LA Car article on the Spark EV: ELECTRIC HOT ROD FROM HELL

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Arroyo

New member
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Aug 10, 2014
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A few choice quotes...

"In the words of Matthew McConaughey: All right, all right, all right—let’s cut to the chase. The 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV cranks out a whopping 400 pound-feet of torque. To put this into perspective, the new BMW i3 electric car puts out 184 pound-feet. The Spark EV’s sister car, the Chevy Volt, does 236. The new Volkswagen GTI churns out 258. The Porsche 911 Carrera S manages 325. The Ford Mustang GT with its 5.0 liter V8 does 390 pound-feet. And as Chevy likes to point out, the little Spark EV has more torque than even the Ferrari 458 Italia, which is just shy of 400 at 398 pound-feet. But while the Ferrari’s torque peaks at 6,000 rpm, the Spark EV’s 400 pound-feet is available from zero rpm. Talk about low-end torque, that’s all right in our book..."

"...What is needed to really make the Spark EV shine the quarter-mile derby are (1) removal of whatever governor GM has installed to limit off-the-line acceleration, (2) a suspension less prone to wheel hop, and (3) a numerically higher drive ratio. Now we’re pretty sure Chevy never intended the Spark to be a street light racer, but lo and behold: The 2015 Spark EV has a numerically higher drive ratio (alas, the torque has been dialed back—more on that later). As for the wheel hop, it’s only a problem if you make it habit to floor the accelerator pedal while disengaging the traction control and engaging the sport mode. It’s not the usual practice of hypermiling green car drivers. On the other hand, tuner shops, take heed: Herein lies the makings of your next tuner project."

"...What this may mean is that the 2014 Spark EV—with its monster 400 pound-feet of torque—will end up with collector car status. It may become the electric car equivalent of the 1955 small-block Chevy Bel-Air. Tuner shops should be scouting the dealer lots for this car, as the 2014s will soon be history."

The full review:
http://www.lacar.com/?p=19622
 
As I posted there:

"I don’t think you will be able to tell the difference between 400 FtLbs @ 3.17 (1268 FtLbs at the wheel) and 327 FtLbs @ 3.87 (1265 FtLbs at the wheel). Within 2.5 FtLbs of being the same, and the lighter battery will make up for that…"

I'd put money down that the '15 motor is identical to the '14, and that they simply limited the torque in software in order to match the performance of the different ratios.
 
I thought it was a wonderful article. Captures exactly why I got my Spark EV and why I just love driving it around. I have >14K miles on the odometer in 9 months to prove it :)

I sure hope GM continues the line after my lease runs out (or more precisely - when I run out of miles on the lease). I will definitely buy one next time. Keeping my fingers crossed that they will upgrade the on-board charger, though....
 
I sure hope someone comes out with software to reduce the torque management off the line with these things. Would make for one heck of a fun ride! Imagine having the full potential of the motor with the updated gearing of a '15.

Given the relatively limited market with these cars, I'm not going to hold my breath for much aftermarket support.
 
RichV said:
I sure hope someone comes out with software to reduce the torque management off the line with these things. Would make for one heck of a fun ride! Imagine having the full potential of the motor with the updated gearing of a '15.

Given the relatively limited market with these cars, I'm not going to hold my breath for much aftermarket support.

Especially considering that SCCA recently outlawed software changes for hybrid and EV powertrain controllers. :roll: Doesn't make much incentive for tuners if they can sell ECU hacks to gas cars that race but not to EVs that race. Like you said, limited volumes make for a tough sales pitch and we don't seem to have a very strong cult following wanting to tweak these cars.

Bryce
 
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