Quote:
Originally Posted by Phoenix'97
I hope I am making myself clear...
In a nutshell, can I produce enough energy to offset what the two front steering wheel hub motors only are consuming? This is why I suggested using another pair on the rear drive axle as purely generators for the front hub motors that will be pulling the car while the gasoline engine is pushing the car with it's combined torque. IF this set-up were not producing enough power, I would have to resort to using an altermotor attached to my LT1 V8.
Am I still missing the point behind your comments?
I suppose I would have to settle with the electric hub motors kicking in for stop-and-go driving, my spirited "launches", and even for conditions on the highway when I don't have enough torque up a mild grade when cruising at 1500 RPM, but I don't see why I can't have the electric assist on all the time...
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With an alternator an solar panels, you cannot produce enough energy to power the front hubs. Your alternator would cause a tremendous fuel economy hit even if you could, so this would be a Very Bad Idea in terms of economy.
You can if you add an altermotor and basically only use it to suck power from the engine, but doing this will result in worse gas mileage too. You'd basically be taking energy from the rear wheels and sending it to the front at a 20% loss. Since it takes a fixed amount of power to cruise down the road, that loss comes straight from your gas tank.
Which is not to say you can't still have hub motors in both front and rear, you just don't want to use them all the time! The most efficient way to use them, the one that gives both power and economy, is to use them to accelerate, use them to capture energy when you slow down, and let the gas engine do the work when you're traveling at constant speed.