It's 25' but the measurement likely includes the small portion inside the housing.
The Electric Car Thread
- Thread starter Skoop
- Start date
Giggity?
Back on topic, I was looking to see if the Ford Connected Charger offered the same cable swap option but doesn't look like they've developed it yet. I know from seeing the unit when it was installed that the cable is just tied to terminals on the inside, so a swap should be possible. I don't have any need to make a conversion anytime soon -- and our current EV will still have J1772 anyway -- but given the recent posts I was curious. Surprised Ford doesn't offer it (at least that I can find in a few minutes of searching) since they were one of the first to commit to NACS, if I remember the timeline correctly.
Back on topic, I was looking to see if the Ford Connected Charger offered the same cable swap option but doesn't look like they've developed it yet. I know from seeing the unit when it was installed that the cable is just tied to terminals on the inside, so a swap should be possible. I don't have any need to make a conversion anytime soon -- and our current EV will still have J1772 anyway -- but given the recent posts I was curious. Surprised Ford doesn't offer it (at least that I can find in a few minutes of searching) since they were one of the first to commit to NACS, if I remember the timeline correctly.
The hardwired install process for the Flex is just as straightforward and configuration is quite easy. Just make sure you give the wires a good tug to make sure they are seated securely.
Yep. It's pretty easy, and the quick-connect terminals make it even easier. I'll probably have more of an issue removing the retention collar that holds in place than anything else.
On the car shopping front, I have my formal quote after the credit application. It's a bit higher than expected, and I am asking the dealer to explain the discrepancy. I thought I could bypass a broker this time, and I wanted a color combination he didn't have available through his dealer network, but I'll take a black car rather than get soaked on the light grey I preferred this time around.
On the car shopping front, I have my formal quote after the credit application. It's a bit higher than expected, and I am asking the dealer to explain the discrepancy. I thought I could bypass a broker this time, and I wanted a color combination he didn't have available through his dealer network, but I'll take a black car rather than get soaked on the light grey I preferred this time around.
No! At these amperages that's how you burn your house down. Any of the power connectors must be torqued to spec.
There are no screws to torque. The wire ends are inserted into terminals, and levers are pushed down to hold them in place.
The tug is more about ensuring the retention collar, where the cable enters the charger, is installed properly to prevent the connections from being overstressed by the cable being used. In any case, that would be done before the circuit is re-energized at the breaker panel.
Well that's promising, but the sentiment stays. People dealing with this stuff don't normally understand how important a torque spec is at 11kW
Well up to and including 32A it really isn't that special. I see zero difference between a B16/25/32 over current protector and every certified electrician I have seen just jabs in their plain slotted screwdriver and turns it, nbd. For the insurance we thermographically verify the installation anyway on a schedule, never had any of those fail to heat or burns.
The 3x 64A+ main or distribution box fuses though are handled with a little more care, as they come with big wire nuts and connect to bus bars.
The 3x 64A+ main or distribution box fuses though are handled with a little more care, as they come with big wire nuts and connect to bus bars.
The levers are designed for it. My chargepoint unit came with the wire separate and installing it was part of the process. They made it quite straightforward.
You guys use ferrules on stranded wire right? Almost non-existant here in the US.
For 63A and up:
https://www.elektramat.nl/ymvk-kabel-5x16-per-meter/ looks about the same as 6 AWG 7 strand wires (7/14, so 7 x 14 AWG). At these size, solid single conductor doesn't work.
If you bolt it onto a flat bar, yeah use an eye. In most devices though like fuses and chunky switches, they have a hole where you stick the bare wire in, no ferrule, unless you were weird and used a fine-stranded wire that costs more, then yes ferrule.
At lower sizes: just standard solid core wiring, no ferrules or nuts. For EV chargers, so up to 22 kW, this is the cable to use, https://www.elektramat.nl/ymvk-kabel-5x6-per-meter/
I worked through the pricing issues with the dealership and told them to draw up the lease agreement. I should have a new EV9 by the end of the week.
I had my first electric car experience this weekend -- Avis gave me a Model 3 for a day and a half. It took me much longer to get comfortable in the car than most rentals (it took a minute to figure out how to open the door, adjusting the seat was straight forward, but then adjusting the mirrors took some hunting on the touch screen... and then I noticed the passenger mirror needed to be popped back in place so I unbuckled to get out and lost my seat position... oh and also it took me longer than usual to figure out how to open the door from the inside). Also weird to just get out of the car and walk away and trust that it would turn itself off at some point. Anyway, spending 15 minutes getting comfortable and figuring out how to see was kind of rough when I landed at 11:45p and just wanted to get to the hotel. Once the car was moving, though, it was one of the more enjoyable rentals I've had. Incredible what a bit of pep does to make getting on a highway more fun 
Probably my only gripe about driving was the side mirrors are tiny and video in the center screen is not where I'm used to looking to see if there's anything next to me. I think I like the Tesla navigation more than google maps through Car Play, it was good to see the next two steps so I had a rough idea of what lane to end up in when making a turn.
I can see how most of the issues above were rental-specific, and if it was my car I'd down all the apps I need, configure everything once and then things would work more seamlessly. In the same vein, it came with 93% charge and I think I returned it in the 40% - 50% range. I only drove 82 miles according to the rental agreement (but I didn't even try to find a trip odometer in the menus) and just didn't want to spend time figuring out how to charge it. I asked about charging when I checked in to my hotel and they said the nearest chargers were at the 7-11 down the street but I didn't bother investigating how that would work*... I was pretty much only at the hotel late at night, and was pretty sure I'd need to download an app to operate the charger, and the low-fuel Avis fee was still less than the price difference with renting an economy class gasser instead. Then I checked my receipt at the fuel service fee was only $0.99 (pretty sure something got checked in wrong, but I'll take it).
* Driving to 7-11 wouldn't be a problem, but would I need to download an app just to pay to charge up? Would I need to bring my book and spend 30 minutes in the middle of the night sitting in the car in a 7-11 parking lot? I'd want to know the answers if it was my car, but for a car I was borrowing it wasn't worth looking into
Probably my only gripe about driving was the side mirrors are tiny and video in the center screen is not where I'm used to looking to see if there's anything next to me. I think I like the Tesla navigation more than google maps through Car Play, it was good to see the next two steps so I had a rough idea of what lane to end up in when making a turn.I can see how most of the issues above were rental-specific, and if it was my car I'd down all the apps I need, configure everything once and then things would work more seamlessly. In the same vein, it came with 93% charge and I think I returned it in the 40% - 50% range. I only drove 82 miles according to the rental agreement (but I didn't even try to find a trip odometer in the menus) and just didn't want to spend time figuring out how to charge it. I asked about charging when I checked in to my hotel and they said the nearest chargers were at the 7-11 down the street but I didn't bother investigating how that would work*... I was pretty much only at the hotel late at night, and was pretty sure I'd need to download an app to operate the charger, and the low-fuel Avis fee was still less than the price difference with renting an economy class gasser instead. Then I checked my receipt at the fuel service fee was only $0.99 (pretty sure something got checked in wrong, but I'll take it).
* Driving to 7-11 wouldn't be a problem, but would I need to download an app just to pay to charge up? Would I need to bring my book and spend 30 minutes in the middle of the night sitting in the car in a 7-11 parking lot? I'd want to know the answers if it was my car, but for a car I was borrowing it wasn't worth looking into
The one nice thing about how Kia implemented the standard car controls for door locks, climate control, and audio volume, for instance, is that they are bod standard tactile controls. The blind-spot cameras that show you what's next to you that isn't visible in your side mirrors display the view in the main instrument cluster, taking over the dials for a few seconds, so you don't need to crane your head over.
As for using an app to pay for charging, since most manufacturers opted to implement NACS, you only need the Tesla app in the US, but if you own the car and use it for road trips, having the others may help when charging stations are fewer and farther between.
And yeah, since we moved, I am glad I leased an EV. We save over $200 per month on fuel costs after factoring in home EV charging.
As for using an app to pay for charging, since most manufacturers opted to implement NACS, you only need the Tesla app in the US, but if you own the car and use it for road trips, having the others may help when charging stations are fewer and farther between.
And yeah, since we moved, I am glad I leased an EV. We save over $200 per month on fuel costs after factoring in home EV charging.
This is kinda off-topic, but does Google Maps not display lane guidance when used through Car Play? I'm used to it just telling me what lane(s) I need to be in for subsequent steps, no "rough idea" needed.
Google Maps does display lane guidance and has for several years now. It's shown in the graphic above the "turn in X m" notice where it shows the different lanes, which ones turn/go straight, and highlights the one you need to be in. Whether it's running on the phone or displayed on the car screen via CarPlay/AA.
And, if you press anywhere on the green square that shows the lane guidance, it will bring up a list of all the turns coming up, so the passenger can look ahead to see what's coming (or the driver can do it while stopped at a light/side of the road).
Projecting the screen via CarPlay/AA doesn't change that.
But, Google Maps only shows the next turn. OP mentioned that Tesla nav shows the next 2 turns.
It does for any car with a big enough screen. On my EV9, the display is big enough to get lane guidance and the next turn after the next one. It also pushes the CarPlay nav info to the HUD, so I don't need to look at the main display that often.
Doesn't seem to be the case. Doesn't show it on Ford vertical screens and those have miles of real estate.
Edit: Okay it shows the next step direction but no name or distance
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Huh? The physical characteristics of the port (NACS vs J1772/CCS1) are different from the charging network. There are plenty of non-Tesla branded chargers that have NACS plugs on them; you'd need to use whatever app that network uses.
I got an ICE GV70 as a service loaner while my GV60 is being serviced. It feels like a much bigger car, which makes sense because it is. They left all the new car plastic sheets on all the screens and didn't even bother putting the floor mats down. But really, it's the engine that gets me. It's 90º+ outside, and while sitting at a stoplight the engine just cut off, taking the a/c with it. I couldn't find the button to disable that, but I'm pretty sure it's an option somewhere. So that sucked, but when it really hit is when I stopped for a moment to read a parking sign and then tried to start moving again, the engine cut off right before I took my foot off the brake, and it took a good second or two for it to start back up. My foot was on the accelerator and the car just… wasn't on, which was disconcerting. And finally on my drive back there's an uphill section. Pushing the accelerator down didn't make the car go faster. I had to wait for an engine rev and a downshift and then the car started moving faster. I know all this, but re-experiencing it again is a good reminder of just how much better an electric car is than a gas one, and I didn't even have to go to a gas station! I don't think you could pay me to go back.
Tesla network charger access is good enough in most areas, unless you frequently take long trips. For instance, in the Northeast, they tend to be overrepresented at rest stops on major interstates and at large gas and convenience stores just off the highways, like Wawa. Now, if I were traveling long distances with the car more often, I would probably sign up for more than one network.
And that is why I mentioned both NACS and Tesla. Most new EVs are NACS, and most manufacturers have signed agreements with Tesla to access their charging network. My current car has J1772, but I carry an NACS adapter since most rest stops in NJ had exclusive deals with Tesla until recently. Now, with the new Applegreen chargers, you can tap to pay and get a discount if you use their app.
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2023 Niro has been returned, now to very painful project of try and find a 2020 to 2022 ioniq to buy (at less than new car pricing).
Is that true in the US? I'll see if I can look it up. A lot of OEMs have said they are going to get to NACS at some point but most vehicles I think are still J1772/CCS.
This is a stale reply, got pulled away in the middle of typing and I see there's been some discussion... but my experience with google maps is that in cases where you have an "immediate" turn as step two (within 0.1 mi, or 0.25 mi, or some distance like that), it will say something like "use the second from left lane to turn left and then turn right" otherwise it says "use the two left lanes to turn left" and after you complete the turn it will announce the next step. If the Tesla nav is telling me to turn left and I can see the next step is another left in 3/4 mi or 1 mi then I might stick with the leftmost turn lane while the following step being a left turn in 6 miles tells me I can use the right lane and move left much later.
Tracks exactly with my experience. I am pretty happy with nav via both Google Maps and in a Tesla recently.
Follow up on the new car.
While waiting on the final details, someone else swooped in and bought the car. I was a little pissy, but then again, car dealers.
But it worked out. I was browsing the Leashackr forum and looking at the current deals the brokers were offering. GT-Line trim EV9s are not very available, especially in my desired color combo. But I noticed one member had independently negotiated a 7% disocunt on top of the manufacturer promotions, and that made for a better deal than I was able to do on my own more locally.
The catch is that it's in Maryland, and I am in NJ. I PM'd him, and he gave me the info on the three dealers he was working with and the discounts they each offered. He also gave me his name so I could use him as a reference. One dealer has the color combo I want, and I emailed them to ask them to match what they offered him. If they do, I will commit and drive down to drop off the current car and drive up the new one by either the weekend or early next week if it's raining too hard on Saturday.
If this comes through, it'll save me about $2,500 over the life of the lease I had previously negotiated. I guess the DC area being in distress due to government layoffs is causing a bit of havoc for the local dealers.
While waiting on the final details, someone else swooped in and bought the car. I was a little pissy, but then again, car dealers.
But it worked out. I was browsing the Leashackr forum and looking at the current deals the brokers were offering. GT-Line trim EV9s are not very available, especially in my desired color combo. But I noticed one member had independently negotiated a 7% disocunt on top of the manufacturer promotions, and that made for a better deal than I was able to do on my own more locally.
The catch is that it's in Maryland, and I am in NJ. I PM'd him, and he gave me the info on the three dealers he was working with and the discounts they each offered. He also gave me his name so I could use him as a reference. One dealer has the color combo I want, and I emailed them to ask them to match what they offered him. If they do, I will commit and drive down to drop off the current car and drive up the new one by either the weekend or early next week if it's raining too hard on Saturday.
If this comes through, it'll save me about $2,500 over the life of the lease I had previously negotiated. I guess the DC area being in distress due to government layoffs is causing a bit of havoc for the local dealers.
All manufacturers got on board with switching, but it seems the only way to get a total of NACS vs CCS for this model year is to individually look at every model on every carmaker's web site. There is no current list that I have found.
For instance, Kia has been on NACS since the 2026 MY for the EV9, but had refreshed the EV6 earlier, in 2025.
But all Kias can still use the Tesla Destination and Level 2 chargers with an adapter. We need the NACS port built into the car to use Superchargers, but it must be v3 or v4, and the specific installation must be open to non-Teslas. The vast majority are, and if you have a non-Tesla, you can charge at about a 20% higher per-kWh fee than Teslas pay. Or, if you need to use them very frequently, you can pay $12.99 for a membership. But that's not worth it to me, since I have only charged away from home once.
My car is 800V, so I can use up to 350 kW DC (realistically 220 kW) fast chargers. It tops out at 126 kW (about 100 kW in practice) on Tesla Superchargers, and that's only with the latest Gen 4 chargers. Applegreen chargers in NJ have been reported to reach 230 kW at an unshared dual charger.
I have both apps on my phone, just in case.
But all Kias can still use the Tesla Destination and Level 2 chargers with an adapter. We need the NACS port built into the car to use Superchargers, but it must be v3 or v4, and the specific installation must be open to non-Teslas. The vast majority are, and if you have a non-Tesla, you can charge at about a 20% higher per-kWh fee than Teslas pay. Or, if you need to use them very frequently, you can pay $12.99 for a membership. But that's not worth it to me, since I have only charged away from home once.
My car is 800V, so I can use up to 350 kW DC (realistically 220 kW) fast chargers. It tops out at 126 kW (about 100 kW in practice) on Tesla Superchargers, and that's only with the latest Gen 4 chargers. Applegreen chargers in NJ have been reported to reach 230 kW at an unshared dual charger.
I have both apps on my phone, just in case.
PM me if you do end up making a plan to come here.
CCS Kias should be able to use superchargers with an adapter, just like any other brand. And yes, nothing but Teslas can use V2 because those chargers can't 'speak' in the CCS communications protocol. (There are no more V1 superchargers; they've all been replaced.)
Speaking of NACS vs CCS, I went and looked at a Leaf a few weeks ago. They have both, but NACS is DC charging only. If you want to use a home AC charger, you have to plug into the CCS charge port on the other side of the car.... The reason I wanted a NACS charger is so I won't have to play musical chairs with the goddamn plug in my garage which has 240V
I'd be up to meet you all, too. Plus I have some of @Scotttheking's hardware to give back to and pay for…
i’m not sure which would’ve been worse: if I had forgotten about it, or the fact that I haven’t forgotten
if you turn on the self-driving, you don't have to worry about stuff like that, the car can do it for you
(I wonder if/when one would be able to rent a car with FSD enabled)
Anyone thinking about a Slate truck?
It’s intriguing. And might be a fun project type car. I bet that there will be lots of aftermarket parts for it given its modular setup.
Now if they would just release the pricing.
It’s intriguing. And might be a fun project type car. I bet that there will be lots of aftermarket parts for it given its modular setup.
Now if they would just release the pricing.
I highly doubt that. Currently if you want lots of aftermarket parts, buying a high volume mass produced vehicle sharing a popular platform is the way. Anything you want is on parts site under OE and 3rd party part numbers, available new and used/salvaged. From minor things like filters and seals to blowers, compressors and drive train.
A super niche toy truck will have zero third party availability except for stuff they grabbed from the parts bin. Anything unique will be from Slate only.
Critically, I hope they got the battery modules, inverters and drive motors off the shelf. Or you would tie your car's repairability into the company surviving, producing enough spares in their main production run and stockpiling it.
Even Toyota isn't immune to parts running out, when my HVAC blower died dealer wanted €1k when it was originally like 80% cheaper. Found one on a 3rd party site, but shit just runs out, in this case, after 12 years and part got redesigned in next model revision.
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And I have fast charged (a car I own)!
Kia charge pass - IONNA network. Actually quite smooth. Got a whopping 30kw
Kia charge pass - IONNA network. Actually quite smooth. Got a whopping 30kw
buy a used Ford F-150 Lightning at the same price as a new Slate. Compatible with most F-150 after-market parts, AFAIK
edit: cheapest F-150 Lightning on carvana is $39k, so in another year, maybe $33k