Item — HN Reader

by joeblau·8y ago·view on hn ↗

EV's torque curve is different than a manual. Torque on an EV is instant so it available faster than a manual, but then tapers down (Because the cars are programmed that way). If you had performance manual transmission car, the torque curve keeps going up.

That's what when people drag race a Tesla, the Tesla wins in a quarter mile, but then all of these other high speed automobiles end up catching and passing the Tesla a few seconds afterwards. This video explains it[1].

[1] - https://youtu.be/KFol2ZQnASI?t=389

I get that torque for EVs is ~independent of rpm. But still, there's just one set of gearing, right? So the effective torque at the wheels is also ~independent of rpm.

And yes, torque at the wheels is likely much greater for Teslas than for my Civic VTEC in third gear. But I wonder about second gear. I mean, the car has wide low-profile tires, and I can spin them on dry pavement in second, from a standing start. And it takes some skill to avoid doing that when starting in first.