MODIFIED TOYOTA RAV4 EV VS. PIKES PEAK

[Airton]

Go figure Toyota!
http://www.trdusa.com/rav4.html

 

[TeCKis300]

Nice. I came here looking for more info after seeing the RAV4EV mentiond here - http://www.autoblog.com/2015/06/26/2015-pikes-peak-hill-climb-practice-day-4

Nice to see the stock drivetrain. Looks like some suspension and brake work. Larger wheels and lower profile tires. I'm postulating, but from the pics in the first link you posted, I think they set the car up with smaller overall diameter tires to gain some gearing advantage? Hence the faster 6.3s 0-60 times?

 

[evdrive]

This is an interesting turn of events. Maybe Toyota realized how stupid they have been acting bashing ev's. Maybe they realized putting all of their eggs in the fcev basket will lead to their downfall because almost nobody wants them and if they did, they are ridiculously inefficient to opperate. Maybe they realized ev's are actually ready for primetime.

 

[4EVEREV]

This is an interesting turn of events. Maybe Toyota realized how stupid they have been acting bashing ev's. Maybe they realized putting all of their eggs in the fcev basket will lead to their downfall because almost nobody wants them and if they did, they are ridiculously inefficient to opperate. Maybe they realized ev's are actually ready for primetime.

Toyota knew and knows all of that. They did not get where they are by being ignorant and stupid, their decisions are based on their present business needs and strategy not ignorance of EVs. Toyota has everyone drinking the cool aid.

 

[cossie1600]

If they kept the stock drivetrain, power would probably be cut 30 sec into the run. The car will start cutting power as soon as the battery gets hot.

 

[JasonA]

The whole system is thermally managed.. it has PLENTY of cooling capacity. Maybe up at the higher elevations where the air is thinner it might get a bit worked but I'm sure TRD put a bigger cooler up front to handle the increased BTU's

P.S. I thrashed around a RavEV on a test track in the summer heat back in 2013 at the El Toro air base that Toyota setup for the Solar decathlon. Towards the end of the day no one was there so we kept taking multiple trips around the track... And I was pushing the vehicle to the limits..

No issues at all.. it's built for it

 

[DevinL]

I can confirm. Our road trip to Utah last summer proved no issue at all for the RAV4 EV despite the near-24-hour triple-digit temperatures of the Mojave. No reduction in power, range, or anything else despite a constant cycle of driving and charging.

 

[jspearman]

The quicker times could mean they altered one of the beta cars. I talked to one of the engineers who was driving a beta around Phoenix, and he said it wasn't governed like the ones for sale. But even if it's not one of the beta cars, they probably have access to tinker with software and make it as fast as they like. 1.2g's though...that's insane mode!

 

[TonyWilliams]

This past weekend at Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, during the annual "ReFuel" event, EVERY Tesla powered car had thermal power limiting. That includes the several RAV4 EVs present.

Ambient temps were in the 70's / low 80's.

I was still able to post a 1:57 time with my new Tesla Model S-70D (200 miles on the odometer total and less than 48 hours from leaving the Tesla factory in Fremont).

My car only went about 1/2 lap in the Timed Trial (TT) before the 160kW max power limit kicked in. The good news is that I was able to keep pace with the P-85D, since we all had the same power! All wheel drive on the track was awesome, by the way.

My previous best time was 2:12 in a Nissan LEAF.

So, yes, while the Telsa thermal management does fine for routine driving in hot ambient conditions, it doesn't handle hard driving in even average temperatures.

 

[TonyWilliams]

By the way, they built this car last year, so I'm not sure why it's big news for Toyota this year.

It was a DNF in 2014:

http://electricracingnews.com/pikespeak.html

 

[cossie1600]

Nice lap Tony, I just saw the result from the TT

Look at the lap times on every Tesla. Everyone seems to have one chance of a flying lap before the battery heats up and shuts power down. By the end of the session, Tony's 70D barely had more power than my Leaf that had power cut too.

This past weekend at Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, during the annual "ReFuel" event, EVERY Tesla powered car had thermal power limiting. That includes the several RAV4 EVs present.

Ambient temps were in the 70's / low 80's.

I was still able to post a 1:57 time with my new Tesla Model S-70D (200 miles on the odometer total and less than 48 hours from leaving the Tesla factory in Fremont).

My car only went about 1/2 lap in the Timed Trial (TT) before the 160kW max power limit kicked in. The good news is that I was able to keep pace with the P-85D, since we all had the same power! All wheel drive on the track was awesome, by the way.

My previous best time was 2:12 in a Nissan LEAF.

So, yes, while the Telsa thermal management does fine for routine driving in hot ambient conditions, it doesn't handle hard driving in even average temperatures.

 

[smkettner]

I can't wait for the Mirai to give this a go

Should do great with no heat issues?

 

[cossie1600]

Get Toyota to supply me with one, I will get that record back if the car is fast. I want a rematch with the Focus.