Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - Electric Assist Project: E-charger (2000 Subaru Outback)

brucey · 07-20-2010, 02:47 PM

Patrick: I regularly carry upwards of 1000 lbs inside the car, and in highway driving it seems to cancel itself out with pulse and glides. I know in the city my mileage will be worse, but the battery pack should pay for itself then. (: The car already has heavy duty overload coils in the rear, stiffer struts all around, and upgraded swaybars front and rear, so I know it can handle the weight.

Daox: Yes I know it will be but a lot of work sounds fun to me. (: I plan on going with the AC12 from Thunderstruck. They recommended I go with 72V with the motor, but I'm going to try 48V first to see how it goes. 72V would be a problem with my goal of keeping the car functionally stock (Don't know where I'd set the 4 extra batteries) I also know I could probably get by with a smaller motor this way, but I really wanted regenerative braking and for the system to be able to pull it's own weight. Looking around, it looks like the only thing I'll have trouble making myself will be the pulley on the motor. I might have to find a machine shop to match the splines to a pulley to connect to the crank. The motor is good for 7000 RPM and my stock engine maxes out at 6000 RPM, so to match them up I'm going to go for close to a 1:1 drive.

Shadetree: Watching the scangauge, at low speeds (<40 mph) it is very hard to get my automatic to go into fuel cut. It's also downright impossible to get it to fuel cut with the A/C on, but that's rare that I use it anyway. But when the engine does go into fuel cut, the electric motor is going to have to move the weight of the car AND turn over the (not running) engine it might be a bit much power to ask of it, which is why guessing from the scangauge, the motor will still spin up to accelerate but be using very little fuel. Even with the the throttle closed I still don't always see fuel cut unless I'm decelerating. I can go down a mountain and will gain speed and hover around 100 mpg. This is true from about 35 mph all the way up to 75 mph. Even though I'm gaining speed, the motor has to use more fuel to spin the motor up to X RPM. It might take some getting used to, but I do plan to have 2 independent throttles. This also has the nice ability that anyone can drive the car, I'll just have a switch that I can turn the E-drive off.

07-20-2010, 02:47 PM	#6 (permalink)
brucey A madman Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: WV Posts: 1,018 Pequod - '17 Subaru Outback 90 day: 22.79 mpg (US) Thanks: 73 Thanked 183 Times in 98 Posts	Patrick: I regularly carry upwards of 1000 lbs inside the car, and in highway driving it seems to cancel itself out with pulse and glides. I know in the city my mileage will be worse, but the battery pack should pay for itself then. (: The car already has heavy duty overload coils in the rear, stiffer struts all around, and upgraded swaybars front and rear, so I know it can handle the weight. Daox: Yes I know it will be but a lot of work sounds fun to me. (: I plan on going with the AC12 from Thunderstruck. They recommended I go with 72V with the motor, but I'm going to try 48V first to see how it goes. 72V would be a problem with my goal of keeping the car functionally stock (Don't know where I'd set the 4 extra batteries) I also know I could probably get by with a smaller motor this way, but I really wanted regenerative braking and for the system to be able to pull it's own weight. Looking around, it looks like the only thing I'll have trouble making myself will be the pulley on the motor. I might have to find a machine shop to match the splines to a pulley to connect to the crank. The motor is good for 7000 RPM and my stock engine maxes out at 6000 RPM, so to match them up I'm going to go for close to a 1:1 drive. Shadetree: Watching the scangauge, at low speeds (<40 mph) it is very hard to get my automatic to go into fuel cut. It's also downright impossible to get it to fuel cut with the A/C on, but that's rare that I use it anyway. But when the engine does go into fuel cut, the electric motor is going to have to move the weight of the car AND turn over the (not running) engine it might be a bit much power to ask of it, which is why guessing from the scangauge, the motor will still spin up to accelerate but be using very little fuel. Even with the the throttle closed I still don't always see fuel cut unless I'm decelerating. I can go down a mountain and will gain speed and hover around 100 mpg. This is true from about 35 mph all the way up to 75 mph. Even though I'm gaining speed, the motor has to use more fuel to spin the motor up to X RPM. It might take some getting used to, but I do plan to have 2 independent throttles. This also has the nice ability that anyone can drive the car, I'll just have a switch that I can turn the E-drive off.