|
You know you really got me thinking. There is a company that did a 5th wheel electric the wheel would come down and be driven by the electric motor. If I removed the spare tire I could cut a hole in the spare tire carrier bay and gain direct access free and clear to the roadway. I would put a 5th where right there and put the motor inside where the spare tire sits now. That guy making the metro hybrid found an electric motor for $450 (more than I have but doable with a few months savings)
My objective would be to have enough Electric power to get to say 30-35mph engine off. this way as I come to a stop I can put it in neutral and turn off the gasoline engine for the entire coast slow down. wait at the light AND acceleration back to 35mph or so before restarting the gas engine and turning off the electric engine.
ie this would remove 90% of the "bad" mpg portions of the drive. I already hardly ever use reverse. I park on inclines or pass through so I can use my gravity drive to back up and THEN start the engine to take off. with just slightly awareness of planning where I park I am pretty successful at this.
I gained 1.4mpg this past tank doing this casually so I am going to try and do it more hard core and see what I gain.
I still want to try the H2 system at some point simply because I am curious how much of an impact it would have. you see the electric assist should work for the Metro its light and small. it won't work for my jeep or my 5000 pound van. even a 2mpg increase in my van would be HUGE when your talking going from 17mpg to 19mpg etc..
This has certainly got me thinking thats for sure.
|