Everything posted by Drew Dowdell
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Random Thoughts Thread
Yep. And I think they got the energy density a little higher than Tesla's. Not a huge jump, but enough to matter and bring the vehicles over the 300 mile range mark will still keeping battery size in check.
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Random Thoughts Thread
The concern is also largely going to disappear in the emerging generation of batteries. LFP chemistry (available in some Teslas and supposed to be coming in Hyundai/Kia/Genesis soon) have degredation curves that far exceed a vehicle lifetime. We're talking over a million miles before the batteries reach 80% of design capacity. The downside of LFP is they don't have the energy density that standard EV batteries (NMC) have, meaning you either have to be comfortable with less range or an even bigger battery pack. GM has LMR batteries on the way also. These are a medium point between standard EV batteries an LFP. They have 30% plus more energy density than LFPs. There hasn't been extensive degredation testing of this chemistry yet, but it is expected to be well above NMC and closer to LFP. Even if its 500k miles plus instead of 1 millon, it is functionally the same as LFP since so few cars reach that mileage anyway. What's interesting is that LMR and LFP could make the pursuit of super-capacitors obsolete. The only advantage super capacitors would have is rapid charging and possibly weight, but at the speeds we have today with EV charging, it might not be worth the cost for a technology that multiple automakers are struggling to bring to market.
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Random Thoughts Thread
Yeah, it was in the news a lot in the past year because a certain segment was saying it was proof that EVs weren't the way forward. GM spent a billion or so rebuilding that plant.
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Random Thoughts Thread
They rebuilt the towanda plant almost from the ground up for these engines. I’ll reserve judgement for now.
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Random Thoughts Thread
What are you talking about? They’re new. Just because they use the same displacement as an engine from 1996 or the 1960s doesn’t make them old
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Random Thoughts Thread
You’re now only putting in 50kw (plus or minus some from charging losses)
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Random Thoughts Thread
- Can you believe it's been 25 years?
- Intake Manifold
For what it seems you're looking for you should look at: Chrysler 300C Hemi RWD Cadillac STS or STS-V Cadillac CTS-V (Corvette motor and 400hp as soon as you sign the purchase paperwork) The Lucerne just isn't the platform for you.- Can you believe it's been 25 years?
- Intake Manifold
Because why would you want to take a multi port fuel injected car and turn it into a carbed car? Also, it's a ton of work (if you even can make the thing fit under the hood) for not a lot of gain, and you're still having to run it through the 4-speed 4T80-E. There are other Northstar mods out there that will get better bang for the buck.- Random Thoughts Thread
- Intake Manifold
- Starter Car?
@crvette_guy - I just thought of one if you really wanted a northstar and a larger sedan. You could get the final generation of Cadilac STS. The first gen CTS-V would work also, but they're harder to find cheap while also being in good shape. Still, the first-gen CTS-V is just a standard GM 5.7 or 6.0 liter and dead reliable. You can get it with a manual also. It might be worth spending a little more to go this route instead of going with a cheaper Northstar powered car in the long run.- Starter Car?
There's not a lot of choices for RWD in the big family sedan space. Charger, 300C, Town Car, Crown Vic, or if you go a lot older, Impala, Roadmaster, Fleetwood. Crown Vics and Town Cars really don't have the performance to be doing sideways stuff. Charger/300 with a Hemi is your best bet for that. I wouldn't want to see you doing that with the Roadmaster / Fleetwood. They have the ability, but they're classics now and should be preserved. Outside of that you're looking at Germans (too expensive to maintain) or Lexus / Infiniti.- Ford News: Ford F-150 Lightning Goes EREV with 700+ Mile Range and Locomotive-Like Towing
I'm probably going to be traveling more often for work again. I've done it in Teslas before, so I know that 250kw would be okay. The Silverado EV does still have CarPlay... if you get the W/T trim. I'm not a W/T kinda gal. RST or Trail Boss (or High Country if they made one) for me and they don't get CarPlay. The only Silverado EVs that look any good to me are the RSTs in Blue or Black. The Red Trail Boss is... okay. In white, they look like an electric company fleet vehicle. All of the Denali EVs seem to be in Military Gray Metalic that looks blah. I really don't know where I want to go. I am going to try and hang onto my Avalanche regardless. I think I'll end up regretting it if I sold it. Part of me also thinks just get something like an Ioniq 6 or GV60 for myself to put business miles on and put the Avalanche into storage. The Lyriq has really grown on me (it still has CarPlay). It might be an option once we replace the 300C. We just passed 100k miles there. His job situation is still in limbo. It could go to where he is 100% public transit or 75% travel requiring a vehicle.... so still waiting on that. We find out by July.- Starter Car?
Nothing front wheel drive is going sideways when you floor it.- Ford News: Ford F-150 Lightning Goes EREV with 700+ Mile Range and Locomotive-Like Towing
Right on both counts. The Lightning would be perfectly fine for my needs though I do wish it had faster than 150kw max charge speed. If it could have been 250kw like most of the Teslas are, that would be been a significant improvement. That's really my only complaint about it. They ride great, drive great, have amazing torque. The only "truck" stuff I ever do is haul motorcycles and that has zero noticeable impact on my Avalanche MPGs. TBH, I still don't know where I'll go next. I could end up in a Lightning, or a Scout, or a Silverado EV, or a Rivian R1T. Because of some potential coming shifts in my driving habits, I'm leaning Silverado EV for now even if I have to grit my teeth about the CarPlay issue. Range and charge speed will take priority.- Random Thoughts Thread
The Super would have the Northstar V8 and while the engine was mostly sorted out by then they are higher maintenance and are a Premium Fuel recommended car, so you have to be willing to be spending $5+ per gallon. The 3900 V6 isn’t as exciting but it’s dependable and reasonably fuel efficient for such a large car- Random Thoughts Thread
I mean, you'll probably pull from the grid since the EVs charge at night, but your NET will be adding to the grid daily rather than taking.- Random Thoughts Thread
just by going up lol. I use to be able to get a solar/wind contract for 8c/kWh as recently as 2 years ago. I get the rates e-mailed to me once a week and they range from 12.5c - 14c. That's really close to my house. I can often hear them.- Random Thoughts Thread
In many states you can sign 1 or 2 year rate contracts. That only covers the cost of the generation and not the delivery, but even delivery is set by the state and is usually once a year rate change at most. I've had green energy contracts for my house for years. It's nice to know my rate is fixed.- Random Thoughts Thread
$4.65/g here in Pittsburgh. Trump accidentally promoting EVs again. Even if prices go back down, it is the instability that is the problem.- 04.18.2026 SPRING SPIRIT Chitown Meet'n'Greet
Darn. if it was 5/18/2026, I might have actually been in town. no firm plans yet but...- CMS Canonical App for IPS V5
View File CMS Canonical App for IPS V5 Fixes a common SEO problem for sites using CMS articles with linked forum discussions. When a forum topic is associated with a Pages article for comment storage, search engines see two URLs with similar content, diluting your rankings. This app automatically sets the canonical URL on the forum topic to point back to the Pages article, consolidating SEO authority where it belongs. Configure which CMS databases should have canonical handling enabled from the ACP — everything else is automatic. Works with multiple databases and requires no template edits or manual intervention. This app could become redundant in future if IPS fixes this issue. Submitter Drew Dowdell Submitted 04/13/2026 Category Files
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