Vectrix USA Website updated

I just noticed the '68 mph' instead of '62 mph' on the product web page, supporting the rumors of the single-use flash drive upgrade . Max range is now described as 55 instead of 65.

"The VX-1 is a powerful, all-electric, all-highway-capable Personal Electric Vehicle that goes 68 mph, has a range of 35-55 miles, and does it all for about a penny a mile. Motorcyclist Magazine said:"

http://www.vectrix.com/products/vx-1#

No changes to the UK site though...
http://www.vectrix.co.uk/products

Under the FAQ it still says 62mph, that is a shame that they let the fresh redesign that shows they are paying attention to the website have inconsistencies that shows they are not.

-Randy

Here is an unbiased test showing the true costs of power at $0.015 per KM and range of 70Km.

http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/programs/environment-etv-pagevectrix-eng-1699.htm

Here is an unbiased test showing the true costs of power at $0.015 per KM and range of 70Km.

http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/programs/environment-etv-pagevectrix-eng-1699.htm

Great find!

It confirms JDH and my measurements of acceleration! About 10s from 0 to 80km/h.

They fail to mention the effect of terrain on range, that is a serious omission, but otherwise it is an accurate report.

The range is markedly reduced in hilly terrain.

I doubt they tested the self-discharge in high ambient temperature, many Canadians will find that in a hot summer week their range is a lot less than the
numbers they found, particularly if parked in the sun.

Edit: Reading the more comprehensive report confirms my suspicions:

Testing was performed between October 8 and November 13, 2008. Tests were carried
out only in weather conditions that were favourable to evaluation and testing standards.

And the photo of the test track looks indeed as though it is as flat as a pancake! One will not get the same results on real roads in real weather!

But, at last, an official test report!

I started a new thread about the Transport Canada test report, see: http://visforvoltage.org/forum/8598-official-vectrix-test-report-transport-canada#comment-48546

I would go too far off topic in this thread.

Mik;
Perhaps you missed the section on the road test on the streets of Ottawa? http://www.tc.gc.ca/media/documents/programs/vectrixtestresults.pdf
One concern I still have is to do with NiMH batteries. I first learned of them many years ago because of an explosion and fire at the plant in Maple Ridge. I asked the VP the other day when they had the last fire, as they had several. He laughed and said I must be quite old.
Has there been any problem with cells having thermal runaway either when charging or discharging?
Thanks;
Reid

Not to the point of fire, but when my cell(s) got reverse charged (due to bad cell) at discharge when driving, they heated above 50°C.

Mik;
Perhaps you missed the section on the road test on the streets of Ottawa? http://www.tc.gc.ca/media/documents/programs/vectrixtestresults.pdf
One concern I still have is to do with NiMH batteries. I first learned of them many years ago because of an explosion and fire at the plant in Maple Ridge. I asked the VP the other day when they had the last fire, as they had several. He laughed and said I must be quite old.
Has there been any problem with cells having thermal runaway either when charging or discharging?
Thanks;
Reid

Thermal runaway is a problem with Ni based cells when they are charged with CV chargers or when they are charged in parallel. Neither is the case in the Vectrix.

But there have been a few reports of cells that got so hot that they melted the plastic spacers between them. And cells getting so hot that smoke comes out of the battery during riding. No reports of actual Vectrix battery fires, though. I think these events were due to cells having been discharged secondary to solar heating, then followed by reverse charging of these empty cells.

I have seen a few reports of Prius NiMH battery fires which apparently occurred in parked vehicles and burned holes into the metal battery container, sometimes burning the whole car down. And I know of one event where someone was charging a Prius MK1 NiMH battery without current limiting charger and almost burned his house down. The thermal runaway caused more than 20A current, when he had been aiming at 0.6A!

The culprit in all this is the -dV or "negative Delta-V" phenomenon. When a NiCd ar NiMH cell is full and continues to be charged, it's voltage drops a little bit. I think it's simply due to the temperature rise, it's the self discharge in action. Once the temperature reaches above 45degC or so, the cell begins to self-discharge so fast that it's voltage continues to fall. If the charger is not current limited, or if there are several cells in parallel, the current draw increases as the cell gets hotter, until it ends in a fire or explosion. The full cell in a parallel Ni pack will get hotter than the others and draw a larger and larger proportion of the charging current. That is the thermal runaway, but it cannot happen in the 102s battery of the Vectrix.