Quote:
Originally Posted by Ecky
You're missing that when you are charging the batteries with your alternator, your alternator is applying a heavy load to the engine and dragging on it, causing it to burn more fuel. There's no such thing as a free lunch. The only free energy is when you capture it during deceleration, the rest is taken by loading your engine and causing it to burn more gas.
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I still think this problem can be tackled fairly easily, unless I still have the concept all wrong.
As per my car, a rear-wheel drive V8, I have plenty of power from my engine to handle issues of drag and especially if given a camshaft to add to more torque production.
Assuming we can adapt two electric hub motors to my non-drive steering wheels, my 2-wheel rear-wheel drive now becomes an all-wheel drive. Recharging the two hub motors on the steer wheels is now the problem if I wish to use them continuously during gasoline engine operation.
I ask, why can't we add two hub generators to my drive wheels on the rear axle? For one, my V8 can handle the added weight penalty and drag from these two generators. Two, while the rear wheels are pushing the car and fighting the drag, the front wheel hub motors are also assisting by pulling the car and simultaneously fighting the drag to charge their operation.
Is there really that much loss in the tandem operation of the gasoline engine with the hub motors in this situation? If worse comes to worse, we can further augment charging by using the gasoline engine alternator which must then be a high output version! In the future, further charging can be added in the form of solar panel film on the top portion of the car.
For now, I have a hard time understanding why these two systems, the gasoline engine and front wheel hub motors, can't be used simultaneously and constantly with each other.