Eco Mode: Single Motor mode?

cwcareafef

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Was in ECO mode yesterday for the first time in a while and switched to the Battery Info tab on the central infotainment screen. The power delivery seemed to suggest that only the rear motor was delivering power. I haven't seen this mentioned elsewhere so I was curious whether anyone else noticed this. Other than the power delivery it would certainly make sense, the car really lacks a lot of power in eco mode, I thought it was only just throttle response.
 
Interesting, how economical is that really considering it's lugging around an extra 200kg compared to the non-Xpower version. I find the best eco mode is my foot control in Normal mode.
 
I've tried my hardest and I can't get the front motor to come on in eco, I bet I could do a doughnut with the traction off
 
I've tried my hardest and I can't get the front motor to come on in eco, I bet I could do a doughnut with the traction off
Same for me when in ECO - when you bring up the EV Management view (where it shows power/regen flow between battery and motors) can't get it to show power going to the front wheels however hard I try...
 
It's surprising the front motor doesn't act as a generator while you're in Eco so you can charge the battery while you drive 😉
Its a lovely idea but I'm afraid it wouldn't work, without getting technical its the 1st law of thermodynamics which states you cannot create energy only convert it from one source to another and when you do that there are always losses, which means in a closed system like you describe it would grind to a halt due to the losses. What you describe would be brilliant, but impossible because you would have created a perpetual motion machine i.e. the front motor generating power whilst in motion for the battery which then is used in the rear motor for traction. That's why you can only generate power whilst under deceleration i.e. you are using the kinetic energy of motion and converting some of it (about 15-20% in my MG4) back to the battery as stored electricity, (the rest is lost as friction, which is necessary to stop the car and heat) hence there is a drag from the motor and you slow down, as soon as you try to accelerate you are back to drawing energy from the energy store i.e. the battery you can't have both at the same time in this configuration, despite what some might suggest on "you tube" re: perpetual motion machines, its simply not possible. Whenever you transfer/convert energy from one source to another there are losses in heat and friction which always needs replacing, therefore more energy to keep it going. Some might argue that you could generate a small amount from the front motor whilst moving under power from the rear motor (not decelerating but maintaining speed) but if you think about it, if you tried to generate power whilst under power you will create a drag from that motor trying to generate which will require you to use further power from the battery to maintain it, in other words you gain nothing because you are using energy to generate it i.e. a closed loop, in fact it would cost you energy because you have to factor in the losses in the process, which you would not get back in the generation process, you would end up depleting the battery faster. The only free source of energy is when you are decelerating because you are converting some of the energy you have already converted into movement back into electricity but you never will get back what you put in because of the losses.
But I agree with you a lovely idea if it could be made to work!!! :)
Just thought of another free source of energy which would allow you to generate and use at the same time and this is solar panels, in this way you are adding extra energy to the system/battery independent of the traction.
 
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Its a lovely idea but I'm afraid it wouldn't work, without getting technical its the 1st law of thermodynamics which states you cannot create energy only convert it from one source to another and when you do that there are always losses, which means in a closed system like you describe it would grind to a halt due to the losses. What you describe would be brilliant, but impossible because you would have created a perpetual motion machine i.e. the front motor generating power whilst in motion for the battery which then is used in the rear motor for traction. That's why you can only generate power whilst under deceleration i.e. you are using the kinetic energy of motion and converting some of it (about 15-20% in my MG4) back to the battery as stored electricity, (the rest is lost as friction, which is necessary to stop the car and heat) hence there is a drag from the motor and you slow down, as soon as you try to accelerate you are back to drawing energy from the energy store i.e. the battery you can't have both at the same time in this configuration, despite what some might suggest on "you tube" re: perpetual motion machines, its simply not possible. Whenever you transfer/convert energy from one source to another there are losses in heat and friction which always needs replacing, therefore more energy to keep it going. Some might argue that you could generate a small amount from the front motor whilst moving under power from the rear motor (not decelerating but maintaining speed) but if you think about it, if you tried to generate power whilst under power you will create a drag from that motor trying to generate which will require you to use further power from the battery to maintain it, in other words you gain nothing because you are using energy to generate it i.e. a closed loop, in fact it would cost you energy because you have to factor in the losses in the process, which you would not get back in the generation process, you would end up depleting the battery faster. The only free source of energy is when you are decelerating because you are converting some of the energy you have already converted into movement back into electricity but you never will get back what you put in because of the losses.
But I agree with you a lovely idea if it could be made to work!!! :)
Just thought of another free source of energy which would allow you to generate and use at the same time and this is solar panels, in this way you are adding extra energy to the system/battery independent of the traction.
From someone who has zilch technical nouse, I often thought why can't the car have vents that when Drive the energy drives air through the vents that then push a miniature wind turbine which then produces energy which goes back into the batteries 🔋 🤔 and yes has you solar panels inlaid on the car ? Maybe in the future?
 
Its a lovely idea but I'm afraid it wouldn't work, without getting technical its the 1st law of thermodynamics which states you cannot create energy only convert it from one source to another and when you do that there are always losses, which means in a closed system like you describe it would grind to a halt due to the losses. What you describe would be brilliant, but impossible because you would have created a perpetual motion machine i.e. the front motor generating power whilst in motion for the battery which then is used in the rear motor for traction. That's why you can only generate power whilst under deceleration i.e. you are using the kinetic energy of motion and converting some of it (about 15-20% in my MG4) back to the battery as stored electricity, (the rest is lost as friction, which is necessary to stop the car and heat) hence there is a drag from the motor and you slow down, as soon as you try to accelerate you are back to drawing energy from the energy store i.e. the battery you can't have both at the same time in this configuration, despite what some might suggest on "you tube" re: perpetual motion machines, its simply not possible. Whenever you transfer/convert energy from one source to another there are losses in heat and friction which always needs replacing, therefore more energy to keep it going. Some might argue that you could generate a small amount from the front motor whilst moving under power from the rear motor (not decelerating but maintaining speed) but if you think about it, if you tried to generate power whilst under power you will create a drag from that motor trying to generate which will require you to use further power from the battery to maintain it, in other words you gain nothing because you are using energy to generate it i.e. a closed loop, in fact it would cost you energy because you have to factor in the losses in the process, which you would not get back in the generation process, you would end up depleting the battery faster. The only free source of energy is when you are decelerating because you are converting some of the energy you have already converted into movement back into electricity but you never will get back what you put in because of the losses.
But I agree with you a lovely idea if it could be made to work!!! :)
Just thought of another free source of energy which would allow you to generate and use at the same time and this is solar panels, in this way you are adding extra energy to the system/battery independent of the traction.

Sorry I have a sense of humor 🤣

You would be surprised how many people tell me I "should" be able to put an alternator on my electric car to recharge the battery while driving so I never need to charge it.
 
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A serious question, though: If only driving the rear wheels, does the front motor contribute to regeneration? Surely, you need more braking at the front than the rear.
only if the acceleration ('deceleration' if you prefer to not deal with negative values of acceleration) required (i.e. brake-pedal urgency) exceeds the traction available from the rear-wheels/motor. Actually, rear-wheel braking is in many ways better, as it aids line stability, reduces nosedive and evens tyre wear, amongst other advantages. As the required deceleration increases in magnitude, then the fronts can be used. Then, obs, the anchors...
 
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