Quote:
Originally Posted by HypermilerAX
Yes, wheels are carbon fiber. They are 16 inches mounted with Michelin Radial tires for solar cars. Probably 45/75 R16 with a Crr between 0.001 and 0.002, they are inflatable to 100 PSI.
Frontal area is around 0.3 m², CdA is much lower than 0.4, it's 0.033.
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Guys, Cd is unit-less, but CdA is expressed in units of area, so don't forget.
0.033 m^2 * (10.76ft^2/ft^2) = 0.36 ft^2
Compared properly, your two different numbers almost agree with each other.
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I have to say that the MPG number very nearly boggled my mind, I thought it was an electric and it was MPGe, but nope, the magazine reports it has an ICE so it is actually MPG.
Nonetheless, I think that when you consider 15X reduction in CdA compared to a Prius, probably at much lower speeds for maybe another 4X for V^2 (am I right?), it does seem like it might be within the limits of physics.
... although I'm still mystified as to how they scaled an ICE down to achieve low weight in a practical drive-train with low throttle loss... something Sven needn't worry about for an electric.
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If you want to use this in traffic, being seen by cross-traffic when you have right-of-way is a serious concern with all recumbent-type vehicles. Consider 500-2000 lumens of forward motorcycle / LED lighting. Needs to have a bright mode for daylight and a directed road pattern for nighttime. This issue gets a lot of discussion in bicycle forums.