Electric Vehicle Thoughts, Questions & Answers

[aknaten]

Here is a three-wheeler with solar panels built in.
http://www.treehugger.com/bikes/its-tricycle-its-ev-its-solar-electric-velomobile-evovelo.html

 

[Ty]

I was wondering... IF all you expected from an electric motor was an assist during acceleration, it would allow for a smaller ICE. I'm thinking about a 20HP electric motor in place of the starter on a diesel car... Could be a retrofit for cars already on the road to provide some power.

GM's Belt alternator starter (BAS) mild hybrid system uses a belt drive to start the internal combustion engine (ICE) through its motor–generator unit (MGU), then once started the engine drives the 14.5 kW motor-generator to charge the batteries. The BAS hybrid system also utilizes regenerative braking to replenish the system's 36 V battery and can provide moderate levels of power assist. According to the EPA, a 2009 Saturn Vue Greenline equipped with the BAS Hybrid system delivers a 27% improvement in combined fuel economy over the non-hybrid version (FWD 4cyl)

Here's my thought... 14.5kW = 19.44 HP. Elio is 55HP... That's a 33% increase in HP, right? Wouldn't that be fun?

 

[XanWolf]

Earlier today, I had an interesting thought. If you turned the single rear wheel into an integral motor/generator and REMOVED the alternator, you might re-shape some of what is wrong with "car" usage. Sometimes people run the car and listen to tunes, sit in A/C, and so on. In the case that the only electrical generation is the moving rear wheel, then the proper mode is to only run the car when you plan to move it....

The real extra is that, in the event of an engine failure, you can limp along to get yourself to a proper service place rather than needing a tow....

I know, it is kind of out there, but still a cool backup....

 

[Sethodine]

Earlier today, I had an interesting thought. If you turned the single rear wheel into an integral motor/generator and REMOVED the alternator, you might re-shape some of what is wrong with "car" usage. Sometimes people run the car and listen to tunes, sit in A/C, and so on. In the case that the only electrical generation is the moving rear wheel, then the proper mode is to only run the car when you plan to move it....

The real extra is that, in the event of an engine failure, you can limp along to get yourself to a proper service place rather than needing a tow....

I know, it is kind of out there, but still a cool backup....

My Leaf has a generator just for the 12v battery, mounted to the rear passenger wheel. The traction motor can also act as a generator for the traction battery ("regenerative braking"), but that is a separate system.

 

[ross]

There's a lake about 2 miles from my house that I've fished since I was a kid with a 10 foot aluminum flat bottom boat as the cliffs along the lake make it almost impossible to bank fish, a few years back the Department of Natural Resources bought the lake and made it 'walk or bike in only, no motorized vehicles', the parking lot is about a mile from the lake. I'm 62 years old and not about to carry my boat and my fishing gear that far so I welded up an aluminum frame and mounted 2 bicycle front forks and tires to the stern of the boat. Then I bought a three wheeled adult 'tricycle' and hitched the boat to the back and pedaled it in. That worked OK but there was a couple hills that I couldn't pedal up, I'd have to get off and push the bike and boat up so I bought an electric 'hub motor' and mounted it on the front wheel and it works great. Last year a buddy wanted to go out fishing with me so he brought a bicycle out, we loaded all the fishing gear in the boat (fishing poles 2 ice chests, 2 tackle boxes, an electric trolling motor and 12 volt car battery) and left from the house, as we went through the parking lot we noticed a couple of guys in their 20's unloading their fishing gear and mountain bikes from an SUV, as I didn't want them to see that I was riding an electric bike I hauled ass, I had the bike in third (high) gear and the electric drive maxed out and I'm pedaling as fast as I can, the electric motor is dead silent, I beat my buddy to the lake by about 5 or 10 minutes, I had the boat launched by the time he got there, he shows up and he's laughing like a maniac, he says 'those guys must have thought you're Lance Armstrong's dad, you went through the parking smoking a cigarette with a beer in the cup holder, you left them in the dust and you're pulling a boat!' BTW an electric bike in Washington state under 1,000 watts of power and not capable of 20 miles an hour is considered a non motorized vehicle.

 

[Coss]

Now this is how electric cars should be.
Let me introduce you to the Zombie 222

I saw it on a show tonight

 

[ThreeWheelBurnin]

Not to be THAT guy, but:


Major energy sources and percent share of total U.S. electricity generation in 2015:1

• Coal = 33%
• Natural gas = 33%
• Nuclear = 20%
• Hydropower = 6%
• Other renewables = 7%
  • Biomass = 1.6%
  • Geothermal = 0.4%
  • Solar = 0.6%
  • Wind = 4.7%
• Petroleum = 1%
• Other gases = <1%
  
  
  Source

Down here in the San Antonio/Austin corridor, they're really building out solar big time. Last year, SA was generating over 100MW from solar, and Austin had about 40MW, and I read they're expecting to be up to 500MW in San Antonio, and up to 600MW in Austin by the end of this year. The growth is pretty amazing. Even so, it's still just a drop in the bucket. That 1100 MW is about the equivalent of two typical Natural gas generation plants down here.

 

[Chaz]

Down here in the San Antonio/Austin corridor, they're really building out solar big time. Last year, SA was generating over 100MW from solar, and Austin had about 40MW, and I read they're expecting to be up to 500MW in San Antonio, and up to 600MW in Austin by the end of this year. The growth is pretty amazing. Even so, it's still just a drop in the bucket. That 1100 MW is about the equivalent of two typical Natural gas generation plants down here.

The problem is they still need to have conventional power plants in standby. Which means they need to build more and cost go up.

 

[ThreeWheelBurnin]

Now this is how electric cars should be.
Let me introduce you to the Zombie 222

I saw it on a show tonight

Zero to 60 in less than 2 seconds? Bah... It has roughly the same EV range as my Volt...

 

[Rickb]

Now this is how electric cars should be.
Let me introduce you to the Zombie 222

I saw it on a show tonight

Now that's truly ludicrous mode. The guy in the video reminds me of an overly caffeinated Paul Elio. My dream, a 0-60 in 1.8 seconds Elio.