The real reason why electric cars are so fast | Know It All with Jason Cammisa | Ep. 01

EVs are the quickest cars on the road, and it's not just in drag races. They're especially fast in the real world, and it's because of how they respond.

It's not actually the instant torque of the motors that provides the advantage, it's the lack of multiple gears in their transmissions and the shape of an electric motor's power curve.

Automotive journalist Jason Cammisa explains the science behind why even non-performance EVs can beat the quickest cars through traffic.

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[rgeorgek]

Can the Cammisa launch control be a ringtone?

[brenotanure]

Dude, Jason's car sounds always amaze me
That red light revving was a gem

[the-boring-car-guy]

Once again he's always spot on with the engine impressions

[cengizgokce]

This is the perfect car guy imo. The way he speaks and explains is just epic.

[Jon_Flys_RC]

You missed a big part of the design of electric cars. Modern electric cars use 3 phase AC induction motors and the sophisticated control module takes the DC power of the battery bank and turns it into a variable 3 phase AC output. Induction motors create their maximum torque at rest. For us nerdy engineers we call this torque locked rotor. It’s just a way of saying the motor will produce it’s greatest torque when being hit with full line voltage from rest. We have ways to “soft start” motors in industrial applications with variable frequency drives and soft start controllers. Most industrial motors are “line start” which is just whacking them will full voltage. In a car this would either grenade the drivetrain or vaporize the tires. These design characteristics of electric motors tamed to manageable levels by the controllers gives electric cars their brutal acceleration.

[raiden]

Im a simple man. I see a camisa i like comment and subscribe so that carmudgeon can keep making videos.

[ekinbirol]

Love to see Cammisa on Hagerty. Wish he had taken hyphen with him.

[coreyghayes]

I just discovered this channel and I'm quickly going to consume all that's here. I hope you guys can keep churning out this amazing content. Jason is a fantastic presenter.

[BigHeadClan]

Omg I did a spit take when you left that revving in for the entire intro, need to go wipe down my laptop to watch the rest of video now. XD

[arasgoshayeshi]

please produce more know it all episodes. most of these contents i already have the required information but jason makes it so interesting i still watch them

[Talynen]

Jason, I take offense to your explanation! My throttle is connected to the butterfly valve by a metal cable, thank you very much! I mean, it doesn't make the car respond any faster, but at least I don't have to worry about rev hang...

[louspinelli]

This video is the perfect follow-up to the Automatic versus Manual transmission comparison video for acceleration. Electric vehicles now make that argument a moot point. And, by the way, those blistering acceleration numbers are achieved with less gear ratios than either transmission, even the Porsche! Save the manuals! Keep up the great work Jason!

[mannski]

Fantastic explaination on EV's. Clear and to the point. Great content these day Jason. Cheers

[Kedut]

The taycan would fit perfectly in the 0-60 video because the "1st' gear In the 2 gear transmission is basically just a launch gear!
It only engages the 1st gear in launch mode to get a better 0-60. Under normal driving youre only ever in "2nd", the driving gear.

[bowez]

Peak power on ICE is mainly influenced by cam and can be anywhere in the rev range. RV/Truck cams put power down low, my Thunderbird SC peaks at 4200RPM but can rev to 6000RPM.

Electric motors do have max RPM dictated by windings, voltage, and Hz, and they can still blow themselves apart. Centripetal force affects all rotating bodies no matter power source.

[suitablesuit]

Cammisa, you are fantastic at presenting these videos. Glad to see you back and passionate about what you do. Congrats!

[joeleonard]

Power grows old. Sensory experiences like exhaust note, intake sound, shifting gears, etc are forever. Even if the car has 150hp and has an 8 second 0 to 60.

[samuelcorbett]

Good video, but unfortunately though it's got some pretty glaring factual errors. Electric motors can output near peak torque across a broad range of rpm, NOT peak power as suggested in this video. This is obvious as to deliver peak power at very small rpm the torque would be ridiculous. Most electric motors used in EVs have essentially a constant torque in relation to motor phase currents, and their max speeds generally limited by battery voltage and motor back EMF (unless using special trickery and smart design, then they can put out more speed generally at the cost of some top end torque).
At the end of the day it's torque at the wheels that causes you to accelerate

[James_cowley]

I’m in love with the engine noises you make at the start

[saiyan]

I'll be sold if a fast electric car is also light-weight (<3000lbs)