Posts by Kyle D

  • The SlingShot and the EPA

    Quote from Edward Neal

    the problem here is that right now we have all these add ons to what we pay for our electricity and we also have the add ons on each gallon of gasoline - - now we all know damn well that as the governments tax revenue goes down because there are fewer internal combustion vehicles they are not going to simply accept the lower revenues - - - that's never going to happen! they WILL find some other way to make up it and that will most likely will be by adding even more to electric used to charge vehicles


    Here in California our electric rates already suck and I dont expect having millions of electric vehicles to make them go any way except for up


    Quote from SlingLow

    What he said. The electric grid was built over time to include the taxes that make it work. Same with gas taxes. If one goes away there MUST be a replacement tax and it will almost certainly be more. Edward Neal and I are making the same point. As far as electricity cost here in SW Washington, we have it pretty good compared to most.

    I completely agree with both of you. Uncle Sam is getting his money one way or another whether it's raising the cost of electricity or raising the cost of registration each year or both or both of those and more. They will get theirs. My only point was, unless I misunderstood, the way it was worded sounded like the statement was, electricity isn't taxed like gasoline is so it's not apples to apples. But both have lots of taxes on top of the "cost" of it. I can't speak for any other state but here in MI, I pay more taxes each month in electricity usage than I do on fuel. Taxes on my elec bill last month were $89. I paid about $71 on 90gal of gasoline for the month.

  • The SlingShot and the EPA

    Quote from VV11B40

    Just waiting for the tax on how many miles you drive. Only way to charge electric vehicles to maintain the roads. Remember gas already has a road tax. So comparing prices between gas and electric is somewhat skewed at the moment.


    Quote from SlingLow

    Fixed it for ya.

    i do not think it is all that skewed. Your home electricity has ridiculous taxes added to it just like gasoline. Go look at your last electric bill. Your charged differently for peak and off peak usage and you have other charges like Power supply recovery cost, system access, distribution tax, power plant securitization tax, low income assist fund tax, state sales tax etc.

  • The SlingShot and the EPA

    Quote from VV11B40

    From articles I've read, once electric cars proliferate the price of electricity will skyrocket. I know this is the way the country is headed but I'm not so sure it's the right dure ton. They better start building nuke plants right now.


    You may be right. But then we would be in the same position we are in now with record high costs for fuel. The main difference would be there would be a less harmful emissions going into the atmosphere. I'm no green peace nut by any means and it's unlikely we can turn around the damage we as a global population have already done but moving towards electric would slow some of it down which may in turn make a better life for our kids and grand kids.

  • The SlingShot and the EPA

    Quote from billythekidd

    Thanks for all the info... This is very informative.... I have a question... (laughs , I know) When it is really hot out does the AC diminish the distance the vehicle can drive or the heater in the winter? This summer I went to Flagstaff and was wondering about that trip as going through the Rez there were no charging stations that I saw.


    I understand that all this is in its infancy but would like to know if it is worth it for me to look at this tech. Also, you mention charging overnight at home... What is the cost associated with that compared to filling the tank once a week or so?


    I read an article that said over the life of the vehicle they produce about half the greenhouse gases that a regular vehicle does... (they did not mention if that was time based or mileage based) With the most of the EV emissions coming from production while most of the regular emissions came from driving.... it was an interesting article.


    That's a solid question. The AC in the summer doesn't reduce range by any substantial margin but yes the more systems that are online the more energy you are consuming. The mileage is slightly decreased more so in the winter from all of the heating systems being used to heat the cabin, the seats, the steering wheel, the mirrors, and the batteries. In regards to cost, I went and spoke to the owner of ZZP who's been driving Teslas since 2013 or 2014. He bought a Model S after it had been out for a year and I think they were released in 2012 or 2013 and he gets a new one almost every year which has been cool to watch the car evolve. So costs/savings will vary a bit depending on where you live, what your cost of electricity is and what your cost of fuel is so the numbers I am throwing at you are specific to here in Grand Rapids MI specifically. We pulled up the Tesla app in his phone and it shows he averages about 1000mi/mo. Over the last 31 days he spent $66 in electricity charging his car. 88% of the charging was done at home with the remaining 12% done here at ZZP. The app then looks at the average cost of regular 87 octane fuel locally and shows that he would have spent about $226 in fuel based on his driving so he saved $160 using electric vs gasoline. Obviously, if you have a car that requires premium fuel or diesel the savings would be more.

  • The SlingShot and the EPA

    Quote from billythekidd

    As for trucks...Tesla is in the same boat for now... They use Fords for their maintenance fleet...

    Yup, like I said, the tech just isn't there yet. I'm not sold on becoming married to an EV yet by any means but the ones I have driven have been great. I think a lot of the negativity towards them comes from not experiencing one first had for any extended length of time. It's definitely nice not ever having to go to the gas station to fill up when you fill up each night at home. The chances of ever having to replace your brake pads, rotors, or calipers is unlikely since the electric motors do probably 95% of the braking using the regenerative charging feature as you decelerate with only needing to actually use the brakes to come to a complete stop. There's no rusty exhaust to replace, no cats that wear out, no oil to change, no coolant to change. Your general maintenance is almost completely eliminated. So while it is definitely a larger investment up front, you're not paying for any of the normal wear and tear maintenance items down the road as you would with a combustion engine car. They're still out of my budget range and I'm not ready to fully adopt to electric as there are still bugs to work out but so far my experiences with them have been positive. But for now, I'll stick to my Slingshot and twin turbo truck until the tech improves and costs come down.

  • The SlingShot and the EPA

    Quote from VV11B40

    40 minutes to fully charge! NO THANKS.... Wait until there on 10s of millions on the road. You won't be able to get near a charger.

    You're never at a charging station for 40min. The car routes you past chargers like you would look for a gas station so on the route, you're usually about the same amount of time it would take you and another person to fill your tank full of fuel and use the restroom. Now if you skip one of the suggested charging points, then you could sit for 40min. The superchargers can pump in 200mi of range in 15min. Your thinking about there being 10s of millions on the road and not being able to get near a charger is a bit flawed. You can charge at home or most hotels over night which all do because none of the companies have a charging infrastructure like Tesla but for argument sake let's just pretend you cannot and you HAVE to use charging stations. Currently there are over 100k charging stations in the US. The ONLY time I've ever had to wait for a charger was in CA and the wait was 5min. There are already roughly 50 million EVs globally with China having nearly half of them followed by EU with a little over 25% and the US having about 20%. So by that math, the US already has roughly 10 million EVs on the road with no shortage of options for charging.

  • The SlingShot and the EPA

    Quote from ConnMan


    I'm gonna hold out going electric vehicle for as long as possible.


    In regards to what your needs are I do not blame you at all. Electric trucks and towing technology are definitely not there YET. But it's coming and it's coming fast. Based on the rate of battery technology acceleration each year, I would be willing to bet we will have an electric truck or SUV of some sort that will get 400mi towing a payload within the next 5 years. We 4 Teslas at ZZP. Usually when we get a new model, some of us get to drive it for a week to see how we like it. They are absolutely amazing and they get great range. I can go from MI to Chicago (2.5hrs) and still have half the range left, top off and get home and not have to charge for another 1-2 days. You can charge overnight at your house or when you are on road trips, the car will plan out your route and route you right past charging stations so you never run out of juice. It will even tell you how many chargers are there, if any are broke, how many are being used, your wait time if it is full, and your charging time. Charging at a super charger takes 40min max to do a "full" charge. When I top off in Chicago, I charge while I am grabbing a bite to eat so it's not an inconvenience. BUT, I'm in the same boat where I require a truck. If Tesla gets to the point where they get the Cyber truck into production and can get a good range and towing capacity, as fugly as they are, I would get one. The interactive and driving experience and all of the technology in them make them amazing. I'm definitely not opposed to looking at an electric vehicle from another manufacturer but none of them have a national charging infrastructure like Tesla which limits them to some degree.

  • Looking for a cool cabin in the Smoky Mountains

    Only about an hour from Maggie, AND it's right next to the Cherohala Skyway and Tail of the Dragon??!?!?! Sign me up. It's really not in bad shape. When they said needs some love I was worried but it's not bad at all. You could air bnb that for sure and go there to visit a couple times a year.

  • The SlingShot and the EPA

    [quote='billythekidd','https://slingshotinfo.com/index.php?thread/10829-the-slingshot-and-the-epa/&postID=375875#post375875']

    Just curious question... going electric... remove the engine and trans and replace with electric motor and trans and battery... would it still be over the 1800lbs....

    [/quote]

    There are different batteries available but the extended range battery in our Model 3 was 1000lbs alone. The 2 motors were I believe 100lbs each. You’re already at 1200lbs and you’ll still have all the wiring plus the weight of the “naked” sling. The engine in the sling is only about 300-350lbs, the trans is about 100lbs, and the angle drive is probably around 50lbs and the swing arm about 35-45lbs. So you’re shedding approximately 550lbs and adding about 1200lbs. So using those numbers you’d be around 2500lbs which would be about the same weight as something like a Ford Fiesta, Toyota Prius, or a Mini Cooper.



    ZZPerformance, Go Fast Not Broke
    EST 2000

  • The SlingShot and the EPA

    [quote='harleyujoe','https://slingshotinfo.com/index.php?thread/10829-the-slingshot-and-the-epa/&postID=375869#post375869']
    Quote from VV11B40

    Big issue is battery weight since the sling has to stay under 1800lbs. Or has that weight restriction gone away?

    Most of my travels are 100 miles round trip and be interesting to see if someone who knows about

    electric vehicles what they could come up with for power and distance on even around 2000 lbs and zero emissions.

    [/quote]

    There was a guy that did it. I THINK there’s a post in here somewhere. It wasn’t anything that could be a production assembly but he did it and it worked and drove under its own power. He’s the only person I’ve seen make it happen. I was impressed.


    Electrifying one wouldn’t be too hard. You’d certainly be over the 1800lb weight limit but it’s doable. We had looked at it recently and the easiest way would be to use a quad kit and get the drive train and battery from a Tesla Model 3. You’d have a motor at each rear wheel, run all the wiring through the transmission tunnel, and you’d stack the batteries up front where the engine was. Obviously, easier said than done but it was something we were looking at when one of our drivers had an accident while competing in an autocross event in one of our teslas and we weren’t sure if it was going to be a total loss or not. Selfishly, I was kind of hoping it was so we could electrify a sling. You’d have a sling that makes gobs of power, weighs very little compared to a model 3, and would probably have over 400 miles of range being so much lighter than the model 3.



    ZZPerformance, Go Fast Not Broke
    EST 2000

  • The SlingShot and the EPA

    The EPA, and other groups, are pushing through the industry. Over the last 5ish years or so, their targets were companies that were blatantly removing emissions features in the tuning process and advertising it. Remember the Diesel Brothers? They were fined around $850k violating the clean air act in addition to the nearly $1mil in legal fees. Right now the EPA is really pushing catalytic converters and cracking down on manufacturers of tuning software.


    HP Tuners, who manufacturers tuning software, is in the EPA's sights currently. We have been seeing a lot of features in the tuning software "disappearing" and being disabled because of it.


    They are also pushing that any vehicle that came with a catalytic converter from the factory must retain them regardless of if you live in a state where there may be no emissions testing. So this basically means if you are a manufacturer produce a down pipe or exhaust for any vehicle, Slingshot, F150, Corvette, Etc and if there is a cat in it from the factory, you must produce it with a catalytic converter.


    If a company continues to sell the systems without the cats, they will put an end to it by issuing a hefty fine and halting production to where you can either redesign the system with a cat and start selling it again or stop selling the product all together. For some smaller companies, the fine may be enough to bankrupt them and force them out of business.


    While we are not a massive company, we are large enough to get their attention so for quite a while, all down pipes and exhausts were "out of stock" on our website while we redesigned them with high flow cats. They didn't knock on our door but we are staying ahead of regulation and out of their sites. I'm sure there will be push back from some who will say something to the effect that "Cats suck and rob all your power." but we have purchased and in some platforms we support had high flow cats made and through testing, there has not been a loss of power production even in the high horse power builds.


    We want the performance and racing industry to stay active and flourish because for so many of the employees here specifically, it's a passion and lifestyle. So as a company, we are choosing to be a part of the solution vs a part of the problem.

  • Should I Buy? 2018 Slingshot SLR

    I would jump on that. It's a fair price at $19k. Like others mentioned get it laser aligned at a dealer if he has not. They all need it. Check the recalls are up to date. If not, no big deal just get it taken care of. The rest of it is just general maintenance. With only 9k on it, it's likely only needed 2-3 oil changes. I'd go for it. There is a ton of aftermarket support for that Slingshot and most engine parts can be sourced from your local automotive retailer. Welcome to the Sling Life, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out directly.

  • Rear Angel Drive (Final Drive) Oil Leak :(

    Quote from G O

    Hey everyone, just wanted to follow up, ended u being the angle drive liquid gasket sealer that needed to be re-applied, thank you KYLE D, I had to take it to the dealer as the whole angle drive has to be removed, it was out of my knowledge and ability to do the repair and the dealer charged me $600 to re apply the liquid sealer, sighting 4 hours of labor, they fixed the issue but be warned the quality and attention to detail was horrible, the place is LA Cycle sports in Inglewood, CA, my front bumper was loose, my front lips scratched in few places, overall the problem was resolved but for $600, I got my front lip scratched, they had splashed water all over it and had water marks, scratched my front bumper and the bumper is missing a screw and the one screw that was left was loose as well. Anyway just venting and sharing my experience if anyone wanted to use LA CYCLE SPORTS in Inglewood should keep this in mind.

    Sorry to hear about your bad experience with that dealer but I'm glad you were able to get it sorted out and resealed.


    Have a great weekend!