Rickard Electric Beck Speedster, Owner'S Manual

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Rickard Electric Special Edition – Owner’s Manual
Page 15 of 30
and ergo, your new Electric Edition will in all likelihood roll off down the hill
and into the river. ALWAYS place the transmission in neutral and apply the
hand brake when parking the car. Never leave it unattended without the
handbrake applied. This brake locks the rear wheel disk brakes on and is very
capable at holding the car in position.
Similarly, always RELEASE the hand brake before beginning your drive.
RANGE CONSIDERATIONS
The Beck Electric features a cell pack of 36 3.35v Lithium Ion Iron Phosphate
(LiFePo4) cells connected in series to produce a nominal pack voltage of
120vdc. These cells have a capacity of 180Ah, or 21,708 watt-hours. We find in
normal driving, energy is consumed at a rate of about 1.6Ah per mile, or 225
watt-hours per mile providing you with a maximum theoretical range of about
112 miles.
Running out of gas in an ICE car is pretty much penalty free. You pour in an
additional gallon of petrol and drive to the gas station.
In an electric car, running your battery pack completely empty is another
matter. It destroys the $10,000 battery pack and you have to buy a new one –
or at a minimum several expensive new cells.
On the other hand, these batteries are also unlike any you may be familiar
with. Limiting your range to 80 miles per charge, these cells are rated up to
3000 cycles and if you recharge more often – even longer. That’s essentially the
life of the car.
So we rate the Rickard Electric Speedster as an 80-mile car. We have several
indicators to remind you what your State of Charge or SOC is at all times. And
in the event you discharge it too far, the car will automatically go into “limp
mode.” In limp mode you can still drive the car, but the throttle input is cut to
a fraction of its normal value, and it can take several painful minutes to
accelerate to 30 mph. This allows you to “creep” or “limp” to a safe area out of
traffic or a nearby place where you can recharge the cells sufficiently to get
home.
The actual range you get will vary dramatically depending on your driving style.
Higher speeds take greater energy to overcome the wind resistance, so at 70
mph you will not likely achieve 80 miles – perhaps 70. Strong accelerations
also consume more energy. Use of the electric defroster/heater will also use
energy – reducing range slightly.
If range is your issue, you will very quickly learn a kind of “push and glide”
technique for extending your range. There is no real trick to it, it comes quite