Why Do Electric Cars Only Have One Gear?

[@ctcboater]

The explanation doesn't accurately describe an electric motor's output. It implies that torque is constant. What _is_ constant (within limits) is power. Since Power =Torque x RPM (therefore Torque = Power/RPM) there is maximum torque at zero RPM and it trails off as the RPM increases.

[@carlitoxb110]

Tycan: hold my two gears 😝

[@richardlytton]

Why haven't manufacturers thought about fun? 5 gears in an electric car, with a clutch pedal, to allow for predictable low speed maneuverability, might cost more, but would make electric cars more acceptable to many more people, especially in europe, where most cars are manuals.

[@ConcerningReality]

That would add more components to break, make the cars slower, and make them less maneuverable. There’s very few advantages to that other than novelty unfortunately. I love manuals too

[@jeremysanders8138]

​@Concerning Reality components break anyway. What's more expensive? State of the art electric motor, or adapted and practical 2 speed transmission? Easier on the motor, even if it's not "necessary". Seems like an excuse for planned obsolescence.

[@DragonOfTheMortalKombat]

​@@jeremysanders8138lol no, you ICE guys have zero idea how electric car motors work bruhhh. It would be easier on the motor if it is a DC motor, which isn't used in majority of EVs.

[@jeremysanders8138]

@@DragonOfTheMortalKombat so explain to me why in most evs, the amount of throttle you give determines how long the battery will last? Is it not basic inductive reasoning to say a transmission would decrease the necessity for a more open throttle to maintain a speed that the same openness in that throttle might require without a transmission?

[@sambear6079]

​@@DragonOfTheMortalKombat You're not even a car guy and probably have never driven a manual so your input is invalid.

[@mohibjadoon3359]

Who wants gears for speed We want them for better range. Simple fact is that ,by installing gears less power can move the car with lower rpm so less battery is consumed

[@RyuzoSan19]

This is why manual/automatic transmission EVs should appear into the mass market

[@Jmcinally94]

This is exactly what I've been thinking about recently.

[@Aqazerty82]

Yes you’re right I think less battery would be consumed

[@williamn3070]

The thing is that Evs dont gain much efficiency from lower RPMs as they are almost allways very efficient. The drivetrain losses from adding the gears would most likely be the same or worse than the gains from lower rpm, therefore not helping much with range

[@itstrenttv]

This is why I'm at this video, I don't get why they don't for increased range??

[@celestialmedia2280]

We need such systems that when we need speed can use just one gear And the transmission gear can be used whenever we need a better range period....

[@gamesincredible6247]

We have peddle shifters for that

[@hershellumiere]

It’s called a continuously variable transmission.

[@due737ejdnd]

Electric motors don't work that way, everything you know about ICEs does not apply except for P = Torque times angular velocity

[@ameserich]

​​@@due737ejdndthis is wrong, Even bicycles have gears. your Tesla have one gear, the front and rear have different ratio so one works more efficiently on either low speed and high speed EV Cars need 2 gears while high power EV Motorcycles will need even more, possibly 4 gears

[@due737ejdnd]

@ameserich you don't get this, gears are a COMPROMISE NOT A REQUIREMENT OR ENHANCER, do not need more than 1 gear ratio if you engineer the motor right

[@Leucoandro]

The power band on ICE engines is restricted to mesh with its transmission. Some race cars can pull over 10,000RPMs, but consumer ICE engine/transmissions are designed to maximize fuel efficiency. A single gear EV is not fuel efficient. The higher the electric engine RPMs, the more electricity required to maintain those RPMs. A more fuel efficient EV engine would use a transmission is multiple gears to extend range.

[@TheMadisonHang]

the future of cars looks promising

[@keeyon81]

I do have one question revving up to higher rpms more electricity so why not have it at lower RPMs going at higher speeds would that not save on electricity and give you longer range

[@ConcerningReality]

Well rpms directly translate into speed at the wheels, so without a gearbox that’s impossible. You could gear the motors down to run at Lower RPMs at higher speeds but you’d lose torque.

[@keeyon81]

@@ConcerningReality but it's the same thing that engines do in gasoline vehicles to save on gas you lower the RPMs to get better gas mileage with the concept still be the same in electric motor to transmission lower RPMs better battery mileage because the Tesla is 6200 RPM at 65 mph but most cars today will average 2500 rpm at 60 MPH

[@rahulharidasz]

Gud question I would like to knw the answers as well

[@yogeshwaranp3893]

@@keeyon81 yeah,you are right...... I also have this question, for a long time.....when ev arise without manual transmission. I am too waiting for a positive and practical answer.....

[@Dongzzzzzz]

@@keeyon81 you're right, that's why porsche added 2 gears of their electric car. The only thing stopping them is cost and space.

[@raunak51299]

You channel will go places. Mark my word.

[@ConcerningReality]

Thank you!

[@mistifalcon3332]

100%

[@skeep12]

Since there is already a gear in the electric car preventing it from instantly driving at insane rpm, it still means you could be more efficient with 2 right? the first for speeding up from stand still and the second beying a 1:1 ratio so that when going fast you could speed up to even higher rpm's? Could be that im wrong but just couldn't help but think of it

[@realdragon]

And why not put smaller and weaker engine with gears? If you need more torque you can switch between gear ratios. You can still have range of torque and speed with electric engine because of gear physics

[@superdhanshu]

@@realdragon @skeep12 I was thinking along the same lines. electric cars' range deteriorates quickly after hitting 100 kmph (60 mph). Why not put two gears (basically a city gear and a highway gear) to improve range even on highways?

[@realdragon]

But can't we have smaller weaker electric engine and adjust gearing when necessary? Like if car would struggle uphill you could just switch to lower gear and you could do that with smaller engine

[@teolynx3805]

We can and it'd be better for most users for daily drive but it's not that interesting to make cars costing $10-40 with gearbox instead of $40-100 cars with no gearbox 😂

[@due737ejdnd]

Much worse fuel (energy) economy with a smaller electric motor, big motor, more copper, more voltage, less current

[@realdragon]

@@due737ejdnd Ok, but gears would also work with bigger motors

[@due737ejdnd]

@realdragon but why have gears? They add weight, point of failure, energy loss for no gain, you need gear in ICE because they stall while they get inefficient at higher rpm. Multi-Gear transmission is a necessary evil in ICE cars. Inductive losses in a motor due to higher AC frequency for higher rpm are far, far, far, far, far lower than frictional losses in gears. Also electric motors have max torque at 0 angular velocity (rpm but rad/s is a better unit) hence they do not stall, so no clutch or torque converter required, can rev much higher without losses. Single gear boxes are used since you want acceleration from smaller motor although inefficient at like 96%' bigger motor high torque low rpm (98% or more for industrial motors) that can supply torque directly to shafts without any gearing to the wheels adds weight and more importantly cost since you need 4 of them. Also I was talking about synchronous motors which are most efficient although there other types of motors.

[@realdragon]

@@due737ejdnd With gears you can get higher torque or higher speed

[@jackhong1981]

As a EV owner, I really hope that it has 2 gears - high and low, so that I can go 180km/h at highway without draining my battery too fast.

[@NationalistHillbilly]

Hmm Sounds like a power glide, which was a 2 speed transmission and still used in drag racing. It was also the first automatic transmissions for ice engines.

[@due737ejdnd]

You are not an ev owner

[@matthewothello838]

YOUR SOOO UNDERATED KEEP IT UP 👍👍

[@ConcerningReality]

Thank you!

[@TimpBizkit]

Most Teslas have 1G acceleration from a standstill so it's not like the motor is going to struggle on a hill. I'm not sure about lower powered electric cars like Nissan Leaf (which is still 150 horses) but I'm thinking uphill caravan towing in a Nissan Leaf might be where I want another lower ratio gear. Generally the smaller the motor and the heavier the vehicle, the larger the range of gearing you need. Performance electric motorcycles only need a single speed, but diesel HGVs need at least 10.

[@williammilliron8735]

@Tim Lewis although you may not need more than one gear on a high power vehicle like the model s, wouldn't you still want a low range to increase your max torque/acceleration? You see electric vehicles with around 400 hp get better launches than an i.c.e with 700 hp, but over longer distance/during a roll race, the combustion engine ends up winning because of the higher hp. In my opinion, at least a two speed makes sense to get max output out of your motor, no matter how strong of a motor you have.

[@TimpBizkit]

@@williammilliron8735 I was saying that there isn't much more acceleration on a Tesla to be had that doesn't break the traction. Perhaps it could be geared 10-15% lower, and then given a taller gear as well so the petrol cars can't catch it up again at higher speeds. In this case I think it was kind of a "How fast will most people need this car to go? Is it worth the extra expense to wring out more top end when it vastly exceeds what's legal in most places?" business decision. The power band in this car is probably around 60 mph when you floor it, as a ballpark guess - enough to overtake slower drivers. If you wanted to see what the motor could do on a standing mile, it is worth adding some gears to wring the most out of it and extend the powerband, but as far as company profits I don't think it was worth it. Whilst the car will reach 155 mph with 1/3 of its power, most people rarely exceed 90 mph, and taller gears don't benefit efficiency like they do with a petrol car. They can load down the motor too much in a lot of cases. That's another thing - it would have to be an automatic to stop people trying to use the tallest gear when towing uphill and stressing the motor more than the right gear would, and also complaining about poor range and motor failures or thermal cutoff. Being in too high a gear is unlikely to damage a petrol engine - it will just slow down, but it can do with an electric motor which draws even more current and doesn't cool as well.

[@samueladitya1729]

in combustion cars you are not allowed to hold the vehicle uphill with gas pedal because it may fuck up transmission. I wonder does electric car affected by this?

[@allergictobs9751]

Wouldn't gears add better efficiency?

[@ajinkyadhotre3502]

3:34 this is what you came for

[@toofastnobrakes]

What if it was applied in a heavy duty towing application? Wouldn’t multiple gears be feasible for torque multiplication at lowers speeds, also would a higher gearing yield more range out of the battery? Stressing it less at higher speeds should lower power consumption right?

[@ujjwalkatiyar9998]

Amount of G force produced by an Electric motor while the acceleration is very huge and can be unsafe for passengers as well as vehicle, that's why they use only one gear ratio to limit the motor power.

[@toofastnobrakes]

@@ujjwalkatiyar9998 I’m not referencing using gears in the thought of making them go faster. I’m curious if there’s any energy consumption to be saved in a heavy duty Trucking application, by having a low and the high gear

[@due737ejdnd]

​@toofastnobrakes there is energy loss in having gears in ev not an improvement

[@bazukamimi5721]

Good explanation of Rave and RPM

[@ServeraServera0]

I think anyone could live "well" with only having 3rd gear as the only gear Basically you can go anywhere with it and having ok consumption, but getting the car moving on 3rd should need some workarounds with the clutch

[@christopherrandall3124]

But wouldn't transmissions make it drive for way longer since a high power output becomes unnecessary in a high gear? That's a big reason they were essential in gas cars. It also increased the life expectancy of the engine and prevented overheating but... gaining a lot more distance was a huge perk.

[@due737ejdnd]

Power = Torque • Angular Velocity and Power = Potential difference • current in a motor, hence Torque • Angular Velocity = Potential difference • Current • Efficiency, Efficiency is pretty much constant in EV for all variables except for current, so lower the current the higher the Efficiency (you could use thicker wires for Efficiency but adds weight), in EV you can increase Potential difference to increase Power without affecting Efficiency (actually improves efficiency), hence bigger motors are more efficient than smaller motors

[@eiancruz080809]

put transmission so it get much greater range and battery life. imagine you only need to charge 3 to 6 day before it get drain

[@magik_wand]

Great info and video quality. I’d invest time in doing a lot more with your voiceover quality tho. That background noise is mega distracting and fuzzy.

[@ConcerningReality]

Yeah, not sure what happened with this one’s voiceover. Other videos haven’t had as many issues.

[@magik_wand]

Concerning Reality I’m looking forward to more! *subscribed.

[@anirudhramprasad3994]

I dont know which electric motor gives u 10k rpm at least in my country max is 5k rpm on high end. More over looking at characteristic curve 1 gear and CVT is mandatory for 1kw and more motor for range even if u need pure transmission.

[@petrosnemardos]

Can someone explain why an ev's acceleration from standstill cannot be completely controlled electronically ?

[@Podbyrin_9.2mm]

What about going uphill, climbing a steep lope? How do electric cars go uphill without a gearbox?

[@danielebrparish4271]

The same way trains do. More current to the wheel motors creates more power.

[@r3nagad328]

@@danielebrparish4271 that's not a very good comparison. Steel on steel Vs rubber on tarmac. Gradients and friction make a huge difference.

[@danielebrparish4271]

@@r3nagad328 I don't think gradients and friction can replace gearboxes or add power to an axle or wheel.

[@Dcc357]

Has a CVT ever been used on an EV?

[@marclapalme1394]

Very interesting but this doesn’t answer the range problem. Whereas if an electric car had a transmission the range would increase because the motor would work less and therefore conserve energy thus extending range. This is really why gas motors have a transmission.

[@ConcerningReality]

This is not what a transmission does. Transmissions would not effect electric range.

[@marclapalme1394]

@@ConcerningReality Actually yes a transmission does make my truck better on gas thus extending my range, if I only have one gear I would only reach maybe 1/4 of my regular range if that! There are motorcycle in India that are doing this with electric motors and extending their range to the 300kms. I guess I'd have to see proof that it would not extend the range of an electric car as it does extend the range on an electric motorcycle.

[@ConcerningReality]

@@marclapalme1394 That is because ICE have small torque efficiency bands. In ICEs, transmissions are used to get the ICE to operate more efficiently. Because electric engines operate at the same efficiency along the entire torque band, transmissions do not help electrical range.

[@ConcerningReality]

@@marclapalme1394 I am not the one saying that a transmission wouldn't help range, the experts are. I am simply trying to explain why it wouldn't.

[@marclapalme1394]

@@ConcerningReality Really? So weather an electric motor revs at 100rpms or 20,000rpms for the same period it will drain the battery equally?

[@Bangbangboom51]

Bullshit explanation. Even a fully electric vehicle will still benefit from a 2 or 3 speed transmission. EV can reach higher speed at lower RPM and draw less power from a 2 or 3 speed transmission.Why do you think Tesla model 3 and S have such low maximum speed compared to other sports cars and why do you think gas engines are more efficient at cruising speed on their 6th or 8th or 10th gear?

[@AdamMeaney-zs6zw]

1 gear? Great, if you can do it, but what about the tesla drive train, being run through cvt? Same power output, but add cvt to give a relative 6500rpm, instead of 10000, and see what happens to acceleration? Think of accelerating a flywheel with 1 gear, now accelerate the same flywheel with the same motor but use cvt, what happens?

[@Safari-hunter]

Do i need a gear box if my converted car (run electric dc motor) can run 44 km/h 45km/h = stall torque... And when every i go up hill at 0 or low speed like 10km/h, it go slow until it stop. Weight:550-600 kg with no passenger but include electric dynamo and battery... Volt max: up to 80.00 V.Ampere max: up to 100-110 A. Car brand :Suzuki fronte.... I do mind torque... Bc torque is import for my car... And since why (my dad) car converted into electric car... Bc of tax and electric is cheaper than gas in my country

[@unvergebeneid]

Super interesting video! Did you change something about your sound setup though? It sounds a bit tinny :/

[@ConcerningReality]

I did notice it was a bit off, I'll double check all my mic settings :)

[@hayat.u]

I want gears in a car, that only makes driving cars fun. Without gears i don’t think the cars will be able to even overtake each other. How do u race a car thats just 1 gear. Thats like driving a gear less moped. Also if u drive in a single gear the rpms will be high at higher speeds resulting in instability and lack of comfort. I daily drive a manual, so switching from that to a single geared vehicle will be complete loss of driving pleasure. Until these ev’s have gears i don’t think i can go for one enthusiastically.

[@danielebrparish4271]

Race cars don't have manual transmissions. They use switches called paddle shifters to up or down shift. Racing on our highways is a danger to everyone. Hopefully the future will require racers to buy a motorcycle so they can't kill anyone other than their selves.

[@Dave_Climber]

This was very helpful. Thanks for sharing.

[@DavidChadderton-g7d]

So gear oil is easier to change at service.

[@HimanshuSingh-lk2my]

Nice

[@Eric-Wall]

But. If we will get full electic top speed cars. Whouldnt gears be better? If i understod it right electics lose "efficiency" at higher rpms right? Because gas cars usually catch up on long straits with no reason. They dont have more power or torqe and the weight diffrence isnt that big. But still they catch up. A good example is diesels. Very strong in low rpms and very torqy. But if you let them rev out, it wont be accelerating at all as good as in the lower rpms. Electrics can rev extremly high but isnt it the same thing? Lets say im in a tesla going 200kmh (full throttle) whouldnt i start acceleration harder if i shifted a big gear? If not. Its sad that we then probbaly wont se multipel geard electic cars.

[@elimalinsky7069]

An electric car has 100% torque from a standstill. The torque only starts going down in an EV after 15,00 RPM give or take, and even then only lowers to 90% or so. The reason why gasoline cars overtake EVs on long stretches of road is top speed, as EVs hit their top speed ceiling pretty quickly. Also from 3rd gear onward a good driver on a dual-clutch gas car can keep a torque efficiency close to that of an EV in a straight line, so the play field somewhat evens out in those conditions. In regard to gears on an EV. The disadvantages greatly outweigh the advantages. When you have a direct drive from the electric motor to the wheels you get 100% efficiency and 100% torque almost all of the time, while gearing will introduce power loss, especially in low RPM, and a lot of mechanical friction bringing efficiency further down. Up to highway cruise speeds adding a geared transmission to EVs would actually lower the range and lower the power output of the car, and it only make sense with speeds upward of 150 km/h. In high speed driving the battery would drain faster than if higher ratio gear was selected, but it's a cost worth taking for performance sake, because you'll still get a better torque curve with the direct drive even at very high speeds exceeding 200 km/h. If I'm not mistaken, the Porsche Taycan deactivates second gear selection in track mode for those same reasons.

[@danielebrparish4271]

Electric motors power both freight and high speed passenger locomotives none of which have ever had a transmission.

[@medicalmouniroypc5826]

Non-CVT driver : no gear not fun to drive EVs CVT driver : yeah CVT no belt now

[@WardenClyff]

I don’t know what an electric engine is. Please change that...

[@abhishek8243]

I love driving cars with Gears that too with extreme traffic where the driver really gets tested by his potential. Even though I find electric cars interesting, this factor alone makes me to switch to EV after taking some time.

[@Vita-qg7rl]

Some of e-cars have 2 or 3 gears.

[@Motorcycle5667]

But more gggharing increases the range... It pulls less amps If Tesla had 112-1Gear it would have even more range and less top speed

[@BrokeCarBro]

no no no, you're just not thinking fast enough.

[@danielebrparish4271]

I don't know why we have to repeat our current problems. Manufactures build high speed cars for advertising purposes. There is no reason to be in a vehicle without wearing a seatbelt. There are no benefits to using tobacco products and there is no advantage to manufacturing a car that can top 90 MPH. Every vehicle built in the last couple of decades needs a computer to run. The software limits what the driver can do. All those Fast and Furious movies required the manufacturers to have an IT team on set to modify the car's software in order for many of those stunts to be made. The manufacturer didn't allow the vehicles to leave the set nor was filming allowed without the supervision of their IT people. After filming was completed the manufacturer reinstalled the factory settings on the software. I know it's harmful to people in the insurance, hospital and funeral home industries but Corvettes and Muscle Cars and Sports Cars should not be allowed to share the road with school busses, teen drivers and our families.

[@petrosnemardos]

Some countries have higher or no speed limits.

[@danielebrparish4271]

WRONG. Only Germany has no speed limits on part of one of their highways. The recommended speed is 80 MPH but it is only a reccommendation. They do have actual speed limits on the Autobahn depending on the time of day for some cities. In any case the dealerships can download software to allow the car to reach it's maximum rating.@@petrosnemardos

[@petrosnemardos]

@@danielebrparish4271 so how am I wrong ?

[@jeremysanders8138]

The use of this guys terminology throughout the video gives me a migraine. Arguably a multispeed gear box will always reduce wear and tear on the motor. Even if the motors capable of the output without the gears, what could be made cheaper? A simple 2 or 3 speed tranny? Or the massive electric motor? Also, damn near all gas vehicles have a higher "rev" as he calls it than electric vehicles if I'm understanding that's he's referring to overall speed. Take off means nothing if the max speed ain't nothing, at least to a real lover of speed and not just take off.

[@LanceDango]

Quick question: How do electric cars have RPM? Do they is still have driveshafts like a combustion engine?

[@meemdoggoriginallongdrink]

Rpm stands for revolutions per minute, so basically every machine with circular motion has rpm including electric motor. And yes, electric cars have driveshafts

[@mroberts566]

I've been wondering basically the same thing. If there's no gearbox, is an electric car's RPM a measurement of how fast the driveshaft is spinning? Seems like the answer must be yes.

[@Dcc357]

I know your comment is 3 years old, but EV’s don’t have drive shafts, just axles to 2 wheels. If an EV is AWD, then it has another motor for the other 2 wheels. This way, there is no loss of power or efficiency by frictional losses. No transfer case, to shaft, and no other differential. Just put another motor. This also allows the battery pack to be larger.

[@adarshakhouri9913]

🔥🔥🔥

[@abdulazizali1719]

explain it to me like i'm 5

[@ConcerningReality]

Electric Motor go vroom vroom good at all speed. Gas engine only go vroom vroom good at some speed so it need help of gears.

[@BabyKnxckz]

I thought electric motors really burn through the battery at high speeds, so my asumption was you can implement gears so the battery lasts longer... for long highway trips ​@@ConcerningReality

[@Anthonyndegwa-c3b]

22688

[@niloantonio3661]

EV's must have 2 gears for high speed & very high speed..

[@0to60_]

2030 it will be way more e car I hate it