How do electric cars produce instant torque while ICE do not?

Question

I’ve heard that fact, and I know ICE cars have a torque curve but I don’t understand why it is that an electric motor produces torque instantly.

In: 1

Answer 1

An electric motor is a series of electromagnets arranged in a circle that turn on and off at the right time to pull something around that circle. The torque is provided by the pulling force of the magnet. As soon as you turn on a magnet, you get all the pulling power instantly, so there’s instant torque.

In an ICE, the torque is provided by an explosion that has to be timed just right to push down the piston. Explosions don’t turn on and off instantly like magnets, so it’s much more difficult to time everything correctly. If the engine is going to slow or too fast the explosion isn’t timed correctly so you don’t get as much torque.