I’m thinking that because the body is four pieces that easily attach together, that body repairs would be easy and inexpensive. Just get the new piece and attach it. Wishful thinking or maybe true?
8 comments
Like
8 Comments
Commenting on this post isn't available anymore. Contact the site owner for more info.
From what I've heard if you've cracked the outer shell than it was a severe accident. I won't be surprised that any accident that cracks the Aptera is a total loss.
@kiteboarder Hi Kite. I am really hoping for active thermal regulation for the batteries, or it may be a deal breaker for me. Don't want to see Nissan Leaf stories all over again. The charger and inverter and DC Converter are also important to cool. The solar cells shouldn't really get warm with electrical generation, except for the heat absorbed just sitting in the sun.
@OceanDragon My EV's power electronics use the motor's liquid cooling system.
Last time I checked, air-cooled eGolf batteries are aging well. All my reading indicates that battery degradation is basically from 4 factors:
- High heat
- High current
- Deep discharge
- Extreme SOC (0% or 100% State Of Charge voltage)
An air-cooled Aptera battery would almost certainly have none of the above, & if even the shortest-range version did lose a whopping half of its capacity it would still go more than 3 times the avg. US daily drive.
Leaf had all of the above:
- UN-cooled battery, sealed in a heat-retaining case.
- Small battery, so the same required driving & charging power gives a more damagingly high "C" rate, per cell.
- Very low range means deeper discharge. A 40-mile drive took it below 50%.
- Very small voltage buffers, with its maximum & minimum state of charge very close to the battery's extreme limits. Low range also meant it was much more likely to be kept stored at its very top end limit in order to be ready for a even a relatively short drive.
@kiteboarder Hi Kite. Can't say I know too much about the eGolf, but then again, they have only been around for 5 years. One of our car club members with a 2010 Leaf ended up swapping out his bad modules himself after the SOC went down to 70%. At that time Nissan wasn't too active with replacement. The Leaf battery is air cooled, the entire bottom metal pan is also cooled passively with air flowing over it. The mounting flanges are bolted to the metal frame of the car which acts as a passive heat-sink. The newer Leaf batteries add to the air cooling with 2 active fans which augment the airflow through the channels. What do you think of Aptera's battery arrangement sitting inside of a composite insulated shell? It is supposed to be filled with resin. Imagine a warm sandwich inside of a Yeti cooler. I think that arrangement is going to be worse than the Leaf's since there is no radiant or convection heat loss. I am also concerned the passenger temperature with the heat being pumped throughout the shell to cool the motors, and inverter. Add to this the trapped heat from the batteries and the air conditioning condenser. That is going to be one warm passenger compartment. I wish they would add a small condenser in the rear wheel well. It shouldn't cause too much disturbance in the airflow. Even the Porsche "trombone tube" tucked into the inner right fender well should help Aptera's design.
Also note that the front wheel covers would often take the brunt of the damage, & they're very easily replaced.
From what I've heard if you've cracked the outer shell than it was a severe accident. I won't be surprised that any accident that cracks the Aptera is a total loss.
I believe it's "4 pieces that easily attach together" permanently, at the factory.
I think the nosecone is fairly easily replaced, & probably also the doors & hatch.