A battery pack producer has launched a brand new answer for Tesla Roadster with growing older battery packs. It might slash the automotive’s weight by about 400 lbs, however it’s not low cost.
In some ways, the Tesla Roadster sparked the electrical automobile revolution.
It was the primary commercially obtainable client EV with lithium battery cells – enabling over 200 miles of vary on a single cost.
The automobile had comparable or higher efficiency than many different gas-powered autos in its phase.
The Roadster had its downside. It was a suboptimal answer because it was nonetheless closely primarily based on the Lotus Elise and never designed from the bottom as much as be electrical, however it did its job as a proof-of-concept.
Tesla solely manufactured about 2,000 of them between 2008 and 2011 earlier than shifting on to the Mannequin S and different automobile applications that had been constructed to be electrical from the bottom up.
Regardless of being 13 to 16 years previous, many Roadsters are nonetheless doing effectively. Electrek’s personal Jamie Dow drives his each day. That’s regardless of Tesla not doing something with the Roadster program since 2017 when it launched the Roadster 3.0 substitute pack.
Battery expertise has improved rather a lot since then, and an organization has determined to benefit from that and provide a brand new battery pack for Tesla Roadster house owners.
re/cell, a Texas-based provider of remanufactured battery packs for EVs, has unveiled a brand new Roadster battery pack that goals to slash a whole bunch of kilos off of the sports activities automotive.
Not like Tesla’s newest autos, that are geared up with skateboard-like platform battery packs, the Roadster has a pack that sits behind the seats within the again and the modules are within the form seen above.
It does trigger issues with balancing the burden of the automobile.
The pack is ready to obtain the Roadster’s peak energy output, however it must be much more enjoyable to drive by shaving as much as 400 lbs off of the automotive’s authentic 2,877 lb (1,305 kg) weight.
It does include a decrease power capability than the unique 53 kWh, however it’s best to have the ability to obtain very related vary (over 220 miles) due to the effectivity acquire from the burden loss.
Listed here are the total specs of re/cell’s new Roadster battery substitute pack:
- Peak Energy Output: 260 kW / 285 kW
- Weight Financial savings: as much as 400 lbs / 180 kg
- Quantity Financial savings: 3.7 cu ft / 100 liters
- Vitality Capability: 38 kWh / 47 kWh
- Rated Vary: 220-240 miles / 350-390 km
- Cell Kind: 18650 / 3500 mAh
- Cell Configuration: 31p99s / 39p99s
re/cell describes a few of the enhancements that they had been in a position to make to the pack:
The revolutionary cooling-block design is a single-piece molded core with Palladium-class cooling ribbons for improved cooling and temperature administration. The contact space for warmth switch is 50x bigger than the cooling tubes used within the authentic Roadster sheets and the general floor space for cooling and heating is now greater than double. No extra vacant cooling voids permitting for decent spots or uneven cooling or heating – the complete cell is now absolutely encapsulated and temperature managed!
Nonetheless, this provide isn’t going to be for everybody since Roadster house owners should be prepared to take a position $28,000 of their growing older automobile, which is the value of the pack in case you give your current pack to re/cell.
Curiously, the corporate can also be eager about providing different upgrades that may be enabled by area freed up by the brand new pack.
For instance, re/cell believes it will be simpler to make the pack able to DC fast-charging. liquid cooling for the PEM and MotorÂ
Electrek’s Take
I actually loved driving the Roadster 3.0, and I’d be curious to see how a lot better it will deal with with 14% much less weight.
There are simply no different electrical autos on the market that weigh simply 2,400 lbs. Even a Fiat 500e weighs practically 3,000 lbs.
I can’t watch for small electrical sports activities vehicles round 2,500 lbs. They need to be a lot enjoyable and it seems like this, regardless of not being designed from the bottom up for it, might be an fascinating preview.
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