EV's In Sims - Discussion

At this stage, I am really not keen on EVs in racing games.

No doubt they have insane accelerations, regardless it's in Forza Horizons or Pcars 3 to games like R3E and rF2 that did a lot to simulate these cars accurately. However, the weight of the vehicle is the major problem where the handling really suffers a lot. They turn like a land whale, sort of in a way similar to an SUV like Levante or Cayenne in AC that is not fun at all. It is like the EVs are this weird laggy piece of crap that has poor chassis that only wants to go straight and hates to turn. Meanwhile, the reason we race is to go around a circuit, not a straight line.

I bought IDR, Cupra ETCR in R3E and also Formula E in rF2. Formula E and Cupra ETCR is probably driven 3 times in those games, they are never driven ever since because of the same issue. They are insanely fast off the corners but entering the corner isnt fun at all due to the weight that needs to brake early and the slower response to turning ruined the driving experience for me. They feel like a one trick pony. Going back to Cupra ETCR, I rather drive the ICE version TCR than the EV. The Formula E in rF2 is horrible too, it felt like an overweight F2 with NOS bottles attached. Cant be bothered with rF2 EV GT race cars, the weight will probably kill it again.

The IDR on the other hand is fun, but it has not much point to race with due to the sound that sounds like a dentist's drill. Still, the RIMAC, Nio and Lotus Evilja are pretty fun in FH5 though but I am not sure it will remain this fun in a game with in depth simulations.

I do see the potential of EVs but as a form of an appliance where you send your kids to school or go shopping. For enthusiastic drives, I rather buy an MX5 or Swift Sport as a good light chassis still beats the 0-100 in 2 seconds that EV gives.

 

I get the interest in bio fuel, but please consider the following:

Fuel is the lowest value application you can have. It is just there to be burned.
Food, on the contrary, is the highest value supplication.

Algae can be used to produce food as well, reducing the land usage needed for food production. This land can then be used to (hopefully; and for instance) have a healthy nature. Therefore, using algae as a fuel source can be seen as a competition with the food chain, which you should always avoid.
Next to that, the amount of fuel you need to fulfil the need of the market is massively huge, so you also need a lot of resources for that (It is more than we can produce on the land).

Producing synthetic fuel (something that Porsche is aiming at) is again using valuable resources like energy and land to produce the lowest value application, fuel. I'd rather use these valuable resources to produce a higher value material. For racing/driving older(vintage/classic) cars I get the synthetic fuel. That market is quite small so not that much resources needed to fulfil the need of that market.

As for EV's in the SIM, I have all of them in R3E, but I'm currently racing the BMW M1. I like the H pattern shift needed, the heel and toe, and the growling engines around me (which I nowadays hate IRL because they produce do much sounds pollution). Somehow I cannot (yet?) get used to the sound in relation to my speed.

Current EV's are still quite polluting to produce unfortunately. The tipping point of when the EV becomes more sustainable than an ICE powered one is about 80.000km. Due to rapid progress in the technology this is becoming better and and better per year though, and I see this era as a necessary evil where we need to go through in order to to leave a somewhat healthy planet for our children, and their children.

 

Yeah, current EV's still are way too heavy to provide the joy you can have in a light car like a MX5 or so. That will improve though. How fast, I don't know.

 

Overall vehicle weight somewhat cripples EVs. We have heavy vehicles of all types to protect against other heavy vehicles. Most people don't really need mammoth pickups or SUVs but that's the reality we live in. Not really EVs fault that they must carry a weight penalty for these reasons.

 

I completely agree with you here

 

On sims

Im just updating ams2 (beta) + rf2 after a spell off the pc so I will try rf2. Had no need to fire it up for months!/2rys, though I had lots of pleasure with it before. and politely blame the pleasure factor of ams2 for that. I suspect though that the weight handicap mentioned here and other thread will put me off as well as the previous mention of lack of sound excitement.
Edit time to try rf2 EV


On RL

Possibly. . So **many by-products that we rely on from oil petrochemicals (taking gas out of the equation) will affect timescale of decline just replacing plastic would be tricky.
**plastics, rubbers, resins, synthetic fibers, adhesives, dyes, detergents, pesticides, and petroleum-derived paints and coatings.
Solvents Diesel fuel Motor Oil Bearing Grease,Ink Floor Wax Ballpoint Pens Football Cleats,Upholstery Sweaters (that explains the itchy sweater I have at home) Boats Insecticides,Bicycle Tires Sports Car Bodies Nail Polish Fishing lures,Dresses Tires Golf Bags Perfumes,Cassettes Dishwasher parts Tool Boxes,Shoe PolishMotorcycle Helmet Caulking Petroleum Jelly Transparent TapeCD Player (do people still have these?) Faucet Washers Antiseptics ClotheslineCurtains Food Preservatives Basketballs Soap (that explains why soap doesn’t clean oil off your hands)Vitamin Capsules Antihistamines Purses ShoesDashboardsCortisoneDeodorantFootballsPuttyDyesPantyHoseRefrigerantPercolatorsLifeJacketsRubbingAlcoholLiningsSkisTVCabinetsShagRugsElectrician’s TapeTool Racks Car Battery Cases Epoxy PaintMops Slacks Insect Repellent Oil FiltersUmbrellas Yarn Fertilizers Hair ColoringRoofing Toilet Seats Fishing Rods LipstickDenture Adhesive Linoleum Ice Cube Trays Synthetic RubberSpeakers Plastic Wood Electric Blankets GlycerinTennis Rackets Rubber Cement Fishing Boots DiceNylon Rope Candles Trash Bags House PaintWater Pipes Hand Lotion Roller Skates Surf BoardsShampoo Wheels Paint Rollers Shower CurtainsGuitar Strings Luggage Aspirin Safety GlassesAntifreeze Football Helmets Awnings Eyeglasses (I thought they were made from glass)
Clothes Toothbrushes Ice Chests FootballsCombs CD’s & DVD’s Paint Brushes DetergentsVaporizers Balloons Sun Glasses TentsHeart ValvesCrayonsParachutes TelephonesEnamel Pillows Dishes CamerasAnesthetics Artificial Turf Artificial limbs BandagesDentures Model Cars Folding Doors Hair CurlersCold cream Movie film Soft Contact lenses Drinking CupsFan Belts Car Enamel Shaving Cream AmmoniaRefrigerators Golf Balls Toothpaste (Yuck) Gasoline

sidenote. some 40 years ago our motor vehicle college tutors were telling us that oil would run out in 50yrs or so. yet we still find more reserves today. (google for many disclosed inc Arctic others are sometimes not publicly announced.

Agree + there are indeed many considerations to factor in including battery production materials& reprocessing, already an issue. A large list in fact. but marketing gets the most attention +political marketing by goverments

 

Mmm well I wont be trying the Ev after all in rf2 as the dlc is £28+
If at some point in the future ams2 have ev then I will give it a try but atm. no appeal for me in sim.
I keep my cash and further explore AMS2

Maybe I will look here if it not expensive. I would also need to reinstall. uninstalled due to disc space

 

All valid points. Agree on the sounds, too high pitched for me. Another point is the lack of gearing which can make driving in racing situations a bit boring.

 

Aha yes, I had not considered this aspect but yes I would miss the gears. I never liked autos I've had to drive when in the trade for much the same reasons. + they 'drink fuel like fishes' and uninvolving. Newer cars maybe different of course.
manual gears all day long for my taste. rl/sim I am not fond of paddles/and cars were you need not even lift off gas to change gears, just my likes and preferences.
Modern vehicles inc in sims are too plug n play and make too many driver decisions imo.

 

I agree for sim racing. There will be gearboxes in EV's however as even electromotors have a torque curve and do not deliver the same power over the entire rpm range.
I also like shifting gears in my car, but I have to say that I found it very relaxing to drive 250km through Germany and The Netherlands in my colleague's Tesla model 3 without even having to touch the brake pedal. All breaking I did was regenerative braking, which adds another dimension to driving.
And yes, that car having like 450 bhp does help...

 

For myself, racing=gears, daily drive=EV automatic.
It would be cool if they could implement gears on e racing cars.

 

hi K what Ev is your daily?

 

Funny story:

I know of someone who has an EV and had problems with it. So brought it to the garage.
The fix rook quite some time so he got a replacement car (with ICE). His daughter (4 years old or so) found it a bit stupid that they had to drive to a special place where they could charge that replacement car. So the youth here is growing up in a world where having to drive to a petrol station is seen as an inconvenience. Much better to charge at home or at the place you are going.

 

Oh no, sry I don't have one yet. First we need a new house with a proper driveway so we can charge it lol. The Kias and the new Renault Megan look good though.

 

This is very significant, as generations grow up what becomes the norm makes traditional seem weird. Show the same person an LP and the hardware to play it, they may wonder why, when the same music can be on a phone/mp3 player ect in their pocket!

As for sims.
I guess for young generations if EV sims take hold then they may well asked 1 day

'why would I want an ice sim that makes so much noise! and I have to do so many things (like clutch /manual shift) use mirrors etc.

 

And they would not be wrong.
What we oldies (I'm 38) find appealing to a car (manual shifting, the sound, keeping the revs within a certain range to have power, the use of brakes) are basically all shortcomings of the ICE.
But they can be very fun shortcomings though. A perfectly executed heel and toe while having to brake into a corner is very satisfying

 

I could be wrong but, I thought rF2 supplied the initial Formula-e car and track as free content. rF2 still has some nagging long-term issues but, some nice improvements have taken place as well, recently.

RaceRoom does offer the test-drive feature, as a way to try one out.

 

Surely it is not that easy, not every carpooling space will have a charger, how could the electricity grid even support this?

 

I think that almost every carpooling space has a charger here in the NL.
Last year (or 2020) the Tesla model 3 was the best selling car. Although not perfect by any means yet, the charging grid here is very good.
Of course we are a very small country (I think that your neighbor lives further away than our country is big).
Almost all companies have multiple chargers, and almost all EV's van drive from one side of the country to the other.

 

You are correct, the ACO has introduced 100 % sustainable fuel, WRC are doing the same and a quick search showed that other series like IndyCar, NASCAR and Super GT will follow soon.

Whether I'd welcome the addition of electric racers: Yes absolutely. Racing is racing, and racing something different from time to time adds to the fun.