1
00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,120
Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff,

2
00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:09,560
Speaker 1: Lauren Vogel bomb here. Let's say you're at a red

3
00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:11,200
Speaker 1: light and one of the drivers in front of you

4
00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:15,040
Speaker 1: revs their engine something that sounds like muscle. The next

5
00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:17,840
Speaker 1: car over, the recipient of their challenge is a pricey

6
00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:22,200
Speaker 1: electric luxury vehicle. The light turns green, which car leaves

7
00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:25,159
Speaker 1: the other in the dust? Would you be surprised if

8
00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:27,600
Speaker 1: the electric vehicle one out. If you want to go

9
00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:30,400
Speaker 1: from zero to sixty as fast as possible, an electric

10
00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:33,760
Speaker 1: car is the way to go. However, gas powered cars

11
00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:37,199
Speaker 1: can still have faster top speeds. So what's the key

12
00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:40,879
Speaker 1: difference between the two cars? Mostly the transmission or the

13
00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:45,760
Speaker 1: lack thereof. Let's unpack that first. In general racing terminology,

14
00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:48,040
Speaker 1: quick means how long it takes to get from point

15
00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:51,080
Speaker 1: A to point B, while fast means the top speed

16
00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:54,560
Speaker 1: of vehicle reaches. In drag racing, for example, the faster

17
00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:57,360
Speaker 1: vehicle hits the higher speed over the course of the race,

18
00:00:57,600 --> 00:00:59,880
Speaker 1: but the quicker vehicle gets to the finish line first.

19
00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:04,160
Speaker 1: Electric cars are capable of being quicker than gas powered cars,

20
00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:07,600
Speaker 1: but they're not yet capable of going faster. Our zero

21
00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:10,880
Speaker 1: to sixty scenario is a good example. A gasoline cars

22
00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:13,640
Speaker 1: do have a performance advantage when those top speeds are

23
00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:18,039
Speaker 1: being sustained for longer periods of time. Electric vehicles generate

24
00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:20,960
Speaker 1: much more torque than gas vehicles, which is important because

25
00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:24,600
Speaker 1: torque is what drives the vehicle forward. Furthermore, an electric

26
00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:27,720
Speaker 1: car's motor eliminates the need for a traditional transmission. In

27
00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:30,920
Speaker 1: many modern designs, the power goes straight to the wheels

28
00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:34,679
Speaker 1: for instant acceleration, making electric vehicles quicker on the start.

29
00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:37,880
Speaker 1: In a gas powered car, the engine has to route

30
00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:40,120
Speaker 1: the power first to the transmission and then to the

31
00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:43,080
Speaker 1: wheels of the components collectively known as the drive train

32
00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:47,319
Speaker 1: or power train. This process takes longer, wasting crucial zero

33
00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:50,480
Speaker 1: to sixty potential. Some of the power created by the engine,

34
00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:54,240
Speaker 1: usually about is also wasted traveling through the drive train,

35
00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:58,000
Speaker 1: known as drivetrain loss. If you're comparing an electric car

36
00:01:58,040 --> 00:01:59,960
Speaker 1: and a gas car with the same horse power rating,

37
00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:02,480
Speaker 1: the electric car is able to use a lot more

38
00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:05,800
Speaker 1: at its horse power too. That's because electric vehicles have

39
00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:08,760
Speaker 1: fewer moving parts, so they're able to run more efficiently.

40
00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:12,440
Speaker 1: Efficiency isn't based strictly in terms of fuel consumption, the

41
00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:16,840
Speaker 1: vehicle's speed and agility are affected too. The instant torque

42
00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:19,760
Speaker 1: and simplified power train are the two factors that enable

43
00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:22,359
Speaker 1: an electric vehicle to take off from the stop much

44
00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:25,959
Speaker 1: faster than a gas vehicle of comparable power specs. That's

45
00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:29,480
Speaker 1: how Tesla and other electric supercars achieve zero to sixty

46
00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:32,480
Speaker 1: times of just two to three seconds. For our metric friends.

47
00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:34,400
Speaker 1: By the way, zero to sixty miles per hour is

48
00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:37,440
Speaker 1: equivalent to about zero to nine seven kilometers per hour.

49
00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:42,000
Speaker 1: Tesla doesn't provide horse power ratings, but Road and Track

50
00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:44,720
Speaker 1: used a machine called a dynamometer to test a top

51
00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:49,639
Speaker 1: end model s P one D with the ludicrous speed upgrade.

52
00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:52,400
Speaker 1: They got a reading of five hundred and eighty eight

53
00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:55,079
Speaker 1: horse power at the wheels, which again is somewhat less

54
00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:57,040
Speaker 1: than it would be rated if tested at the engine.

55
00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:00,480
Speaker 1: When Motor Trend Road tested the same model without the

56
00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:03,959
Speaker 1: upgrade in seventeen, the magazine had never seen a zero

57
00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:06,400
Speaker 1: to sixty run in less than two point three seconds,

58
00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:09,320
Speaker 1: but the Tesla came in at two point to seven

59
00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:11,600
Speaker 1: five seconds, which at the time it made it the

60
00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:16,400
Speaker 1: quickest stock production vehicle. Ever, however, as Motor Trend explained,

61
00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:19,440
Speaker 1: if that Tesla was racing against a Ferrari, La Ferrari

62
00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:22,960
Speaker 1: A Portion nine eighteen or McLaren P one, those three

63
00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:25,600
Speaker 1: gas powered supercars would catch up to the Tesla and

64
00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:30,080
Speaker 1: pull ahead within seconds. If a Ferrari or McLaren are

65
00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:32,680
Speaker 1: a little outside your budget, A gas powered car like

66
00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:36,320
Speaker 1: the twenty nineteen Dodge Challenger s RT Hellcat, with its

67
00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:40,000
Speaker 1: eight hundred and forty horsepower supercharged six point two leader

68
00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:42,560
Speaker 1: V eight engine, boasts the top speed of two hundred

69
00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:45,880
Speaker 1: three miles per hour that's about three seven kilometers per

70
00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:48,440
Speaker 1: hour and a zero to sixty time of three point

71
00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:53,000
Speaker 1: four seconds. In terms of zero to sixty times, electric

72
00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:56,480
Speaker 1: cars currently have the big advantage. However, the electric vehicle

73
00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:59,000
Speaker 1: industry is realizing that their cars need to sustain that

74
00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:01,840
Speaker 1: performance over the law hall, which leads us back to

75
00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:06,080
Speaker 1: the transmission for all of the enthusiasms surrounding electric vehicles

76
00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:09,480
Speaker 1: performance and efficiency. Thanks to the absence of a traditional transmission,

77
00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:13,520
Speaker 1: some engineers are actually working on new transmission designs, specifically

78
00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:16,840
Speaker 1: for electric cars. That's because the lack of one keeps

79
00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:19,800
Speaker 1: the electric vehicle's top speed slower than it otherwise would

80
00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:24,120
Speaker 1: be a well designed transmission specifically for an electric vehicle

81
00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:27,000
Speaker 1: would act as a sort of intermediary to help manage

82
00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:29,960
Speaker 1: the car's power delivery as well as the battery range.

83
00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:32,680
Speaker 1: This would make it possible to drive faster speeds for

84
00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:37,000
Speaker 1: longer periods of time while still wasting less energy. Generally,

85
00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:39,360
Speaker 1: the batteries on electric cars top out at about two

86
00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:41,920
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty to three d and ten miles that's

87
00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:45,240
Speaker 1: four hundred to five hundred kilometers, but an advanced transmission

88
00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:48,159
Speaker 1: design could help extend that range. The key is to

89
00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:51,159
Speaker 1: keep it simple, intervening only enough to make the car

90
00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:53,760
Speaker 1: as good at fast speeds as it is at low speeds.

91
00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:01,520
Speaker 1: Today's episode was and by Cheri's three Wit and produced

92
00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:04,039
Speaker 1: by Tyler Clang for iHeart Media and How Stuff Works.

93
00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:06,760
Speaker 1: To learn more about this and lots of other driven topics,

94
00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:20,560
Speaker 1: visit our home planet, how stuff works dot com