Electric Car Hub Motor

[MPaulHolmes]

I thought the main obstacle was the price of the hub motors. But if China is able to use political prisoner slave labor to make the cost reasonable, then I say great! It can't be THAT hard to use them, can it? It's easy on a bike! And a car is just a little bigger, well, a lot bigger, and completely different.

[Geebee]

Originally Posted by achang1

because its not that easy.

Why not?
A hub motor built with the coils further out to allow for drop in replacement over the brake drum etc. will get a lot more torque than the way bike style hub motors are made at the moment, top speed is not what is needed for a FE hybrid low speed torque is and the kw's for assisting a light car won't be massive.
I often had the same thought about moving the coils to the rim of say a 20" bike wheel to get brutal torque at low rev's, unfortunately for bike use it would increase weight, drop top speed and increase cost, all of these would be acceptable for a car.
Just a thought as noone seems to make one.

[jjackstone]

Originally Posted by Geebee

Why doesn't someone do something similar that is retro fittable to current cars ie, a 14" rim with the brushless motor built in the outer rim even if it required low profiles to fit, or alternately offset outwards, thus allowing any car to become a hybrid by just replacing the wheel and wiring up, even brake regen could be built in.
Would particularly suit FWD's and replace the rear wheels.

See this site.
Home

John

[Geebee]

Wow it looks just like I had thought even down to the torque bar with wires on the outside.
Thanks for te link.

[sweatbrah]

Originally Posted by Geebee

Why doesn't someone do something similar that is retro fittable to current cars ie, a 14" rim with the brushless motor built in the outer rim even if it required low profiles to fit, or alternately offset outwards, thus allowing any car to become a hybrid by just replacing the wheel and wiring up, even brake regen could be built in.
Would particularly suit FWD's and replace the rear wheels.

yeah honestly!it would be fun to see what it will do with my jeep wrangler hahaha.... i am dying on gas... i need to get a new car or something like moped or build an electric commuter car but i cant sell my jeep cause i love going wheeling... maybe one day i can do a diesel swap and run biodiesel ..http://dotable.com/images/smilies/turtle.gif

[bennelson]

Yeah, I have seen that Poulsen Hybrid web page before. It looks just a little not right to me, but the CONCEPT is great.

If anyone finds some car-sized wheel hub motors that are actually available to the public, at a not terrible price (might need sponsors or something) please let me know!

-ben

[Yuri4x4]

From their FAQ page:

What does it cost ?

Please note that these are projected approximate prices.

Poulsen Hybrid System $3,500

Which includes:

2 Poulsen Hybrid motors
Auxiliary Components and cables
2 brushless DC motor controllers
On-board charger, 72V, 10A.
Batteries (Additional):
72V 120Ah Deep Cycle Lead Acid battery pack (6 batteries). $400 to $450
or
4.3 KWh Lithium Ion battery pack with battery management system and dedicated 25A charger: approximately $4,500

Installation performed by an authorized dealer $500 - 600



Total $4,550 with Lead Acid Batteries
$8,600 with Lithium Ion battery pack

How does it work ?

The effect felt by the driver when the system is turned on is equivalent to freewheeling down a 3% grade...

A 3% grade is not much. So $4550 for a reletively small gain. It would take a LONG time to make your money back on that one!

[dremd]

3% grade was more than enough to keep the XC90 rolling 60~70 mph.

However grade and power are 2 very different things.

[Geebee]

Originally Posted by bennelson

Yeah, I have seen that Poulsen Hybrid web page before. It looks just a little not right to me, but the CONCEPT is great.

If anyone finds some car-sized wheel hub motors that are actually available to the public, at a not terrible price (might need sponsors or something) please let me know!

-ben

Last pair went for about $1200
2 X 8KW ELECTRIC WHEEL ELECTRIC CAR /HYBRID EV - eBay, Other Car Parts, Accessories, Car Parts, Accessories, Cars, Bikes, Boats. (end time 03-Oct-08 09:37:20 AEST)

[bennelson]

Originally Posted by Geebee

Last pair went for about $1200

Getting closer.

Those are only marked as 3000 watt continuous. That's 6K for a pair of them, which is still less power than my motorcycle.

If you put my cycle' motor on a car, it would have pretty poor performance, and you would really have to watch the temperature and the brushes.

Might still work for a very small car at low speeds only, which is how I would do it.

Electric motor to pull away from stops and low speeds in town, gas engine for high speeds and long range.