many times those charging stations have been used, which is a total of 8 times in almost a year, so no real concerns about availability.

 

[JT2002TJ]

You could get there by allowing ~900A at 400V. The current 250kW stalls provide 625A. I believe the CCS specification limit is 500A though (400/800V)

But doesn't the vehicle side have to support it? I don't think any vehicles support 1M Amp do they?

 

[diamond.g]

But doesn't the vehicle side have to support it? I don't think any vehicles support 1M Amp do they?

Yeah, and to be honest I'm not actually sure Tesla's cabinets actually support that much amperage. Let alone the plug.
But without 800V there is no other way to get 350kW.

 

[JT2002TJ]

I am in Canada. I was asking because I have 2 charging stations up the road from me. They are not Tesla branded charging stations. In some googling it looks like you get an adapter with a Tesla that covers most charging stations in N. America. If things go through at work and I get a Tesla Y, we would have the faster home charging station at the office, so I would generally just charge there and at home if I am in a pinch I could charge up the road. I live in a small town and from looking online I can see how many times those charging stations have been used, which is a total of 8 times in almost a year, so no real concerns about availability.

So, being in Canada, you are the same as the US.

L1 Charging AC 110v outlet up to 20 Amps
L2 Charging AC 220V up to around 48 Amps (you won't get 48 Amp from public AC chargers)
L3/4 Charging DC fast charging 150 kW+ (up to speed of 250 kW)

Sounds like you have access to L2 public chargers which use the top half (AC part) of a CCS1 adapter known as J1772 (round part, without the bottom oval DC plugs). Teslas do come with a J1772 to NACS adapter that you can use. Just so you know how long this takes, I use 30% of my battery in my 2021 TMY LR AWD a day, it takes me about 2.5 hrs at L2 40 Amp charging at home.

With a L3 Tesla or 3rd Party CCS1 (using my adapter that I purchased from Tesla) with a properly preconditioned battery, I could do that same 30% in about 10-15 minutes.

 

[wonderings]

So, being in Canada, you are the same as the US.

L1 Charging AC 110v outlet up to 20 Amps
L2 Charging AC 220V up to around 48 Amps (you won't get 48 Amp from public AC chargers)
L3/4 Charging DC fast charging 150 kW+ (up to speed of 250 kW)

Sounds like you have access to L2 public chargers which use the top half (AC part) of a CCS1 adapter known as J1772 (round part, without the bottom oval DC plugs). Teslas do come with a J1772 to NACS adapter that you can use. Just so you know how long this takes, I use 30% of my battery in my 2021 TMY LR AWD a day, it takes me about 2.5 hrs at L2 40 Amp charging at home.

With a L3 Tesla or 3rd Party CCS1 (using my adapter that I purchased from Tesla) with a properly preconditioned battery, I could do that same 30% in about 10-15 minutes.

going to be a different way of thinking for sure going to EV from a regular car. I checked online and they charge $1 an hour for charging. Not sure how fast it goes, I would basically be wanting to get enough charge relatively quick to get me about 80kms to get to work, with some wiggle room. If I needed faster charging there is a Tesla charge station about 25 mins away. Again I think it will just be a different way of thinking as a quick fill up is not a thing anymore

 

[Apple fanboy]

going to be a different way of thinking for sure going to EV from a regular car. I checked online and they charge $1 an hour for charging. Not sure how fast it goes, I would basically be wanting to get enough charge relatively quick to get me about 80kms to get to work, with some wiggle room. If I needed faster charging there is a Tesla charge station about 25 mins away. Again I think it will just be a different way of thinking as a quick fill up is not a thing anymore

Destination chargers are the key. Places like home or work where you can leave your car plugged in for hours on a slow charge.
I charge mine at work about once a week. Just arrive. Plug it in. I get a ping on my Apple Watch about lunchtime to tell me it’s at 100%. Free miles are the best!
I have a charger at home but it only gets used a few times a year.

 

[jz0309]

going to be a different way of thinking for sure going to EV from a regular car. I checked online and they charge $1 an hour for charging. Not sure how fast it goes, I would basically be wanting to get enough charge relatively quick to get me about 80kms to get to work, with some wiggle room. If I needed faster charging there is a Tesla charge station about 25 mins away. Again I think it will just be a different way of thinking as a quick fill up is not a thing anymore View attachment 2386024

So that’s looking like a L2 charger which typically gives you around 20-25 miles/hr of charge, so appr 35 or so km.
Do you have a garage at home? 110V outlet?
At 110V charging you get around 4 miles/hour…

 

[wonderings]

So that’s looking like a L2 charger which typically gives you around 20-25 miles/hr of charge, so appr 35 or so km.
Do you have a garage at home? 110V outlet?
At 110V charging you get around 4 miles/hour…

How long would it take for 35 km then?

No garage, have a narrow driveway between my house and my neighbours. An 80% charge would get me through a weekend easily, just thinking about options if I am needing to charge close to home.

 

[jz0309]

How long would it take for 35 km then?

No garage, have a narrow driveway between my house and my neighbours. An 80% charge would get me through a weekend easily, just thinking about options if I am needing to charge close to home.

A L2 charger (240V) should do 35km/hr give or take…
Is that Tesla charger you mentioned a supercharger or a destination charger? Destination chargers are 240V whereas a supercharger can get you to 80% in like a half hour or so…

 

[skottichan]

I don't mean to interrupt the current conversation, but a a new EV owner (Bolt EUV), what trip planners do you guys use? The onboard ones or a third party?

 

[JT2002TJ]

How long would it take for 35 km then?

No garage, have a narrow driveway between my house and my neighbours. An 80% charge would get me through a weekend easily, just thinking about options if I am needing to charge close to home.

If you get the Chargepoint app, you can look up info on the chargers you pictured. You can usually see the max kW charging. I'm going to guess it is between 6 kW and 10 kW (I get 9.X at home on my 220V 40 amp charger).

You will want to start thinking about charging in terms of % not miles/km. The reasoning is, miles/km are a function of efficiency, which changes and is not very accurate. Also, if you leave sentry mode on (video recording when parked) you use about 1% per hour just parked. I have cabin overheat protection on (the ac automatically comes on to drop the internal temp to 100F), which is actually running right now as it is parked.

I drive 26 miles each way, about 3 hours of driving with mixed speeds down to bumper-to-bumper traffic. My car sits about 10 hours between commuting. That uses about 30 percent (from 80% down to about 50% when I get home).

 

[JT2002TJ]

I don't mean to interrupt the current conversation, but a a new EV owner (Bolt EUV), what trip planners do you guys use? The onboard ones or a third party?

The App ABRP (A Better Route Planner) if you want 3rd party, but Telsa does it all for me. I have no idea how well Chevy's UI is. But make sure you have ABRP on your phone, in case you need it.

 

[jz0309]

I don't mean to interrupt the current conversation, but a a new EV owner (Bolt EUV), what trip planners do you guys use? The onboard ones or a third party?

I have a Bolt EUV, I use several all on my phone: ABRP ( a better route planner), PlugShare and also Electrify America…

I don’t have onstar and the myChevrolet app sucks and is useless in my opinion.

Go visit/join chevybolt.org, lots of useful info there

 

[skottichan]

I have a Bolt EUV, I use several all on my phone: ABRP ( a better route planner), PlugShare and also Electrify America…

I don’t have onstar and the myChevrolet app sucks and is useless in my opinion.

Go visit/join chevybolt.org, lots of useful info there

Oh cool, thank you for the suggestions.

I'm really having fun driving an EV full time, after renting a couple in the past.

(also, I' kind of annoyed finding out that the new framework Bolts won't be out until 2025 tho)

 

[jz0309]

If you get the Chargepoint app, you can look up info on the chargers you pictured. You can usually see the max kW charging. I'm going to guess it is between 6 kW and 10 kW (I get 9.X at home on my 220V 40 amp charger).

You will want to start thinking about charging in terms of % not miles/km. The reasoning is, miles/km are a function of efficiency, which changes and is not very accurate. Also, if you leave sentry mode on (video recording when parked) you use about 1% per hour just parked. I have cabin overheat protection on (the ac automatically comes on to drop the internal temp to 100F), which is actually running right now as it is parked.

I drive 26 miles each way, about 3 hours of driving with mixed speeds down to bumper-to-bumper traffic. My car sits about 10 hours between commuting. That uses about 30 percent (from 80% down to about 50% when I get home).

@wonderings im going to throw something in here since you don’t have home charging and you live in a cold climate: winter will make a difference. I am only going to posts here and in other forums, I have no personal experience as I’m in California and done have to deal with extreme cold… but maybe @JT2002TJ can provide some more info…

 

[jz0309]

Oh cool, thank you for the suggestions.

I'm really having fun driving an EV full time, after renting a couple in the past.

(also, I' kind of annoyed finding out that the new framework Bolts won't be out until 2025 tho)

You mean the Ultiums? I’d be surprised if we see them before 2026 tbh
I’ve had my EUV since Nov 22 and love it