[SoCalGuy]

That's absolutely not cool and not acceptable. I am running 6.13.5 and the drive system has been absolutely solid so far. I am actually a bit surprised that the service tech didn't just drive your car to the dealer once he got it started. Maybe you can have them downgrade your software to 6.13.5 until they get 6.14 sorted.

-- Fab.

I'm running 6.12 and have had no major issues/bugs. Now I'm very worried about "upgrading" to 6.13 or 6.14. From what I've been reading, sounds like a big 'downgrade' to me.

 

[SoCalGuy]

I want to calculate if it is possible to get 0-60 mph in 3.5 sec with a 5,000 lb Karma.
What is the horse power required to go 0 - 60 mph in 3.5 sec for a 5,000 lb car, assuming constant acceleration and 100% efficiency.
To work with metric, converts 60 mph to 26.82 m/s.
Acceleration = delta V/delta t = 26.82 m/s / 3.5 s = 7.6628 m/s^2
Force = mass x acceleration = 2,272 kg x 7.6628 m/s^2 = 17.4 KN
What is the distance travelled in 3.5 s?
delta d = a x (delta t)^2 / 2 = 7.6628 m/s^2 x (3.5 s)^2 / 2 = 46.935 m
Power = Force x distance / time = 17.4 KN x 46.935 m /3.5 s = 234 KW
What is the available power from the electric motor and from the battery.
From the electric motor, we know it has 400 hp which is 298 KW. This is 27% greater than the 234 KW, so the motor is capable.
What about the battery?
For 20.1 KWh energy storage on a Karma, there are 310 cells, each stores 65 Wh. Each cell is 496 g. 310 cells is 153.76 Kg. The specification says 2,400 W/kg.
Therefore total KW = 153.76 kg x 2,400 W/kg = 369 KW.
http://info.a123systems.com/data-sheet-20ah-prismatic-pouch-cell/
The battery is oversized to the motor by 23%. So the battery is quite capable to drive the motor to its full capacity of 298 KW. And the motor has 27% more power to drive the Karma to accelerate from 0 - 60 mph in 3.5 s. The battery would have been working in 63% of its output capability.
Doing similar calculation for 0 - 60 mph in 6.1 s. The battery is working at 36.3% of its output capability.
So for you speed demon out there, you know your Karma has more stuff inside, just not showing it
Also the Buckeye Bullet 2.5 using the A123 battery has broken the 300 mph land speed record. The Buckeye Bullet 3 will try to break 400 mph this year! You definitely have a fast car inside
http://evworld.com/news.cfm?newsid=26270

Your numbers appear to work pretty well, although 2500 kg is closer: the curb weight is 5300 lbs = 2405 kg; then add 95 kg for driver. (I did not check all of them but those I did were spot on.) So using 2500 kg we get more like 19 kN, which requires ~255 kW (just over 340 hp) to get 0-60 in 3.5 sec.

That's at 100% efficiency though. The motors lose efficiency at near-zero RPM. Real world conditions suggest adding at least a second or two to that. Still, 0-60 in 5 seconds is a lot faster than 0-60 in 6.1 seconds....

I highly doubt this for more commercial reasons. Firstly, Fisker first advertised that the car could go from 0-60mph in "5.8 seconds"... then it became "5.9 seconds" ... then "6.1 seconds" and now officially its "6.3 seconds." Fisker himself said the car could go 0-60 in "under six seconds"... now he says "about 6 seconds." If it was simply a software tweak, Fisker would have had some "burst mode" or "nitro mode" option on the Fisker controls to go 0-60 in 5 seconds or 4 seconds or whatever... so they could market the car as being able to go 0-60mph in "under 5 seconds" or "4.5 seconds" or whatever. You doubt that? Recall how many times Fisker kept saying "100mpg" in their adverts, interviews, etc... which became "67 mpg".... and now its "52mpg." It can't just be a software thing - its gotta be related to the unanticipated weight of the car and other mechanical/electrical issues (recall the car was initially expected to weigh around 4,500lbs).

 

[SoCalGuy]

I highly doubt this for more commercial reasons. Firstly, Fisker first advertised that the car could go from 0-60mph in "5.8 seconds"... then it became "5.9 seconds" ... then "6.1 seconds" and now officially its "6.3 seconds." Fisker himself said the car could go 0-60 in "under six seconds"... now he says "about 6 seconds." If it was simply a software tweak, Fisker would have had some "burst mode" or "nitro mode" option on the Fisker controls to go 0-60 in 5 seconds or 4 seconds or whatever... so they could market the car as being able to go 0-60mph in "under 5 seconds" or "4.5 seconds" or whatever. You doubt that? Recall how many times Fisker kept saying "100mpg" in their adverts, interviews, etc... which became "67 mpg".... and now its "52mpg." It can't just be a software thing - its gotta be related to the unanticipated weight of the car and other mechanical/electrical issues (recall the car was initially expected to weigh around 4,500lbs).

I suspect it is a trade off between the 0-60 time and battery life.How long is the battery warranty? So it could be at first, the paper calculation said it is doable under 6 sec. Then the A123 engineer did a battery life calculation and said cannot do. Back and forth and finalize at a safe number of 6.3 sec. Then software programs in the limit. Someone needs to ask Fisker to confirm.

I was merely checking to see if that Fisker mechanic or engineer(?) is in the ball park with his 3.5 s claim. With ideal 100% efficiency and no wind or wind at the back , it seems possible.

Hehe true. I don't think the Stealth 0-60 time changed at all, just the Sport mode numbers. My understanding from a couple different sources is the new muffler 3.0 system and the desire to keep the emissions low and the interior cabin noise down in Sport were all the reasons why the 0-60 time went from 5.9s to 6.3s.

 

[SoCalGuy]

I highly doubt this for more commercial reasons. Firstly, Fisker first advertised that the car could go from 0-60mph in "5.8 seconds"... then it became "5.9 seconds" ... then "6.1 seconds" and now officially its "6.3 seconds." Fisker himself said the car could go 0-60 in "under six seconds"... now he says "about 6 seconds." If it was simply a software tweak, Fisker would have had some "burst mode" or "nitro mode" option on the Fisker controls to go 0-60 in 5 seconds or 4 seconds or whatever... so they could market the car as being able to go 0-60mph in "under 5 seconds" or "4.5 seconds" or whatever. You doubt that? Recall how many times Fisker kept saying "100mpg" in their adverts, interviews, etc... which became "67 mpg".... and now its "52mpg." It can't just be a software thing - its gotta be related to the unanticipated weight of the car and other mechanical/electrical issues (recall the car was initially expected to weigh around 4,500lbs).

I suspect it is a trade off between the 0-60 time and battery life.How long is the battery warranty? So it could be at first, the paper calculation said it is doable under 6 sec. Then the A123 engineer did a battery life calculation and said cannot do. Back and forth and finalize at a safe number of 6.3 sec. Then software programs in the limit. Someone needs to ask Fisker to confirm.

I was merely checking to see if that Fisker mechanic or engineer(?) is in the ball park with his 3.5 s claim. With ideal 100% efficiency and no wind or wind at the back , it seems possible.

Hehe true. I don't think the Stealth 0-60 time changed at all, just the Sport mode numbers. My understanding from a couple different sources is the new muffler 3.0 system and the desire to keep the emissions low and the interior cabin noise down in Sport were all the reasons why the 0-60 time went from 5.9s to 6.3s.

My theoretical calculation is for the stealth mode.
The battery power is 369 KW. This is 20% higher than the motor output power of 400 HP or 298 KW. In another way, with an 81% motor input to output efficiency, the battery can deliver full 400 Hp at the motor output (369 KW x .81 = 298 KW).
Recalculate the numbers with 5,500 lb as suggested by ct-fiskerbuzz. The horsepower required is 256KW or 344 HP. Assume the wind + inefficiency adds 16%, horsepower required = 344 HP x 1.16 = 400 HP, or 256 KW x 1.16 = 297 KW.
So doing 0-60 in 3.5 sec in stealth mode is possibble .

I remember reading somewhere that the effective peak output for the battery is 240hp / 180KW

 

[SoCalGuy]

I was just stranded with essentially the same problem. Car engine never came on in stealth mode despite a full tank of gas and therefore battery ran all the way out and died on the freeway with 2 kids in the back. Did have PRND warning light that came on while driving earlier today but it didn't affect the driving and thought it may be a software problem that the dealer could fix next week. I already have the 6.14 upgrade so that clearly is not the answer....Oh well,

Did dealer pick you up and give you a loaner car? I have to admit, I've never just let the car run down the battery... I usually pop it into Sport mode when it has 2 or 3 miles of range left.