Car conversion to 3 wheels

[freebeard]

I am looking to build a 3 wheel diver high performance hybrid.

A submersible, eh? I approve.

We're all curious about the hybrid you want to build. How many passengers? How much baggage? On/off road? If you haven't, at least take a look at the XR-3:

www.rqriley.com/xr3.htm‎

[skippo]

Hi Freebeard
That is where I got my idea from xr3 , I just want a easier way to build one. I am in the Yahoo xr3 forum and people took 4 year to build one 1 year on the frame and power train 3 year on the body. That just too much work and I really like how the electric rear end deign. And of cause a more powerful diesel engine. The engine xr3 use get about 30HP get you 100mpg and the VW diesel turbo on the beetle got 50+mpg with 190HP. I am hoping with the hybrid 3th wheel will give me closer to 70mpg. And more power. Yes not as efficient but much more fun.

[skippo]

It is really a fun 2 seater not need for much baggage I can always pull a trailer if I need to go on a road trip. Thats the beauty of the diesel turbo.e

[freebeard]

...a fun 2 seater...

That could be slammed to the ground for raciing, jacked up for off-road or in the middle for a parade/beach vehicle.

You might watch for Protean Energy's product to come to market.

http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protean_Electric

Each of Protean's in-wheel motors can deliver 81 kW (110 hp) and 800 Nm (590 lb-ft) and weigh 31 kg (68 lbs.). They are sized to fit within the space of a conventional 18- to 24-inch road wheel.

Subarugears have a product that you could use to make a front-mid engined Subaru turbo-diesel..

[Xist]

What are the advantages of front-wheel steering, instead of rear? If you have two in the front and one in the back, you could easily build skirts for the front and would not need to worry about frontal area for the back!

[NachtRitter]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Subarugears have a product that you could use to make a front-mid engined Subaru turbo-diesel..

Would be nice, but the Subaru turbo-diesels are hard to get here in the US, and even if one could get the engine, I suspect it would be really difficult to register any vehicle using it in California.

[NachtRitter]

Originally Posted by skippo

Hi Freebeard
... the VW diesel turbo on the beetle got 50+mpg with 190HP. I am hoping with the hybrid 3th wheel will give me closer to 70mpg. And more power. Yes not as efficient but much more fun.

You can have both with the VW turbodiesel... more power AND better efficiency! With my tune and larger injector nozzles, I can easily get 60mpg+ in a mid-sized sedan.

There is a kit for the MkIV Jettas & Golfs that you might want to consider: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tdi-14154.html. If it's possible to pull 60mpg+ with a slightly modified sedan, then reducing the frontal area and the weight via the Smyth kit ought to allow mid- to upper 70mpg figures.

[freebeard]

What are the advantages of front-wheel steering, instead of rear? If you have two in the front and one in the back, you could easily build skirts for the front and would not need to worry about frontal area for the back!

More people who remember scary experiences with rear-wheel steering, compared to people who have had confidence-inspiring experiences with same.

It may all be a matter of [in]correct steering geometry; Bucky Fuller put 120,000 miles on a Dymaxion and claimed a 120mph top speed, but some claim it rarely or never went over 50mph. It may just be a mattter of a long trailing arm like the girder on the front of a chopper motorcycle and a near infinite turning circle.

Or the 'pendulum effect' causes a positive feedback loop of increasing overcompensations. Airplanes with swept-forward wings only became viable with computer-augmented flight controls. Maybe it's something like that.

Tricycles need 3-wheel steering, with 80% effort in front and 20% in rear (to a first approximation: 80—20 rule).

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Rear-wheel steering is for forklifts. But if you could manage to get an all-wheel steering like the QuadraSteer which was once available as an option in Chevy trucks, that would make more sense.

[groundflyer]

Well if I was building one this is what I would do

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UgAlBBpmM8