Which Electric Motor Powers Your Electric Car?

[@leeproffitt69]

Joe said to come check you out

[@transportevolved]

Hi Lee! Welcome! :)

[@francomckellar]

And obviously Joe knows a thing or two about what we like being told to do!

[@edwardzita3479]

That is true

[@estudiordl]

Same here.

[@FabianBarajas]

Definitely glad Joe brought this channel to my attention.

[@francomckellar]

If 'Transport Evolved' and 'Answers with Joe' had a baby, my actual risk of dying from the results of binge watching could become grounds for a civil lawsuit! Thanks again💕

[@ilotitto]

Love this collaboration between you two, it's like discovering that two good friends of mine got into a relationship without my knowledge.

[@charleselmi1568]

Joe sent me here, thanx Joe and thanx Niki (?), loved it. I’ll be back for more.

[@dennisreilly6012]

I'm a huge fan, you present your info so clearly and with a economy of verbiage. Love your channel!

[@mellissadalby1402]

Hi, Joe sent me. I like your video. I especially like the way you present your subject, the enthusiasm, your choice or words, and the inflections with which you speak the text. Great show.

[@FPVREVIEWS]

Nikki, you know how to keep it simple, and at the same time opening a wormhole of interest about electric propulsion.. Thanks for another great topic!

[@Dandraperuk]

It’s soooo weird when two channels you’ve watched for ages do a collaboration! It’s ok, I love you both equally!

[@karlp8484]

Great that you hooked up with Joe.

[@gsilva220]

Pure switched reluctance motors have a lot of torque at low RPM. The problem is you can't use all this torque in certain applications due to torque ripple.

[@Infinion]

regenerative braking is also a bit more challenging with SRMs, but it is an amazing technology that is definitely underrepresented

[@daltsu3498]

This colab with Joe earned you a sub from me. Now if you'll excuse me I'm off to binge half your channel in an hour or so

[@mr_mr]

Joe said you'd know, and you did! That was brilliant. Thanks

[@epeon7]

Variable AC drives have been around for a long time. The first I put in where in Indianapolis in 1978. Their main advantage was that before they came when we needed variable speed for long term usage we had an AC motor driving a gearbox. The variable AC drive replaced the gearbox which was a great saving in maintenance. When run 24 hrs/day continuously we found that we had to rebuilt gearbox about once per year. So this technology has been around for at least 50 years and was adopted by EVs

[@fcgHenden]

I came here from Joe's. I was surprised there isn't much existential dread in this channel. Kidding! I've been watching for a while now, Nick. Good luck with the new studio!

[@jamiewomack]

I discovered this channel and Joe Scott's independently and have been subscribed to both for some time, those channels being two of only four subscribed channels where I have hit the bell for notifications. Nicky is great at finding up-to-date news and info about the subject of electric vehicles (she rides bikes, too!) and Joe is great at explaining things without resorting to jargon (unless he also explains that). A really good collaboration, no doubt, and I hope it leads to more of them! Both of you bring an excitement to your presentations that is infectious and real. Keep Evolving!

[@morgant1568]

Awesome collaboration!!!

[@ianspencer9837]

Brilliant explanation. You are a star!

[@selmateacher7]

Great video, but I was hoping to see more common EVs listed, like the Chevy Bolt, MiEV, Fiat 500e, etc. Because those are all the ones I see here in Fresno, Ca.

[@transportevolved]

Hi Daniel! As Nikki said in the video, most are AC permanent Magnet - only Tesla and BMW are different really :)

[@imissedagain3865]

Joe pointed me in your direction and I am glad he did!

[@Rickster8560]

Great explanation on the features and differences of the components in electric motors. Yes, do make videos like this to compare manufacturers use of components and how they create or don't create a frunk in some vehicles? While some may create a design that may afford quiet a large usable frunk, and some may be putting all or most components under the hood that leaves no frunk space available? Now that battery prices are falling and the industry awaits the perfection of solid state batteries, maybe a video on that would be cool too?

[@itsfahys]

Great explanation of the different motor types

[@jatigre1]

As an avid motorcycle rider which has ridden in all weather and traffic conditions across multiple countries (rain, sleet and snow), the only thing that will make sense in terms of switching to an electric bike is dual wheel drive. Going up a hill on a rainy day from a traffic light is not recommended without front wheel drive, not to mention you need all the power you can get to get out of the way from other cars, buses and trucks.

[@markbloomfield3805]

I love that two of my fave youtubers know each other and are collaborating!

[@mafarmerga]

What about my Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV?

[@kalemosstavros]

Whoah! Crazy detail... Very nice content. Thank you!

[@DinanathLad]

Great insight! Do you have a blog on this topic?

[@Glossynews]

Happy belated congrats on the new studio. Can't wait to see what this means for new stuff!

[@StationGarageSt]

Excellent, watched both. Learnt lots.

[@asaftzadok6647]

You missed it big time with the exceptional design of the Model 3 rear engine. The main achievement was to make a compact switched reluctant motor and solve the main issue of imbalance in low rpm. Nobody knows exactly how they did it but the main direction say that the permanent magnets are assisting in low rpm to stabilize, some may say two engines in one. Also, it is not clear whether they use different circuits for each or in some way they manage to engineer an orchestrated system. The bottom line, it is a high torque, highly efficient, cheap to make, easy to maintain, and quiet engine that earned its Tesla stamp.

[@skipsteel]

Correct me if I'm wrong Nikki, I think I read that the Tesla model 3 at least the first one rear wheel drive. Uses the their magnets in a Halbach array for greater efficiency.

[@francomckellar]

Awesome presentation, thoroughly knowledgeable, and just plain fun. Thanks Nikki & Team! I believe there might be some insane binge watching at the week-end.

[@eugeneleroux1842]

Thank you for enlightening us on such an important technical subject.

[@vishnunarang]

I watch almost every video Joe puts out and when he recommended I watch your video, I had to subscribe :) As an EV owner (Tesla of course), your content seems super exciting and fun to follow. Looking forward to watching more !!

[@audiokees4045]

What if I does rewind a 25kW pump induction motor for lower 120 volts 3 or 4 fases and build a electric car with it? a normally motor is mostly three fase 380 and these even 420 volts, can I use these in a car? I do need the watch the impedacne of the windings and the rmp because with higher frequency these get high impedance and as such loss of power, here is the need of a clever controller, who keeps the amps right.

[@victoriheonunekwu7856]

Thanks alot. Is there an available video on electric motors of motorcycles?. I would love to watch it too

[@danieleriksson8685]

From what I have heard the induction motor also have another advantage to the permanent magnet motor. It can freeroll much easier which is important in a 4wheel car when you dont want to use both motors for efficency. That way you dont have to have a complicated clutch to decouple the motor not in use. Can anyone confirm this?

[@Azraleee]

It should. A permanent magnet rotor would still induce an electric field in the coils. However, I think it would be much better not to spin the motor at all and instead just put in a clutch. You could spin the motor up to the appropriate speed very fast before engaging the clutch and it would reduce wear a lot.

[@owenoflynn]

Very well presented!

[@Lokey_8664]

Very good explanation we gearheads are lost when comes to this type of things. Great job in your explanation.

[@dewiz9596]

Fascinating stuff! And I’m subscribed to bot Joe and you for quite some time, as well as Fully Charged. . .

[@julesdingle]

Love seeing the community collaborating - and I hope you will team up with Fully Charged- yes I know you did turn up to the show but the community needs to compliment not compete.

[@brettkester1639]

Thank you. Please keep the educational videos coming.

[@radiotec76]

Nikki, great video on different types of AC motors. It's nice to debunk people who know nothing about EVs that the Tesla Model S an Model X use AC induction motors which do not use rare Earth metals.

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

Thanks for another well done video.

[@brandonhoffman4712]

Hello! Found you through Joe's channel (Answers With Joe). Love your voice and really love the depth of the content you just delivered. This has been something I've been wondering about, and I've heard the terms used. But now I know what they mean. I'll have to give some of your other content a look through!

[@hansteam]

I'm so happy I found this channel! about to binge your entire back catalog :)

[@dnovom]

Two of my favorite Chanel collaborating. Do more!

[@epeon7]

Weber auto has a great discussion on this subject. He literally takes several motors apart

[@prerunnerwannabe]

Well done! There is lots of great, understandable information in this video.

[@Jfowler1223]

Doing what you do best. Thanks for the content.

[@thrunsguinneabottle3066]

The speed of rotation of an AC induction motor is proportional to the frequency of the AC current. If you can arrange the frequency of the current, you have yourself a (virtual) gearbox. Not until modern electronics, however, could you make variable frequency AC current.

[@rohithdsouza8]

Awesome video, it was quite informative and made me giggle the whole time

[@samreciter]

Nice colab - love both your channels! =)

[@gregscott989]

Uh...Niki: "Torque of a DC motor is proportional to the speed of the motor, therefore there is a pretty noticeable drop off in power as the motor spins faster." Nooo...that's not how it works. Power, by definition is Torque x RPM. So as the speed of the motor goes up, the power goes up until the torque drops off to the point that the power starts to drop off. The speed of a DC motor is dependent on the voltage. In fact, DC motors are often rated in RPM per volt. The same motor, with 24V DC applied will spin roughly twice as fast as with 12V applied. The speed of a DC motor is limited by something called Back EMF. As the motor spins faster, it creates a voltage in the opposite direction of the applied voltage. When the two voltages are almost equal, no the back EMF does not allow more current to flow and the motor will not spin any faster. The nice thing is that the motor is VERY efficient at that point, only using enough current to overcome friction. Remember, power is Volts x Amps, so with the current approaching zero, the power generated approaches, zero and the energy used, which is power x time, also approaches zero. As more load is applied, the speed of the motor drops, more current can flow and the power increases. Typically, the power peak of a motor is at around 2/3 of the "free RPM" of the motor, or the point at which the applied Voltage and the Back EMF, or back voltage, are in balance. That is never the case with an ICE which is always discarding roughly 2/3 of it's energy as wasted heat. So even when you're just cruising, the best efficiency a gas engine can muster will never be more than around 30%, give or take a little. Whereas, electric motors can have efficiencies in the high 90% range.

[@gregscott989]

@@xxwookey DC motors are actually quite good from many standpoints except maintenance. The standard DC motor has a brushed commutator...think the starter motor in every non-hybrid car. They are great for quick bursts of torque but with continuous use the brushes need replacing and the motor needs to be disassembled and the commutator turned...which is essentially what you get with a rebuilt starter motor.

[@gregscott989]

@@xxwookey Here is a Very Good series by Jeremy Fielding on the basics of electric motors. Neither Nikki nor Joe know a lot about the basics. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iaOzeYSeYrJmpq8

[@bartlomiejlupa6499]

Joe pointed me in your direction you have gained a new subscriber

[@RobinFriedrich]

Thanks Nicki I was wondering about the motor difference I saw on my delivery sheet for my new Model S I picked up yesterday. (he said nonchalantly) Indeed the front motor is a 6 pole, internal permanent magnet rotor; while the rear is a 4 pole AC induction motor for the gut wrenching power. :-)

[@AznPride85]

Thanks for the vid. Learned a lot and loving our new M3P-!!

[@Firestorm637]

Good job. Induction motors also need a little more juice to create or induce the magnetic field. This is not the case with permanent magnet motors. Induction motors maybe more durable in the long run but electric motors are so cheap compared to a gas engine with all its complexities and moving part. Most the stuff of gas engine is for all the emission stuff

[@robertdseals1]

I live in the mountains (20 miles from work, 50 miles from town, 150 miles from large city) in Colorado. I keep wondering if an EV would work for me. Not sure how it would be in the winter (heating the car) and traveling to Denver and back...hummm...something to think about.

[@avishalom2000lm]

6:30- "Tesla Roadster Model S"... So now I'm going to buy one just so people I pass on the street can say "Wow! Look at that S-car go!"

[@dewiz9596]

. . . at considerably more than a snail’s pace. . .

[@MotoCat91]

Late to the party, but thought you should know. There is a car called the S-Cargo by Nissan. Built from 1989-1992, it's one of the weirdest and ugliest cars of it's time.. in the mid 2000's my local area had a few getting around as McDonald's company cars, painted in red and yellow. It worked for advertising in a way because you couldn't -not- stare at it, as it went past.

[@paulsutton5896]

Very good video. It is very difficult to find out from the manufacturers' publicity just what are the characteristics of their motors. I guess ac, switched reluctance is the winner - even at Tesla, now.

[@macberry4048]

I thought the model 3 used a Halbach array but I guess it saves time just to call it a permanent magnet motor. I would like to know more about microcontroller since that comes up sometimes. Great idea double teaming the battery topic

[@matthewbrandt5053]

What sort of EV do you recomend for a first time car buyer? I am looking for something with a lower cost.

[@soyolbolds4567]

How about Tesla Cybertruck? The 3 motor AWD version specifically, what 3 motors they are talking about?

[@tongtran007]

Great video! Had to replay it a couple times 🤓

[@mtt3870]

Two of my favorite channels together!!! Wow!! Thank you!!! Nicky and Joe.

[@by9917]

What about axial flux electric motors?

[@adithyaramachandran7427]

Great video. I think higher performance EV's will use AC motors, while main stream ones will use DC motors. A good analogy is NA Vs. Turbo or Supercharged Engines.

[@TheMightyZwom]

Well, actually no. I see literally no reason to use DC motors in an EV nowadays.

[@bratwizard]

Count me in from Joe's channel! Nice video.

[@Miata822]

I like the new direction for the channel

[@TelmoMonteiro]

Yes, tell us more about motorbikes!

[@Xraller]

Here from Joes channel. Yes do one about motorcycles please.

[@transportevolved]

We'll have to do some digging there. But in the meantime: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hWXMqqmHdtWoqMU and kzbin.info/www/bejne/npyTnmObpNWJhNU should satiate your interests for a bit.

[@garyingersoll9349]

Thanks for your video... very informative...

[@MonsterSound.Bradley]

New sub. Joe was right about you. XLNt channel. I'm glad I found you.👍😎

[@bwoods22wf]

Tesla has never used a Switched Reluctance Machine. The two electric motors they have used are the AC Induction Motor and the Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor PMSM. It is bewildering where the idea that Tesla has used a Switched Reluctance Motor because it is wrong. Sandy Munro did a tear down of the Model 3 motor and the rotor had magnets. The owners manual for the Model S and X shows they have two motors, AC Induction for the rear and PMSM for the front.

[@russvhill2]

I was rather hoping you would touch on the Renault motor which is different again in that it uses electromagnets rather than be slave to rare earth prices

[@juiceofsapho]

To which renault motor are you referring to?

[@JWM-Meijer]

Yup. Both the Kangoo ZE as well as the ZOE with the Continental motor as well as the ones with the Renault motor have synchronous machines, but instead of permanent magnets, use external excitation, aka a 4 pole electromagnet in the rotor fed through a double slip ring. As there is no switching like in a commutator, the slip ring contacts have extremely low wear and tear. The controllability of the motor is extremely high.

[@davidmacphee3549]

I can't wait to see what the big four motorcycle company's are planning ....

[@davidjacobs8558]

If you want to learn about technological progress in transportation motors, look into subway motor electronics. Old subway trains used DC, because there really wasn't any technology to control speed with AC. gradually technology improved and most today's subways use VVVF system.

[@WebbMotorworks]

Wow great video. Thankyou

[@bangerbangerbro]

I don't understand how a live rotor works? Surely electrical connections would be worn out?

[@enchantedblaze6848]

Does it mean that permanent magnet motor and the hybrid motor are DC and the one Tesla using is AC??

[@jacklaw9991]

What an excellent speaking voice.

[@jlew777]

Good content. Thank you

[@petrsestak912]

Maybe, a description of a magnetic circuit of the reluctance motor (6:31) should bee more exact - see e.g. Wikipedia "Magnetism" - ferromagnetic material (soft/hard). The magnetic circuit must be made from a soft ferromagnetic material, not from non-magnetic (para-/dia-magnetic?). More complete explanations to the reluctance motor principles you can find also (besides another sources) on youtube. Permanent magnets of the Tesla solution are an enhancement for an improvement of the motor features. The motor is than not "pure" reluctant. Stay exact. Petr

[@fatboy19831]

Another excellent video.

[@HayderAbdulridha]

You're really good at this, Joe told me to check out this channel. Subscribed! Just want to point out that your mic has a little bit of buzz around it.

[@transportevolved]

Hi! You're totally right. We've recently moved and so we're not at A1 level yet ;) ^Nikki.

[@michaelwoodhams7866]

1:24 "It's one of those times it really doesn't matter which order you get the information in" So this video and Joe's one commute. Sorry, I've been doing too much algebra/group theory lately.

[@BrunoWiebelt]

Joe said to come check you out ... that's great collaborations the thing

[@mondotv4216]

I think it would have worked better if you’d edited the two segments together bouncing off each other. Still enjoyed it, but it would have been much more of a collaboration than two separate videos. I can definitely see spots in both videos where you could have segue’d back and forth.

[@twistedmister1]

AC motors are used because they're easy to regulate their speed. A DC motor needs it's voltage varied to change the speed. An AC motor just needs it's frequency changed. Simply feed it 60Hz to run twice as fast as fed 30Hz. The "power supply" is simply an audio amplifier.

[@iroulis]

So why are all other electric motored appliance (think air conditioner) going DC Inverter?

[@vinodpund1574]

Useful Information

[@NRG1985]

I don't really agree so much on some points: - There are many topologies of PM synchronous machines: Surface-mounted PM (SPM), Interior PM (IPM), Switching Flux PM (SFPM)... if my memory serves right the SPM is the first one introduced (I believe in the middle of the XX century) simply because it's the most straightforward PM machine design (someone probably at that time placed some PMs around a rotor and that's all). SPM and IPM are basically the main topologies and can work with same stator design, therefore even hair pin designs, etc. Just the rotor is different. SPM are very common for example in small/high torque quality drives such as Electric Power Steering. - Switched and Synchronous machines are in principle two different things, control strategies, power control architecture, design. The picture shown, a switched reluctance machine (without PMs) is clearly not the model 3 motor which I believe is (i) synchronous like all the other competitors, (ii) as well as IPM. For instance, comparing the m3 motor to the Toyota Prius motor shows some interesting similarities of the rotor design with its characteristics V-shape pattern, pole number is different. - BMW call it "commercially" hybrid, but in principle is just a special variant of IPM synchronous machine, it can be called eventually PM assisted synchronous reluctance (PMASR) machine in reason of these multiflux-barrier design which are expected to enhance the reluctance torque. IPM/PMASR are also the GM designs: if my memory serves right, the low performance GM variant is quite interesting since it adopts cheap ferrite rather than expensive RE NdFeB...this is one potential advantage of PMASR.

[@bambamfpv1102]

I believe the model 3 motor is truly a permanent magnet switched reluctance motor not a synchronous reluctance motor. Which makes it closer to a variable or switched reluctance motor than a AC synchronous machine. This creates a new question. Did Tesla switch from AC to a DC?

[@NRG1985]

@@bambamfpv1102 I respect your opinion, but why you get this conclusion, what are the reliable sources because I have found nothing? I know that many EV websites and even Wikipedia reports it, Musk himself tweeted on time about a "partial pm switched...smthg like that" but it cannot be take seriously. Once you try to evaluate the facts and take a look on the available photos of the m3 machine, for my point of view it's hard to say "pm switched reluctance". In principle in a switched reluctance you have unidirectional currents switched in the coils according to specific strategies. In a synchronous (non necessarily reluctance) the current waveform is AC (sinusoidal for e.g. ) like for an induction machine. Both requires electronic converter from the DC bus and battery: for the synchronous/induction is an inverter for the switched reluctance is normally a different/not standard architecture. Just a matter of fact, the EPA official certification (so no EV websites, tweet...it reports what Tesla itself officially declared to the regulation authority, as far as I understood) there is no mention to any switched/reluctance machine. It's written "Internal permanent magnet motor": it is lexically very similar to "Interior Permanent magnet (synchronous) motor" which still exploits the reluctance mechanism, like the main competitors btw.

[@bambamfpv1102]

@@NRG1985 Tesla calls it a (PMSRM) Permanent Magnet Switched Reluctance Motor

[@NRG1985]

@@bambamfpv1102 I know but what is the source of that? The only source I am aware is a tweet of Elon Musk. But in the EPA official certification there is no reference to any switched and/or reluctance. Just a matter of fact PMSR could be also PM synchronous reluctance machine.

[@vprincessfan12]

I got a (very artsy) Nissan Leaf ad before this!

[@mikejf4377]

I would love to see a VW MK1,2,3,4,5 or 6 converted with a Hyper 9 low or high voltage. Maybe a front motor from a Tesla (small motor) intone and batteries on top of it.

[@mojopitdog]

great info thanks

[@ACAGT]

On my kangoo ze its basically a big alternator working as a motor.

[@vovacat1797]

Hi there! I would also really like to see a video about what kind of motors railroads use. I mean cars throughout history have largely been powered by IC, but trains have been using electricity for that whole time. And now we have trains that can go 300-400km/h, I know there's a story to be told there.

[@johnkeepin7527]

Modern ones mostly use variable frequency three-phase a.c. motors, with power electronics using Integrated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT) etc. Years ago, it was either d.c. motors, or relatively low frequency a.c. - e.g. 1/3 mains frequency, like 20 Hz on some of the New York suburban lines, or 16 2/3 Hz in much of Germany. 50 or 60 Hz a.c. motors wouldn’t work as traction motors, but chopping the frequency down was a kind of a compromise (albeit with thermal loss through the system - often rather large motor/alternators to achieve it). A fair bit of history about that, but essentially d.c. motors became practical under a.c. overhead, when high power on-board rectifiers became available.

[@pincus321]

What about the Prius you need to cover the motor design

[@CubbyTech]

No one really cares about a Prius, wasn't the point of the video - but here's the types of motors, broken down by a nice German guy - kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJfOdoWKq7l3fdk

[@unerbittlich]

Hasnt Even startend and is already over :) amazing

[@octapc]

Ahhh, this channel I have watched b4, great stuff