No, a spare doesn't come with it. Do you have a spare muffler that comes with your car? I haven't had a spare tire with a car since before we converted our Prius to a plugin version. If you choose to carry around the dead weight and added expense of a spare, that's fine, just don't ask manufacturers to make it standard. I doubt highly a Tesla would be spending that much time at a DC fast charger. They would spend the minimum amount of time to allow them to get to the nearest free SC, or their destination.
Spare tire (at least donut) has been standard, until plugins came out with big battery packs. Spare was dropped to make room and cut weight. At least, a spare tire can be left in the garage. You cannot do the same with the extra battery dead weight. If you don't use those extra EV miles, you drag along with it as well. Ditto to the "range extender" in Volt. Coming to this Chademo charger, you'll need to bring it in the car right? If not, you will be limited to decent speed chargers.
Fair point on the unused battery weight. Which is why it is important for people to consider how much range they actually need, or if they really need that gas backup. More and more cars are doing away with spares, not just ones with heavy battery packs. I'm afraid I don't understand your last comment. Bring what "into the car"? And what do you mean by "decent spped" chargers?
Naah - you can just do like those Landcruisers out on the Serengity ... strap one or two to the top of the car. Endless possibilities if two huge trunks in one car aren't enough. .
You need to have the adapter in the car to charge from Chademo station right? That's a "spare" charger adapter. By decent speed charger, I mean Chademo chargers are much faster than L1 and L2 chargers. Those slow chargers would take days to fully charge the Model S, perhaps just a few hours to get home if you are close by. The adapter:
Thank you for the explanation. I suppose speed is relative. I consider the CHADEMO chargers slow. The "if not you will be limited to decent" part of your comment threw me off. The adapter, if you decide you need one, is tiny compared to the space available for cargo.
62.5 kW is slow? 15 mins can give you about 40 miles range. Not as fast as gas or hydrogen but plenty to get back home from Nissan dealership.
Like I said, it is all relative. I am used to 120kW. All the CHAdeMO chargers around here are 50kW. Glad to hear here are a few a bit faster. This is why I said earlier, Tesla owners are unlikely to be using these if they have any choice.
Actually - the Chademo format can go up to 100kW. IIRC, Kia's Soul EV is capable of receiving 100kW ... but those units are WAY more costly - so don't hold your breath EDIT: got lucky - memory served me right this time Kia starts installing 100 kW CHAdeMO chargers in Europe | Kia Soul EV Forum I'm sure they taper down below 50kW speed past the 60% fill ... but if you only need to do an extra 50 miles - MAN ... you could partially recharge the lower end in about 7 or 8 minutes.
For now. H2 stations are coming to the East Coast. Toyota Announces East Coast Hydrogen Highway for Mirai FCV - HybridCars.com
You are assuming you have Mirai to begin with. When it is launched over there, I am sure H2 stations would be available.
Then again - Toyota (and the entire hydrogen industry) has been moving the goal post every 10 years since the 1970's. So if you don't mind, I'll believe it when I see it. And if you don't mind, I'll continue to push back against Cali tax dollars for a fuelling industry - built only for folks that can afford a "heavily-subsidized-just to-get-it-under-$80K" car. .
I don't recall Toyota even setting a goal for production version of their FCV. I know GM did with their skateboard platform and hydrogen highway during Bush administration. You are misplacing your dislike of H2.
Really? You don't recall Toyota telling eager folk how many 1,000's of FC cars they expect to have on the roads w/in the next few years? ... then backing off? Those kind of PR blurbs are a type of production goal, no matter how it's re-spun. Don't get me wrong - H2 is a great wiz-bang neet techno-wonder thing. Likely we all find it so. It's just the obscene cost that many find worthy of great dislike. The Tesla/Chademo adapter will likely help invalidate hydrogen cars even further - as critics won't be able to maintain the old, "it takes too long to charge" excuse - for the small minority that need to regularly drive over 250 miles. With the adapters, EV infrastructure effectively increased by a factor of 5. And, we don't have to waste natural gas resources & saddle tax payers with a $100 billion tax burden - just so we may someday have an iffy hope of affordable hydrogen. .
Manufacturers were deleting spare tires as standard equipment before plugins came along. Either for weight, space, or cost. Off the top of my head, the Fiat 500 doesn't have one, and is a $300 option. The Sonic LS sedan with manual doesn't have one; it's the loss leader and possible EPA tester. Then some of the Hyundai/Kais were sans spare in past. Tire construction has improved over the years. Pennsylvania is lousy with pot holes, and the worse I've suffered is knocked out alignment. The tire slime is probably also better. Then every one has a cell phone. Spare tires really aren't a need for most drivers these days. If it is a need for a person, they can get a spare or, with TPMS now mandatory, run flat tires. Did you do either for your long road trip in the PPI?
Did 1,000+ miles round trip to Canada with 3 charges and got 60 MPG. Stopped by 2 gas stations. No flat tire on that trip. However, in about 2.5 years of PiP ownership, I've had 4 screws/nails in 3 different tires. 2 of those incidents are in my drive way (I think), thanks to the great job gutter guy did. PiP is our only car so I need a spare, especially with now 10 months old daughter.
I had a screw in our tire last summer. It created a slow leak. I filled it, and drove in to get it fixed. I love the quality of modern tires.
