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Old 01-09-2018, 03:48 PM   #138 (permalink)
Ecky
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ND Miata - '15 Mazda MX-5 Special Package
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I see no point in having rear hub motors on a RWD car in addition to an altermotor. The altermotor is already sending power to those wheels. You could just use one or other other, they do the same thing.

For AWD you could get hub motors on the front instead and use those as the only motor/generators (no need for an altermotor or anything connected to the engine) - they can apply a bit of resistance to create electricity to fill the battery and power your 12v accessories (you can then delete your alternator if you want), and add AWD acceleration for brief periods by tapping into your battery. This would make it self-sufficient, and you'd have AWD when you're trying to put power to the road, but you wouldn't be sending power through those wheels all the time, just when you need it. You'd have all of the benefits of a hybrid.

Let me restate: there is no way to assist the gas motor throughout the entire drive unless you want to charge the battery yourself, because that energy has to come from somewhere. If you're simultaneously assisting from the engine AND dragging on it at the same time, with conversion losses, overall you'll be dragging on it. Anything else would be a perpetual motion machine.

Hybrids reduce inefficiency and give you brief acceleration bursts, but any energy you send to the wheels has to be captured somewhere. They can't just pull energy from the battery forever.

Last edited by Ecky; 01-09-2018 at 03:58 PM..
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