Odd Recommendations in Spark EV Manual

[nozferatu]

A couple of things I read in the manual that are somewhat odd to me are:

"Spinning the tires or holding the vehicle in one place on a hill using only the accelerator pedal may damage the electric drive unit. The repair will not be covered by the vehicle warranty. If you are stuck, do not spin the tires. When stopping on a hill, use the brakes to hold the vehicle in place."

So what are you supposed to do if you have to come up your driveway slowly and it's a ramp? Will that damage the motor? Because every time I enter my garage I have to go up the ramp slowly...and I do hear some loading on the motor.

The second odd thing is:

"D (Drive): This position is for normal driving. If more power is needed for passing, and the vehicle is:
. Going less than 56 km/h (35 mph), push the accelerator pedal about halfway down.
. Going about 56 km/h (35 mph) or more, push the accelerator all the way down.

It's a bit disconcerting because I was under the impression that driving an electric vehicle would be easier (i.e. less worrying about drivetrain, etc) than a regular car. Am I wrong? I mean if I smashed the throttle at 30 MPH and gun it, is that bad for the drive unit?

 

[Sparkler]

Perhaps someone was worried that the maximum power would disrupt the steering while passing at slow speeds, enough to cause a collision if the sideways force of the torque steer was unexpected.

I think punching the pedal at 30 is great fun myself.

 

[nozferatu]

Perhaps someone was worried that the maximum power would disrupt the steering while passing at slow speeds, enough to cause a collision if the sideways force of the torque steer was unexpected.

I think punching the pedal at 30 is great fun myself.

Yeah I agree! It's a hoot. Nice to smoke some cocky idiots in "faster" cars.

BTW...do you hear motor whine when going slowly up an incline? I'm starting to notice my motor whine more now and it really feels like the motor is being loaded up when I go up my driveway. I hope it's normal...I have only 500 miles on it.

 

[StevesWeb]

I think punching the pedal at 30 is great fun myself.

Put me down with the "Wow, this car is fun" crowd too.

If you've got it, flaunt it.

 

[Nashco]

It's very hard on the power electronics to have torque applied with zero rotational speed for an extended period. Moving slowly at high torque is fine, not moving at all is the problem they are telling you not to do. This makes sense with how you should be driving the vehicle anyway...if you don't want the vehicle to move, apply the brakes firmly. If you do want the vehicle to move, release the brakes and apply torque. Going slowly up your driveway isn't a problem, this is totally normal and expected use.

They're just saying if you're on a hill and want to remain stationary (for example, waiting at a traffic light on a hill) use the brakes instead of applying torque...just like you would be recommended to do in any car, EV or non-EV!

Bryce

 

[emv]

Indeed! Punch it and show 'em this is no glorified golf cart.

I can't think of any car where it's good to hold the car on a hill using anything but the brakes. Automatic transmissions and manual clutches don't respond well to it. Heat and stress on the motor, controller, and inverter (and who knows what else) will result. Also, that's using energy that you may just want later so don't waste it - and dusting off another car isn't wasting it :twisted:

 

[nozferatu]

Indeed! Punch it and show 'em this is no glorified golf cart.

I can't think of any car where it's good to hold the car on a hill using anything but the brakes. Automatic transmissions and manual clutches don't respond well to it. Heat and stress on the motor, controller, and inverter (and who knows what else) will result. Also, that's using energy that you may just want later so don't waste it - and dusting off another car isn't wasting it :twisted:

LOL..

So who have you guys dusted so far? Any stories?

 

[Oberon]

So who have you guys dusted so far? Any stories?

Oh, the shame ...
I have done a bit of dusting, but last night I got dusted from a light going into a merge by a lady in a Civic sedan. I had three people in the car so it was heavy, and it was wet so getting power down was a problem, but I was still pulling ahead until ... she moved over on me. She was well into my lane and almost ran me onto the sidewalk, I had to brake hard just not to get hit. Quite a surprise! I did not expect that.

So the lesson is, don't drag race crazy people.

 

[Nashco]

So the lesson is, don't drag race crazy people if they are faster than you.

Fixed that for you.

Bryce

 

[iletric]

Back to the original post: it's all in there on advice of GM lawyers.

 

[Oberon]

So the lesson is, don't drag race crazy people if they are faster than you.

Fixed that for you.

Bryce

I dunno man, a stock Honda Civic is not faster. She definitely had bigger balls though.