Shifting Gears: Understanding EV Road Trips and Charging Infrastructure with John Vincent
In Wheel Time Podcast: Your Go-To Automotive Talk Show
Shifting Gears: Understanding EV Road Trips and Charging Infrastructure with John Vincent
In Wheel Time Podcast: Your Go-To Automotive Talk Show · Aug 4, 2023
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Welcome to another in wheel time podcast, a 30 minute mini version of the in wheel time car show that airs live every Saturday morning 8 to 11 am.
Central Howdy Howdy live from studio a it's me in real time car talk show coming up.
John Vincent senior automotive will correspond it for us news and world report with the best EVs for road trips.
Conrad will have the in wheel time car clinic.
I'll bring you this week's auto news Howdy along with Mike out of this world, mars King, conrad DeLonge, ever popular and noted Expert in all things what did we?
just call him mr Excitement.
Now that would be you.
Oh, ladies and gentlemen, jeff Zekin and we always need more Jeff Zekin, that's right, I'm just plain old on Armstrong, and thank you very much for joining us on this Saturday, our return from our two-week vacation.
We have to look at that in more detail next year, because I didn't need to be that.
One week would have been fine, but to think it was it was based on your flights getting in and out of town and well, these days that makes a lot of difference that and and the end Chippewa County intergalactic Airport.
Because nobody goes to Detroit on purpose.
Well, you had to yes, because the connecting flight, right the flight to go to Chippewa County, is once a day, as you can imagine, whether you need it or not.
So it was that and had a great time.
Thank you, david Ainsley.
So we're driving in a Cessna 172.
No, thank you, David Ainsley, for a wonderful time at the cottage up there On Lake Huron, absolutely stunning, a sense of really cool pictures to very nice.
All right, john Vincent is with the US.
I'm sorry, halt, pardon me.
Us news you will report.
I did not, but he's the senior auto auto correspondent for the publication and he's done a feature on the best EVs for road trips in 233 and how to road trip and EV.
Good morning, john, it's good to see you.
Good morning, thank you for having me on.
Well, you bet, and it's a pleasure.
Let me.
Let me ask this how did it go?
Did it go okay?
Did you run out of juice?
Did you find charging stations?
Was it a nightmare?
Tell me you know I've done several road trips with EVs and the experience has been mixed.
It is still a challenge if you don't properly plan.
It's a nice way to say it.
That's a very good way to say it.
That's the true reporter in him, and we can tell that it wasn't all negative.
There were some high points in it, obviously, and we're gonna get into that.
So let's start with the best EVs for road trips.
Every manufacturer, it seems, now finally making at least one EV, if not a dozen.
Almost everyone, except for Stalantis, which still doesn't have one on the market, but pretty much everybody else does, and and and your your bell ringer, your number one choice for EV road trips is drumroll EV6, the EV6 yeah, you know it's funny.
You should say that because I had that car a month ago, something like that, and I I will tell you I Don't get all of the cars of the press fleet, but that one stands out among all of the others and it clearly stands out for you as your best for road trips.
But I mean the look of it, the speed of it, everything about that car is like.
As a novice as I am at EVs, that is the car that stands out to me, that the current car that's on the market.
So the one you had was probably the EV6 GT.
Yes, it's the quickest of the bunch.
Yep, that is not the necessarily the one you want for a road trip.
Okay, tell me what you want to road trip is the rear-wheel drive single motor, which has been the greatest range.
Oh, it's still a very quick car compared to a comparable gas bottle, but by giving up that top speed you get a whole lot more range.
Interesting.
You should say that, because I only press that.
I only press that button one time.
It's right on the steering wheel and man, I'll tell you what.
It will lay you back in the seat, the go button, the go button.
But I will tell you that that I didn't really need to do that now.
Granted, if I were some wild well, I mean, I was gonna say wild and crazy guy, but I am kind of they're making fun of me help, but I will tell you that it had plenty of power.
But you're saying, just with the ability to have more power, it still has less range than the car you drove.
Correct.
You're carrying a bigger battery pack and you're carrying an extra motor.
So weight is what kills your range and carrying that extra weight around all the time, you know, hurts your range on a road trip.
Oh, also think about your road trip.
Your car's probably more heavily loaded than it is on a weekday for your weekday commute.
Yeah, you're not getting the range you get when you're just driving back and forth door.
And what kind of range did you?
I mean between charging stations, what was the longest air time that you could go?
And what did the manufacturers say?
Were they even close?
They're getting closer, they're still not.
I Mean the range that the manufacturer tells you is the optimal range.
It's the one that comes up in EPA testing.
Just like a gas car, you very rarely hit that, those estimates.
But you know, with an EV6 you can comfortably go 240, 250 and a car that has a 300 mile range and you don't really want to go much longer than that because, depending on where you are in the country and how close the charging stations are together, right, the charging stations networks are not as robust or reliable as they need to be.
How's that for a reliable.
You're such a good reporter.
No, you always want to plan to have another charging station within range If that first charging station you plan on working doesn't work.
Or if there's a line down the freeway to get into it.
Yeah, that usually doesn't happen unless it's a Tesla charging station, but Tesla charging stations are generally fantastic.
They're the most reliable out there.
And where did you road trip?
Where were you.
I road trip around the Northwest Oregon Washington.
Okay, so that's an area that's more infrastructure built for EVs.
We do have a relatively dense infrastructure for EVs, not quite like California, but pretty darn good.
Okay, so all is good enough.
All is good on the car.
And did you have any problems charging flat tires?
Any other problems on your road trip?
No, flat tires.
The biggest problem was reliable charging infrastructure.
Getting to that charger and finding that it doesn't work, that it won't connect to the car.
The credit card reader doesn't work, it doesn't want to charge at the speed that it should be charging.
So instead of taking 20 minutes there at once an hour, things like that it's just getting the way.
How often did that happen?
It happens far more often than you want it to happen.
So, it's probably a third of the time.
A lot of aggravation.
Not necessarily stuff that would stop you Correct, Just aggravate you all the way Aggravate you and can be overcome with good planning.
And the vehicle on board NAV system will lead you to those charging stations.
Is that correct?
In most of the EVs?
Yes, they will.
I actually use an app on my phone called plug share, which tells me a lot more information than the onboard NAV systems.
As far as whether or not the EV systems functioning.
Correct, it's availability, whether it's functioning, whether it's even in a safe area.
You'll get user reports saying that, yeah, don't stop this one, unless you want to get mugged.
Because, remember, with an EV charging station, if you want to disconnect, you have to get out of your car to disconnect.
True, the other question that I had for you what did you have?
A certain provider for a charging station that you preferred to use over another?
I've got an EV Go card only because my Whole Foods nearby has an EV charging station.
I rarely use it unless I've got an EV and don't have the you know, the home plug here.
But I found that it's easy to use as long as it's connected to your credit card, which was a real pain because I hadn't used it long enough and it had gotten into the credit card.
No, it didn't drop me, but it had an old card, so then I had to call and get them the new card and then they'll okay.
Yes, we've got you.
Now that was a whole 20 minute process on the phone with EV.
Go to get them the new credit card.
And you're not even charging while you're doing it no, you can't charge.
You can't charge just off a regular credit card.
There's no credit card slot.
Did you deal with that, John?
Of course it happened to me before.
You need to remember that we are in the Model T phase of the modern EV era.
You know, back when cars were new, where did you get gas?
You had to find a pharmacy.
Oh, that's true.
I forgot that.
Yes.
Don was there.
I was there, I was not.
He was serving behind the soft.
That's right.
So we're going through a lot of growing pains and you know there's a technology that Ford uses.
That's fantastic.
It's called Plug-in Charge, where you plug the EV into the charging station and they talk to one another and the FordPass app knows your credit credit card information, seamlessly links up.
You don't have to talk to the charging network at all and all the billings handled through the FordPass app.
It's great and it seems to work.
But you didn't have a Ford.
I did not have a Ford.
Well.
I've driven the Fords.
No, I know, but on the road trip you drove the EV6.
Right, but the Ford charging station was good to go with that.
The Ford Plug-in Charge technology that works with Electrify America charging stations.
That's it Okay.
So, john, what do you see about the?
You know there's a Tesla's built in its infrastructure and Ford's kind of partnered with them on that, but now GM and a couple of others have said, eh, we're going to go build our own.
And so I mean, and it's not going to work with Tesla, which means it's not going to work with Ford.
It is actually going to work with the Tesla.
Well, that is ready.
Yeah, it will have both what's called a Nax adapter or Nax plug North American charging standard plug, and the CCS plug that everybody uses except Tesla right now.
Yeah, it's going to be a whole lot easier to do a road trip in any in 2024 and even easier in 2025 because we're rolling out I'm much more common technology that will allow Tesla's to charge everywhere without an adapter and everybody else to charge a Tesla superchargers that they want to.
That'll make a big difference to have some sort of standardization.
Right, what?
What do you see?
As far as I mean, that's the pretty bold statement that a lot more in 2024, double the amount.
How many do you think is going to be out there in 2024.
I think they'd like to have double the amount in 2024.
And with the common standard, even if you don't install another charging station, you have access to double the number because you have access to both networks.
Gotcha.
Well, part of my issue and it has always been is with a gasoline motor I can get 30 miles per gallon, depending obviously on the engine, the car, that sort of stuff.
But just to say 30 miles per gallon, ok great.
I go down here to the 7 11.
I fill it up, takes me, if it's empty, takes me maximum five minutes, wash the windows and do all that stuff, whereas with the EV what's the minimum time that you got to charge?
30 minutes for an 80 80 percent charge.
So in a vehicle like the EV six or Hyundai Ionic five and Ionic six, genesis to 60.
You're talking 10 percent of the battery to 90 percent, or 80 percent of the battery in 18 minutes.
It's not bad.
That's not bad at all.
It's not better, that's better.
but it's still not five minutes.
But you know your.
Your range is 250 300 miles.
Do you take that many road trips where you're not going to want to stop for 15 minutes every 250 to?
300 miles?
No, of course not.
I mean, and that makes perfect sense.
No, I got that.
But for instance, like here, let's just use the trip from Houston, Texas to Dallas, Texas, 250 miles.
There is a beautiful Buckees.
I don't know whether you're familiar with that or not, but there's a beautiful Buckees about about halfway.
Madisonville and and they don't have any charging stations that I'm aware of yet at that Buckees.
I'm sure that they're coming, but they will, I'm sorry they will.
Yeah, I know they will have a lot of charging stations, yes, but so if there's not a charging station there, there's probably one or two somewhere in the Madisonville area, which is where that Buckees is located.
But until then, am I going to make it?
Am I going to make it from Houston to Dallas on that 250 mile charge that you know?
Only go 55 miles an hour.
Don't touch the accelerator pedal, don't break, don't do anything.
Hold your breath and you'll make it to 250 miles.
Hold my beard and don't use your air conditioner.
Yeah, that's right, yeah, that too.
Yeah, so you have all of that stuff in your head and that's your experience on the road too.
Yep, yep.
Like I said, we're in the Model T phase of this.
Everything is going to get better.
Yeah Well, that's a perfect analogy.
So tell me where we can read your article, in what edition of the US News and World Report.
You just go to usnewscom and the auto section and you'll find it there.
Well, it has been a real pleasure to talk to you and we thank you very much for joining us today.
Hey, next article that you write, let's hear from you.
We want to put you on the show and talk to you about it.
Absolutely, I have new stuff coming out every day Awesome.
John, john, I want to apologize.
I was sitting here looking at you and I'm going.
I know this man, and when you said Northwest, ding, ding, ding, ding ding, it all came together there.
So we've known each other for a while.
I know, I just you know, it just didn't raise to go Mars buddy.
I'm getting to be almost as old as Conrad for me.
Mars just took his prevegen and remembered something.
He's got you on a.
Christmas card list now.
Yeah, he remembered to put you on there after five years, john.
Thanks again, my friends, it's good to see you.
We appreciate it, we'll talk soon, thank you.
Yeah, looking forward to speaking again.
Thanks, john Benson.
Very cool, very cool Very cool Autocorrespondent US News.
Love that Nice guy, great guy.
Yeah, yeah, he was one of us Ussens.
He may not know this or talk about it or write about it, but are there aftermarket upgrades for an electric vehicle?
Yes.
You said that with a very strong.
I've talked to other people about them Well you could upgrade the battery in your Tesla when you buy it.
No, no, no, no, no, no, After you buy it.
After you buy it, just put a bigger battery pack in it.
Stuff like that.
Open up that wallet.
Yeah, oh yeah, seriously.
Open up that wallet, turn yourself on your head and shake all the money out of your pocket Pretty much, yeah, but you can't Wheels and tires, you know all those things.
Oh, that's test.
But really.
they have electric upgrades for the system, but they are ungodly expensive.
Yeah Well, just think of it.
I mean you have to go in and you have to change all this stuff in the computer.
True, and Tesla does all of that with your battery purchase.
Ooh, Ooh.
And then what happens if you do it and Tesla comes in and says you ain't doing that, no my car.
They override it.
Tesla is looking in your car all the time.
That's what I'm saying General Motors.
you know, nobody wants to admit it, but General Motors is looking in your car through OnStar and Mary Barris is looking at you.
And Mary Barris.
She gets $29 million a year to look at you, to look inside your car.
I wanted to push that button.
So bad $29 million a year she gets to destroy a corporation like General Motors.
I just poked the bear.
Did you see how much General Motors made in the last quarter Put the key in and start it.
Nine billion dollars, what so they need to give her a raise.
And how much are you charging for that pickup truck?
Yeah, yeah yeah, she needs a raise.
All right, so John Radz car clinic, as he works a little water there.
What are we on the car clinic today?
Well, you know something about power, adders Power adders.
Yeah, we're.
Today I'm going to talk about blowers versus turbochargers.
You know there's there's engines again, or air pumps, and how much air can you get in, how much fuel can you throw in it?
How big a bang can you make in the middle?
And that bang is sometimes gasoline, sometimes nitromethane, but you need to have oxygen to create that explosion.
So how do we add more air, oxygenated air, to the engine?
So today I'm going to talk about blowers and turbochargers.
You can also add more oxygen through nitrous oxide, but I'm not going to talk about that as a power adder.
So this is kind of the typical blower most people think of.
You know it's a, it's a root style blower.
Now this is a, probably a GMC or a 871-234.
It says Tesla on it.
That's a 671 blower that's on top of a small block Chevy that was the Bible back then.
Oh yeah, you know.
And then you know this this blower is belt driven.
So there's a pulley on the crankshaft that drives that pulley on the front of the blower.
And that pulley, that drive system, costs horsepower to drive it.
Now in a top fuel car that's putting out 12,000 horsepower driving that blower may cost a thousand horsepower to create, but at 12,000 horsepower that that's, you can't get all that power to the ground.
Yeah, a viable trade off.
So any supercharger requires horsepower to drive.
So there's kind of a a give and take on that.
That, that belt driven compressor you know.
And then they have a bolt on compressors for LS motors as well, which are very common.
Gm does it in the LSA and the LT4.
Now most of these, the blowers that we're looking at, are what are called screw blowers.
So there's two counter rotating screws that compress the air in the middle and force the air into the engine and that's how they increase the amount of oxygen going into the engine.
The system diagram of a belt driven blower that's direct drive.
Here's the LS motor.
Bolt on is the direct drive blower on the engine.
There's also some that aren't screw type blowers.
They look.
These are other blowers that are look like a half a turbocharger, that are also belt driven.
So they use what for lack of a better way to say it what the insides of a hair dryer, and inside that hair dryer you take the air in the middle of the device, you compress it and throw it out the edge of the device and that's how you get the compressed air to go into the engine.
And the benefit of turbocharging versus supercharging is turbocharging.
They use the energy of the exhaust blowing out of the engine to turn one turbine wheel and that's connected to the compressor wheel.
So we're not burning energy through a belt drive.
You're using the energy that's expelled by the engine through the exhaust system to turn the turbo.
So again, it's kind of like a hair dryer.
Sorry, jeff, I didn't mean to say hair dryer to you.
I carry a comb with me still, you know what I can't part with it.
So again, turbochargers, you have to have some kind of a boost controller.
Same with superchargers there has to be a way to manage how much boost is going in the engine and control it, because you can put so much in there, things go boom, which is, you know, turbo or top fuelers go boom quite a bit, and that's when, especially in, like the funny cars, you see the engine, the body, come apart as it's doing.
Now some of the superchargers are actually connected directly to the crankshaft and they use a drive system of gears to overdrive and underdrive the impeller of the supercharger.
So you can go with big overdrives.
You can do the overdrive and underdrive with the pulley systems as well.
Bigger pulley on the crankshaft, smaller pulley on the compressor can make it create more boost faster.
So really, again, turbochargers, if you broke it down, look very much like a hair dryer and on the exhaust side it's going in the bottom or going in the side, and then the exhaust is streamed out through the middle.
On the compression side it's drawn in from the middle and the boost is blown out through the side of it.
So that's how they work.
Super simple Turbo's.
You're seeing more and more manufacturers are using turbo charging because it's free energy versus super charging.
But there is a lot of super charging out there as well, but the free energy of the exhaust system, creating the boost is, is easier than the belt driven some sad news.
Oh Performance auto entrepreneur Eli Reeves Callaway died July the 11th.
I was a staining injuries in a fall.
The Callaway cars and CEO was 75 years old.
Callaway founded Callaway cars and 77 in his garage in old Lyme, connecticut.
Former Formula V champion driver, callaway learned engine building, chassis tuning and component fabrication While dreaming of becoming a professional race car driver.
After running out of funds to keep racing, you put those skills to work, building prototype turbocharger systems on a car borrowed from a driving school where he worked.
The companies worked for Corvette earned it a specialty vehicle manufacturer designation and led a world record in 1989 when Callaway cars twin turbo Corvette hit 254.76
miles per hour, setting a production car top speed record.
That wasn't beaten until 2010.
Wow, and that's something.
Yeah, reeves Callaway.
I remember early on that I was always and All of this guy because he was a Corvette guy.
How old was the gentleman?
75?
, wow, yeah, and a fall.
So don't fall, don yeah, thank you very much.
By the way, if you're into new cars, toyota's next-generation Land Cruiser SUV set to be unveiled next week We'll borrow some front styling cues from the 80s Land Cruisers.
Toyota, with the Cherry Red Land Cruiser fj62 used as a backdrop prop for comparison, released another image this past Wednesday previewing the Land Cruiser with rectangular headlights Flanking an egg crate grill.
Ought to be interesting to see Toyota badges front center in the grill.
Blocky, chunky front fenders are similar to Toyota's latest big trucks, the sound, real, aerodynamic and the Sequoia.
It's a Land Cruiser, it's an off-road vehicle.
You said like a.
TMC or something now.
So anyway, we're gonna wrap up today's show right after a quick break.
Stay with us here on the in-wheel time car talk show.
Everyone at the tailpipes and tacos cruise in at the loopy tortilla Tex-Max and Katie.
Thank you for participating in the best cruise in around and look forward to seeing you again.
You'll hear about the next cruise in date right here on in wheel time.
Next time you're in the West Houston energy corridor area, be sure and stop in at the original loopy tortilla Tex-Max at I-10 and highway 6 or the Katie location on the Grand Park way at Kingsland Boulevard when passing through Beaumont or college station.
Stop in and have loopies, award-winning beef fajitas and frozen margaritas.
There's always a celebration at loopy tortilla.
Loopy tortilla Founders Stan Holt and his wife Sheila are winning racers on the NHRA drag racing circuit and have a collection of hot rods and classics that everyone appreciates.
Look for them at the next tailpipes and tacos cruise in the day.
It'll be announced soon and will once again be held at the loopy tortilla Tex-Max on 99 in Kingsland Boulevard, just south of I-10 and Katie.
We'll give you all the details right here on the in-wheel time car talk show and online Donations.
Benefit God's garage.
We'll see you then.
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About this episode
John Vincent, senior automotive correspondent for U.S. News & World Report, shares insights on the best electric vehicles (EVs) for road trips and the challenges of EV charging infrastructure. He highlights the Kia EV6 as a top choice, discussing its range and performance. The conversation delves into the importance of planning for charging stations, the reliability of different networks, and the evolving landscape of EV technology. The episode also touches on the future of charging standards and the growing pains of the EV market, making it a timely discussion for those considering road trips in electric vehicles.
Original notes
Fasten your seatbelts and charge up for an enlightening journey as we hit the road with our guest, John Vincent, senior automotive correspondent for US News and World Report. What's it really like to venture out on a trip with an electric vehicle, specifically the EV6? We uncover the truth behind manufacturer listed ranges, the impact of car weight on the range, and the need for strategic planning around charging stations.
Pressing further on our electrifying ride, we navigate the growing pains of EV technology. We'll learn about Ford's Plug-in Charge technology, GM's burgeoning charging infrastructure, and how these developments promise smoother EV road trips in the future. Power up your knowledge as we discuss the different types of power adders for EVs and weigh in on the blowers vs turbochargers debate. Don't miss Vincent's insights from his recent article and a sneak peek into the future of EV road trips. Get ready to shift gears and join us on this electrifying journey!
Be sure to subscribe for more In Wheel Time Car Talk!
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