Beta Don Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 (edited) No, we very seldom see fog here, so it may be a while. I have a pretty severe case of glaucoma so I need all the help I can get seeing the road after dark, so I always run my 'fog' lights all the time after dark. As I mentioned, I have these same lights on both of our electric cars, so I'm very familiar with how well they light up the road Unless we're going out of town on a trip, our TC seldom gets driven. The last gas powered car we had we only managed to put 30,000 miles on in 6 years and almost all of that was on long trips. Not often the gasser gets started around our house . . . . a Battery Tender Jr trickle charger keeps it ready to go for those times we need something with more range than one of the electric cars - We put most of our miles on the electric cars Don Edited November 24, 2016 by Beta Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 Sorry to hear about your eyes. The single complaint that I hear from everybody that I know with OEM fog lighting, is that they can't even tell if it works. We get into fog, they turn it on, and don't notice a thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G B L Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 The fog we get around here is mostly in the fall and the morning. The fog lights are most useful in a snow storm to help the low beam's. The fog lights on My TC are turned off automatically when the High beam are engaged. Beta Don What is the range of your Electric Car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtn Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 Our government bought 507 of those i-MiEVs for social workers and other govt institutions. EV is more suitable in warm climate, over here they cover 75 miles in the summer and 35 miles in the winter per charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 Range anxiety. Commutes can easily be an hour or more in traffic. That's why I haven't gone electric. What happens if you run out of electricity, and can't get home? It's not like you can fill it up in 5 minutes. You have to first locate a charging station, and hope that you can make it that far. Then sit there for however many hours it takes to get a full charge. I even get nervous driving on Flex Fuel, because the mileage on E85 is less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtn Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 21 minutes ago, Fifty150 said: Range anxiety. Heh. I was driving in Germany on the Autobahn this spring (Toyota, not Ford). The full tank range was 500 miles, the range anxiety hit at 250 miles already. At 150 miles I started to feel a bit panicky. Could not imagine doing that in an EV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 Even on my motorcycle, I get that nagging feeling. Especially since the bike does not have a fuel gauge, and only holds a little over 3 gallons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtn Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 It does have a reserve tap tho? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Ridley Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 The current generation will make the electric transition without hesitation. All of their important possessions currently run on rechargeable batteries. There will come a day where the mess and toxicity of gasoline will be a something only old guys will opine about. As an electrical engineer the future makes perfect sense to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 But a reserve on a motorcycle really isn't ideal. The best thing to do is to raise the front end of the tank, move the fill cap to the top, then move the petcock gravity feed to the bottom at the back of the tank.. This allows you to carry more fuel, and be able to use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beta Don Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 "Range anxiety. Commutes can easily be an hour or more in traffic. That's why I haven't gone electric." Range and time are two completely different things - When an EV isn't moving, it's not consuming power (and reducing it's range) like a gas powered vehicle does. 'Normal range' is about 75 miles for the iMiEV and true, it's much shorter if you're using the heater . . . . not much less if you're using the AC though. Many Canadian owners (and a few in Europe as well) have installed diesel heaters which allows you to have a very comfortable car and not lose any range We've had one of our cars for 5 years and got the second one 2 years ago. In 5 years and now more than 50,000 miles, we've yet to experience the first 'range anxiety' episode, but then we know how far the car can go and we usually also know about how far our destination is. BTW, the 75 miles is an average - At freeway speeds it might be as little as 50 miles, but in stop and go city traffic at 25 mph, it will go closer to 100 miles EV's are very easy to fall in love with - You learn a whole new driving style and when you get in a gas powered vehicle, you magically get about 25% better mileage in it too Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G B L Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 The switch to electric Vehicles would happen much faster if the battery was standard sized and replaceable like all the battery tools Then the charging would not be an issue and range anxiety would dissapear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 I suppose if you learn to only use it for round trips that are within range, then you can comfortably charge it overnight. And it also depends on the user. For me, I would not be able to commute. In my situation, I would be able to get to work, but unable to return home. Great little cars for running errands. I can see how something like this is much more practical for trips to get groceries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtn Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 6 hours ago, Fifty150 said: I can see how something like this is much more practical for trips to get groceries. https://www.washingtonian.com/2016/10/03/these-robots-will-be-delivering-food-in-dc-very-soon/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beta Don Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 Many people drive EV's to work, recharge them there and drive home - More and more employers who want to appear to be 'green' allow free recharging at their places of business. In this scenario, it's easy to do a daily 100 mile round trip and with very little out of pocket Many EV's have DCQC ports and can be recharged to 80% in about 20 minutes. One of our cars has this feature, though we very seldom use it. We recharge at home 90% of the time Of course, you could always buy a Chevy Bolt . . . . 235 miles range, so no 'anxiety' there! Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 4 hours ago, Beta Don said: Many people drive EV's to work, recharge them there and drive home - More and more employers who want to appear to be 'green' allow free recharging at their places of business. In this scenario, it's easy to do a daily 100 mile round trip and with very little out of pocket In some scenarios, employers have a private bus fleet. In other scenarios, employers reimburse the cost of public transportation. Unfortunately, I do not work for such an employer. Wouldn't it be great to be working at places like Genentech, Google, & FaceBook? I love how they even hire private chefs to cook lunch for people so that they don't have to leave the workplace to get something to eat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeru574 Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 I just picked up a used TC with a shattered fog and this post help point me in the right direction for replacing it, took about 30-45 mins to complete the passenger side. I removed the T30 screws and pop rivets for the front half of the fender liner and then the 3 pop rivets connecting the liner to lower splash guard. I used some wire to pull the liner back out of the way giving enough access to remove the T25 screws holding the fog lamp in place, luckily it stays put without any screws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 We are now off topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikinchris Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 On 10/16/2016 at 4:13 AM, mrtn said: Still haven't checked if my fog lights have the cornering option. If you have factory fog lights they can become cornering lights. You have to use the correct switch configuration. Every time I have someone park my van, they mess with the light switch and sometimes the fog switch. So I have to play with it to get it back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtn Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 I did, nope, not available. Not in DRL mode, not in switched mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiller Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 On 11/25/2016 at 4:48 AM, mrtn said: https://www.washingtonian.com/2016/10/03/these-robots-will-be-delivering-food-in-dc-very-soon/ You really think they'll be delivering food? In Washington, D.C? That's a laugh. I can promise the rate of attrition will be huge an no food will get to where it's supposed to go. If it's on the ground, it's toast!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtn Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 Washington DC is just one place and food is just one article. They're going to be a global solution for small range delivery at least in some areas, not the ghetto and trailer parks, obv. The company is located in our office building, they've been working on these drones for two years (I think) and we've had fun watching the robots roam around the town and the house. There are always two in visible range. A confused robot is the best nerd entertainment. A good silver medalist is a robot stuck in snow trying to figure itself out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 Show the ghetto some respect. Hoodlums might be too busy doubled over in laughter, to rip one off. It's sad how lower social economic neighborhoods are viewed and serviced. I've never seen an inner city Starbucks. All the KFC locations have bulletproof glass. There are no banks, only check cashing stores and liquor stores who will also cash a check. Never any kind of high end clothing or dining. No fresh produce. No butcher. No fish monger. No large grocery stores. You can't even get a fresh loaf of bread. That corner liquor store is all that you have. Nobody will attempt to deliver any kind of food. And on some blocks, ambulances won't go without a police escort. I have literally seen ambulances waiting a quarter mile away, until a police car shows up to drive in with them. And not even the cops will come alone. Always in pairs. Never solo. Is it racial profiling? No. It's just profiling poor people. I see this in poor communities regardless of the racial demographic. mrtn 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtn Posted November 28, 2016 Share Posted November 28, 2016 Actual food deliveries with these robots have started over here: link to the article (mind the Google translation, it has replaced Estonia with Africa etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiller Posted November 28, 2016 Share Posted November 28, 2016 It might work in some locations. In Washington DC however these will simply be looked at as moving practice targets. I'll be interested to see the first reactions to these being on the street. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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