Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Mechanic
Ian, since the in wheel drives place the power precisely at the point of application, I think you can understand the effectiveness.
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Potentially more effective ... not necessarily ... nor automatically.
__ Torque at the tire road interface from a motor in the wheel ... or the same ___ Torque at the tire road interface from a centrally located motor will both see exactly the same vehicle performance... the tire road interface doesn't care where the source of the torque came from.
If the combination of the in wheel system is better than the combination of centrally located system and its connected transmission ( etc ) to get to the wheel ... then yes it's better... but if not ... then it's not... no magic happens just because it happens to be in the wheel ... if anything putting it in the wheel imposes additional design complications , and issues , that a centrally located hydraulic unit does not have to deal with as much.
I would like to clarify ... I am not suggesting it won't work ... or that a in wheel motor can not be built to withstand the stresses ... it can ... But that doesn't change that the wheel is pretty much one of if not the most abusive locations on a vehicle ... and it is because of that , that I am / would be concerned about putting it in the wheel ... not just your design with a hydraulic ... for the same reasons I would be concerned about putting an electric motor in the wheel ( even though companies sell them )... or any other type of drive motor.