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Old 06-18-2025, 02:35 PM   #1 (permalink)
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EV with onboard generator

We’ve got plenty of PHEVs these days such as the Toyota Primes.

These are great cars, but seems to me that they could trade a little bit of engine power for a little more battery and be more efficient overall.

Let’s take a Prius or a Civic Hybrid for example. Yeah, I know, the civic doesn’t offer plug in at this time (I think).

Each of these cars offer engines that make much more power than they need for cruising speeds.

What does such a car need? 40-50 hp, maybe for easy cruising.

How about going with a 2 cylinder of somewhere in the 600-800 cc range?

Honda already makes plenty of them for their bikes.

They make well over the needed power.

They’d save a good bit of weight. And such an engine would be
Running much closer to full load for better efficiency.

Whatever weight it would save could go to a little extra battery. So rather than a 40 mile e range, maybe it could be 60-80 miles.

Or you just go with lower weight which would add to mileage/performance, assuming the battery has a sufficient charge.

I’m sure this topic has already been beat to death in EM, so if someone would point me to the thread, I’d be much obliged.

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Old 06-18-2025, 03:05 PM   #2 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pete c View Post
We’ve got plenty of PHEVs these days such as the Toyota Primes.
I wouldn't say plenty; as I can only name a handful, and I think Ford dropped all of their Energi line of vehicles.

Quote:
These are great cars, but seems to me that they could trade a little bit of engine power for a little more battery and be more efficient overall.
I would think it makes sense to make large pickups into a plug-in series hybrid. Eliminate the driveline to the rear wheels and the transmission.

There are pretty huge losses involved in chemical energy (gasoline) > heat > mechanical > electrical > chemical (battery), and then chemical (battery) > electrical > mechanical.

Running an engine at peak BSFC would have to more than make up for all the conversion losses, and CVTs and transmissions with a ton of gears and atkinson-cycle engines all help keep ICE operating near the efficiency sweet-spot.

Weight reduction hardly matters.
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Old 06-18-2025, 03:35 PM   #3 (permalink)
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A single-speed pusher trailer would be optional.
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Old 06-19-2025, 06:03 AM   #4 (permalink)
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Quote:
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How about going with a 2 cylinder of somewhere in the 600-800 cc range?
BMW did that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_i3
Quote:
An optional petrol/gasoline range extender engine is marketed as REx and is powered by the same Kymco-built 647 cc inline two-cylinder engine used in the BMW C650 GT maxi-scooter. The system is intended as an emergency backup to extend range to the next recharging location, and not for long-distance travel.
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Old 06-19-2025, 10:09 AM   #5 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5 View Post
I wouldn't say plenty; as I can only name a handful, and I think Ford dropped all of their Energi line of vehicles.



I would think it makes sense to make large pickups into a plug-in series hybrid. Eliminate the driveline to the rear wheels and the transmission.

There are pretty huge losses involved in chemical energy (gasoline) > heat > mechanical > electrical > chemical (battery), and then chemical (battery) > electrical > mechanical.

Running an engine at peak BSFC would have to more than make up for all the conversion losses, and CVTs and transmissions with a ton of gears and atkinson-cycle engines all help keep ICE operating near the efficiency sweet-spot.

Weight reduction hardly matters.
Yes, there are losses in conversion. They could minimize these by using a system similar to Honda’s where you have a direct mechanical drive at cruising speeds.
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Old 06-19-2025, 11:51 AM   #6 (permalink)
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EV/PHEV RANGE EXTENDER

This guy put a small diesel generator in the trunk of the tesla and made it charge while driving and while parked.

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Old 06-19-2025, 12:19 PM   #7 (permalink)
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That’s neat, but a better solution would be placing the generator in a lightweight trailer.
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Old 06-19-2025, 12:54 PM   #8 (permalink)
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Permalink #3 agrees.
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Old 06-19-2025, 01:20 PM   #9 (permalink)
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Quote:
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That’s neat, but a better solution would be placing the generator in a lightweight trailer.
The better solution is buying a vehicle that fulfills one's needs.

The i3 already incorporates a genset into the vehicle (as an option).

If I were forced to add a genset to a car not designed for it, I would mount it to a 2" hitch external to the vehicle instead of ruining it.
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Old 06-19-2025, 01:25 PM   #10 (permalink)
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I think the main disadvantage to making a smaller range extending ICE is that it doesn't really lower the cost. Smaller isn't noticeably cheaper. You still need to design the engine block, the pistons, the emission controls, etc. In the end, an EV with a small range extending engine is going to be a lot more expensive than either a full BEV or an PHEV that has a much smaller battery and therefore relies more on a bigger engine.

Maybe once battery technology becomes cheap enough, then a range extending motor would make more sense.

When I had the Nissan Leaf, I seriously thought of taking my 1985 VW Golf diesel and making it into a pusher trailer. But I realized that the emissions would be much worse. Since an engine that would work that was close to modern emissions standards was going to be very costly to implement, more than buying a PHEV, I decided to just forget the idea, and sold both the Golf and the Leaf. Now I'm without an EV, just driving around a point A to point B car.

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