A battery pack producer has launched a brand new resolution for Tesla Roadster with getting old battery packs. It could slash the automobile’s weight by about 400 lbs, but it surely’s not low cost.
In some ways, the Tesla Roadster sparked the electrical car revolution.
It was the primary commercially out there shopper EV with lithium battery cells – enabling over 200 miles of vary on a single cost.
The car had comparable or higher efficiency than many different gas-powered automobiles in its section.
The Roadster had its drawback. It was a suboptimal resolution because it was nonetheless closely primarily based on the Lotus Elise and never designed from the bottom as much as be electrical, but it surely did its job as a proof-of-concept.
Tesla solely manufactured about 2,000 of them between 2008 and 2011 earlier than shifting on to the Mannequin S and different car applications that had been constructed to be electrical from the bottom up.
Regardless of being 13 to 16 years previous, many Roadsters are nonetheless doing nicely. Electrek’s personal Jamie Dow drives his every day. That’s regardless of Tesla not doing something with the Roadster program since 2017 when it launched the Roadster 3.0 substitute pack.
Battery know-how has improved so much since then, and an organization has determined to make the most of that and supply a brand new battery pack for Tesla Roadster house owners.
re/cell, a Texas-based provider of remanufactured battery packs for EVs, has unveiled a brand new Roadster battery pack that goals to slash a whole bunch of kilos off of the sports activities automobile.
Not like Tesla’s newest automobiles, that are geared up with skateboard-like platform battery packs, the Roadster has a pack that sits behind the seats within the again and the modules are within the form seen above.
It does trigger issues with balancing the burden of the car.
The pack is ready to obtain the Roadster’s peak energy output, but it surely needs to be much more enjoyable to drive by shaving as much as 400 lbs off of the automobile’s authentic 2,877 lb (1,305 kg) weight.
It does include a decrease vitality capability than the unique 53 kWh, however it is best to be capable to obtain very related vary (over 220 miles) because of the effectivity acquire from the burden loss.
Listed below are the total specs of re/cell’s new Roadster battery substitute pack:
- Peak Energy Output: 260 kW / 285 kW
- Weight Financial savings: as much as 400 lbs / 180 kg
- Quantity Financial savings: 3.7 cu ft / 100 liters
- Vitality Capability: 38 kWh / 47 kWh
- Rated Vary: 220-240 miles / 350-390 km
- Cell Sort: 18650 / 3500 mAh
- Cell Configuration: 31p99s / 39p99s
re/cell describes a few of the enhancements that they had been capable of make to the pack:
The revolutionary cooling-block design is a single-piece molded core with Palladium-class cooling ribbons for improved cooling and temperature administration. The contact space for warmth switch is 50x bigger than the cooling tubes used within the authentic Roadster sheets and the general floor space for cooling and heating is now greater than double. No extra vacant cooling voids permitting for decent spots or uneven cooling or heating – all the cell is now totally encapsulated and temperature managed!
Nevertheless, this supply just isn’t going to be for everybody since Roadster house owners have to be keen to take a position $28,000 of their getting old car, which is the value of the pack if you happen to give your present pack to re/cell.
Apparently, the corporate can be fascinated about providing different upgrades that may be enabled by house freed up by the brand new pack.
For instance, re/cell believes it could be simpler to make the pack able to DC fast-charging. liquid cooling for the PEM and MotorÂ
Electrek’s Take
I actually loved driving the Roadster 3.0, and I’d be curious to see how a lot better it could deal with with 14% much less weight.
There are simply no different electrical automobiles on the market that weigh simply 2,400 lbs. Even a Fiat 500e weighs practically 3,000 lbs.
I can’t watch for small electrical sports activities automobiles round 2,500 lbs. They need to be a lot enjoyable and it seems like this, regardless of not being designed from the bottom up for it, may very well be an fascinating preview.
And there’s not higher option to energy your electrical sports activities automobile than with photo voltaic. If you wish to be sure that you’re discovering a trusted, dependable photo voltaic installer close to you that gives aggressive pricing, take a look at EnergySage. EnergySage is a free service that makes it simple so that you can go photo voltaic – whether or not you’re a home-owner or renter. They’ve a whole bunch of pre-vetted photo voltaic installers competing for your enterprise, together with some who set up Tesla merchandise like Powerwalls. They make sure you get high-quality options and save 20 to 30% in comparison with going it alone. Plus, it’s free to make use of and you received’t get gross sales calls till you choose an installer and also you share your cellphone quantity with them.
Your personalised photo voltaic quotes are simple to check on-line and also you’ll get entry to unbiased Vitality Advisors that can assist you each step of the best way. Get began right here.
FTC: We use revenue incomes auto affiliate hyperlinks. Extra.
