Laughing
Well-known member
Most of what you have said there is probably correct, I am not a mateial scientist. The bit you are missing is how much torque is applied when the vehicle starts to move. A heavier vehicle requires more torque applied (the amount of work that is required). Same as for a HGV. Alos the amount of force required to slow the vehicle, which is based on inertia rather than torque. This is aside from spinning wheels. Most drivers don't do that, nevertheless more torque is applied when an EV starts to move compared to a conventional petrol car. Equally more force is used to overcome the inertia when slowing.Yeah, that's sort of what I'm getting at, but if the EV breaks friction at 0.2 seconds and the ICE 0.5 seconds, then the turning force on the wheel would still be the same when the friction is broken, the EV can just get to that point quicker. The same as before friction is broken (for those 0.2 or 0.5 seconds) there isn't enough turning force being delivered to move the car, so no damage is being done to the road etc?
I would assume the highest point of resistance/ damage to the road would be when the friction is broken, unless spinning the wheels, but both cars need to break that friction and do the same damage when they do that, all other things being equal.
I suppose I'm getting at how it's finally delivered to the wheels and then ultimately to the road would be no different, unless the weight was higher/ friction was higher etc.
Like a say, I'm not saying the EV motor couldn't tear up the road quicker, as it has a far easier potential to do this quickly, but it's definitely being limited along the line, as if you drive "normally" then every time you move off it's steady away.
The additional damage to the road may be miniscule or massive, I have absoloutely no idea. Ultimately, if all cars transition to electric and become heavier, road materials will have to be improved to cope.
As for the particulate argument. I don't doubt it's true, but it has to be taken in the overall pollution picture and that of using finite resources. Sustainability isn't going to be achieved by any of the current measures, we have too many people. I can think of a few we can start the cull on too.