Can An $800 EV Tune Make Our $7K Smart Electric Tesla Quick?

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#Smart #Tune #Acceleration

[DinnyPD]

The yellow colour adds 50 more horsepower.

[qlus]

A lot of people underestimate the smart car as a whole, it's good to see some people who finally appreciate the engineering and purpose behind it

[hotswim]

Tommy says his mechanic is like a wizard. As we all know there's only one whizard mechanic!

[smart_EMOTION]

Great video again. I'm thrilled to see there is somebody in the USA who appreciates the electric as much as I do. I've tested the kist last week as well and I'm also in love with the added regen. Even had it on the dyno, It's now doing close to 100 HP, instead of the base 75 HP.

You're right. The smart got the same motor as the Fiat 500e (the SMG180 by EM-motive GmbH, a company by Bosch and Daimler). Only difference is, that the Fiat 500e got a little different gearbox as the smart. The motor is actually rated for 80kW. They limited it in the smart to 55kW (60kW Brabus) as they where concerned it could fall on it's bonnet when flooring it on a ramp. :D

And, for all the nerds like me out there:
The HV-plug at the motor of the smart as a little different as the one on the Fiat 500e. ;)

[taylor]

I heard $70 at first and was like "that's a no brainer!" But $700 🤔

[FJB_]

I've had this car since June 2014 and I FREAKN LOVE IT. I have the trailer hitch, moved entire houses, 1 ton of gravel, and outpaced jaguars, BMWs, Mercedes, all in that 0 to 40 mph range.
No. I wouldn't spend $700 on this. $200 maybe. But I'm looking forward to the regen results.

[mariowhyte]

The content you guys produce is absolutely amazing TFL!!!! Love this lil Smart car!!!!

[Horseyman]

Nice video again! I was looking at this MOD for my Smart ED and once again you uploaded a video. This is getting spooky! Very very interested in the regen and seeing the braking performance, Are we talking one pedal driving? Please let us know your range results too🙂 Thanks again guys, keep up the good work!!

[timonzhao]

Power can be the least needed tuning option for electric cars. Many not so expensive electric cars here in China can make very fast 0-60 time now.

[mikeselectricstuff]

I can't see that higher regen rate would add anything to range, as it would be stooping/slowing harder, but over a shorter distance, so the total charge from decelerating between two speeds would be about the same. Maybe if you do a lot of heavy braking that would otherwise use the friction brakes, or the stock setup engages the friction brakes too early in the pedal travel, otherwise hard to see how it would help.

[jabbadahuttful]

Your mechanic’s voice and pronunciation is the sweetest thing ever..what a cute guy! Knows his stuff too!

[erikstephens]

Awesome video! Though believe it or not depending on driving habits the increased regen might actually decrease your range. If you normally stop and slow down using regen then using weaker regen your putting less power back in but over a longer period of time. By increasing the regen power your now putting in more power over a shorter period of time. But energy losses are proportional to the current squared. So if you double your regen you quadruple your charging losses. It's actually more efficient to apply light regen (or even coast) where possible. However if you commonly do hard stops and you are using the friction brakes often this upgrade might improve your efficiency a bit as strong regen is still better than wasting all that energy in the brakes.

[Goatee_yay]

Been thinking about getting this. Thanks for the review!

Still haven't installed your hood properly! Don't be surprised if it flies off.

[vernongomes]

Great video Tommy! Do you have any B-Roll showing the 0-20 and 0-40 from the Solo DL before and after the upgrade (besides the screenshot in the video)? It’d be really helpful to compare those, since that’s where you saw the gains. Also for fun compare it to some other cars?
I have an i3 for example and it’s 0-60 is around 7. But the i3’s 0-30 at one point was the fastest out of their BMW line up (including M cars).

[MrCrocalex]

If the same motor is rated at 80+ kW in the 500e and only 55 kW in the Smart, there is a very high chance that the Smart's drivetrain is battery limited in terms of power. My guess is the smart uses a cheaper but lower peak/sustained output battery than the 500e, meaning you may be able to get a little bit more power out of the car but run the risk of frying the battery. Regardless I'm excited to see how the piggyback tune works on range, since it clearly does add a noticeable improvement in performance and power

[nilsdullum]

I bought it for my 2019 EQ and installed it - the Steinbauer Kit. I love it!

[tommy]

Toby’s instructions really helped me do this myself. Please pass this onto him for a beer/coffee

[jedironin]

Yes, it will be interesting to see how range, recharge and battery life are affected over time with this tuner. Interesting video.

[smithjones]

Answers:
No I would not buy this kit for $770
No it's not worth it
If I had an EV, I would consider it if the gains were more substantial

[kenfan]

Hey Tommy,

Thanks for this video.

Loved this video.

Do you still have this Smart Car and have you finally finished modding/altering it?

After all the mods what kind of mpge and range does it get? Do you have any issues/problems?

What is the total cost of ownership over the last two years?

I am considering buying a Smart Car for very short range/ local /city driving. Do you think it is worth buying or should I forget about Smart Car altogether and go with a new golf cart instead.

Thanks.