Quote:
Originally Posted by raubvogel
I have to say from your diagram and explanation the new Honda system is much better than the Toyota one, which seems to be more electric-centric. Is it derived from the NSX one? |
I haven't actually looked too closely at the NSX system! It might be difficult to find info on it.
The problems with the Honda system are that 1) The electric motor is solely responsible for propelling the car below 60mph, so you need a pretty large electric motor (there's no "assist"), and 2) the gasoline engine can't send power directly to the wheels below 60mph, meaning you *always* have a double conversion loss from mechanical to electrical, then back to mechanical energy. Not a big issue for city driving because most of the losses are from stop and go, but steady-state driving could be more efficient with Toyota's system.